People love great stories, and case studies allow you to tell them. A case study in sales is a narrative showing how your product or service helped a client. Like any good story, a case study should have a beginning, middle and end. Case studies are never about you and your business though—they are about your clients and how they benefitted from working with you.

Want to know how to write more compelling case studies? In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share tips from veteran writer and editor, Michele McGovern.

Highlight your client as the hero. Your case studies should always feature your client as the hero. This allows potential buyers to relate to them. When they see how similar businesses faced a challenge and succeeded, they can better envision themselves doing the same thing.

Be consistent. McGovern says consistency is key when creating case studies. Your sales reps will know what information to gather for every case study, and prospective buyers will have a better experience reading and absorbing the stories. For each case study, try writing a paragraph or two for a problem, solution and result. Then, stick with this same format every time.

Weave in your clients’ words. The best case studies in sales always include clients’ actual quotes, says McGovern. When talking to your clients about their success story, take note of the phrases they use.

Make your case studies readable. No one wants to scroll through a long, drawn-out post that’s difficult to read. McGovern recommends formatting your case studies like a good short story, incorporating space with headers, bullet points and images. This helps draw readers in and allows them to digest the key takeaways.

Add emotion to headlines. Some prospects will only skim your case studies. You can use headlines to stir emotions and tell a succinct version of how you helped your client. For example, you might say for the problem, “Buyer felt disheartened by lack of awareness” and for the solution say, “Buyer impressed by how well logoed magnets increased visibility.”

Dig in with details. McGovern says case studies shouldn’t too long, but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on the details. She recommends adding specific, colorful information such as explaining what your client does, what issue they faced and how your solution made a difference. Also, when possible, use exact numbers and percentages. For example, doubling donation dollars from $500 to $1,000 is vastly different from going from $5,000 to $10,000. Don’t make your readers guess.

Get extra mileage from your case studies. When you take the time to craft a case study, look for other ways you can use it. This might mean recording a conversation with your case study hero and creating a visual version for a podcast or YouTube video.

Case studies may not make a prospect buy, but they provide real-world validation of what you can do. Whether you are just beginning, or you already have a library full of case studies, use the tips above to tell engaging stories and get prospects closer to buying.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Michele McGovern is a veteran writer and editor who has authored many white papers for upper-level execs and business news posts. She covers topics such as employee morale, customer service, loyalty and sales.