“Underpromise and overdeliver” is bad advice because it has you delivering first-class service at economy prices without ever giving your clients the choice to pay for it. Instead of lowering your standards, charge for what you actually deliver and let clients choose the level of service they want. Stopping overdelivering can create capacity on your very next proposal, and it’s the same move that helps you prevent scope creep.
What do you think would happen in your business if you didn’t increase your prices at all and you just stopped overdelivering? How much more time do you think you would have? How much more capacity? How much more margin? How much more freedom, flexibility and joy?
If you’re anything like me, you left corporate because you wanted more freedom, flexibility and financial independence, yet you find yourself working harder than you ever did and feeling more trapped than you ever did at your corporate job.
Why do experienced service providers overdeliver?
Here’s what I see all the time with experienced service providers, professionals and fractional execs: they are providing first-class, private-jet-level service at economy prices, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it.
To them, it feels like just what you’re supposed to do. It’s how we were trained in our corporate jobs: go above and beyond, be a team player, grind it out, get it done, make sure it happens no matter what so we can climb the corporate ladder and be seen as indispensable.
It feels like being professional, being responsive, preserving your reputation and making sure you’re thorough and going the extra mile, because that’s who you are. That is the standard you hold yourself to. And I don’t want you to lower your standards. I really don’t.
What does overdelivering cost you?
When you are delivering private-jet levels of service at economy prices, you’re leaving money on the table, and you’re actively creating a capacity problem for yourself that no amount of AI speeding things up, better systems or more clients is going to fix.
Your biggest opportunity for creating more revenue in your business is to stop overdelivering.
Why is “underpromise and overdeliver” bad advice?
Here’s the hard part, the part you’re not going to want to hear: your clients don’t know they should be paying more for that level of service. You never gave them the choice.
You just said, “Here’s what I’m delivering.” Because you were conditioned to operate this way to be successful in corporate, you operate this way in your business, and you underpromise and overdeliver. I think that is the absolute worst advice anybody gives us as freelancers and business owners.
Instead, I think we should allow our clients to choose how they would like us to deliver, based on options we’ve come up with that work for us and are profitable and sustainable for us. If you want me to deliver at 120%, I am more than happy to do so, and that comes with a 120% price tag, because we only have so much time in the day.
How can you create more capacity without hiring or productizing?
People tell you the way to scale is by adding team or productizing your services. But what if you just didn’t undercharge for the level of service you’re providing? That could create more capacity for you instantly, on your very next proposal or on your next contract with a current retainer client.
I don’t want you to deliver less, and I don’t want you to lower your standards. I want you to charge for what you’re actually delivering, and I want you to give your clients a choice.
Maybe they don’t need you to deliver at 120%. Have you ever considered that they would be okay with 100%, or maybe even 80%? I know that sounds crazy for all you A+ students out there, but your type-A overdelivering might be moving faster than your clients have the capacity to move, and your 80% might be their 100%. They would be perfectly happy with that.
How do you find where you’re overdelivering?
Your action step is to make a list of everything you do for your clients that isn’t explicitly in your contract:
- Every quick question you answer
- Every email you respond to instantly
- Every extra round of revisions
- Every time you jump on a call that wasn’t scheduled
- Every time they have you present your proposal over and over again to all the different stakeholders
This is your first-class service list. There are so many things I didn’t even mention here that you just do because your standards are high, and right now you’re giving them away at economy prices. I don’t want you to do that anymore. I want you to give your clients a choice on whether or not they value it. Some do, some don’t, and that’s okay.
Your next step
Want to charge more for what you're already doing, without working harder, changing your business model or finding all new clients? Sign up for the free Advanced Pricing Strategy Masterclass.
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Learn more and request a zero-pressure info call with me here to explore whether Anchor High™ Certification is right for you.
