You likely have case studies and testimonials all over your website and if you don’t you, you really should, but case studies are for later in the sales cycle. You also need content that will appeal to your target market and will give you an opportunity to start a relationship with them so they can progress to the point of needing the reassurance of the case study.
Hidden within your case studies are a plethora of how-tos. So, why are how-tos important? They give you an opportunity to provide value to those that might become customers, by providing them the expertise they need to do what you do themselves. I know that sounds crazy to some folks, but I believe firmly, that the value of giving away some of your methodologies is actually the best thing you can do to increase your leads. Those that are do-it-yourselfers will likely never use your product or service, but those that read your how-tos and want help doing the work, will become your clients, because providing a how-to establishes your expertise.
That’s great, but who has time to go create all new content to post on your website or include in an autoresponder email? You do, because you already have the basic content in place if you’ve written case studies. Within every case study are a series of lessons for how to solve problems in your industry. All you have to do is expand upon the lessons contained in your study. Go through and read each of your case studies and think about the tactics or techniques that were involved to have that success. If you are a technology product company, then think about the steps your successes took to get where they wanted to be. What steps did they take? How many lessons did they learn? If you are a services provider, then the lessons are from your own techniques and tactics. Think about all the steps you took to create that customer success and then document them in a simple guided fashion. Now you have how-tos, which will provide your prospects with great value in the context of the lessons and will prove your expertise to those that need your product and/or services.
