Years ago, Thursday Bram asked me some questions about how freelancers and other consulting and professional folks can avoid giving away too much of their knowledge for free. Her article at Freelance Switch is no longer online, so I thought it was time to share it here, as well. Here’s some of my best advice […]

Years ago, Thursday Bram asked me some questions about how freelancers and other consulting and professional folks can avoid giving away too much of their knowledge for free. Her article at Freelance Switch is no longer online, so I thought it was time to share it here, as well.

Here’s some of my best advice on how to draw the line between free and paid conversations.

What is your reaction when someone asks to just ‘pick your brain’? Do you have a standard reaction that you use across the board or are there people that you’re more willing to talk to?

I decide how to handle people seeking free advice based on my existing relationship with them. Some people are close friends. I’ll help those folks more than someone who emails me out of the blue. Most of the questions seem to come from folks who don’t know me at all. So I try to assess the situation based on our relationship.

Do the people who just want to ask you questions typically turn into paying clients without much help from you?

It doesn’t happen by magic, you do need a strategy. And even then, not all of them will convert. Some are just freebies no matter what you do. I’m a collector of good phrases to use.

• Liz Strauss told me she would say, “If you’d like me to do that for you, I charge $XXX/hour.”
• Denise Wakeman said she will point people to her matching products already available. If someone asked her to look over their publication, she would give them the link to her sales page for a publication critique. Those products are really packaged services.
• Cathy Stucker would say, “I can spend ten minutes with you, and if you require more assistance I will be glad to schedule a consultation at my regular rates.”
• My colleague Deb Brown offers 15 minutes at no charge. When she gets on a call, she sets a timer.