You Are Not Alone… in Wondering: Do I Give This Away or Charge For It?
- Post By: Greg Crumpton
- Date:
- Category: Blog
As an independent contractor, a small business owner, or a consultant you can attest to the fact that this is an all-to-common position we find ourselves in. The first thing that I remember to tell myself when in this spot is, don’t be concerned about billing for it. That is indeed my first reaction. I believe that if you serve people well, they will buy your service, product, widget, etc. Be there when they call, answer the phone, communicate to them like you want people to communicate to you.
That all sounds really good… to a point. The point, the Tipping Point really (see www.malcolmgladwell.com for more on that), of when you have to decide how much of yourself to keep investing into any given relationship, now that is the real crux of this writing.
Is there an impending sale? Are you educating? Are you building relations that you believe one day will help all involved? Are you in need of making a mortgage payment? Is payroll due tomorrow?
All of these questions are crucial to how the brain handles the conceptual component, execution and the delivery of “your particular art” to the end user, customer, client, lead or whatever term you affix to them. You can read about The Go Giver mentality in the 2007 book by Bob Burg and John David Mann (www.thegogiver.com). It’s powerful. It teaches and Re-minds and Re-demonstrates what most of us learned as kids, give and ye shall receive.
Pretty straight forward, right? You give your time, treasure and talent and eventually things wind up rosy. Well, not always. I firmly believe in “go-giving,” but what if all you earn your living on are soft, non-tangible things? Does that affect your Tipping Point? Should it? Does it matter if you are selling an idea or a elevator? I think it has to. Here’s why.
If an artist, and I refer to that as an “Idea Seller,” sits with you and delivers a vision of how the building should flow, or how the carpet color will blend with the wall coverings or how the heat from the data center will be removed, is that less valuable than selling an S model from Tesla? Just because a physical object is not delivered doesn’t mean we should approach the compensation of the artist any differently than the commission Rick Hendrick gives to the lady who just sold 30 vans to Ralph’s 23.5 Hour Plumbing Service Company. As an aside, Ralph says he gives them a lunch break for 30 minutes.
Last week, I was speaking to my good friend, Dr. Sam, about the same thing. Sam delivers his art in a very unique way, but it isn’t tangible. It is a conceptual game plan that has been proven to help successful people step up their game and helped young folks get started on the right foot in life. When does Sam know when he is being sought out for counsel that he will be compensated for and when does he know (figure out) that the inquiring person is just trying to gain knowledge and has no intention of entering into a transactional relationship? He doesn’t know, all he has is his gut and his scar tissue (aka experience) paired with an ability to read the tea leaves of each situation.
This week, I was conversing with my friend Brian about the impending new year. Brian is a lot like Sam, he gets paid for delivering ideas. What’s the # 1 worry for him heading into the holidays? It’s not if the SuperStore has what he wants to buy in stock. He is wondering if the new campaigns he is mentally working on for his customers will be paid for when he gets ready to pitch them.
One last example. Our friend Mike is a great Mechanical Engineer. A lot of what Mike sells is the conceptual notion of how an HVAC system will work, IF you hire him to design it. How much of the concept does Mike reveal before the customer says, “OK, we will take it?” I can’t answer that for Mike, although I would think it is safe to say as little as possible, so in case they decide not to choose him the ideas stay within his brain, not showing up as an RFP that he then has to price, competing with others, for work he has already “given away.”
A popular song being played now all over the radio goes: “You can’t have my heart and you won’t use my mind.” From my perspective she’s saying,”Pay me for what I deliver,” even if you can’t hold it in your hand.
Maybe there’s not a great answer to this issue but, I do know two things.
Pay people for what they make good in your life.
Give all you can give, expect little, and you will be rewarded.
#Faith
