Most firms write case studies after the project ends.
That’s the mistake.
By then, the pain is gone. The urgency’s faded. And the details? They’re buried under two new projects and a dozen Slack threads.
It’s also very difficult to capture the full impact of the work your team did without the right systems in place to record the status quo.
So the case study becomes a recap. It’s safe, vague, and forgettable. If your sales teams use it (most of them won’t), it is just more noise for your prospect to ignore. If they send it to a partner or a client, it makes your firm look generic and unimpressive.
If you want a case study that actually moves deals, you need to start earlier. At kickoff. When the problem is still raw and the stakes are clear.
That’s where the real story lives.
Most Teams Write the Story Too Late (And It Shows)
Most teams begin building case studies after the project is done. They’re an afterthought, and it shows.
That’s the first mistake.
By the time the project ends, people have started to forget what life was like before your firm showed up. The urgency fades. The outcome starts to feel smaller. And the win doesn’t hit as hard when your team’s already halfway through the next project.
You only get one shot at the raw, unfiltered story: right at the start—when the pain’s fresh, the blockers are visible, and the baseline is obvious.
Our memories suck. Nostalgia scrubs out the hard parts. The details fall through the cracks. People leave. Steps merge. So you fill in the gaps with a polished version that never really happened. “Everything went smoothly” replaces the real story.
But that’s not what actually happened.
Instead, your case study begins at the first project call.
At Lead Comet, we treat each new project like a potential case study. (It’s literally in our MSA and covered on our kickoff call). We want to do the kind of work that we can point to proudly and say, “This is the kind of impact our firm makes with other businesses.
That’s where it starts.
Because, as a service firm, you should be trying to do work that you can proudly share. And if you’re not, you won’t be in business for long.
You Can’t Prove Impact Without a Baseline
Most businesses don’t collect baseline data, so they can’t prove the impact.
They run a discovery. They start the work. Then months go by…and no one can say what actually changed.
And now they’re guessing: at your value, your impact, and whether you were worth it.
Look. Your champion may think you’re ah-fucking-mazing. They know you and your team. And they can vouch for you. And all that means absolutely nothing to procurement when they’re looking to cut costs—comparing you to 3 similar (but much cheaper) firms.
If you didn’t capture what the work looked like before for your client, you can’t prove what changed. If you can’t prove what changed, you can’t justify your cost. And if you can’t justify your cost, procurement cuts you loose.
That’s just referrals.
Let’s talk about new business and partner referrals.
If you can’t communicate business impact, you’re selling on hope. Hope that your value outweighs your price. That’s not a position you want to sell from.
In fact, most buying committees aren’t hoping you’re a good fit. They’re likely shopping you against 2 – 3 alternatives and are looking for reasons to disqualify you.
Baseline data isn’t admin work.
It’s how you prove you made a difference.
No Baseline Data? You’re Staff Aug (At Best)
There’s nothing wrong with staff aug. Plenty of firms make bank renting out seats.
But these firms know they’re staff aug. They’re not selling themselves as “strategic partners” while billing by the hour and fading into the org chart.
Their case studies talk about being responsive. Easy to work with. Good at collaboration. They’re not running high-cost strategic services with the need to justify the cost.
That’s fine if you want to be liked.
But being liked isn’t the same as proving value.
And when the stakes are high, good vibes don’t close deals.
Proof does.
The Best Stories Start Before the Work Begins
You don’t need to draft a premortem for the project. And you don’t need complex systems for note-taking. And you don’t need to hound your team with endless requests.
But you do need three changes in your workflow to create case studies that show business impact.
1. Collect Baseline Data During Discovery
This should start with the delivery team, but varies depending on the org. When your team runs its discovery, they should collect baseline data.
They should conduct a current state assessment that covers workflows, delays, broken processes, and other areas work may positively impact.
You want metrics that can be tracked. For example, if a legacy CRM took 43 clicks to complete a task and the new one takes 7, that’s a metric.
2. Store Project Notes in One System
Whether your business has weekly standups, runs sprints, or manages projects ad hoc, they need to store client notes in one place. Teams should have time to log the story as it happens: bottlenecks, frustrations, and wins.
Most teams track this informally. Almost none of them centralize it.
While you can review these notes to create the case study, they’re more for your project lead to review before their interview. This prepares them for the conversation and ensures they share the most accurate details during the call.
It’s not a marketing problem or a sales problem, either. It usually falls to the delivery team, but you need someone to take ownership of it.
3. Create the Case Study 2- 4 Weeks After the Project Ends
Marketing and sales own this. As soon as a project wraps up, you need to interview the project manager for the case study.
Any time longer, the project will cool down. Your champion’s quote will be watered down, your project leader’s memories will fade, and other projects will start.
You have 2-4 weeks.
Yes, you can wait. But every week, the story loses detail, momentum, and urgency. We’ve created case studies for clients as long as a year after the project. But the outputs were never as impressive as they would have been at the end of a project.
There’s a second risk no one talks about: what if the project lead leaves? When they walk out the door, the case study goes with them.
Don’t wait.
Knock this out in 2 – 4 weeks.
How to Set Up Systems That Capture Better Stories
Your case studies are the most important sales asset you have. You should be willing to bet your next deal on your last case study.
That’s how powerful they are.
They don’t just say you’re credible.
They prove you:
- Did the work
- Navigated challenges
- Made a real impact
Right now, you’re probably thinking, “Delivery won’t listen to me.” And you’re right. They won’t. But they will listen to leadership.
As a marketer or sales leader, your job is to sell this change internally. No one’s going to do it for you. With top-down buy-in, you can get the data you need to tell better customer stories.
But before you kick down the CEO’s door, go to the head of delivery and ask, “How are we collecting baseline metrics so we can prove business impact?”
They’ll either say, “Oh yeah, we do it this way,” or, “That’s not something we do.”
That’s your opening.
Now you’ve got the wedge to push change.
The best way to do that is to build out your next case study as is. When the project wraps, interview your project lead within 2 – 4 weeks. Ask them, “What baseline data do we have to prove impact?” Odds are they’ll say, “I’m not sure. Let me take a look and get back to you.”
Spoiler: they’ll never get back to you.
Build the case study anyway. Get approval. And publish it.
Then show them how much sharper the story could’ve been with real data and business impact.
Once they see the gap, it clicks. Next time, they’ll fight to prove impact because now they know what they’re missing.