Professional Ethics: Promise Less, Deliver More

“Under Promise and Over Deliver” is not an unfamiliar concept to many. However, in the creative scene, there is every tendency to do the reverse. You are more likely to put your best foot forward—to outperform other competitors—when trying to get the job, gig, or contract, and unintentionally rest on your laurels once the role has been secured. However, the ability to overdeliver on your promises is a discipline to be mastered.

Underpromising and overdelivering is not just about the quality of your work, even though that matters, it is also about the expectations you set from the onset. When you deliver exactly on what you have promised, you have only just kept to your word—and that is not a bad thing. However, when you deliver beyond the expectation you set, you tend to create a moment that leaves a good impression on your client.

Before we go on, this is not to mean that you get crafty and go on to set really low expectations so that it appears like you always overdeliver to your clients. That is largely deceptive. You can set conservative but realistic (not subpar) expectations instead, and work to overdeliver on the expectations.

Sometimes, overdelivering can look like sending deliverables to your client two or three days before the timeline you set. Or, it can look like adding an extra valuable piece to what you initially agreed on, at no extra cost (eg, giving your client an extra photo or a short BTS clip from their photosession with you). It could also mean you are so in tune with your client and their needs and thoughts that less revision is required. That is overdelivery.

Underpromising and overdelivering is beyond adding extra value during the term of your interaction with a client; it is a trait that pays you in the long run, too. When you consistently overdeliver on your promises, your clients (especially recurring clients) begin to trust you and readily associate you with “reliable”. This makes it easy for them to refer you for other jobs and vouch for your ability to deliver excellently.

Yes, there might be times when clients begin to feel entitled to the extra perks that come with working with you, or when they don’t even value the extra effort you put into overdelivering. But here is something you should remember:

Building your creative muscle and workflow to underpromise and overdeliver is a service to yourself and the growth of your personal or creative brand in the long run. It helps you build a standard of work and reputation that ages well—one that is hard to miss.

So, build a creative process around promising less and delivering more.