How many times have you heard the phrase ‘people don’t value what they get for free?’
It’s boring and predictable. But you know why it’s so flipping predictable? Because it’s true. How annoying! 😂
Look at it another way – how many brilliant free guides have you signed up for and never bothered downloading? Or you downloaded them but never even looked at them? How many free webinars or 5-day challenges have you registered for and not even bothered showing up for? Or maybe you got as far as day 3 but other more important things stopped you getting around to catching up with the last couple of days.
And it’s not because you didn’t think they could help you or you thought they’d be a waste of time.
It’s because they were never a priority. You didn’t have skin in the game. They just weren’t valuable enough to you.
When it comes to your own business though it’s sometimes hard to spot just how much you’re giving away for free in your quest to help people or to deliver brilliant service.
Like the free advice that you’re constantly sharing with people, because you’ve forgotten how long it took you to learn it.
Or the extra half hour you take on that piece of work because the client didn’t really pay enough to get your gold-plated service, but you hate doing anything less than perfect so you constantly over-deliver?
Maybe you give away your time too freely, or your lovely free samples. Perhaps you travel to meetings that you know could be just as easily done on zoom, but you don’t want to seem distant or impersonal.
The thing is … every time you give something away for free in your business, you’re eating into your profits.
It doesn’t always feel like that of course – because you’re probably giving things away that you wouldn’t dream of charging for. But that’s because you’re completely undervaluing what you do.
You’re giving yourself, your knowledge and your service away to cheaply.
People value what they pay for. So, if you want your clients (or your prospects) to respect and appreciate you more, start charging for the little things you’re giving away.
It might not always be financially charging either. If you’re regularly giving away the same piece of knowledge, why not turn it into a lead magnet so the price people pay is signing up for your mailing list?
There are lots of ways to look at this. The main thing is being honest with yourself about what you’re undervaluing or giving away too easily.
Of course if you think this makes sense and know it applies to you but can’t work out how to change things, my one hour Strategy Sessions are the perfect chance to brainstorm the possibilities. And the new plans would generate way more revenue than a session costs so it’s practically free. (But not actually free, because that would make me a total hypocrite! 🤣) You can book a Strategy call with me here.
