Deliver More Than You Promise

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog! If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

This week’s “Spark an Idea” theme is about creating a “wow!” experience. I love this topic because I believe it’s the foundation of a successful freelance business. And it’s fairly simple: to impress your clients and create a “wow!” experience, you have to deliver more than you promised to deliver.

This may seem unfair at first glance. Why should you have to provide more than the services the client paid for? Well…you don’t have to. You could just deliver exactly what you promised to deliver, and that’s totally fine. But don’t expect the client to be overly impressed.

The fact is that clients expect you to do what you said you would do.

That’s why they’re paying you. Think about it: if someone agrees to pay you $1200 for a project, and then pays you $1200, are you amazed? No – you’re glad they came through, you’re relieved they did what they said they would do, but you’re not thinking, “holy crap! this is the absolute best client ever!”

The same concept applies to your services. Do what you’re supposed to do and the client will be satisfied. Do more than what you’re supposed to do and the client will be thrilled. You want your clients to be thrilled – every single time. When they believe they’ve gotten more than they paid for, they will tell their friends. They will give you awesome testimonials for your marketing materials. These are priceless.

Remember: every project is a marketing opportunity.

Instead of viewing extra work as “unpaid labor,” think of it as an investment in your business. The time you spend on the client’s basic project is for the client’s benefit; the time you spend going above and beyond is actually for your benefit since it will ultimately grow your business.

If you commit to creating a “wow” experience for every client on every project, you will grow your client base. You will be able to charge more for your services. And you will eventually be able to turn down projects that don’t appeal to you. Isn’t that worth the extra effort?