Overdelivering to Win Client Trust

I violated data best practices to deliver a $40K ROI. (The client renewed. Here's why.) For 4 years, I've preached data best practices: Build proper data models. Minimize tech debt. Do it right the first time. Then reality hits. A mid-sized healthcare company hires us. They need a manual report automated. Fast. Your offer as a consultant is speed-centric. Their "source of truth" is 400 stored procedures written by a DBA who left 2 years ago. Zero documentation. Spaghetti SQL everywhere. 30+ Power BI reports querying directly off the transactional database. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼: Build a clean data warehouse from scratch. Proper dimensional modeling. Governed metrics. Best practices. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱: Replicated their messy legacy logic in the cloud. Matched their numbers exactly—even the parts I knew were questionable. Automated the manual report in 6 weeks. Delivered the $40K ROI we guaranteed. 𝗪𝗵𝘆? Because many executives don't care about best practices. They care about results. Now. You don't get 3-6 months to "do it right." You get 6 weeks to prove you're worth keeping. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁-𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅: If you show up and tell them their legacy logic is wrong, they won't trust you. If you replicate it perfectly first, they do. Once trust is built? Then you can challenge the legacy logic. Then you can propose the proper data model. Then you can start fixing the mess. But not before. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 Automate one critical report. Match legacy numbers. Show ROI fast. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 "This works, but it creates tech debt. Here's the plan to fix it long-term." 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 Once trust is established, allocate hours to build the proper foundation. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 Don't stop showing ROI while you refactor. Balance both. 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥: Best practices are the North Star. But speed to value is survival. Deliver quick wins. Build trust. Then improve the foundation. Perfection kills consulting businesses. Progress builds them. Agree or Disagree? P.S. - Full breakdown of how to balance speed vs. best practices in this week's newsletter. Link in comments. 👇 ♻️ Share this if you've ever had to choose between doing it "right" and doing it "fast." Follow me for real talk on what data consulting actually looks like in the wild.

The fastest way to lose trust? Over-promise. I've watched entrepreneurs lose deals, clients, and reputations... All because they talked a big game but couldn't back it up. They made bold commitments. Set vague timelines. Then went silent. And when the deadline passed? Excuses. Blame. Radio silence. That's not how you build trust. That's how you destroy it. Here's what I learned the hard way: People don't remember your pitch. They remember your follow-through. The entrepreneurs who win? They under-promise and over-deliver. Every single time. Here's exactly what to say to build trust through delivery: 1/ When setting timelines ↳ Don't say: "I'll have it to you ASAP" ↳ Say: "You'll have this by Friday at noon. Possibly sooner." ↳ Specific beats vague. Every time. 2/ When scoping a project ↳ Don't say: "We can definitely do all of that" ↳ Say: "Let's nail these 3 things first. If we finish early, we'll tackle the rest." ↳ Constraint builds confidence. 3/ When giving updates ↳ Don't say: nothing (then scramble at the deadline) ↳ Say: "Quick update - we're on track. Here's where we are." ↳ Silence kills trust. Updates build it. 4/ When you're ahead of schedule ↳ Don't say: "Here it is, right on time" ↳ Say: "Finished early. Wanted to give you extra time to review." ↳ Early delivery = instant credibility. 5/ When you might miss ↳ Don't say: "Sorry, running behind" (at the last minute) ↳ Say: "Heads up - we're 2 days behind. Here's why and here's the new timeline." ↳ People forgive delays. They don't forgive surprises. The math is simple: Promises build expectations. Results build reputation. One gets you in the door. The other keeps you in the room. Stop impressing people with your promises. Start surprising them with your results. 👊 What's one phrase you use to set expectations with clients? 💬👇 --- ♻️ Repost to help someone build trust through delivery ✚ Follow Cory Blumenfeld for more entrepreneurial insights and motivation. I'm on a mission to inspire 1M everyday people to start their own business and find their voice in the process.

