How to Use Case Studies as an Effective Sales Tool

When you're in the business of selling, there is no better case you can make for a new customer than the testimony of an existing customer! Here is an easy-to-follow guide that will show you how case studies can be a highly effective sales tool for your business.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Interviews or statements with current, satisfied clients
• A way to disseminate the words of your satisfied clients to your prospective clients

1. Contact your top clients. Since they use your services (and many repeatedly) they are your best resource to help you develop case studies.
2. There are three main things you'll want to enumerate in each case study:
   
   * The client's challenge or need
   * The creative process your business went through to help the client determine the best solution
   * How your company's product or service solved the client's problem or met their needs.
3. Once you have the above information, a case study is simple to prepare. You simply want to state who the client is and the three things listed in the above step.
4. Once you have your case study prepared, ask a colleague to review it. Ask them to tell you if they feel compelled to use your company's product or services by reading it. If yes - great! If not, ask your colleague how to make the case study more compelling and revise.
5. To accompany your case studies, ask clients to write a short (no more than a few paragraphs) testimonial that you can include with the case study.
6. Consider using case studies and related testimonials on your website, in your sales literature, in trade show collateral, and in your monthly newsletter (if you have one).
7. Your current clients are your best sales tool! Think of the prospects you'd like to convert to clients and which clients you already have that are in a similar industry. Your case studies could close the deal for you, as prospective buyers want to know that your product can solve their problem. It's likely that you already have solved their problem before, not just show them you have!

Tips & Warnings

• If you can obtain permission from your clients to use their company logos in conjunction with your case studies, it will provide a great visual for your prospective clients when reading your sales literature (especially is it is an easily recognizable/high-profile client!).
• Never fabricate a case study or testimonial
• Only use client copyrighted materials (such as logos) with the clients written permission. A signed release is useful for this.