They say you can deliver two but not three of these.

You can be better and faster. We get that all the time, usually in an emergency.

Of course, that combination comes at a price. It costs more to make it better and faster.

I had that yesterday when the toilet needed a plumber and a snake.

If you’re attracting clients who need it better and faster, they’re willing to pay more. They’re happy to pay you what it costs for what they need. That’s especially true if they need it right now.

Instead, you can be faster and cheaper. This type of service is for those in a big hurry who aren’t worried about quality. They want it quick, and they want it for less.

I had that at a drive-thru this morning.

You can get two of the three but never all three together. It just doesn’t work that way. Pick two; that’s the best you can do once you think through your options. Thankfully, what makes you better (for some) is simply being faster and cheaper. They’ll feel like you nailed it.

The Fallacy of Better and Cheaper

Unfortunately, as you think through your options, you’ll soon conclude that there’s no better combined with cheaper. They don’t go together. Better is incompatible with cheaper.

Start looking for a better and cheaper business. They’re impossible to find.

There just isn’t enough profit to do better at cheaper prices.

The better and cheaper businesses start out with a bang: they make a big promise. But then customers figure out that they’re not getting what they expected. They’re disappointed. Better just doesn’t work with cheaper.

The better, faster, cheaper people always said “pick two.” But what they really meant was pick two as long as you don’t put better and cheaper together.

What’s odd is that much of lawyer marketing claims to deliver better and cheaper.

You’ve seen the ads and websites. It’s all “excellent” combined with “affordable.” The marketing people use lots of “better” and “cheaper” language. They shy away from “faster” kinds of words.

That marketing isn’t telling the truth because they’re promising something impossible to deliver.

Again, you can do faster with cheaper. You can do better with faster. But no one delivers on better and cheaper.

It costs too much to do better. Quality comes at a cost. Better requires skilled workers, sophisticated technology, and qualified management. Better requires research and development. Better is expensive.

Ultimately, your model will collapse if you promise better and cheaper. Think through the natural progression of that promise. Think through the disappointment that’s inevitable.

Don’t make a promise you can’t deliver.

Pick two and deliver. Just make sure it’s not better along with cheaper.