I grew my revenue from $24K to $153K in one year.  Here’s how. I didn’t run ads.  I had less than 3k LinkedIn followers. It started with outreach to someone I already knew. An old coworker connected me to a colleague. After contract negotiations, I was hired for hourly marketing work. Nothing flashy. Not senior-level. That single contract became the foundation for most of my revenue. Here’s what happened... 1️⃣ I repositioned my knowledge as something they didn’t have in-house. They hired me for execution and support. But once I was inside, it was clear the gap wasn’t capacity.  It was strategy. They didn’t need more hands. They needed someone who could:  - See the system, not just the task  - Translate goals into strategy  - Identify what was missing and why it mattered I stopped operating like support and started operating like a strategic partner. That shift changed everything. 2️⃣ I built relationships beyond my point of contact. I connected with adjacent teams and people touching downstream work. Those conversations surfaced gaps they felt but couldn’t name. 3️⃣ I tied recommendations directly to outcomes. I didn’t say, “Here are some ideas.”  I said: Here’s what’s missing and why it matters  Here’s what it’s costing you  Here’s how I can help fix it The work deepened. Contract expanded. 4️⃣ I over-delivered beyond the scope. Not by doing more. But by:  Seeing opportunities before they asked  Making recommendations proactively  Elevating the caliber of the work Small projects turned into partnerships. 5️⃣ The twist: a solo client opened the door to my next corporate contract. This client did come from LinkedIn. She hired me to help her turn her skills as a mental health coach into a consulting business. What she paid for was support.  What she got was infrastructure. I delivered:  - A full launch plan for her new consulting business  - Clear positioning and offer clarity  - A strategy that elevated how her expertise showed up in the market I gave her 10X the value of the price she paid. That’s when she asked the question that changed everything: “Do you do this kind of work for organizations?” That work led to my next corporate contract. I delivered with the same level of clarity and excellence. I’ve worked with that organization for over a year, with increasing scope. The lion’s share of my revenue came from corporate contracts that started small and expanded fast. Here’s the real cheat code: I didn’t chase more clients.  I went deeper with the right ones. I leveraged:  • Existing relationships  • Gap identification tied to ROI  • Excellence as a growth strategy Not louder marketing.  Deeper positioning.  Better delivery. 💜 P.S. I’ve created a guide to show you how to position your expertise clearly, identify gaps, and turn small engagements into bigger opportunities https://lnkd.in/eQ8Ex38r.

Last month, I spoke with a VP Sales who built one of the most effective enterprise motions I’ve seen. His team wins $500K F500 deals at Seed with no marketing. Full STEALTH. This level of trust so early is almost unheard of. Sequoia just led a $45M Series A. Here’s how Trevor Messick from Nuvo did it: 1. Compelling message > Deck Enterprise is a battle of attention. Busy SVPs chased by 100s of AEs/SDRs and internal priorities need one thing – get to the (big) point, fast. A door-opening message so sharply researched it feels like a punch, whether it’s an email or a first call POV. And to approve $500K, punchy words that say "this is board level." Trevor didn’t spend his time polishing decks/proposals templates. He spent it on messaging – teaching his team how to build 6-fig stories. Priceless. 2. Turn customers into your marketing department In stealth, no brand means you start every deal in a credibility hole. Trevor's bet: over-invest in Customer Success until every customer becomes a trust-building marketer. White-glove onboarding, deep value-add, and post-sale check-ins. It all worked – referrals became their #1 pipeline source, while customer stories and proactive referrals (every deal!) drove trust no startup could build so early. 3. Make referrals a pipeline stage, not a wish Referrals beat cold outbound any day of the week – if you treat them like a deal stage. In late-stage negotiation, Trevor’s team asks: “If we deliver our promise, can we get 2 warm intros to peers?” They give a shortlist of lookalike accounts and track every intro like a must-win deal. Win rates crush cold calls because trust is already baked in. 4. Make buying from you feel like buying from a $1B vendor No brand? Make the buying experience your brand. With no big website or product marketing backup, Trevor designed buying moments that say: “wow, they’re real pros!” – using Deal Rooms (Aligned). All materials, timelines, and updates in one collaborative, smart workspace. No critical info buried in emails, out-of-the-loop stakeholders, or decision overwhelm. Buyers say it feels like working with a top-tier enterprise vendor, and deals moved faster. 5. Built a buying signal engine Half the F500 buying team never talks to reps. But their clicks, views, and activity tell the real story. Trevor built a signal engine in Gong (pushed to Slack) that pulls data from every Deal Room interaction (hidden buyers, content views, chat, MAP updates, AI assists) plus email and call data. It became their most accurate deal health score and deal execution decision center – letting them double down on engaged deals, tailor every move, and save at-risk ones before buyers went dark. —— Trust is the currency of enterprise. You can’t buy it. You can’t fake it. But you can design for it. From email-one to the $500K ask. That’s how a startup wins at the big table. P.S. Here’s free access to the Deal Rooms they use: https://lnkd.in/dwujpFvM

