Broken Promises

Let’s talk about doing what you say you’re going to do.

While this sounds simple and a no brainer, there will be times when you fail to deliver.

You could have projects piling up with no way to find balance. Your gear might have broken after years of use. Or maybe you just had a lazy few days and have been stuck in a rut.

While I do think it’s good to take on projects that challenge you and push you, there needs to be balance.

No matter the reason, there will come a time when you’ll need to break a promise to a client (or to yourself).

How do we handle this?

First, we need to make it right with the client. You told them 3 days to deliver content but it took you 7? Not a good look. And while most clients will understand that life happens and there’s only so much you can do, it’s still your responsibility to make it right.

If you fail on your promise, offer the client something extra for free. This can be a few extra photos from the shoot that they normally wouldn’t get. Maybe it’s another free session. Maybe you’ll bump them up to your premium package rather than the basic one they paid for.

Do anything in your power to make up for your mistake. You need to make it right.

Repeat clients are worth a lot more than one-time clients. Even if this costs you $500 to make up, a repeat client will generate that much revenue quickly for you, and it will be much easier than trying to find a new client to replace them.

Second, identify what led to the broken promise. Analyze all the steps that caused you to underdeliver on your promise.

If your turnaround was late, what steps caused this?

Are you disorganized with client projects? Try a Notion template to organize projects by the due date, completion time, mood board, etc.

Maybe you were missing props and had to wait for them in the mail? Order them earlier, pay for next day deliver.

Editor taking too long? Discuss turnaround expectations, pay them a rush fee, or send them projects earlier.

Did your camera break? Compile a list of local places to rent one from or always have enough savings for a new camera while your old one gets repaired.

By doing an analysis of why the promise was broken, you become better. This helps prevent this from happening again. You can take this experience as a learning experience, and implement systems into your business to succeed.

I’ve broken promises to clients, but I’ve always made it right.

Do the right thing.