BrianRWagner/case-study-builder

Case Study Builder

Everyone wants social proof. Nobody makes time to create it. You finish a project, the client's happy, you move on — and six months later you're in a sales call with nothing to show.

This skill fixes that. Give me the raw details. I'll produce three formats you can use immediately.

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Mode

Detect from context or ask: "Quick writeup, full case study, or full asset package?"

| Mode | What you get | Best for | |------|-------------|----------| | quick | 1 format: paragraph summary for proposals | Fast social proof, proposal inserts | | standard | 3 formats: proposal blurb, social proof pull-quote, sales story | Active pitching, LinkedIn, website | | deep | 3 formats + blog-ready case study + FAQ variant + campaign assets | Content marketing, SEO, sales enablement |

Default: standard — use quick if they say "just need something fast." Use deep if they want to turn the win into a marketing asset.

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Context Loading Gates

Before generating anything, collect all 8 fields:

| Field | What to Collect | |---|---| | 1. Client | Industry, company size/stage, named or anonymized? | | 2. Before | What was broken or painful? Any numbers? | | 3. Actions | What did you specifically do? Scope, timeline, role | | 4. After | REQUIRED: at least one specific number | | 5. Timeline | How long to achieve the result? | | 6. Quote | Direct client quote if available | | 7. Naming | Can we name the client, or must we anonymize? | | 8. Use case | Where will this be used? (proposals / website / LinkedIn) |

Outcome Extraction Protocol — enforced on Field 4:

If the user says "results were good" or "things improved," stop and ask:

"I need at least one number to make this credible. Pick one:

• Revenue change (e.g., 'closed 3 new clients worth $15K')
• Time saved (e.g., 'cut from 10 hours to 2 hours/week')
• Lead volume (e.g., 'went from 0 to 5 inbound leads/month')
• Rough estimate is fine — it doesn't have to be exact."

Do not draft until Field 4 has at least one number.

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Phase 1: Situation Analysis

Before drafting, reason through:

1. Result strength: Is the outcome a Tier 1 (hard metric), Tier 2 (soft metric), or Tier 3 (proxy)? This determines how confident the language should be.
2. Hero check: Is the story told from the client's perspective, or yours? Client = hero, you = guide.
3. Tension check: What made this hard? Without a challenge, there's no story — just a list.
4. Format match: Which use case did they specify? That determines which format to optimize.

Tier system for results language:

| Tier | Type | Example | Language | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Hard metric | "Revenue +40%" | State directly | | 2 | Soft metric | "Team finally aligned" | "For the first time in years..." | | 3 | Proxy metric | "Enabled Series A close" | "Contributed to..." | | 4 | Directional | "Noticeable improvement" | "Significant improvement in..." |

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Phase 2: The Hero Principle

The client is the hero. You are the guide.

Before writing, flip the framing:

❌ Wrong: "I built a content system that generated leads." ✅ Right: "Sarah went from scrambling to fill her pipeline to getting 3 inbound inquiries per week — all from a content system we built in 6 weeks."

Every format should be written from what the CLIENT experienced, not what YOU delivered.

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Phase 3: Generate Three Formats

Format 1: Two-Liner (Proposals & Bios)

Formula: [What was done] + [scale/scope] + [for who] + [result or timeframe]

[Strong action verb] [what was delivered] for [specific client descriptor].
[Outcome metric] in [timeframe].

Example:

Built a full content system for a Series B SaaS founder with no marketing team. 0 to 3 inbound leads/week in 6 weeks.

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Format 2: Story Version (LinkedIn & Sales Calls)

Structure — 4 paragraphs, 150–250 words:

**Set the scene:** [Their situation when you arrived — 2-3 sentences with stakes]

**Show the complexity:** [What made this hard — 2-3 sentences]

**What happened:** [Specific actions taken — no feature lists, just moves]

**What changed:** [Outcome — the number + the transformation]

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Format 3: Full Case Study (Website & Portfolio)

# Case Study: [Client Name or Descriptor]

## The Challenge
[2-3 paragraphs: situation, stakes, what wasn't working]

## The Approach
[Phases or steps — what happened and in what order]

## The Results
[Metrics, before/after comparison, named outcomes]

## Key Details
- Client: [Named or "A [descriptor] company"]
- Industry: [Sector]
- Timeline: [Duration]
- Scope: [What was delivered]

## What Made This Different
[Unique angle, unexpected obstacle, or pivotal insight]

## Client Quote
> "[Testimonial — or placeholder if not yet collected]"
> — [Name], [Title]

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Phase 4: Self-Critique Pass (REQUIRED)

After generating all three formats, evaluate:

Two-liner:

• [ ] Does it have a specific number? (Not "improved results" — a real metric)
• [ ] Is it 2 sentences or fewer?
• [ ] Would someone scanning a proposal stop and read it?

Story version:

• [ ] Is the client the hero (not the author)?
• [ ] Is there genuine tension — something that made this hard?
• [ ] Does the closing paragraph include the key metric?

Full case study:

• [ ] Does the Results section lead with numbers?
• [ ] Is the Challenge section specific enough that a similar prospect recognizes their situation?
• [ ] Is the client quote (or placeholder) present?

Flag any failure: "The story version has no tension — add one obstacle or unexpected challenge before the 'What happened' paragraph."

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Phase 5: Distribution Plan

| Format | Best locations | When to use | |---|---|---| | Two-liner | Proposals, email bios, LinkedIn About section | Any sales context | | Story | LinkedIn post, podcast intros, sales call opener | Weekly content | | Full case study | Website portfolio page, PDF download, RFP response | Late-stage buyer research |

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Output Structure

## Case Study: [Client Descriptor] — [Date]

### Situation Summary
[2-sentence analysis from Phase 1]
Result tier: [1/2/3/4]

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### Format 1: Two-Liner
[Final copy]

### Format 2: Story Version
[Final copy]

### Format 3: Full Case Study
[Full markdown]

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### Self-Critique Notes
- Two-liner: [pass/issue]
- Story: [pass/issue]
- Full: [pass/issue]

### Distribution Plan
[Where to use each]

### Next Step
[If no quote collected → run testimonial-collector]
[If strong story → suggest LinkedIn post from story format]

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Cross-reference: If a client quote was captured here, run testimonial-collector to properly format and score it for your testimonial library.

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Skill by Brian Wagner | AI Marketing Architect | brianrwagner.com