The Trust Fallacy
Many entrepreneurs offer free consultations or strategy sessions because they believe it is the only way to build trust or “prove” their value to a new lead. However, this often creates a “monkey wrench” in the professional relationship. When you work for free, you risk attracting people who don't value what you do and may view your offer as a sign of desperation rather than generosity.
The “Skin in the Game” Difference
There is a fundamental shift in the dynamic when a client pays, even if it is only a small fee. Clients who pay tend to take the process more seriously and are more likely to get results because they have “skin in the game”. By giving away your expertise for nothing, you may actually be hindering the client's ability to show up and succeed.
Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset
At its heart, free work does not build a business—paid work does. Every hour you spend working for free is an hour you are not spending on paying clients or creating scalable content that can work for you over and over. Whether you are a newcomer or a veteran, treating your time as a premium asset ensures that your clients will treat it that way too.
Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/iam2730-you-dont-need-to-be-on-every-single-platform-to-build-authority/
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Transcription:
Gresham Harkless 00:00
When you work for free, you attract people who don't value what you do. They sometimes will see you as desperate, not generous, and they'll expect something free forever. The clients that often pay take it seriously. They show up. They're the ones who get the results because they have skin in the game. So here's the shift. Stop giving away your expertise for nothing and start charging for your time from day one. If you're building something meaningful, you're in the right place. This is the I Am CEO Podcast. I'm gresh, and for over a decade I've had the honor and the privilege of Learning directly from CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners just like you on how to build. After recording more than 1600 episodes, one thing has become clear. Success isn't about following someone else's blueprint. And as I like to say on the show, if you run your own race, you can't lose. Even when we feel the journey should be a straight and linear path, what I've come to find out is success is a lot more like a plate of spaghetti. So in this special segment and episode, I'm starting to curate and share some CEO hacks and CEO nuggets that I've been dying to share. Drawn from thousands of episodes with phenomenal guests that have provided awesome value on the show, but also my 10 years of business experience as well too. These lessons are designed to strengthen the foundational principles that every business is built on and guided by a simple equation that we always go back to with our content. Visibility plus resources times connections equals success. This is practical wisdom you can apply almost immediately, so be sure to check out the show notes for more resources and next steps on how to level up. And of course, enjoy this special episode of the I Am CEO Podcast.
Gresham Harkless 01:46
If you're doing free consultations, free strategy sessions, free samples, all this work to prove yourself we need to talk now. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for the free, but keep in mind that every hour you spend working for free is an hour you're not spending on paying clients. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand it. I did a lot of stuff for free. I still do a lot of things for free. Honestly, you do this often as a way because you feel like you need to prove yourself and prove your value first, and you think that that's the only way to build trust. So I'm going to throw a monkey wrench in this idea because here's what actually happens when you work for free, you attract people who don't value what you do. They sometimes will see you as desperate, not generous, and they'll expect something free forever. The clients that often pay take it seriously. They show up. They're the ones who get the results because they have skin in the game. So here's the shift. Stop giving away your expertise for nothing and start charging for your time from day one. Don't get me wrong. There's different ways to approach free. You know, you might do a video. You might do something that you can record that will be replayed over and over again. This video in and of itself can be something that's considered free free, something that's given away. But keep in mind, even if it's a small fee, it changes the dynamic completely. But more than anything else, I want you to just understand that your time has value, whether you're new, whether you've been in business for 100 years. Treat it that way, and your clients will also treat it that way, too. And at its heart, keep in mind that free work doesn't actually build your business. Paid work is what does. Sam.