Comments on: Why You SHOULDNT Help Anyone… for FREE

By: David Shillito

David Shillito — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:31:03 +0000

Hi Dean. This reminds me of a Perry Marhshall (AdWords Guru) blogpost Someone had approached him at a seminar and offered to buy him lunch in exchange for a little advice and Perry declined. The guy wrote in, all indignant. Perry threw the exchange open to his subscribers to observe the 'polarity response' - which he sure got The quote that stuck with me from the whole thing? ... "No one would ask a salesman for his goods without charge, and no one would be surprised if a salesman declined any such request. I'm a consultant, not a salesman. Advice, not widgets, is what I sell"

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

By: Christoph

Christoph — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:15:46 +0000

Dean,
Great post – thanks for the reminder!
Although I know better I keep making the same mistake.

The perceived value – this is what it boils down to.
I also have first hand experience from the biotech industry where a company didn’t get a bid for the sole reason that the quote was perceived as too inexpensive…

Best – cristoph
Christoph´s last blog ..Don’t Eat The Marshmallow Yet

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

By: 2ThePoint

2ThePoint — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 13:53:45 +0000

I wouldn't charge my family to do stuff for them, but I do know that they take my time for granted often. They kinda assume that 'cos I'm single and have no kids, that I have more time on my hands than the rest of they family. The sad thing is that even though I'm learning to say 'No, I'm busy', 'No, I can't babysit this week', I do feel guilty for saying so. And in regards to not doing things for free, you might find DoshDosh's post interesting (www.doshdosh.com/why-are-you-giving-away-content-for-free) take care...

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

By: Ruchir

Ruchir — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:06:08 +0000

Well, blogging is essentially free. You write all the blog posts on your blog for free. Your readers don't pay you...

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:20:16 +0000

Very true article ! I can't count all the things I've done for free for friends. You're right when you say people show their gratitude once, then it seems for us you're "upgrading your job". It's also true for help by phone. For example, I've built several PCs for friends, adding components in cases and installing softwares. When they have to use a software and don't really know how it works, they just call or send an email. It's like being a hotline, customer support, so you work more than once for them. What I think also is that people view the things you do for them as something you like. Since you like to do it, it's a passion or something, and you can do it for free. Like a rockstar : "I don't do this for money, only for music".

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)