Turning client wins into business development assets requires more than a good outcome; it takes strategic storytelling, structure and smart distribution. While many consultants and business development professionals know the value of a great case study, too few are making the most of them.
To show you what’s possible, we’ve gathered insights from four experts who use case studies not just to showcase success, but to spark meaningful conversations with high-value clients. Dave Davies, David Schulhof, Carole Railton and Larysa Hale reveal how they approach case studies as tools for trust-building, differentiation and lead generation.
From aligning stories with sector-specific pain points to repurposing case studies across multiple formats, their strategies go beyond the typical testimonial. Here’s how they’re turning real client experiences into strategic assets and how you can do the same.
Dave Davies
Director at Sandler
Case studies are a powerful tool!
A well-drafted case study does a lot more than just tell a success story. It acts as a showcase for expertise, builds trust, credibility, and demonstrates client-centricity.
Maister, Green, and Galford suggested in their book “The Trusted Advisor” that there was an equation related to this.
Trust equals Credibility plus Reliability plus Intimacy
A great case study works directly into this equation.
It offers the opportunity for:
Persuasive Storytelling: Structured case studies engage existing clients, and tell an engaging story that converts prospective customers
Differentiation: Highlighting customer-centricity and unique approaches helps you demonstrate value and stand out from competitors
Visibility: Case studies have a wide audience. Adapting case studies to be presented across your channels, drive thought leadership and attract audiences to your story
Distributing case studies is as (if not more) important than creating them. Too many case studies sit dormant on websites, rarely, if ever, meeting the audience they were created for.
To maximise impact, consider these approaches:
Leverage Multiple Channels: Websites, Blogs, LinkedIn, Social Media, eMail Campaigns, and the core to your Outbound call scripts
Adapt for Audience: Use in sales proposals, distribute at Industry events. Use as thought leadership, get them published in Industry-relevant media.
Make Them Interactive: Convert your case studies into infographics. Create short videos and use the snippets, especially in the FAW section of your website, use quotes to illuminate presentations, evolve them into podcasts/interviews.
To maximise the impact of case studies, distribute them strategically across multiple channels, adapting them to different audiences and formats
Create the audience, then guide the audience to them quickly.
Your product/service doesn’t sell itself.
At least not until your clients tell the story of what they bought, what it did for them, how it benefited them, and perhaps most importantly, how they measured that benefit.
Case Studies are gold dust…
David Schulhof
Director of Digital at PHA Group
At PHA Group, case studies are a central part of our business development strategy. When presenting our work to prospective clients, we go beyond listing results—we create narratives that clearly define the client’s challenge, our tailored solution and the measurable outcomes achieved. This structure not only showcases our expertise but also builds trust by demonstrating a repeatable process.
Each case study is designed to be versatile. We repurpose them across multiple formats, including sales proposals, new business pitches, and LinkedIn posts. This ensures consistent messaging and reinforces our value proposition at every stage of the buyer journey. By aligning the content with specific client pain points and desired outcomes, we use case studies to position ourselves as a strategic partner, not just a service provider.
Carole Railton
Body Language Guru
I work with global companies to improve their behaviours and increase ROI. A recent client based in the Far East had problems with their accounts department. The main cause is the Financial Director’s lack of management skills. By coaching the FD in management and body language skills, it allowed him to understand both his and others’ behaviours. He was able to recognise body language signals better and therefore was able to manage and control both himself and others in a way that led to a quicker resolution of queries for customers and a reduction in the number of staff needed, even before he introduced a new automated system.
The speed at which he adapted to his new skills prompted the CEO to ask for coaching from me too. Body language can give you confidence, a better understanding of where you are in any situation and improve your influencing skills. It’s my belief that body Language ought to be taught in schools, along with other behaviours. It is, after all, something that everyone does, no matter if they are blind or deaf or wherever they are in the world. We all are visible, we all move, and these subtle signs give clues as to how you are feeling and what you can do to influence others. Without these harnessed skills, you will never be whole and complete.
Larysa Hale
Managing Director at Expert Circle
How We Use Case Studies to Win High-Value Clients at Expert Circle
At Expert Circle, we use case studies not just as proof, but as a strategic positioning tool—designed to attract the right kind of client, with the right kind of challenge, at the right level.
Our approach isn’t generic. We work with B2B consultants, membership organisations, and expert-led firms—each of which operates within a different industry rhythm. That’s why we track what works across different business sizes and sectors, using internal benchmarks and performance templates to guide our decision-making. This gives us a real-time view of what’s converting in one niche versus another—and ensures we never apply a cookie-cutter method.
Case studies are central to how we communicate that bespoke intelligence. We don’t just say, “We got results.” We show the landscape, the bottlenecks, the plan, and the transformation. It builds instant credibility with decision-makers because it reflects their world. And because our case studies are tailored to sector-specific pain points, they become conversation starters that turn into real opportunities.
High-value clients are cautious. They want to see proof not only that you’re capable, but that you understand their world. Case studies help us demonstrate both, without ever having to pitch too hard.
Ultimately, we treat every successful engagement as a blueprint. If we’ve built a lead generation system for a specialist law firm, we know what worked, and we know how to adapt it when speaking to the next one.
Because when you can show, not just tell, how your work creates growth, that’s when clients lean in and say, “We need this too.”
By applying the approaches shared by Dave Davies, David Schulhof, Carole Railton and Larysa Hale, you can turn case studies into strategic tools that build trust, open doors, and attract the right clients. Whether it’s framing success stories to reflect client pain points, distributing content across multiple touchpoints, or weaving in behavioural insight to boost credibility, these experts show that real impact comes from relevance, structure and thoughtful execution.
The key takeaway is to be deliberate. Structure your case studies with clarity, align them with client priorities and distribute them across the channels that matter most. When used strategically, case studies do more than prove your expertise, they help future clients see themselves in your success.
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