Do you feel awkward or afraid to ask clients for a testimonial or to participate in a case study?
Are you worried you’ll make your client feel awkward?
Are you worried you’re asking too much from your client to write a testimonial or to be featured in a case study?
Are you worried that your client will give you negative feedback?
Are you worried that you’ll go through all the pain of asking for a testimonial, getting approval and still ending up with a less-than-effective piece of social proof?

As a consultant, you need social proof to build trust with prospective clients. Your business is very personal to you and it can be difficult to ask and get testimonials and material for case studies from your clients.

What if you could get effective testimonials & case studies without all the awkwardness & pain?

I’m Meg Cumby and I can help you gather effective social proof from your clients through done-for-you case studies and testimonials. I conduct 30-minute phone interviews with your clients to uncover what they value about your service. This includes finding out:

the problem or challenge the client faced that led them to seek you out
any hesitations/obstacles the client faced and how the client overcame them
how you helped solved the client’s problem
the results and benefits the client received as a result of the service
what, if anything, the client thinks could be improved
why the client would recommend you to others

I use the client’s answers as the basis to create a detailed written testimonial or case study that includes a testimonial to help build trust with potential clients – diffusing potential objections and showing results you’ve achieved. I handle all the approvals and edits from both you and your client until we have the final approved text you can use throughout your marketing. At the end of the engagement, you’ll receive a final document with the testimonial or case study and a summary of any additional client feedback received to give you useful insight that could potentially be used to improve your service, process and/or marketing efforts.

Why do a third-party interview instead of asking a client to write a testimonial or quote for a case study?

Doing it this way helps remove the awkwardness for both you and your client. Asking a client to give you feedback directly to tell you about all the great things you achieved – or, on the other hand, how you could have done better – can be difficult and actually prevent a client from being completely open and honest. Plus, your end game is to get a piece of social proof to explain to people who aren’t familiar with the project about the results you achieved. It’s more likely a client will give more robust answers and reveal those details if they are speaking to someone that they’ve never spoken to before about the project. Clients also aren’t always sure what to write when asked for a testimonial or provide a quote for a case study. By using a third-party interview, you can ensure you get a detailed piece of social proof that goes beyond “So-and-so was great to work with and knows their stuff!” – to one that focuses on the problems you solved and the business outcomes you achieved for your clients.

Not only did I get a great testimonial, but I also got some amazingly useful information. What Meg is really doing is having a customer research interview. I was surprised at some of the benefits that my client said they valued most about my service. I got better insight into my target client and ideas of what to focus on in my marketing and the types of messaging I’ll be sending out.
Michael Greenberg, Former Chief Strategist and Interviewer, Call for Content

Service Options

Full Testimonial Service

I conduct an interview with the client you’ve selected about the results you helped them achieve, the service they received, and what they value most about working with you. You’ll receive a written testimonial (typically between 400-600 words) based on their feedback that helps diffuse potential client objections and shows the results you’ve achieved. You’ll also get a short “teaser” version of the testimonial, a summary of additional client feedback received that may be useful to you for improving your service or marketing, and suggestions for where to use the testimonial.

Price*

$800 USD per testimonial $2300 USD for a package of three *For Canadian clients: Plus applicable sales taxes for your province

Case Study Service

If you would benefit from giving your prospects a deeper understanding and insight into how you help your clients, a case study that includes a client testimonial is recommended. Like the testimonial service, I conduct an interview with the client you’ve selected about the results you helped them achieve, the service they received, and what they value most about working with you. You’ll receive a narrative case study (typically ranging between 800-1400 words) based on their feedback and additional information that you provide on the project. The case study will demonstrate the results achieved due to your service and highlight how your solution helped achieved those results. It will use a story structure and will include multiple testimonial quotes from your client. In addition, you’ll get a recommended “teaser” testimonial quote to use in your marketing, a summary of additional client feedback received that may be useful to inform service or marketing improvements.

Price*

$2,450 USD per case study* *For Canadian clients: plus applicable sales taxes for your province These are fixed prices, not estimates, and include everything involved in the process (the interviews, the testimonials or case studies, and the document summarizing additional feedback received). I handle all the scheduling and back and forth for edits and approval.

Over the years, Meg’s talent for crafting compelling case studies has been instrumental in showcasing Ethercycle’s impact and elevating our brand. She’s helped us build more than 20 case studies that we’re proud to feature on our site. Prospective clients reference them all the time, saying how impressed they are. Case studies help us tell our story through our clients experiences, and that results in more qualified leads and revenue for our agency business.

Meg has a rare ability to turn technical details into engaging narratives that resonate with our audience, which has made her an invaluable partner. She also makes the whole process easy for us and our clients. She’s super easy to talk to and handles everything. Beyond her skill, Meg’s professionalism, creativity, and dedication have always gone above and beyond expectations. Working with Meg has been an absolute privilege. Thank you, Meg, for being such an integral part of our journey!

Kurt Elster, CEO & Co-Founder, Ethercycle

Other services

Here are some of my other services:

Interested in becoming a client? Click here to apply.

Need something more customized?

I take on a limited number of custom engagements and would be happy to talk to you further about your needs. Click here to apply to work with me and start a discussion about how I can help you meet your needs.

Questions?

I’m always happy to answer questions. Send me an email at meg@megcumby.com.

Initially, I wasn’t sure if my clients would be comfortable speaking to a third party, but they were happy to talk with Meg and I got good feedback from them after they spoke with her about how pleasant the experience was. Meg really handled them with the type of care that I would’ve handled them with. What I liked most is that Meg really allowed me to take a backseat after our initial conversations. She got feedback that I probably wouldn’t have gotten or would’ve been more difficult for me to get objectively. She compiled it into stories that read really well in a way that I absolutely could not with my time, skillset and what I’m focused on. At the same time, I appreciated the opportunity to collaborate on shaping the content during the editing process to make sure the voice was the right fit for me. I’m sure I would not be finding and winning the types of good-fitting clients I have found in the last 18 months without the case studies Meg has put together. They have allowed me to share my full value in a way that a potential client or collaborator can digest. It’s really great to just be able to point to a story that tells how an entire process went with another client, whereas previously it would take me an hour or two to have that conversation. It stands in for that conversation and answers so many questions — and cues new questions as well to move things forward. It’s really provided me a way to build relationships with leads and collaborators better. I’m about 99% sure that the case studies tipped the scales in landing two major engagements in particular, which was incredibly valuable. I wish I’d gone thought this case study process sooner. It has really helped me to capture and be more mindful of the qualitative and quantitative benefit of my work with clients and I now have a better idea of how to tell the story of the work we’re doing and our success as we’re going. I’m so grateful for Meg and our ongoing collaboration. Marketing is my least favorite activity, but working with her makes it possible and – unbelievably – actually enjoyable.
Sam Alexander, Fractional CTO for Creative Entrepreneurs & Teams, Extended Play