5 Ways to break out of “Chronic Overdelivery Syndrome”
I just had a conversation with a good friend/colleague about money. She knows she’s charging too little, but struggles with raising her rates. However, because she’s starting to feel resentful, she KNOWS it’s time.
In our conversation, with a little coaching built in, she finally came to the conclusion that she HAD to raise her rates, and I helped her with the language to use to do that, which would help her break the news to her clients and still maintain her comfort.
But then she said, “Then I need to add something to what I’m offering if I’m going to raise my rates.”
Sigh.
This is an amazing woman coaching VERY successful, well-known professionals, and she’s now questioning her own value!
I call this the “Chronic Overdelivery Syndrome” and it is based on one of the Money Mirrors – Deservability.
Does this sound like you?
- You overload your services with too much. Or, better yet, when a new client comes to see you, you tell them everything they would ever need to know, so you are sure you have provided them with value! Trust me; this backfires every time, and you never see them again. They feel overwhelmed… AND stupid!
- You give away your services without charging. You are SURE if you give them something of great value right up front, they’ll hire you! But that backfires, too! Why should they pay you when you just gave them what they think they needed?
- You often fault yourself for not giving MORE! Sigh; need I say anything, now?
- You give much more than what the client paid you for. I get it, because I’ve done it, too. I’ll always remember the in-home nutrition client I saw who paid me for 90 minutes, but I didn’t leave for FOUR hours!
- You make yourself too available. Is your expertise of value? Are you worth anything? Do you want a thriving business AND a life? I’d venture you say YES! So one of the first lessons is that your time is valuable and from this very moment on, you need to be paid for it. You can give people a choice: They can have this and that, a la carte, or they can have the entire, comprehensive program. Their choice. And here are the fees for each.
If you said yes to any of these, yep, you have it: Chronic Overdelivery Syndrome. So what do you do about it?
Here are 5 ways you can break free of this Syndrome:
- Cut what you offer in half. Trust me; your clients will feel EMPOWERED, not as if they’re being taken advantage of.
- Stop giving away your time. You’re not just saying “no”; you’re saying, “I have this service/program that might interest you, then.” When you give away your time, you’re giving away opportunities – opportunities to make money elsewhere, or opportunities to spend time with your family or kids!
- Create a daily list of how you helped the people you served that day. This will help remind you of what impact you already make on people! We all are great at beating ourselves up, rather than acknowledging ourselves.
- When a client asks for more help, you can let them know that that is beyond the scope of your agreement with them, but you do have this other service that could meet that need. As an example, in my Just Jump Into Business Membership program, if people want one-on-one coaching, they can sign up for a separate Coach on Demand session.
- Establish clear boundaries – with yourself and with your clients – regarding when you’re available and when you’re not. Then it’s important to gently remind clients of those boundaries when they push them. People (like with kids) appreciate having boundaries they are clear about.
Pick just one of these and let me know what happens for you!
Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.
Do you struggle with Deservability? Or maybe with how to even GET more clients so you CAN struggle with that problem! If you imagine growing your business into something of great satisfaction and success, come join us in 2012 in the Prosperity Secrets Platinum program.


