We recently discussed how slowing down can help you succeed as a B2B copywriter. It might sound odd, but taking your time can actually help you move forward faster.
But here’s the thing — business isn’t always that simple. Sometimes, slowing down is smart, but other times, you need to act fast. The skill is knowing which to do when.
Think about your work:
- Have you ever waited too long to make a decision?
- When has acting quickly paid off for you?
- What chances have you taken or missed because of your timing?
Today, we’ll look at how to find the right balance. We’ll explore how to decide when to take your time and when to move quickly. This expertise can help you do better work and grow your business.
Understanding Both Sides of Decision-Making
As a business owner and copywriter, you make choices all the time. Some choices need careful thought, while others need quick action. Knowing which approach to take is critical to your success.
Let’s look at both sides of this coin.
When to Take Your Time
Sometimes, slowing down isn’t just helpful — it’s necessary. Taking time to think, research, and plan can prevent mistakes and help you spot opportunities.
Here are a few times when you might want to slow down.
· Planning Your Business
When you’re making plans for your business year or setting goals, it’s wise to take your time. Careful planning now can save you trouble later.
· Working with Complex Products
If a client has a complicated product, don’t rush. Give yourself time to really understand it. This way, you can write about it clearly and convincingly.
· Big, Important Projects
When you’re working on something that could really change your business — like pitching to a dream client — it’s worth spending extra time on it. Thorough research and carefully crafting your work can make a big difference.
When to Act Quickly
Just as important is knowing when to move fast. Sometimes, speed can be your biggest advantage.
Here are some situations where quick action can pay off.
· Time-Sensitive Opportunities
When something happens in your industry that relates to your work, acting fast can make you stand out. For example, if there’s a big change in how B2B marketing works, being one of the first to talk about it can get you a lot of attention.
· Client Emergencies
Sometimes, clients face sudden challenges. Maybe they need to launch a product earlier than planned, or a competitor does something unexpected. In these cases, your ability to deliver good work quickly can make you very valuable.
· Responding to Competitors
Your competitors won’t always give you time to think. If they launch a new service or change their prices, you might need to respond quickly to keep your place in the market.
Acting quickly doesn’t mean being careless. It’s about being ready to make smart decisions fast when you need to. Getting good at this can make you more adaptable and valuable as a B2B copywriter.
Develop Your Decision-Making Framework
Now that we’ve talked about when to slow down and when to act quickly, let’s create a simple guide to help you decide which to do.
Here’s a step-by-step approach you can use.
1. How Important Is This Decision?
First, ask yourself, “How much does this decision matter?”
Some choices have a big impact on your business and often require more thought. For example, deciding to change your business direction or take on a major new client is usually important.
Other choices don’t matter as much. Picking between two similar images for a blog post isn’t a big deal. You can usually make these decisions quickly.
2. Can You Easily Change Your Mind Later?
Next, think, “How easy is it to undo this decision if I need to?”
Some choices are simple. If you can quickly undo or adjust what you’ve done with little trouble, it might be better to act fast and fix things later.
For instance, trying out a new email subject line is easy to change. If it doesn’t work well, you can always try something different next time.
3. How Much Do You Know About This?
Ask yourself, “Have I dealt with something like this before?”
When you’re working on something you know a lot about, you can often decide more quickly. Your experience helps you make good choices faster.
For example, if you’ve written many case studies, you can probably approach a new one confidently and quickly. But if you’re writing about a new industry or trying a new type of content, it’s smart to slow down and do more research.
4. Is There a Real Time Limit?
Finally, consider, “Do I really need to decide this quickly, or can I take more time?”
Sometimes, there are real deadlines, like a product launch date or a conference presentation. This might mean you need to act fast.
But be careful of feeling rushed when you don’t need to be. Sometimes, taking a step back helps you see that you have more time than you thought.
Putting It All Together: A Real-Life Example
Let’s see how this works in a common business situation…
Imagine you get an email from a possible new client. They want you to send them a proposal by the end of the day. Here’s how you might use your new decision-making guide.
- Importance: Medium-high (It’s new business, but not your biggest ever client.)
- Can you change it later?: Yes (You can always update the proposal or send more information.)
- Your knowledge: High (You’ve done many similar proposals.)
- Time limit: Short (They want it by end of day.)
Looking at this, you might act relatively quickly. You could use your experience and existing templates to write a good proposal, while still taking a little time to make it fit this client’s specific needs.
But what if this client could become your biggest account ever? Now, it’s much more important, which might mean it’s worth taking more time despite the tight deadline.
Or what if you’ve never worked in this client’s industry before? Your knowledge level is lower, suggesting you might need more time to research and prepare a well-informed proposal.
The great thing about this guide is that it’s flexible. As you use it more, you’ll get better at quickly sizing up situations and confidently deciding when to slow down and when to speed up.
Put Your New Skills into Action
Finding the right balance between slowing down and acting quickly is an ongoing process. It’s okay if you don’t get it perfect every time. The important thing is that you’re thinking carefully about your decisions and always trying to improve.
We’d love to hear from you. In the comments below, share one thing you plan to do differently after reading this post. How will you balance thoughtful consideration with quick action in your work?
Your experiences and ideas can inspire other B2B copywriters in our community. Plus, sharing your plan can help you commit to putting these ideas into action.
