How To Recognize and Overcome Perfectionism
What is perfectionism?
Perfectionism is the refusal to accept any standard short of being absolutely flawless.
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A business owner looking for perfection may work with the mantra of a project that is entirely perfect, and all put together before launching their product or service off the ground.
Another way perfection invades your workspace is by showing up when you tweak your social media copy repeatedly but never posting your content.
Perfectionism is the enemy of creation and allowing money to flow into your life. It would be best if you created to make money, and this can’t be done when you are shooting for Perfection.
Reworking Your Content Ad Nauseum to Achieve Perfection
Look at my YouTube videos from 10 years ago, because they are an absolute disaster. I keep them up to remind myself about my novice beginnings and to reflect upon how far I’ve come in these past ten years.
Another way perfection will seep into your company is by working and reworking over and over again what you should offer for free. You ponder the question, “How much is too much?” and in the meantime, just like your social media, you haven’t created a finished product. Over-giving can also show up in the form of perfectionism because you want people to like you, so you give them too much and undercharge them for your services. In the time you took to overthink what you should do or give away your time, you could have created a great lead magnet or a short, 1-hour online class as a giveaway.
Remember, your platform image doesn’t have to be perfect before you can make money. I often see clients getting caught up in perfecting their brand because they want it to look a certain way. The logo needs to be positioned two millimeters more to the left, or that’s not the exact shade of blue. These tiny details are not what you should be focusing on as a business owner if you want the cash to flow.
Overachieving as a Form of Perfectionism
I know clients who always want to get another certification. They think if they attain more certifications, they will have more credibility and will be perfect. New entrepreneurs want to know if they need an MBA or certification to start.
Do I need to go back to school? That’s perfectionism.
Skill Sets You Need to Succeed
You could be horrible at what you do, but if you know how to market and sell, you’ll still make money. I don’t recommend that because that’s super unethical, but it’s the truth. Focus on learning to build your sales and marketing toolbox.
Finding out how to build relationships and creatively market your product or service to create and publish content is a better use of your time than spinning in circles and not making a decision to move forward.
Preparation Versus Procrastination
There’s nothing wrong with being prepared, but there’s a difference between being prepared and procrastinating with the excuse that you want to be ready. When you procrastinate to the point of not moving forward, that can be Perfection slipping its slimy non-productive hand in your business.
For example, researching your competition or another product is good. Still, if you are doing research just for the sake of researching, and you’re not executing because every little detail is not in place, then you are suffering from perfectionism.
The Perfect Words to Say
Many clients tell me they don’t know the perfect thing to say. Who does? Sometimes you get lucky; however, you do need an essential sales skill set to achieve more sales and become better at closing sales with the people you meet who are potential clients.
Go for Process, Not Perfection
There is a cadence, an art, and a science to working sales. Bite the bullet, go out and do the work, publish your social media, and allow yourself to fumble and learn from your experiences. Learning from your experiences what your clients want and need and tweaking your offerings is one of the best ways to build your business. The reality is that your sales pitch, wording, and video recording will become more natural once you have more practice. Remember, practice makes perfect! Actually, it really doesn’t, but practice will make you better at what you do, create more money flow, and build your company!
Resources that are mentioned or add value to this episode:
- Persuade To Profit
- Make Money Your Honey Book
- How to Make Your First $100K Online (Even If No One Knows Who You Are)
- Get in on my free webinar, “How to Make Your first 100K online, even if no one knows who you are.” Text the word “Influencer” to 3056801407, and we will see you there