Consider this dichotomy. The best relationship-building and marketing approach I know is to be generous with your time, spirit and relationships. But you won’t be in business for long if you give your services away for free or you spend time, money and effort to undercut your prices and value proposition.
The latter in part is why “free estimates” offers are so dangerous. They lack uniqueness and they invite abuse from price-shoppers. The late Sonny Lykos and other residential-focused contractors advocate design fees. (See “The Process”.) You can of course give a quick ball-park estimate (this helps weed out people who simply have no idea how much the work will cost) and of course provide free estimates for clients you know well who are either referred or previous customers.
In the non-residential space, contractors often play the “free estimate” game by bidding public work. When “low bid wins the job”, you’ve just lost, most likely, unless you have truly efficient processes, a highly specialized service where there is little competition or something fishy is happening. Even worse are design-related RFPs especially in U.S. jurisdictions where Brooks Act provisions apply. In these situations, if you aren’t already connected (or something very rare is happening) you simply will not get the work, no matter how hard you try and how much effort you put into the process.
Then, how do you win business with your generosity? The answer is the big “R” in marketing — Relationships. People like doing business with other people (and organizations after all are groups of people) who care, are respectful, genuinely interested and show they really know what they are doing without being pushy or arrogant about it. So when you see someone offering to help without worrying about return, you tend to like the person. When you see the help is really competent and insightful — and you have other evidence of the marketer’s true competence — your resistance breaks down, you recognize the marketer’s brand value, and you are willing to do business. You’ll pay a design fee, even.
Now, you may ask, how do you bridge the gap between free generosity and really high-ticket sales. Some pundits advocate a “small steps” approach with escalating opportunities to commit more resources and money as you build your reputation and recognition. This is where things like books and Webinars can be useful — you can set a modest fee on a relatively-value product/service and collect some revenue. Your client, if you do things right, will feel well-treated by the experience and be ready to commit to larger purchases and major projects. Frankly, this is some of the motivation behind my decision to write the Construction Marketing Ideas book (but for the book, I’m pleased that it is selling well in its own regard.)
I encourage you to think creatively about these points. Generosity is a powerful resource but you don’t need to be a sucker or give away your services for free.
