Periodically, I like to pull an older post from back in the archives and share it again on the blog. Today I am re-posting an article from March 2012, nine months before relaunching Entrepreneur Architect as my 12/12/12 Project.
Under-promise. Over-deliver.
We’ve all heard this old adage, but how many of us follow its simple lesson?
We recently recommended one of our consultants to a client. We’ve been very happy with this consultant’s performance and were confident they would perform well. As expected, they jumped right on the project and completed the first task lickety-split. Our client was happy and we were looking good.
To wrap things up, the consultant said they would prepare a report to document their findings. The client needed the report to move to the next phase and the consultant lead the client (and us) to believe that they would deliver the report promptly.
Almost three weeks later… still no report. Our client was NOT happy. I called to follow up. The consultant was on vacation the week prior and they promised to have the report delivered by day’s end. Great! I called the client and assured him that the report would be waiting in his inbox shortly. Crisis averted, I thought.
The next morning… still no report. The client called the consultant (now angry) to demand that the report be delivered as promised. He had funds tied up and required the consultant’s document to have them released. Again, the consultant promised to deliver the goods by the end of business day.
Day three; no report and again, a promise… and a fuming client.
The report was finally delivered via email on the morning on the fourth day. The client claimed his funds and everything was back on track, but unfortunately the client will look elsewhere for that consultant’s services in the future.
With all good intention (I know they were sincere with every promise), the consultant over-promised and under-delivered.
What if the consultant promised that the report would be delivered by week’s end? It’s difficult to say no when a client wants something right away. We always want to say yes. In the end, the most important thing is to, at least, do what you say you are going to do. The client would have been disappointed, but knowing that the consultant was on vacation the week before, he would have understood the situation. From the client’s perspective, the report would have been delivered soon enough. Then… when the client received the report a day SOONER than EXPECTED, he would have been thrilled.
The same report, delivered the same day. One approach results in an disgruntled client. The other… total satisfaction.
Managing the client’s expectation; there are few more important tasks we perform as service providers. It’s the difference between a good referral and an unhappy client.
Do you under-promise and over-deliver? It’s harder than it sounds.
Let’s talk… Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Photo Credit: andresr / 123RF Stock Photo
We constantly try to temper expectations as customers assert that…” hey- it only them 2 weeks to complete the whole thing” provided by the insights from HGTV…real-life references seems to be our best ally…What’s your strategy?
I think it boils down to developing a habit of NOT telling people what they want to hear, but being ‘present in the moment’ enough to tell the truth – then try to beat it. It doesn’t take any character to say what you know will make someone happy. It takes guts to be honest.
Rick Wolnitzek
Rick, You are I think you hit the nail on the head. I have been guilty in the past of over promising. Some clients that are forceful and in a rush for things are typically the ones that are going to be very unhappy if it is not delivered. The are also the ones that are the hardest to say no to, but this is where honesty truly counts.
David
This is a simple but good adage. What the consultant didn’t consider (I’m assuming) that once the report was finally delivered, it had better been thorough and well written. It’s not uncommon to deliver something late and have the quality be poor as well due to a rush or other circumstances. It all comes down to be truthful at any risk. We need to practice these phrases “I can’t”, “no”, “let me get back to you”, “I’ll need to confirm that” or insert your own. Great article Mark.
Thanks Lee. Excellent advice. Those phrases could be life changing to those not practicing their proper application.
Once the client realised you stand by your word, they might also be ok with waiting a little longer for the deliverables. Many clients build a buffer period into their schedules because they expect the consultants to deliver late. We do this in ihr own office with subconsultants too.