‘Underpromise and overdeliver’ does not work…with the following types of clients

The reward for underpromising and over-delivering is a long-term engagement, a pay increase, promotion, etc.

But how often have you found yourself slaving away to impress a client, and they just don’t see it? Are your fingers enough to count the times you considered firing a client because they undervalue your work?

You can underpromise and overdeliver all you like, it means nothing if you’re working for the following types of clients:

Clients who “have unlimited work on ground.”

For them, it’s always about the volume of the work. Not the value. If you spend hours interviewing SMEs, finding a unique narrative angle, etc., it's just another article in their boilerplate library.

Don’t expect a pay increase or special compensation– just more work.

Clients that say, “It’ll only take 20 minutes.”

They refuse to pay your rate because they expect you to “throw something together.” For them, “it’s a simple edit”; “not that hard.” Whether you over-deliver or not, they will never appreciate your efforts.

When you ask to pay for the simple edit, they might say you’re not “passionate about the project.” You’ll find them mostly in the Blockchain and Crypto world.

Clients who think you’re the shit but never use your recommendations

“Maleek, you’re a genius,” he told me. This client published a website with an entirely different copy three days later.

Turns out they are one of those founders that have a cousin who works with David Ogilvy. If you overdeliver for them, they most likely won’t use your work.

Clients who can’t describe exactly what they want

“I’ll know it when I see it.”

Oh boy! They never know it. Even if you do a hundred versions, they just don’t see it. If you ask them to describe what they want, they say, “you’re the expert; that’s why we hired you.”

Then you ask for the full balance, and they dance around the question or hit you with, “I wasn’t really impressed with the work.” Over-delivering means nothing to them.

Clients who always need it “yesterday.”

These ones have no respect for time. And they always need it yesterday because they probably suck at time management too.

There are exceptions here, but when you notice a pattern of “needing it yesterday,” it’s most likely a habit. They are often pushing boundaries, calling or texting at odd hours.

You can’t even overdeliver for them because all you do is work against the clock.

Clients who want to revolutionize and supercharge the industry innovatively

If you write for Blockchain founders, you’ll know these ones. They can never explain clearly what the product does or their mission statement. All you hear are buzzwords like “we’re an innovative solution.”

When you over-deliver, they appreciate it, but guess what, they pick out several areas and say, “That’s not really what we’re doing.” Three weeks into the contract, you still don’t know what they are doing.

Clients who micromanage you.

There are two types of them: the anonymous coyote and the pike.

• The anonymous Coyote is always there, watching each stroke on your keyboard and dropping recommendations right there in the doc.

• The Pike swims around invisible in the reeds.

They are never there. You won’t find them when you need vital/urgent feedback. They skip meetings because they were in the gym or another meeting.

One day, after sending your invoice, they’ll send loads of comments on your article; you’ll open Google Docs and find them moving things around.

If you find a these personalities in one person, I’ll be praying for you 😂