Do you have options available?
Recently I was asked to provide a service at no charge. Locally, I will do this for ocmmunity service but to travel a distance including multiple modes of transportation, it would have been a money losing proposition. I considered my options. And then I provided four options from which the potential client could choose.
Given the request was regarding my information for getting HIRED! and free was part of the request, I provided two such options:
1. Provide tips via a Skype conference call.
2. My website tab, Gifts for You, offers a number of interviewing articles, recorded radio interviews on the subject, and a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation all free of charge.
Next came the fee based services. Given this was a requesting job search group, I offered the idea they commit to purchasing a set number of copies of my book, HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews. The margin of profit is tiny but it would at least make up for the cost of travel plus a little.
Last of all, on April 27, I am co-hosting An Evening of Inspiration or “Be Inspired to Get HIRED!” and suggested their members meet me there. The fee is slightly higher at $65 but includes a copy of the book, great networking and a 45 minute presentation of inspiration and specific sales skills to get Hired! A 501C is backing the event to provide resources for Pancreatic Cancer and Parkinson’s Disease patients.
The next time you are asked to deliver goods for free, take a moment to consider all the possibilities that might make sense. Is business development a possibility and is there a way that everyone will benefit?
When you offer multiple choices and a range from free to small fee when asked to deliver for free, you stand a far better chance of coming to agreeable terms as well as enjoying a very Smooth Sale!
