Case studies are an excellent way to prove that your business produces good results for its clients and that you are an authority in your industry. They can be an especially effective way for a coach to share information on their processes and proven results, especially for clients who may be new to the coaching process and unsure of its ultimate purpose or value.
However, to maximize the effectiveness of a case study for sharing with potential coaching clients, you need to be strategic in choosing which success stories you’ll highlight. So which cases are likely to prove the most persuasive? Here, eight members of Forbes Coaches Council share the focus and results of cases from their own careers that they would choose to feature in case studies.
Members of Forbes Coaches Council share the case studies they would highlight to show results.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. A Client Who Saw An Increase In Income Over A Short Period
I’d highlight a client who more than doubled her income in eight months. The case would relate to three things: the struggles my ideal client is experiencing now, the potential roadblocks and/or hesitancy my ideal client might have about investing in working with me, and the optimal results my ideal client desires. I’d avoid sharing results that seem too far out of reach from where my ideal client is now. – Simone Craig, SLC Global LLC
2. A Client Who Is Open-Minded And Consistent
I focus on highlighting the clients who are the most open-minded and consistent. These are the clients who are executing the plans we have worked on and who actually do the work. They are the clients worth highlighting because they trust the process, invest in themselves and show the best results. – Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
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3. A Client Who Made Me Question All That I Know
I would highlight a case that made me think and question all that I know. These kinds of cases, although challenging, have the greatest lessons for me. They push me to sit down with people who hold contrary perspectives, challenge my existing mindset and question my knowledge and beliefs. They force me—the coach—to extend my self solution differently and effectively meet the client where they are. – Rittu Sinha, The Balanced Bandwagon
4. A Client Who Made Significant Incremental Strides
As a neuroscience coach, one of the outcomes of my coaching interventions is greater neuro-agility. A recent client of mine made significant strides over a 12-month period, increasing her neuro-agility through optimizing key brain drivers—specifically, her brain fitness and sleep. Her results, both professionally and personally, were outstanding. Incremental change delivers progress. – Arthi Rabikrisson, Prerna Advisory
5. A Client Who Saw Success Through Learning New Skills
We have a multitude of clients who were promoted to managerial positions but who lacked the necessary skills to be effective managers. As a result of our training, they’ve become coaches and more effective leaders of their teams. One example is a leader who went through our training program and, as a result of his new skills and tools, increased his team engagement and overall sales substantially. – Aaron Levy, Raise The Bar
6. A Client Who Gained Motivation And Perspective
The cases that have intrigued me have been those in which a client who was initially unresponsive, unmotivated and uninterested at the onset suddenly discovered newfound energy and zest for life when “something clicked” in their mind. In one case, it was a trigger brought about by a new perspective that the client had not considered, achieved by using visualization to unlock a sense of new possibilities. – Thomas Lim, Singapore Public Service, SportSG
7. A Client Who Made It Through A Major Transition
I wrote a case study on a functional lead moving from one role to leading a tremendous growth effort in another organization. This individual was extremely humble, worried about how they were perceived and focused at the project level. As they were walking into the new company and new role, we worked to build a team of top talent, set a strategy and build relationships. They had outrageous success. – Kimberly Janson, Janson Associates, LLC
8. A Client Who Inspired Me After A Career Change
One that comes to mind is a client who started in one direction in her career during our work but made progress and changed careers by the end of our coaching sessions. This inspired me. It let me know our work with her mattered, and it made a big difference to both her and her family—not just money-wise, but also because she reinvented herself to take on much more meaningful work. Finding and pursuing a mission like this matters. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
