Have you ever heard of the business principle that it’s better to underpromise and overdeliver?

Usually, that phrase is spoken in order to C.Y.A. (Cover Your Ass) to manage clients from having exorbitant expectations.

However, in heart–conscious entrepreneurship, overdelivering actually has a more evolved meaning, BUT it tends to get a bad rap from its cousin ‘overgiving’. As heart–centered entrepreneurs, we’ve already got a problem of giving away too much — too much content, time, energy, attention and leeway.

But what if, as a business owner, you want to provide excellent customer service and you genuinely want to go above and beyond what’s called for so that you wow your client’s socks off?

Today I want to explain the difference between overgiving (unhealthy) vs. overdelivering (healthy).

Generally, we overgive — as in, we sacrifice time, effort and energy — with the expectation that we’ll receive something in return. Things that we expect to get back are love, security, esteem, attention and adoration.

Overgiving is unhealthy because it is predicated on getting something back. There’s a hidden agenda behind it, and it’s not something that you can necessarily get nor control. (Makes you wonder if overgiving = getting?)

Overdelivering, however, is the conscious decision to go above and beyond what’s expected with the intention of overwhelming your clients with satisfaction. When you give, you’re giving them more results, not a piece of your soul. And because it’s conscious and without agenda, overdelivering is actually the true form of giving because you’re not expecting anything in return, but simply to just do excellent work.

Overdelivering is a healthy, necessary customer service and hospitality mindset that inspires providers to a level of excellency and mastery. I am all in favor of overdelivering and I make it a goal to impress a client so much it sweeps her off her feet.

One of the ways I overdeliver to my clients is by going beyond what I contractually agree to. Sometimes, it means giving more time than I originally projected in order to give our work more TLC so that it can become outstanding.

Other times, I will offer my clients feedback on areas that are related but slightly outside the scope of what we’re doing, simply because I don’t want my chain — the chain I’m helping my clients with — to be the weakest link in their business or sales launch.

I make all of my overdelivering decisions wide awake (no hidden agendas) and make them all business decisions (no personal stuff getting caught in the mix).

In the beginning, I tell clients all the time that I don’t clock–watch, meaning, I don’t end the conversation or coaching session simply when time is up. I expect to always go over, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. I once remember going over by 3 hours. Was that overgiving?

When I looked back, it wasn’t. I had miscalculated the time it took to complete something, but I couldn’t allow the client to suffer for my miscalculation. So I powered through and donated those extra hours because I believe in offering her the best version of the best work I’m capable of. Next time, I revised the timing and the pricing so I won’t be donating free hours again.

Of course, overdelivering can turn into unhealthy overgiving when you override your boundaries, sacrifice self–care or a part of your soul, come from a space of get, or not make adjustments to your services when you feel imbalanced.

When you overdeliver, it means you are intending to increase the value in the relationship and demonstrating your loyalty to your customer. Client loyalty happens when you become loyal first.

Overgiving means trying to increase your personal value so you will be seen as someone who is worthy. You’re not demonstrating the value of your work. You’re trying to get love.

Thus, the one factor which separates overdelivering from overgiving is shame.

I know this pain really deeply in my heart because I’ve experienced countless times where my overgiving has led to someone leaving me or underappreciating me. Because I gave too much and freely, those people never really got the chance to see my value and hence, I was constantly being passed over for someone else. When that happened time and again, I always felt betrayed, abandoned and like a fool. Adding to the hurt, I noticed I would always get passed up in favor of someone who gave much less but was cherished more.

It’s not that you need to defend against heartbreak and stop giving. Whether you give or deliver, the lesson is in doing it consciously and within boundaries. One creates more joy, more life, more business, more loyalty, more value and more income. The other drains you of life, like an energy leak that’s unplugged and unrestrained.

Overgiving from shame means you need to sacrifice yourself in order to feel good enough or worthy. Overdelivering is from a place of true caring, glowing inspiration and a passionate desire to perform with excellence.

From which space do you serve your clients? Take a look inside and find out.

Hi, I’m Ana Coeur

I teach entrepreneurs how to create their business straight from their soul. I offer a complete Intuitive Business Suite to help you create, design, write and sell all from your intuition. Here’s the services you can take advantage of to empower your business: Intuitive Web & Brand Design, Intuitive Copywriting and Intuitive Selling. If there’s anything I can help you with, I would love to hear about it! You may email me at anaintuitivepicture.com

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