Finding the sweet spot: Over-delivering for clients
As a freelance writer, you want your clients to know you as someone who goes above and beyond for them on every project.
But how do you do that in a way that’s sustainable for you and your business?
In this episode, we talk about some simple ways to over-deliver for your clients to foster the kind of consistency and reliability that will make them come back again and again. This episode is for freelance writers who want to know how they can go above and beyond for their clients without overextending themselves.
Focus on the basics
Over-delivering doesn’t have to be complicated.
To impress your clients, focus on the basics. The truth is, most people don’t even do those right, so if you make a practice out of completing the basics thoroughly and to the best of your ability, you’ll be off to a great start.
Hold up your end of the bargain: do what you agreed to do. It sounds obvious, we know. But so many people miss the mark despite this being the most straightforward way to impress a client.
“When we talk about over-delivering, it’s less about providing all kinds of extras and more about doing the things you said you would do.”
Be proactive about communication. This means maintaining consistent communication regarding project status as well as explaining your work without being asked. Rather than just sending the client a link to the piece when it’s complete, include a note to give context and insight into the creative choices you made while writing it. This doesn’t require much extra effort and it helps make the client feel cared for and understood.
Pad your deadline so you can deliver right on time (or even slightly early.) You want to over-deliver, but you don’t want to over-extend yourself by setting an unrealistic deadline. To avoid that you need to set realistic deadlines, which means you have to have a thorough understanding of your workflow and how long it will take you to execute a project.
Pay attention to the format of the client’s content and match it. Talk about easy ways to be on top of it, this might take the cake. Making sure all the headers are title case and the quotes are centered so they match the client’s other blog posts might seem minor, but it’s two fewer things the client has to tinker with before posting the piece. Not only will it save them time, but it will also show them you went the extra mile to ensure they would be happy with your work.
“From the client’s perspective, they're not necessarily looking for you to over-deliver. They’re thinking: how easy is this person to work with and do I get a result that is more than satisfactory.”
All of this to say, over-delivering doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs to be intentional, thoughtful, and honest. Ensuring all of your work meets these basic standards is the first step in going above and beyond for your clients. And it's not easy. Delivering consistently across the board and showing up as your best self for all your clients requires a huge amount of organizational and time management skills.
“So much about over-delivering is really just delivering.”
All about the extras: beyond the basics
If you’ve got the basics down, should you add in extras to make the client’s experience of your work even better? The answer is: maybe! It all depends on what extras would be relevant to the client and if you feel those extras fit into the scope of the work you’re doing for them.
“You want to make the client feel like you are a professional who has their back.”
Being in tune with what the client needs is important. The best (and most accurate) way to figure out what extras a client might be interested in is to ask them. What can I add to this service to make your life easier?
Their answer might be anything from SEO meta tags to social copy to images to specific formatting to plugging their content into WordPress. And once you know what they want, add it to their writing brief so you can deliver the same extras for any future work you do for them without having additional conversations about it.
Many freelance writers work with clients on an ongoing basis, and if that's the case for you, think about how you can take advantage of the opportunity to be valuable to them, like suggesting pieces that you know fit with the kind of content they’re interested in publishing. Be a partner rather than an order-taker.
The goal should always be to deliver the best possible customer service to your client without overdoing it. Find that sweet spot.
