When you started your business they told you, “Always under-promise and over-deliver.”

And you tried, you really did. You went overtime. You offered discounts. You responded to your clients instantaneously. You poured your heart and soul into your work.

And then you were left wondering where your whole life went…

Suddenly, you began resenting the work you loved. And you couldn’t continue this way any longer.

Somewhere along the journey you realized that the message is flawed. “Under-promise and over-deliver” just didn’t work for you.

So what now?

I say that you should continue to under-promise and over-deliver. But not with your time or money. Over-deliver with VALUE.

The sad truth is that when you go overtime, you are in essence undervaluing the service that your client paid for. Here’s why:

When a client books an hour session and pays $100, and then you go overtime by a half hour, you just told them that your work is only valued at about $65 per hour. Here your client was seeking a service provider who was in the caliber of a $100 per hour value. They could have gone to your cheap competitor. The fact that they chose you, at your rate, means that they believe in the quality that you provide and want to pay you for it.

Don’t water down your value, by showing that you are worth so much less per hour.

When you offer a “buy one, get one free” you are actually slashing the value of each item by half. And that doesn’t feel good for a discriminating shopper. When they see that you could afford to give it away so cheap, it becomes evident to the client that the value of the product is in actuality worth much less than they had thought.

When you don’t give in excess, it allows the receiver to appreciate the value of your product or service. For example, although cheap popcorn can be addictive, you still assign higher value to the small packs of artisan caramel popcorn that you pay 10 dollars for. If they would come in giant packages, they would not be perceived to be as valuable.

Learning to be okay with doing less, is also the key to long term sustainability.

Not less quality, but less time and energy. When you minimize the time and energy you expend with each client, your effectiveness greatly increases.

So yes, “Under-promise and over-deliver.” But over-deliver with VALUE.

Value is making sure that your client understands the quality of what they paid for. Value is demonstrating that you are exceptional at your craft.

Value is showing that your product or service special.

Consider this today:

How can you begin doing LESS in order to deliver MORE value to your clients?