5 tips for designing a selling case

The most proven, working, and objectively effective way to sell your services is to demonstrate by case how your work has helped to achieve the client's goals. Whether it's increasing the number of leads or creating beautiful packaging, achievements are important and need to be demonstrated.

Firstly, by showing the results, you apply the psychological technique "if someone did it before me, then I feel calmer and more confident." Secondly, you confirm the level of your skills in practice, not just with words. And with the help of cases, you can show companies that they trust you (of course, with their prior approval).

But even the best results can be ruined by a poorly designed case. A potential client may simply not notice your achievements and pass by if you ignore the important principles of demonstrating results. Let's figure out together how to arrange important achievements beautifully, effectively, and correctly.

Case: problem, work, result

When starting to design a case, first of all, disassemble it into three important components: the problem, the work, and the result. Why is this important?

By broadcasting only one of the components, you provide a potential client with too much space for fantasy, which, by the way, may not play in your favor.

Example:

No problem: We have set up an advertising campaign and generated 400 high-quality leads for our customers!

This statement lacks the problem that the client has addressed. What was the initial plan of the colleagues in the leads? If 200 leads, then 400 leads is a good result, and if 1000 leads, then the case clearly did not take place. Without specifying the initial request, there is a great chance to turn a successful result into a deplorable one in the eyes of a potential client.

Lack of work: Our client requested more than 40,000 subscribers and got them!

In this case, it is not at all clear how such a result is achieved. What kind of work has been done? Who inhabits the client's group — real people or "caught-up" bots? It is very important to demonstrate the process of implementing the task so that everything is clear and transparent for the client at the time of choosing a contractor.

Correct segmentation

This point depends on the way your cases are demonstrated: someone places them immediately on the site for public access, and someone sends successfully closed projects personally upon request. In order for the case to meet the client's request, it is important to carry out the correct segmentation. 

To do this, you can ask yourself a few simple questions:

• In which direction was the request sent to me? If the client expects you to set up advertising campaigns, you need to send a successfully closed case in this direction.
• What is my client's field? For example, if a floristry studio contacted you, it would be a mistake to send a case for working with the IT industry. It is better to look for more creative and understandable areas for your client that you have worked with.
• Who makes the decision about the contractor? This is especially important when working with creative areas like design (packaging, POSM, banners, etc.). If a full-time designer chooses the contractor himself, it is important to show all the mastery of artistic skills, and if a commercial director, then give more specific data, for example, about sales or the reaction of the target audience to the design.

So...

If you place your achievements in the public domain, then we still recommend making a simple segmentation for the convenience of customers: divide your portfolio by the topics of your work, and then requests from colleagues will be more specific and confident.

Empathy and emotions

One of the important components of any work with a client is accounting. When two parties interact, it is impossible to communicate exclusively with facts or exchange work and edits. The way your account manager works is an indicator of his understanding of the client and empathy for him. The correct communication of thoughts to the performer, the collection of edits, and awareness of requests and problems are no less important and time-consuming work than the creation of the product itself.

Reflect in your case on the process of working with the contractor; do not hesitate to show positive emotions or ways to solve conflict or difficult situations. Even in this section of the case, you can find spectacular digital indicators, for example, the response time to a request or the timing of edits. The ability to work with a client is a serious argument for making a decision.

Show real people working with case

There are people behind any work—the team that implemented the project. When compiling a case, you can refuse to depersonalize or invent abstract characters. Show the team that realized the client's wishes and completed the laborious work. We advise you to sign each team member's name and explain his area of responsibility. This way, you will arouse more trust because a potential client will see who is working on his task and who can be contacted in case of questions. And the competent composition of the project team demonstrates a responsible approach and understanding of the process of working with client requests.

Don't forget about the beauty of case

Even the most digital, voluminous, and complex case should not visually repel a potential client. To design your achievements, we advise you not to ignore the designer's services. The portfolio can contain photos, graphs, figures, and even quotes from satisfied customers themselves. A stylish presentation with a well-thought-out structure is easier to perceive, and even beautiful cases are better remembered.