"Underpromise, overdeliver" is the worst business advice I ever followed. For years, I bought into the idea that you should set low expectations and then blow people away by exceeding them. Sounds smart, right? Wrong. Here's what actually happens when you underpromise: 1. You attract the wrong clients When you set low expectations upfront, you attract clients who are looking for low-commitment, low-investment solutions. 2. You lose deals to competitors who promise more While you're busy underpromising, your competitor is confidently saying "We'll get you there in 3 months." Guess who gets the deal? Not you. 3. You create a culture of low standards When you tell your team "Just promise less so we can overdeliver," you're teaching them to aim low. The better approach: Promise accurately, deliver consistently: 1. Set realistic expectations based on data Tell them exactly what you can deliver based on past results. 2. Be confident in your capabilities Confidence is knowing what you're capable of and communicating it clearly. 3. Build in buffers without lowering the promise Instead of promising less, promise accurately and build buffers into your process. 4. Overdeliver on experience, not just results Instead of overdelivering on the outcome (which sets a new baseline), overdeliver on the experience. → Respond faster than expected → Provide more insights and education → Be more available and communicative → Anticipate needs before they ask 5. Underpromise on timeline, not outcome If you want to build in safety, underpromise on when you'll deliver, not what you'll deliver. Bottom line: Promise what you can deliver. Deliver what you promise. Overdeliver on experience. That's how you build trust, win clients, and create long-term relationships.

All of our clients have renewed their contracts this year. (Apart from 1 who took it in-house and asked us to train them). It's because our core philosophy is: "Clients come first" More tactically this means: 1. Make promises, keep promises. This is a simple mantra we live by. We make tons of micro promises & then meet them as we said we would. → 24-hour turnaround times. → Delivering content when it’s expected. → Meeting UK-based clients every 6 weeks. → 24/7 WhatsApp contact - we reply at 1am. → Getting clients booked on international stages. It sounds simple but so many people don’t meet the expectations they set. So when you do, you’re set apart from the rest. 2. Care about the details no one else will. We obsess about client delivery. Our clients are in the top 0.1% of their respective industry - so we have to be too. → Build a highly customised strategy. → Reading books about their industry. → Building a custom visual for each post. → Delving deep into their target buyer persona. → Implementing A/B/C/D testing & experiments. → Implementing a rigorous quality assurance process. The best in the world always sweat the small stuff. 3. Iterate our Offering We're always making sure our work is delivering for our clients. → We do more of what's working. → Actively seek feedback from clients to improve. → Adjust our style of working to fit their schedules. → Over-delivering and giving away free additional services. → Monitor KPIs and tweak our strategies to maximise impact. → Testing new ideas to get better results & trying new things. More happy clients. More results. More referrals. More renewals. Everyone talks about how to win new clients. But great businesses focus on getting them results, keeping them happy & retaining them as clients. That's our focus.

My biggest advice for my team is: “Promise 70% of what you can actually deliver!” This is the exact thing that makes you trustworthy. Overpromising and underdelivering kills your 4Rs: - Relation - Reputation - Reliance - Retention I’ve seen this mistake ruin careers and businesses. Here’s how to avoid it: 1. Set Realistic Expectations ↳ Never promise beyond what you can control. ↳ Underpromise, then overdeliver. ↳ Make clients feel like they got more than they expected. 2. Communicate Clearly ↳ Be upfront about timelines and scope. ↳ Say “no” when necessary. ↳ Keep clients informed at every step. 3. Deliver Consistently ↳ Meet deadlines without excuses. ↳ Maintain quality every single time. ↳ Build a reputation for reliability. 4. Turn Trust into Growth ↳ Clients return when they trust you. ↳ Word-of-mouth referrals will skyrocket. ↳ You’ll retain customers without chasing them. Sound simple? It is. But very few actually do it. Overpromising makes you look good for a moment. But underdelivering destroys you long-term. Want to learn how to build long-term trust in your career? Drop a comment or DM me!