Free reports. Free consultations. Free information up the ying yang.
If everything is free, how do you make money?
Good question.
The answer is simple: give away lots of free information but charge for your advice. Another way to put it: if you talk to them, you charge them.
Your time is valuable. Don’t give it away. But information is just paper or electrons and while you invest time in writing or recording or conducting a presentation, you’re investing in creating new clients and the return on your investment is, well, incalculable.
Me entiende?
Information is free. Advice is not.
There is one exception: Free consultations.
Why? Couple of reasons.
First, if you’re in a field where most attorneys offer them, e.g., personal injury, if you don’t offer them, you won’t be able to compete.
Second, ROI. You invest 30 minutes or so talking to a prospective client and in return, you (eventually) earn thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Do ten free consultations, sign up seven new cases (or whatever), and when you add up the collective fees, you look like a friggin genius.
In other words, it’s worth it.
Simple as that.
If we’re being technical here, and we’re attorneys so that goes without saying, you do give the client some advice during the consultation. But at the same time, you’re evaluating whether or not you want the case. Hey, maybe they should charge you for their time.
You can reduce the amount of time you spend on free consults by educating prospective clients and referral sources prior to speaking to anyone. Put information on your website, in your articles, ads, and so on, and especially in your “referral letter,” so that people know when they should and shouldn’t call.
Go write something and give it away. But don’t give away your time. Unless you’re doing a free consultation.
How to create (and use) a referral letter to get more clients
