A client success story, or case study, is the “highest form of credibility possible,” according to Dusty Rhodes, vice president of sales and marketing at Platform One, a leading provider of human resources solutions based in Lawrenceville, Ga. But when it comes to the actual writing of a case study, experts say, many companies come up short. To make your next case study a gripping, lead generation-grabbing read, consider these four tips:

1. Feature a client with a compelling story to tell. If the client’s results from your product or service are ho-hum or the client is not a vocal supporter of your business, search for a better candidate. “Ultimately, the right client to profile is the one that had a positive ‘transformation’ experience,” explains Doug Fogwell, senior vice president of sales and marketing for AlliedBarton Security Systems in Naperville, Ill. He adds that the right client is “agreeable to being part of the case study and has an engaging and interesting experience to relay.”
2. Go copy heavy. Unlike most collateral, a case study is your opportunity to explain a business challenge in great detail. One company that has embraced comprehensive customer success stories as a way to attract new business is Initial Tropical Plants, an interior landscaping and design company in Riverwoods, Ill. “[Our case studies] highlight the initial challenge, explain how we addressed the challenge, and then how our solutions benefit the client,” says Trudy Brusenbach, a marketing specialist at Initial Tropical Plants.
3. Take a broad approach. Because case studies are likely to be shared with prospects across industries, they must be free of jargon. AlliedBarton Security Systems, for example, works with several different types of customers in industries ranging from financial services to health care. “The security sector, like all major business sectors, has its share of jargon,” Fogwell says. “Well-written case studies should be presented in a style that embraces a broad audience.”
4. Work with a professional writer.Whether you leverage the copywriting skills of in-house talent or outsource work to a professional, make sure the writer can properly convey the excitement your client expresses for your product or service. Initial Tropical Plants hires a professional scribe to write its high-profile case studies. The most recent one examined the company’s $1 million “plantscape” installation at Harrah’s Atlantic City.

Once a case study is written, experts suggest posting it on your Web site, making it available to sales staff, and featuring it in your newsletter. If the success story is especially awe-inspiring, consider placing it in industry publications. Initial Tropical Plants has “found the media to be highly receptive to receiving engaging case studies that are accompanied by graphics and photos,” says Brusenbach. One of the company’s published case studies, on a project at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., led to a contract with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Ultimately, case studies are a very powerful sales tool for generating sales leads because, as Platform One’s Rhodes says, “what your customers say is the single most important factor in any sales success.”

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