To increase your closing ratio, a good story can help. It may sound obvious, but customers are often moved by how your products or services have helped others. Testimonials from clients enhance your credibility factor—and you can increase it further by providing a case study that demonstrates your products or services in action. A good case study highlights the value and impacts your products and services have on clients.

Let the Story Do the Talking

Years ago, I worked with a medical device company whose competitor had 90 percent of the market share, which was driven by powerful national contracts. Despite having a superior product, my client’s sales were not being met, more than $2M in-field inventory was sitting in hospitals, and the company was going broke. When they brought me in, I realized the sales force didn’t know how to sell the value of the product. I trained and motivated the 75 sales reps, and within a year they had taken 50 percent of the competitor’s business. Within three years the company was the market leader, and this company, which had been valued at $96M three years earlier, sold for $1B, 10x the public valuation.

You better believe that story has helped me sell my services. A case study is a story of how you identified a problem, the solution you provided, and how that solution impacted the client or market.  The key is not just the story but how you apply it to the person you are trying to influence. In other words, how does this story apply to your prospect’s issues?

 Template for Case Studies That Sell

Here are important facets of effective case studies:

 Remember, people aren’t opposed to new ideas. But what really persuades them is an insight into the way your solution works and the results it has delivered for others. Stories sell. A good one can help you close the deal.