case-study-builder

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---
name: case-study-builder
description: Turn client wins into formatted case studies for proposals, social proof, and sales conversations. Use when someone needs to document results, build credibility, or create reusable proof assets.
---

# 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.

---

## 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.

---

## 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.**

---

## 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..." |

---

## 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.

---

## 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 marketi