By providing the sales or account rep with the right information, you can equip them to persuasively approach the customer, just as if they were selling a product or service. Customers want to know where this information will end up, so be specific. At the bottom of your document, provide contact information so that customer contacts can (1) ask questions or (2) take the steps to get going! Throughout our lives, we rely on relationships to help us get where we want to go. In most cases, that's a sales or account rep who knows the customer well. What are you asking for? MORE >>

Then ensure the writer is equipped with that information. "I’m so glad we’re finally doing this interview because maybe I won’t have to take as many calls." " That’s an actual quote from a customer being interviewed for a case study. Across all the projects I’ve done, I’ve heard this several times from customers. Imagine how many thought that but didn’t say it? Add this to the list of motivators for customers to be featured in case studies. It’s "reference fatigue." " Smaller Vendors, Bigger Risk. Simple. Share MORE >>

Spend 1-2 hours reviewing available information. Copywriters: Today’s the first day back to school where I live. Neighborhood kids are donning their new backpacks, books and shoes. Homework isn’t just for school kids. Now’s the perfect time to talk about the studying you have to do as a case study copywriter. Say you’ve just signed a new client for case studies. How do you get started? By being studious. Don’t just jump into the actual case study, no matter how much of an urgency there is for that story. The risk? Find out where these materials reside. MORE >>

Gather your sales-win stories while they're still fresh in reps' minds and they're still around to share that information. Savvy sales teams share customer success stories to move prospects further toward a purchase decision. But customer case studies aren't the only type of story that can help a rep close a sale. Many companies create sales-win success stories to document what was behind a particular sale. Who did sales reps talk to? How long was the sales cycle? What approaches did they use? What challenges did they face? In fact, they're quite proprietary. Conduct internal interviews. MORE >>

Knowledge and experience about working with your products and services resides with people, and when those people leave, so too goes the information. What a difference a couple of months makes. Earlier this summer, I was talking with a friend/associate about customer stories. The web developer was excited to capture a case study on one of his customers who had a great experience with his firm. Not only did the web site deliver for the company but the main contact was a dream - eloquent, intelligent and very happy with the web firm's services. What happened? Call your contacts NOW. MORE >>