on July 23, 2020
Someone told me once that “80% out the door is better than 100% in the drawer.”
Is it?
I’ve had lots of creative projects and business-building ideas not make it out of the drawer and past my perfectionism filter because I couldn’t “get it quite right.”
Does it hold us back a bit, if I don’t get a specific marketing piece or creative campaign out the door until it’s “just right”?
Probably.
Do I worry about it?
Not really.
I’ve always believed that you have one chance to make a good first impression. When it comes to business you are always making a bunch of first impressions … especially when it comes to marketing and sales.
That email campaign or blog post or direct mail piece or social media graphic or Webinar might be the first time several people are exposed to your organization.
There’s nothing wrong with working to get these things as close to your idea of perfect as possible.
Controlling the narrative around our business is marketing 101. We get the benefit of deciding how we’re showcasing our personality and explaining the value of our services, and what it means to be welcomed into our firm’s family. It’s also a chance to do a little showing off – our humor, our standards of excellence, our expertise, our professionalism, our experience, our creativity and all the other things that someone would expect from a high-level virtual assistant firm that provides services like ours.
The hard part of adhering to a certain expectation of excellence and perfectionism is that it often doesn’t fit nicely into a formula or checklist. It requires thoughtfulness, nuance, and a bit of forward-thinking. You need to flush out how things will be perceived by those who see it. You need perspective so your message is clear and is easily understood in literally seconds.
It can take a huge amount of work to make something appear effortless.
And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. If it takes longer and more work than some think it should to get it right, then so be it.
After all … one chance to make a first impression.
Nothing irritates me more than when I see a good business ignore the details just to “get something out the door.”
A link doesn’t work in an email campaign. Social media posts have errors. A graphic doesn’t properly fit the space. A new service was announced, but the logistics about how to best provide that service weren’t completely hashed out. An event was planned, but not enough thought was given to lead time or the agenda or presenter practice time. A call to action wasn’t clear.
All of these things add up. Quickly.
It’s like having a clean house. Nobody notices when it’s tidy and clean and welcoming – they just know they feel comfortable and aren’t distracted. But if it’s cluttered and disorganized and smells a little funny, it gets noticed.
Are we going to get it perfect every time? Of course not! We’re human, so it would be super weird if we didn’t occasionally mess up. We’re also hard-wired as business owners to take risks and, sometimes, they just don’t quite work out. And that’s fine.
I’m also not suggesting you use perfectionism as an excuse to not move forward. In fact, for those of us who believe in getting it “just right,” we have to be a little careful about not letting perfectionism impede progress.
But, a little awareness goes a long way. When you’ve been in business long enough, you instinctually know when you’re holding off on pushing something out because you’re a little nervous (not because it’s not awesome).
I don’t think striving for perfection is something to be ashamed of.
Sometimes waiting until you get to what you think is 100% before you get it out the door is the best thing you can do for your business.
