Bin Teo | The System for Building Compelling Case Studies that Convert Prospects to Buyers

Step 1: Create your strategy.

• Do not just clump customer testimonials posted on your website.
  • Testimonials are good but aren’t enough to make your prospects convert.

• Look into the growth goals of your prospects.
• Identify which clients you should pick for the case study who is related to the market you want to enter.
  • Examine your client database.
  • Pick the client that is within or closely relates to the market you hope to sell your products/services.
  • That client should show that he/she enjoys working with you and one who sees the benefits of your products/services.

• Identify the drop-off rates in your entire process.
  • This will help you know which client story would lift the aspect up.

• It all boils down to your ideal client profile.
  • What industries do they belong to?
  • What companies do they belong to?
  • What is their position?
  • What’s the size of their company?
  • What are they planning to achieve? And what stops them from achieving it?

• With regards to competing in a saturated market, it is best to know what are the objections that your prospects would hold?
  • If you can proactively handle these objections on your case studies, it makes it a lot easier.

Step 2: Get the client buy-in.

• After you identify your client candidate, it is time to make them buy in.
• A lot of large businesses stumble with this step as it requires a lot of approvals first before they can create a case study.
• Have a pitch packet.
  • A pitch packet has different angles to pitch to get the client candidate onboard.
    • Gain career recognition.
    • Can help pave the way in their career.
    • Provide collaterals.

Step 3: Do interviews.

• This step is when you meet with your internal sales team/customer success team.
  • Ask them questions about this client with their:
    • Experience with the business.
    • What got them to reach out?
    • What does the business deliver for them?

• • This helps you prepare before you connect with your client candidate.

• Next, you reach out to your client candidate and ask them the key questions that dive into their story.
  • What was happening in their world when they decided to reach out and look for solutions?
  • Why did they select Vendor A over Vendor B?
  • How was the implementation process like to them?

Step 4: Create a persuasive customer story.

• Prepare a template for your case study.
  • Tailor it based on your client candidate’s industry.
  • It could be a webpage or a slide.
  • The framework is as follows:
    • Start with a compelling hit line that really speaks to your audience.
    • Give a high-level view of what your business is about.
    • Next, dive into the problem. Introduce key correctors.
    • Elaborate on your client’s journey. Talk about the solutions they first considered.
    • Talk about implementation. Show that your solution works.
    • In the end, show results.
    • While doing the interview, select some bites that you can highlight to serve as a testimonial.
    • Ask what’s the “A-ha” moment for your client candidate.

• During the interview, let the client know that the conversation will be recorded.
  • This reduces the time to write down notes.
  • Transcribe it afterwards.

• Part of the first step is to have a plan to move the prospect to the next level after they’ve read the customer story.
  • Have a maximum of two call-to-actions. One at the top and one at the bottom.

• Have an executive summary in the form of a sidebar.
• Here are sample formats you could work with:
  • Narrative format.
    • Usually around 1,500 words that go in-depth.

• • Concise format.
    • Usually, about 650 words and is useful for sales representatives.

• • Slide deck format.
    • Minimum words on different slides (around 11-15 slides). It talks about the problem, the journey, the solution, and the results.