Salutations friend! In today's episode, We are going to discuss offering services or products for free. If you are still starting out or building your portfolio and can't decide if you should offer your services for free or just charge lower rates to get testimonials and exposures, then this episode's discussion might be what you just need to get started with your entrepreneurial journey.
Salutations, friend! Welcome back to another episode of The Profit Scale podcast.In today's episode, I am going to touch base about how offering your services gives exposure to your rising business. I'll discuss here the right time to offer your products in exchange for testimonials and even referrals. Â
Here are the topics that we're going to cover today:
1. Defining the word "free"
2. Effects of offering services for free
3. Difference between free and compensation
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Links:
Salutations friend and welcome to an episode of The Profit Scale! This is the podcast for service-based coaches, consultants, and creatives looking to stop living from paycheck to paycheck, pay themselves more and scale their business beyond the 6-figure plateau without the overwhelm of 60+ hours' work weeks.
I’m your host and Income Strategist—RJ Connell. If you are looking to collect more coins, stop dropping coins, and grow your business sustainably, then you, my friend, are in the right place! Turn up the volume and lean in because we are about to get started!
Salutations, friend! It’s RJ here, your Income Strategist.
Today we will talk about one of my favourite topics — When Should You Work for Free. I feel like I say this every week, but it is!
Now, it is likely that in your entrepreneurial career; you have offered your services for free, whether that was to gain exposure, to get testimonials under your belt, or to gain experience. I know because I have done that too.
Well, friend, I have firm beliefs of what circumstances we, as entrepreneurs, should give away our services for “free,” and that is what we will talk about today. I recognize that this topic, in particular, may be controversial, but I would love to hear your respectful thoughts on the topic after you listen to the full episode. Join the conversation on our Instagram page @rjconnellconsulting and join the conversation in our stories or on our feed!
All right, let’s jump in!
I will start by giving you my definition of the word “free” so we can both move forward on the same page.Â
My definition of free is when you provide your services in agreement that you will not receive any payment, reward or benefit in exchange. You are donating your services expecting nothing and not receiving anything - there is no “Quid pro quo.”
When considering that definition, I believe that there are very few instances under which we, as entrepreneurs, should operate like that. Under one circumstance, and that is charity.
When you donate to a charitable cause, including those for children, you understand that the people you are serving will not compensate you whether you are spending your time or your money.
The nature of a donation is that we give it to those in need and cannot help themselves. So why is it that those who can pay for your services, help themselves, and see the value in your service enough to ask for it, are the same people asking you to provide it for free — or better yet — why do you agree to do it?Â
Is it because of guilt? Is it because you feel a sense of responsibility to that person, group or organization? Is it because you are not confident that people will pay you for your services?
Friend, you are running a business and you literally cannot afford to be doing free regularly. Truthfully, if that was your intention behind starting this business, then your community would better receive your services through a charitable organization–at least there the expectations are clear.
So friend, let’s have a loving but difficult conversation. I know that there are a lot of marketing tactics out there that tell you to offer your services for free to get testimonials or gain experience, but I need you to understand that if you cannot find people who will pay for your services and give you a testimonial, then you have a bigger problem.
Maybe you are in groups seeing people in your industry offering their services freely, and it is undermining your efforts to secure paying clients. Well, let me encourage you that the people opting for those free services will never pay you anyway, and they especially would not be willing to pay your rates.
This is a challenge that came up with one of my clients in the Pillars of Pricing Workshop. She is a website designer and SEO expert, and she noticed that people who offer services like her were discounting their packages or offering those services for free. What’s worse is that people who had no skill set and experience in website design were offering to create people’s websites for free, or at a low cost.
My husband is a music producer, and he sees this same thing in his industry with people offering cut-rate services that are equally low quality. I will tell you the same thing I said to them. Those are not your people, period. And if you chase after them, those who are looking for you can never find you.
I want you to realize that there are people out there, thousands of them, hundreds of thousands of them, who are happy and willing to pay your full price and even more without batting an eye. These are the clients who do not think you are expensive. These are the clients who ask you for the price and pay their invoices in full before it is due. These are the clients who purchase your top tier package and spring for the works because they understand the value of your service without you having to convince them it is worth it. These are the clients you need to position yourself for and communicate with. These are the clients who never ask you to work free or even discounts.
And it is a very different and beautiful world, when you can identify, find and connect with those clients!
––potentially a break for a sponsorship here for The Pillars of Pricing Workshop
Friend, since we are already on the topic, I want to take this moment to tell you about the Pillars of Pricing Online Workshop.Â
I hold this elite interactive workshop online and I will teach you the foundational pillars of setting your pricing. Part of that includes being able to identify the right clients, who will be more than willing to pay your full prices, and even more. This workshop will give you the knowledge and resources to help you make sure you can not only connect with your ideal clients but also convert them, even at your new pricing
You will learn how to evaluate your current pricing so you can know whether you are leaving coins on the table. I want to make sure you take part in the next round of the workshop!Â
The Pillars of Pricing Workshop is very affordable at $199 and has a payment plan option to make sure you can participate with no financial obstacles.Â
This is not a webinar, and this is not a pre-recorded course where you will get lost in a sea of students. This is a live, interactive workshop where you will get to participate in group exercises, practice pitching your prices, ask your personal pricing or business questions during the group consulting, and walk away with your own Pricing Playbook.
