GlobalBX

I’ve always been one for giving information away for free. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it and other people say that it’s a great thing to do. I’ve tried both. Generally though, I find that giving something away for free does help my business.

Here are the reasons why I think giving away information for free is a good thing:

1)    It helps establish you as an expert
2)    It lets people experience what you do without any risk
3)    People start to like and trust your approach
4)    It allows you to build up a relationship with people

I think most business owners would agree that giving away some free information is good. The difficulty is when to draw the line and stop.

There was a time when I gave away nothing at all (after some advice from a business contact of mine who thought I gave away too much), but it was an approach that just didn’t work for me. So, when I decided to start giving away information again, I thought very carefully about what was free and what I wanted people to pay for.

My guidance (that I’ve set for myself) is that I’m happy to give away knowledge in the form of article & tips, advice on forums and sometimes advice to people in meetings – more about this one in a minute. But, all the advice I give away is general advice that applies to anyone. My rule of thumb is that if someone wants specific advice and help that applies to them then they need to pay for that.

There are of course exceptions to this. There are times when I’ve been feeling very generous in meetings and given away lots of help and advice to the person. When I do this I have to check with myself that I’m happy to do that and I’m not going to walk away from the meeting feeling bitter. As long as I’m ok, then I’m happy to do that.

I don’t however like it when I feel that the other person is taking advantage and then usually I won’t give away anything and will refer them to an article that I’ve written. In a meeting the other day for instance, the person I was with told me that they had real problems with time management and with feeling confident on the phone – she then asked me for some advice on helping her with these issues with no intention of paying for it. I may be bad, but I skirted around the issue and left as quickly as I could.

At the end of the day, when faced with this question, you have to realise that you’re not a charity and do deserve to get paid for the product or service that you provide. Set your own guidance about what is free and what people will need to pay for – only if you’re clear about what’s acceptable, can you make other people clear about what’s acceptable too.