Why give advice for free?
March 5, 2010
Just responded to a PR person’s rant about being asked to give free advice–and her resentment of people who want to ”pick her brain.”
I’m not crazy about being asked to work for free…but certainly there are ways to say “no.” Such as… I wish I could, but I’m not in a position to work for free; or “I’m swamped” or “I’m off the clock, just now.”
My colleague Ted responds to just about anyone who asks for help; as he says, ”We’re in business to make friends.”
Having spent too much time out of work, I know how much it means to have someone offer a helping hand–and will respond, when I can, to almost anyone who is looking for a job.
Likewise–I try to find time to help students or recent grads who need a little career guidance or connections to people who can help provide insight or work.
You never know where things will lead.
Just last night, someone to whom I’d given a bit of free advice recommended me for a consulting gig with an entrepreneur.
On Monday, I’ll be having a phone conversation with the entrepreneur, even though he told me up front he doesn’t think he can afford me and doesn’t want to waste my time. But I’m interested learning about his startup and if I can’t afford to take on the work, I might know someone who can. I do believe that “what goes around comes around”.
Still, I have to admit that after being asked too often to explain social media and its uses, I’m a bit fed up. So I’ve decided to post some blogs that will allow me to both beg off such inquiries and publicize my knowledge and skills.
And who knows? Maybe this post–which has offered some ideas (I hope!) for free – will help to do the same!
—Anita M. Harris
HarrisCom Blog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish New Cambridge Observer and Ithaca Diaries blogs.
Filed in Interpersonal communication, Public relations, social media
Tags: advice, blogging, consulting, entrepreneur, free advice, helping others, marketing, networking, Public relations, social media, social networking
March 6, 2010 at 3:58 am
Nice post, Anita.
I recently wrote a post on this very topic. These days, information and advice (good and bad) is EVERYWHERE. Many people are vying for attention.
The people that hold back information are often the ones that lose out in this battle. Obviously, you can’t give away the farm, but when people are looking for an expert, you have to position yourself in the running. Giving free advice can be a good start.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
March 6, 2010 at 11:35 am
Good points! Thanks for commenting, Donnie. I’ll link to your blog post if you’d like. Anita
May 3, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Hi Anita,
This question reminds me of our February 09 Breakfast Forum topic called “Share the Love: Bring Humanity Back to Business and Your Brand.” We talked about how to build a compelling personal brand, how to generously “share the love” to reap business success, and how to deploy and convey those concepts in your organization. Our feeling, and that of our co-presenter, Paige Arnoff Fenn, is that being generous — as opposed to keeping your information, contacts, etc. to yourself — is the way to build relationships that build your brand and your business.
That said, we do NOT do spec work, and being generous does not mean providing consulting services for free. I agree that you can help people without going too far, and that there are many ways to gracefully draw the line.
May 3, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Sounds like a great forum–as all of yours are! Anita