Giving free advice to offline clients
Hopefully I'm not the only one that gives free advice to potential clients, but I'd like to share a story that happened to me.
There is a old high school buddy of mine that started a taxi service last year in April. It was just him and one car, and he was getting 10 calls per week. In order to drum up business he was going to commuter train stations, handing out his business cards to anyone...really struggling. Once I heard about his problems (he already had a website), I offered to work on his GP page and also help him with his on page SEO for a low fee, to be paid after he was in better situation (like I said, he is a buddy going back 30 years).
By June he had to get another driver and another vehicle. Today, he says he is getting 80 to 100 calls per day, and converting 60% of that into rides. He has hired other drivers but really needs more vehicles.
Here's the kicker: He recently questioned me on the idea of me giving potential clients free advice before signing them up.
Him:"Why tell them what they need before they pay you? They could always do the work themselves."
Me (after a moment's thought): "Okay, you take your car into the service department. They tell you that you need a new catalytic converter, tune-up, and front end alignment. What do you do?"
Him: "I pay Midas (national repair chain in the US) to do it."
Me: "Why? They told you what needed to be done."
Him: "Yeah, but I'm not a mechanic."
Me: "Right. They gave you free advice on what needed to be done, and you're going to pay them for their knowledge and experience so the job is done right."
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd like to think that our clients are paying us for the knowledge and experience we bring to the table.
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