One of the most absolute axioms of life is that the more you need something, the less likely you are to be able to obtain it. And vice versa.

Take a bank loan. When you’re young and just starting out, with few assets to your name, a little extra cash from the local bank would really come in handy, especially for major purchases such as transportation or housing. Yet banks aren’t really that interested in lending their money to people who really could use it. They’d rather wait until you’re much further along in life, with many assets to your name, essentially settled into your lifestyle. Then they’ll fall all over themselves begging you to take their money.

This same principle applies to case studies. When you’re a new company without much of a track record, it’s often difficult to convince anyone but the real early adopters to give your technology a try. The more enterprise-oriented your product is, the truer that becomes. That’s when you could really use one of those customers who has tried it and liked it to step up to the microphone (or telephone) and proclaim your technology’s benefits for all to hear. And when they’re least likely to. So why is that? It could be a lot of things.

One of the main reasons is it’s often difficult for them to see what’s in it for them. Some will feel they’re too busy and don’t want the distraction of talking to the media when they should be doing whatever it is their company is paying them to do. (Understandable, but it’s unlikely they’ll spend more than two to four hours total on it. If they do, send your PR agency a nice fruit basket.)

Some will say they don’t want to give away a competitive advantage. (When you hear that one, kick yourself for not charging more if it’s such an advantage they want to keep it a closely guarded secret.)

Some are not allowed by order of the head of marketing and/or communications. (A fact they probably discovered the hard way after an article with their name in it came out.)

And some may just be plain uncomfortable with the thought of talking to a reporter. (A legitimate concern, especially for those who still wake up in a cold sweat when they dream about having to do a speech in front of their entire high school English class.)

Whatever the objection may be, it’s important that you find a way to overcome it. Why? Because the fact is, the media is far more interested in talking to your customers than they are to you.

It’s your customers who are living the experience with your technology. Having them say it’s great is a lot more powerful than having you say it’s great.

The purpose of these customer stories (from the media’s point of view) is to let their readers know how a particular company solved a problem that many others are facing. It could be a technology-oriented problem, such as getting two pieces of software to exchange data automatically. Or it could be a business-oriented problem such as driving down cost-per-user, improving security, or managing resources more effectively. Whatever the specific problem may be, it’s interesting to their readers because it comes from the front lines.

Another factor is that your customers are presumed not to have anything to gain by telling anything other than the unvarnished truth. No matter how forthright you may be about your technology, it’s still like asking a new mother if her baby is beautiful. It’s unlikely the answer will be anything but an unqualified yes.

The good news is you’re not the only one who may be having trouble getting customers to speak on your behalf. That’s what makes these case studies so valuable to the media. Their experience has also shown that it’s difficult to get end users to talk about technologies that are groundbreaking (and therefore interesting). By securing them, you move to the top of the interest list, especially with publications toward the top of the media food chain.

So how do you overcome the objections? The same way you sold the product in the first place: figure out what’s in it for them, and then make sure they know about it.

For example, if the person is very career-oriented and looking to make a name for himself/herself, media exposure will aid that climb. Position as a win-win – he/she gains career enhancement while you gain publicity for your technology. It’s your best bet for both the “time” concerns and competitive advantage argument.

If there’s a corporate edict not to do publicity, see if you can get the company’s marketing department involved. Often their concern is over controlling the corporate message and image in the media. If they’re given the opportunity to do it within the context of the story, they may be more agreeable to allowing this exception. It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try.

For those who are plain media-shy, offer to arrange a media coaching session that trains the person how to answer questions like a pro. Also remind him/her that there’s a big difference between the type of bulldog reporting they see on 60 Minutes and what they’ll get from the typical trade or technology publication. The latter group simply wants to tell a story their readers will find helpful; they’re not out to skewer anyone, because they know doing so will quickly dry up these already scarce resources.

One last thought to keep in mind. While one-to-one references are important, so is the ability to reach a large number of prospects with a single shot. Case studies can be packaged and merchandised over and over – the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.