We always talk about “giving it all away for free,” but how do you manage expectations in your free offerings so that your followers know the value you provide without trying to take advantage of you? We’re sharing our tips to help you keep Q&As under control and not allow your free offering to get derailed.
Emily Thompson 0:01
Hey bosses, it's time to freshen up your Insta feeds and website photos with images that are ethically sourced and from a place that supports creatives just like you, Tony, Tony has become a favorite resource of ours, offering millions of crowdsourced real world photos that are available under a simple royalty free license. Their images are diverse, numerous and ready for posting, give them a try with a five photo free trial. Start yours now at 20 twenty.com slash being boss, that's the word 20, then two zero.com slash being boss and claim your five free photos now. Now, let's get back at it.
Kathleen Shannon 0:39
If you guys are not on our newsletter list, we have monthly hangouts where we just continue the conversation for our podcast chat. So if you sign up for our newsletter at being boss club, we will make sure to let you know when our next hangout is. Okay, Caitlin, now ask the question.
Emily Thompson 0:55
Okay, so one of the topics that you guys mentioned a lot in Hangouts, and just everywhere is the topic of giving it all away for free. So Melissa asked with this topic in mind, how do you deal with people who come to your free group session or group service or whatever. And they asked for one on one advice, when it's a session with many people. And when you can't walk them through it one on one, they think you suck and review you poorly, because their expectation doesn't align with what you're providing. So how do you manage people's expectations in your free offerings?
Kathleen Shannon 1:31
Well, it sounds to me like you had an anomaly of a case like
Emily Thompson 1:35
this is not very personal scenario.
Kathleen Shannon 1:38
It is not typical to be offering a webinar or group session for free, and have someone come in and get upset whenever you can't give them the same value that you would to a one on one paid offering. So the first thing I'm thinking whenever you're asking this question is to one structure, your free group session or group service around curriculum that you have pre thought out and pre designed for this group work. So you're really walking them through what you are coming to the table with, and not necessarily the questions that they're coming to the table with. That's not to say there isn't time for q&a, which you can certainly answer. But I think setting up the expectation that I cannot diagnose all your problems or, you know, give you all the answers in this one group session. But what I'm hearing you say is this like you just give them the top line advice that you would give to anybody in their situation?
Emily Thompson 2:39
Yeah, so maybe consider this question, then how you to handle either q&a, Hangouts, or even in the clubhouse, when you have one person kind of talking about their business for a while? How do you shorten that time? So it doesn't take over the entire session?
Kathleen Shannon 2:55
So I don't know. I my thoughts with the q&a are I don't put the pressure on myself to have all the answers to their questions in the moment. One, I think that there's a lot of value in people just being able to show up and ask the question, half the time that they're asking the question, the answer is within the context of their question. It's just having the space to ask the question in the first place, that gives them all the answers that they need. Second, I acknowledge that whenever I'm answering one person's specific question that everyone else coming to the group is going to be smart enough to be able to reframe the question based on their own needs. So even if the question isn't so specific, and they'll be able to see how it applies to their life into their business. So for example, even in these minisodes, where we have Q and A's, not everyone is going to have this very specific question in their business right now. But they're going to be able to see where it does apply to their business. Right.
Emily Thompson 3:55
Right. And I think the place where this one applies to this specific question applies to your business is that there's always that one person, that no matter what you do, and what you say, and what you give away for free or offer at a discounted rate, or whatever it is, you may be doing, just woke up with some piss in their Cheerios this morning. Very happy with anything that you give them. And I think in that, like those people really happen. And you just you can't let yourself become a nerd by it and you can't restructure your business model or, or things that you are doing effectively for other people for this one person. So I think that's like my takeaway, or at least my piece of advice for this is there will always be that person. So even if you are structuring your free offerings to be to be very full of advice and full of value, and even if you have just done all of your homework and you are pleasing as many people as possible, there will always be that one person so just let it go. Do what you can And let it go.
Kathleen Shannon 5:01
You're so right, Emily. I mean, clearly, if someone got that upset that you couldn't walk them through one question in a q&a and left you a poor review that speaks more to them and their issues, then to you, it's not your fault. Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't let this turn you off of generously giving it all away for free or having webinars or group sessions, because that is super valuable. I
Emily Thompson 5:27
agree. And I do want to allow everyone to draw a line with giving it all away for free, because I can't imagine in this context, having someone come up to you and demanding more for you from or more from you for free, is can be something we're like, I wonder what Emily and Kathleen would do. Like, I would draw the line and say, you know, within the context of this group setting where I am giving it all away for free, here's the advice that I can offer. But outside of this is it this is how you can hire me. And if they're truly annoying, double your price so that they are less inclined to actually hire you.
Emily Thompson 6:02
So actually, if you guys want to go here, there was another question in that same hangout from Tiffany, who says, I don't want to devalue the industry as a whole. So I guess the question is, can offering everything for free end up devaluing the product?
Kathleen Shannon 6:18
Yeah, and this is exactly where we're talking about that line. I mean, if you're literally a graphic designer, and you're giving away logos for free, you are devaluing the industry. And that's not at all what we're talking about whenever we're talking about giving it all away for free. When we're talking about whenever we're talking about giving it all away for free, is really just positioning yourself as a knowledgeable, relatable, and likeable expert that other people can trust. And whenever you're generous with what you do know and what you can give away, people are more than willing to pay you for more, probably even double
Emily Thompson 6:51
for sure. And then you are attracting people who hopefully will admire and find value and connect with the free content that you're giving as opposed to assuming that you're going to give more or something else than what they're expecting. Otherwise, keep doing what you do. Yeah,
Kathleen Shannon 7:10
just keep going. Don't let that Cheerios piss person get.
Emily Thompson 7:18
Because goodness knows they can rain on the parade.
Kathleen Shannon 7:20
Or piss on a parade
Emily Thompson 7:22
or more piss on your parade. That's even worse.
Kathleen Shannon 7:26
Hey, boss want even more actionable guidance from me and Emily, we're taking our expertise in branding, marketing and building profitable businesses to the being boss clubhouse. The clubhouse kicks off with a two day online retreat followed by a year of support and community. We've helped our clubhouse members get focused double their revenue, launch their dream offering and market themselves like a boss. Learn more at www.beingboss.club/clubhouse. Again, that's www.beingboss.club/clubhouse. This minisode was brought to you by Twenty20. Check them out at Twenty20.com/beingboss. That's t w e n t y 20 as in the number.com slash being boss.
Emily Thompson 8:15
Did you like this minisode Be sure to check us out on our website at beingboss.club. There you can find more from being boss including our full episodes minisodes and blog posts. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our mailing list so that you can get access to behind the scenes and exclusive content from Kathleen and myself to help you be more boss in your work and life. Do the work be boss
