8/23/21
Listening Time:
27 min
Episode 122: Do You Need to Give Your Consulting Services Away for Free?—with Deb Zahn
When you first start consulting and don’t yet have examples of your consulting work, should you do some consulting for free?
My short answer is in almost every instance no. But in this Craft of Consulting podcast episode, I dig into why it could hurt your consulting business, why you might be tempted to do it, and what you should do instead.
TODAY'S GUEST
Deb Zahn
Episode Details
Building a portfolio doing free work might sound wise, but host Deb Zahn digs into why it rarely makes sense and why focusing on learning how to get clients is a better choice. In this episode, she talks about:
Embracing that if you did good things in the work world, then you have what you need to get business and succeed as a consultant
Understanding why your pre-consulting experience is so valuable
Recognizing that price communicates value
Giving clients skin in the game with the work you are doing by charging them
Creating awkward negotiating positions by switching from free to paid work
Setting up the perfectly normal precedent of charging as a consultant within your market
Being driven by a lack of confidence rather than by real business decisions
Sharing six things to help you get comfortable charging from the beginning
Shifting your focus to acquiring the right skills for getting business
Focusing on being as valuable as you can possibly be to clients
Treating your consulting business as a business and recognizing that you are the CEO of your business
Getting past the first couple “make-or-break it years of consulting
Offering the Get More Consulting Business Faster course
More information about the Get More Consulting Business Faster course: https://courses.craftofconsulting.com/p/get-more-consulting-business-faster