Trust me friend, you do not want to miss this! Click the link in the show notes to sign up for the Pillars of Pricing Waitlist, and you will get early access before registration opens up, or you can head over to rjconnell.ca/ppw to join the exclusive waitlist for early access there.
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So then, should you never work without getting paid? Should you always collect a paycheck every time you offer your services? Well, no, and let me explain why. There is a difference between being paid and being compensated.Â
Money is not the only form of compensation, and sometimes alternative forms of compensation can serve you or your business better than money.
You will face opportunities in your business that do not come with a paycheck attached, but if you can leverage them properly, they have the potential to earn more for the business than being paid.
For example, you may have an opportunity to speak at a conference where the people attending are your ideal clients. The event organizer lets you know that they do not pay their speakers a speaking fee, but they will cover travel and accommodations.Â
Rather than saying no off the bat because there is no speaking fee attached, here are 2 questions for you to ask yourself.Â
How could this opportunity benefit the business and ultimately lead to paying opportunities?
Are there vendors at this conference that could become potential sponsors for your business? Is there an opportunity to gain clientele from speaking at this conference? Could you leverage footage from this speaking engagement to help you secure others that will pay?
There are so many ways you can leverage this opportunity, even though you will not be directly receiving a cheque from the organization.
What would make this opportunity valuable for you?
I want you to think about alternative forms of compensation and put together a wishlist, so to speak. This wishlist will become the basis of your contractual agreement with the organizers of the conference, but you need to be clear on what you are looking for.Â
Here are some ideas to get you started. In place of a speaker fee, you may request access to their attendee list, the opportunity to collect email addresses, or a vendor booth for you to tell your merchandise. Even if your merchandise is a service––you can sell yourself.
There are so many ways you can ensure that saying yes to this opportunity will be an investment into your business and not a cost. Once you are clear on your request, start the conversation, discuss and negotiate until you come to a win-win agreement.Â
Often when we face opportunities that do not pay a dollar amount, we rely on the person soliciting our services to make it a valuable experience for us.Â
As an entrepreneur, you know best what will serve your business; you are the best person to gauge what is of value for you and what is not. If you want to be compensated, take the lead, and make it happen.Â
If you walk into a negotiation, knowing what a “win” would look like for you, you are more likely to get it.
Now, there are definitely situations where you will encounter non-paying opportunities that in no way serve your business. Even if they are offering alternative forms of compensation, that does not always mean that it is a good fit.
There will still be times when you will have to say no, so you can make space to say yes to another opportunity later on down the road, that does in fact serve your business.
Let’s recap what we have talked about today.
We first defined the word “free” as donating your services in agreement that there is no payment, reward or benefit to you in exchange. It helped us set the tone for when it is okay to offer services for free as an entrepreneur.
We discussed that unless you are making a charitable donation of your services, you must receive compensation for the value of what you offer.
We talked about situations where other service providers in your industry are offering similar services as yours at a discounted rate or for free, and how that can undermine your attempts to land paying clients.Â
I reminded you that the people who are opting for that free service, are likely not your people, and that there are clients out there who are happy to pay your full prices––you just have to find them.Â
Last, we discussed the difference between free and compensation! You may face opportunities that do not come with a paycheck, but they can still add value to your business, and lead to a paycheck later on down their road.
I gave you 2 questions to work through to help you decide in those cases, whether taking a non-paying opportunity is an investment, or a cost for your business.Â
Friend, I am so grateful we spent this time together, but before we go, I want to remind you to join the waitlist for The Pillars of Pricing Workshop! This online workshop is like nothing you have ever attended before, and you will not only learn the foundation of setting your prices for long-term growth, but also how to communicate those prices confidently so you can feel good about what you are charging, knowing your clients are getting the best!
Friend, I cannot wait to work with you and support you in this workshop, and with an investment as low as $199, space will fill up quickly.Â
I want to remind you, this is not a webinar, and this is not a pre-recorded course. This online workshop is live and interactive. Click the link in the show notes or visit rjconnell.ca/ppw to join the waitlist for early access!
As always, join the conversation about this week’s episode on our Instagram page @rjconnellconsulting, I would love to hear your opinions on today’s conversation!
In next week’s episode, we will break down how much money is enough money! If you have ever wondered how much you need to make to quit your full-time job, hire help, or take vacations in your business, we will break the numbers all the way down.
I’m excited about our next conversation friend, and I can’t wait to talk to you again, same time and place next week. Until then, I wish you coins, confidence, and all the bags! Bye for now!