Here’s the text of a workbook I wrote. It helps answer the questions: What’s your company done, and why should I trust you?

PREFACE: Why this workbook exists

Most professionals talk about what they believe. Fewer talk about what they can prove.

When a potential client asks, “Why should I choose you?”, they’re looking for evidence: real, specific, repeatable proof that you know what you’re doing and that the results you create aren’t random.

This workbook helps you gather that evidence. You’ll assemble a trail of facts, figures, and stories that prove your reliability, skill, and difference. Every number and every anecdote is a piece of your reputation made visible.

By answering these questions, you’ll build a library of proof points – your evidence of expertise. These ideas can go into your elevator speeches, marketing collateral, sales pitches, and so forth. Don’t feel pressured to complete every question. Some won’t apply to you. Fill out the ones that speak to you.

By the end, you’ll have something few companies ever take the time to create – a living record of credibility that reminds clients, and yourselves, why you’re worth trusting.

TIME AND SCALE

How long have you been doing this work?

What volume of work have you completed?

Across how many industries have you worked?

How many people have you served, directly or indirectly?

Where in the world have you worked?

REACH AND RELATIONSHIP

What recognizable names have trusted you?

What percentage of clients come back?

Which client has been with you the longest, and why?

On average, how long do client relationships last?

What measurable results have clients achieved because of you?

CREDIBILITY AND RECOGNITION

What certifications, licenses, or credentials verify your competence?

What awards or honors testify to quality?

What surveys or ratings confirm satisfaction?

Who endorses you—clients, associations, peers?

Where have your ideas appeared or been cited?

RESULTS AND IMPACT

How much money, time, or effort have you saved clients?

What processes or systems did you improve?

What problems consistently vanish after you’re involved?

What guarantees or promises back your work?

PEOPLE AND PRACTICE

What’s the average tenure of your team members?

What collective experience do they bring?

What training or education do you continually pursue?

What training do you give your clients so results stick?

What materials, technologies, or methods set you apart?

PARTNERSHIPS AND REPUTATION

What partnerships or alliances strengthen your credibility?

Where have your ideas appeared or been cited?

What recognitions, rankings, or listings reinforce your status?

Who outside your company speaks positively about you, and why?

Which client testimonials capture your difference in their own words?

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

What research or proprietary data supports your approach?

What unique decision-making framework do you apply?

What new technology or tool have you created or customized?

What do you do that competitors rarely attempt?

What principle or method have you refined over years of trial?

STORIES THAT REVEAL CHARACTER

What do clients say you always deliver, regardless of project type?

What story perfectly embodies your defining quality?

What story best captures a moment of recovery – when you made a mistake right?

What story shows loyalty or partnership beyond the contract?

What story reveals your human side—humor, empathy, humility?

VALUES AND BELIEFS

What belief guides you when no one’s watching?

What do you refuse to compromise, even when it costs you?

What personal experience shaped your approach to this work?

What do you believe about your field that few others do?

What legacy do you want clients to associate with your name?

BUILDING YOUR COMPANY SCRIPT

From your library of answers, you can create a short, memorable script your entire company can share, word for word, with pride. Pull the data, facts, and stories that feel most alive. Circle or highlight the ones that sound distinctly like you – not any company, but yours.

Combine them into a confident statement. Think in sentences, not bullet points. Aim for something that sounds true when spoken aloud. It works because it’s not marketing fluff. It’s truth spoken clearly.