How to shift from perfectionist to iterator with a test & refine mindset

Tips

Nov 30

Letting go of perfectionism has to be one of the hardest things to do. After all, your hard work, attention to detail and relentless pursuit of “better” is what got you to where you are today. But if you are adding extra stress and pressure to your already overloaded entrepreneurial mind, or if perfectionism is holding you back from launching, then why not try shifting your mindset a little bit. Let’s move our focus from perfection to innovation. Stop trying to hustle harder and instead work towards the next iteration of your new offer or service. Refinement is a practice that can actually lead to smaller launches, trials of new offers, and more frequent improvements, rather than spending more time and resources reinventing the wheel.

Experimenting with different ideas, products, or services allows you to gather valuable data and feedback from your target audience. By shifting to iteration over perfection, you start forming a habit of adaptability and innovation, where constant learning and improvement become the norm. Testing new offers allows you to identify what works and what doesn't, enabling you to refine your approach and enhance customer satisfaction. Rather than fixating on achieving an elusive state of perfection, the focus shifts towards incremental improvements over time, resulting in a business that remains relevant and competitive in an ever-changing market.

Here are some steps you can take to get moving on the testing & refining process:

Identify the right offers to test
Think about your target market and identify the pain points and needs of your potential customers. Try to pinpoint the specific service that will resonate with them the most. Consider your expertise, resources, and capabilities and focus on creating an offer that aligns with your unique skills, ensuring that you can deliver a high-quality service that sets you apart from competitors. Start with what has worked in the past and focus on how you can make it even better.
Craft and launch the offer
Pulling together the details of the offer, how you will onboard clients, how you’ll deliver the service and then how you’ll market it is the biggest lift of the whole process. But if you use your experiences and systems from past or current services and iterate instead of reinvent, the process should be a lot smoother! You can even lean on past social media graphics, email templates and ad campaigns as a starting place for your refreshed marketing.
Gather feedback
One of the most important parts of the refinement process is going beyond your own ideas for improvement and looking to your clients for feedback. If you promptly reach out to clients after they have experienced your service you can gauge their initial impressions. You can also consider offering incentives like discounts or rewards to encourage client participation. Once you get that feedback, have a plan to apply it so that the changes are actually made.
Analyze performance metrics
This can be as simple or as fancy as you’d like it to be, but even looking at a few basic numbers will help you understand where you can improve your systems, services or marketing in the future. Look at how your social posts and emails performed, how many people inquired with you, how many people actually booked the service, how many people returned to work with you again, etc. You’ll probably have a general “sense” of how things went but seeing the numbers is always eye-opening.
Make informed adjustments
Adjusting your service based on the insights you’ve collected can lead to improved customer satisfaction and increased conversions. Analyze the feedback and metrics you’ve collected, paying close attention to recurring themes and specific suggestions. This feedback can help you align your service offerings with client expectations and preferences. Use these findings to make necessary adjustments, whether it's optimizing website design, refining service descriptions, or streamlining the payment process.
If it works well, think about scaling
This step comes if it makes sense for your business and aligns with your goals, scaling isn’t the solution for everyone! But if things are working well and your demand is increasing, there are ways to offer your service to more people by hiring additional service providers, turning it into a mini or in-depth course, or creating a membership site. Start by brainstorming the possibilities, and then continue to test & refine your way to the next level!