No, I Don’t Give It All Away…
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Oct 6, 2015
I don't often find gems in older posts or articles but I came across an article that was written by someone I know and posted on Forbes. Her name is Adrienne Graham, and to prove that I know her, here's the interview I did with her last year:
https://youtu.be/y2dA_DFVukk
Anyway, the article was titled No, You Can't Pick My Brain. It Costs Too Much, and it became such a sensation that she was able to write a book on the subject. This is a pretty savvy businesswoman I have to say.
The premise of the article and the story is that there are a lot of people looking for free information and free advice, and if you give too much of it away then people feel they should always get free from you and you'll never make any money. The article goes deeper than that but it's enough for you to get the idea, though if you're in business you should check it out.
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As someone who writes multiple blogs, giving away too much has always been one of those things I've battled back and forth. On a couple of my blogs I actually do give away a lot of specifics to things, and I've written some articles in tutorial form. However, I did that after doing some research on things that gave me trouble, skipped some steps, and I just filled in the blanks. Those were quick hitters; I didn't mind it so much.
It's an issue that's come up over the years from friends of mine and some of my business colleagues who don't understand the concept of blogging. They say "Aren't you giving too much away for free? Won't it hurt your business?"
Well... part of it is a fair question. Although I've gotten business from writing this blog, I haven't gotten a lot of business from it. Part of the reason for writing the blog is to get business, but part of it is to help my SEO (search engine optimization) by having consistently new content. Overall it's not the highest ranked website in the world, but it does pretty well when ranked against other blogs on the topic of leadership.
However, that's not the response I usually give. What I usually say is "I don't really give it all away. As a matter of fact, the only thing I'm giving away is my opinion." And that opinion covers leadership, diversity, health care, motivation, and anything else I talk about here.
So, if the blog is only opinion, when do I actually help anyone? I help individually through my executive coaching/mentoring. I help through my training programs and seminars. I help via my revenue cycle consulting. And I help through some of my products.
I've made it easy to reach me through the blog via my About page, and on every page of the main site is my phone number. I do that because, when all is said and done, the purpose of this blog is to show myself as an authority, as someone who knows the subjects I can consult on or talk about pretty well. Yet, if people want real solutions... I need to be paid. That's what professionals do... and it's fair.
I participate on LinkedIn and I'm connected to a lot of people. I post articles there, and I've increased my presence to a degree. This means I sometimes have people reaching out to me by message. Sometimes they want to market to me; that's okay because I hope to market to some folks as well.
Other times, I'm being asked for free advice. Now, if it's about being in business and the person is newly working for themselves, I always give that advice for free. I don't mind that because it's not the core of my business, and I remember when I got into consulting no one would talk to me, even people who didn't do what I do, saying I could take business away from them. Bah! There's enough for everyone.
However, if it's on one of my specialty topics... I might give the first answer without going too deep. If there's a follow up question that's when I say there's a price for my time... and to date I've never had a single person take me up on it. Adrienne calls those folks "tire kickers", folks who aren't really interested in learning if it's going to cost them anything, folks who don't value your knowledge, and thus folks you have to be ready to walk away from... which makes it pretty convenient when they walk away from you first. After all, I am a professional. lol
In closing, I want to reiterate this one fact. There's a lot of information on this blog and my other blogs. I've been writing this one for more than 10 years. I bet that if you wanted something specific regarding leadership, all you'd have to do is search in that little box at the top right and you'd probably find something addressing it.
My opinions actually are sometimes helpful, and if that's all you need... you can thank me later. But if you want more... well, there's enough people who can tell you what I've done for them that have paid me; I'd like to think I'm worth the help I can give.
Major lesson for everyone, and you can take this one as a fact; if you don't believe you're worth it, you're probably not and people will treat you that way. Believe that you are; you'll feel better and have a better chance of being successful.
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Hey Mitch,
What a cool name she has! (((wink wink)))
I actually agree with that but I also agree with giving away a good amount of free information. Ah, a catch 22 you say!
Here is what I think about that particular topic.
There are a LOT of “how to” posts out there and I use to be guilty of writing a bunch too. What we need to do is give them enough information so that they’ll want to know how to actually implement what you’re sharing with them but not give it all away. That is unless you just want to cater to those do it yourselfers who don’t need our help.
You should give enough free information away so that they’ll think well my goodness. If they give that much stuff away for free then whatever I would be paying for has got to be worth every penny. You just have to make sure to deliver and not have them paying for something you’ve already shared for free.
The other thing about this has a lot to do with the law of attraction. When you attract the right people to you, trust me, they’ll want to purchase what you have because they’re serious enough to want to learn from you.
So I think this just goes to show that there is a way to give away free information without shooting yourself in the foot. I’ll have to read Adrienne’s post now to see her views on this topic as well.
Thanks for this share Mitch and hope you’ve been enjoying your day.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..How to Really Succeed With Your Blog
Great comment as usual Adrienne. I think you’ve seen over the years that I do give a lot away. However, with a blog like this one, I give away less because there’s no way I can fully create what might be going on in someone else’s world as it pertains to leadership issues and the like. With health care I’ve definitely given away specific information, but I also know that it’s information that most of the people who consume it won’t know how to implement; isn’t that a shame? lol
Every once in a while I have to remind myself that I’m in this for business purposes (at least on this blog) and that I need to communicate that to others as well. It helps keep me focused and I hope it helps reach those who might want to work with me.
In my experience, no matter how much you share with someone, very few put your knowledge, advice, coaching, etc. into action.
No matter what challenge you’re facing, the answer is already public knowledge; on the internet, at Amazon, or in a borrowed library book.
For example, I coach primarily business clients and people in career transition.
I’ll say to a business client, “I’m certain there’s a book already written that explains what you’re looking to achieve. If you purchase the book, will you read it? If you read it, will you follow through on what you learned?”
For most, the odds are they won’t follow through.
Why? Everyone’s motivation is different. I can be coaching 10 business owners in the exact same business and the way they each goes about reaching their endgame will be unique.
So, I try to offer as much value to each prospective client who reaches out to me. That’s not to say I’ll spend hours with them. Of course not. Though they will think differently after we’ve spoken.
Steve Borek recently posted..Success Leaves Clues
That’s a great point Steve. I research things all the time & find a lot of information that I can put together to take care of what I need. But it does take time, which is why it’s easier to ask someone every once in a while. And if that person is a professional… even better. 🙂