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From Event Giveaway to Book Milestone: How Three Organizations Around Hermann Scherer Use Virtualbadge.io
Hermann Scherer is one of thebest-known speakers and business coaches in the German-speaking world. Out ofthe environment and thinking around him, two independent offerings have grownalongside his own programs: Expertenportal, a booking platform for experts, andthe publishing house GOLD Verlag. In 2026, two new programs started: the GOLDprogram in January and the Top 111 awards at Expertenportal in June. For theadministration team, this raised a clear question: how could they handle thenew issuance demand across three organizations without adding manual work?
Virtualbadge.io, expanded in March2026 with the Organization Hub. Today, three organizations issue certificatesand badges under one roof, through list imports and, for Expertenportal, anautomated Zapier workflow.
1,257 credentials reached 1,011people in year one. 70.3% were claimed, and 31.9% of recipients who claimedtheir credential went on to share it.
• 1,257 credentials issued
• 70.3% claim rate
• 31.9% share rate (based on claimed credentials)
• 46.0% share rate at Expertenportal
• 264 credentials added to LinkedIn profiles
Hermann Scherer is one of thebest-known names in the German-speaking coaching and speaker scene. As abestselling author of books such as “Glückskinder” and “Jenseits vom Mittelmaß”and a keynote speaker with thousands of talks behind him, he has spent yearshelping speakers, trainers, and coaches build their own expert brands.Handelsblatt called him “one of the most distinguished coaches and businessconsultants in Germany.”
From that work, a question keptcoming up: how can experts become visible beyond Hermann Scherer’s own personalbrand? Two independent offerings grew out of it, each with its own leadership. Today,three organizations work side by side:
Digital credentials came into playwith a clear deadline. The contract with Virtualbadge.io was signed inSeptember 2025, and Lisa Konrad, who is part of the management at HermannScherer and responsible for sending certificates and badges, explains that theyset everything up “so that we were properly prepared for the launch of the GOLDprogram in January.” The first credentials went out on October 22, 2025.
As Expertenportal and GOLD Verlagjoined, the Organization Hub brought all three into one account in March 2026.Eleven active templates are in use today, and Lisa’s verdict on the setup issimple: “I think we’re doing quite well with the three organizations.”
Sharing one platform doesn’t meanthe three organizations use it the same way. Each issues credentials for adifferent reason, and Lisa draws the line clearly: “What we sell atExpertenportal really is the award itself. At events, it’s simply a nicegiveaway from us.”
The GOLD Verlag badge is the mostpersonal of the three. It doesn’t mark the end of a course but a moment manyauthors have worked toward for years. As Lisa puts it: “It could be the firstmilestone of a book publication, something you share right away.”
Different purposes, but theday-to-day work behind them stays lean. Lisa sends most credentials herself: “Imainly take care of sending certificates or badges after events. That means Iimport a participant list. Child’s play.”
When something needs fixingafterwards, the effort is just as small. Whether an email never arrived, afirst name is misspelled, or a doctoral title is missing: “That’s superrelaxed. I just go in, everything is already preselected, and I can choose rightaway to resend the email or the certificate.”
At Expertenportal, the team went onestep further and removed the manual part entirely: “Here we actually built anautomation for sending the badges.” 161 credentials were issuedautomatically via Zapier, with no manual step.
A lean workflow only pays off ifrecipients actually pick up their credentials. Between October 22, 2025, andSeptember 22, 2026, the three organizations issued 1,257 credentials to 1,011people. Lisa’s first reaction to the numbers: “I’m very, very positivelysurprised. First of all, the claim rate surprises me a lot.”
The surprise has a reason. “We oftenfind that we deliver a lot of benefits, and they somehow get lost with thecustomer,” she explains. Many credentials arrive as a separate email fromVirtualbadge.io rather than through the organizations’ usual email system. Evenso, 70.3% were claimed. Across all three organizations, 99.0% of emails weredelivered, 1,093 of 1,104.
Many recipients then went a stepfurther. Of those who claimed their credential, 31.9% shared it or added it toat least one platform. At Expertenportal the share rate reached 46.0%, soalmost every second Top 111 winner takes the award public. GOLD Verlag followsat 41.5%, Hermann Scherer at 28.0%.
Where recipients share:
• 264 additions to LinkedIn profiles,permanently listed rather than a single feed post
• 61 shares on Facebook
• 25 LinkedIn posts
• 19 shares on WhatsApp and 18 onInstagram, most of them from Expertenportal
• 4 shares on X
The WhatsApp and Instagram figuressuggest that Top 111 winners also share their award with friends and family.“The participants are very, very happy,” Lisa says. “Many share it, many useit.”
Lisa’s summary after year one:“Everything works very well for us.” The setup is built to grow with them: newformats can be added under any of the three organizations without opening aseparate account.
Whether you send certificates afterevents, sell awards, or celebrate milestones like a first publication,Virtualbadge.io lets you run it all from one place, with several organizationsunder one account if needed. Recipients claim their credentials withoutcreating an account and add them to LinkedIn in one click.
Want to see how thiscould work for your programs? Book your free demo.
