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 testimonials and case studies.

I conduct 20-30-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 (usually between 200-400 words) 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.

Service Options

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 250-400 words) based on their feedback that helps diffuse potential client objections and shows the results you’ve achieved. In addition, you’ll get a summary of additional client feedback received that may be useful to inform improvements to your service, process and/or marketing efforts.

The price for this service is **$800 USD* per testimonial.**

(*For Canadian clients – plus applicable provincial and/or federal sales taxes for your province)(*For Canadian clients – plus applicable provincial and/or federal 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 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 testimonial quotes from your client.

In addition, you’ll get a document with all the feedback received that may be useful to inform improvements to your service, process and/or marketing efforts.

**The price for this service is $2,250 USD* per case study.**

(*For Canadian clients, the investment + applicable provincial and/or federal 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.

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.

Here’s what one client had to say about the service:

Once I started building the website for my new consultancy, I realized I needed to show off what I had done with past clients, and the best way was to get some testimonials.

After meeting Meg, I had few hesitations to paying for her services. My biggest fear was having someone else talk to my client without me there. What put me at ease was seeing that Meg had a clearly defined process for the service and that she conducted herself professionally in our conversations. I could see that she knew exactly what she was doing and would get better results than if I were to collect the testimonials myself.

As a result of her help, I received very detailed, valuable testimonials that were laser-focused on the business outcomes I achieved for my clients.

What I liked most about the service was the personal touch. Unlike some services like this, Meg’s not outsourcing the interviews to junior contractors. My clients are upper management – often CTOs – at multi-million dollar companies. When I present myself to them, it’s as a peer. Anyone I put in front of my clients needs to be of that same caliber and reflect well on me. How Meg conducts herself is conducive for interacting with these higher-end clients.

As an unexpected bonus, she collected feedback from my clients about what I could improve in my services that they never would have told me personally. Not because it was negative feedback per se, but because it’s sometimes uncomfortable giving feedback directly while being easier to do with a third-party. I also appreciated the wrap-up document I received at the end of the project with the testimonials and the additional feedback, all in one package.

I have already recommended Meg to others, and will continue to do so. I think this service is incredibly valuable and it’s a no-brainer for consultants with high-dollar clients.

Mike Julian
Founder/Chief Consultant
Aster Labs