Does something that is free have value?

This one has been a hard lesson learned by me. Being a bit of a softy at heart, if I see someone in need and I can provide, I usually offer assistance.

This has been everything from free hypnotherapy, to completely free hypnosis certification training because there was no local school available to the person,

But, for the most part, if I was willing to give it away, it was treated with no value by the recipient.
Some actually saw it as trying to do ME a favor. LOL.

While there have been rare exceptions (like the phobia I got rid of in the coffee shop just for something to do while the wife yakked with her co-workers), they are extremely few and far between.

This of course has turned me a bit sour on helping people out, but I can't help being who I am and I still relent sometimes because I guess I need to occasionally be reassured that yes indeed, Free STILL equals no value.

This subject originally came up in a discussion about paid testimonials, and not wanting to shift subject there, I started this topic.

I personally use a metaphor for my smoking clients when they find out the price:
If I gave you a free pen with my business name on it, and it ran out of ink, what would you do?
If you paid $250 for a pen, and it ran out of ink, what would you do?

So what do you think? Do you agree that Free = No Value?

John

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Permalink Reply by Melanie Schwartze on May 16, 2009 at 1:27pm

Hi John,

I absolutely agree. Free equals not value. How many free info do we download from the internet without even looking at it. I think giving away free info and services also has something to do with our self worth. How much money do we think we are worth?

I find that if hypnotherapy is important to someone and they want to make it work they will not only pay what you ask for it but they will also make the time available that fits into your time management.

I like your metaphor with the pen.

Mel

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Permalink Reply by Tranzkey on May 16, 2009 at 1:37pm

I think it is how you frame it, maybe you should communicate WHY it is free?

I have gotten many things of value for free. Just to pull one out of the hat, once, as a child, I drew a picture of a pirate that I saw on a matchbook ad, and mailed it to the Famous Artist school for a free evaluation.

Instead of brochures, literature, hard selling, etc., some man wrote back a really honest and personal letter, basically saying that I was not a doofus, and that if I kept practicing, he was sure I would get better, and at a future date, maybe I would want to be an artist.

What a touch of class!

That must have been 40 years ago, and that is my model to follow, when a person can call me for a free 15 minute consultation.

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Permalink Reply by Elisabeth on May 16, 2009 at 2:39pm

I have recent experience with this. I was advised to have drawings for free sessions as a way to build my mailing list. Because business has been excruciatingly slow for me I decided that I'd feel better if I was doing, even if there was no money involved, so I made every entrant a winner (without telling them that, of course). I heard back from 2/10. One scheduled and when I called to confirm had forgotten to write it down and was going to be out of town... she's supposed to call back but I'm not holding my breath. The other one asked my availability for particular dates. When I didn't hear back I sent a follow-up email to ask if she still wanted to schedule, and got a response telling me that she was going out of town, I could call her in two weeks, and that I could use her other email but only if I don't send junk mail to it. As if she's doing me a favor by claiming her prize. Astonishing. What exactly does she think I'm getting away with? And I can't imagine why anybody would put their name in a drawing for something they weren't at least curious about in the first place. But this is how we learn these things. sheesh.

Personally I don't think that it necessarily follows that free = no value, but it does seem clear that other people really do think so, for whatever reason. Which is a shame when you think about it.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on May 16, 2009 at 3:47pm

Hi,

I'm glad you ran with this-- John,

I totally agree that for far too many people Free = No Value.

However - I find doing free talks on-behalf of groups that charge for my talk is way to raise funds for groups that I want to support and put myself out there...

Every now and then there seems to be a number of people who contact me needing help at the same time -- In the past I have organized free support groups for parents that lost children, victims of violent crimes and teach creative stress management stuff and they valued the help...

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on May 16, 2009 at 3:51pm

Hi,

I'm glad you ran with this-- John,

I totally agree that for far too many people Free = No Value.

However - I find doing free talks on-behalf of groups that charge for my talk is way to raise funds for groups that I want to support and put myself out there...

Every now and then a number of people contact me needing help at the same time -- In the past I have organized free or low cost support groups for parents that lost children, victims of violent crimes and mostly it's to let them be with each other and teaching creative stress management stuff and they valued the help...

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Permalink Reply by Tranzkey on May 16, 2009 at 3:51pm

If you the discussion to giving away free sessions, I agree with most of the others.

But maybe you could say something like, buy 4 sessions and get the next one free.

But if someone walked up to me, and asked me to pray for them, because they heard that I was a christian, I might spend an hour, without charging them money.

Even a student should be earning some money. I used to go to the cosmetology school to get inexpensive haircuts from the students, and I still had to pay some money.

Hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Moore on May 16, 2009 at 8:39pm

When I was in grad school working on my Master's in Marriage & Family Therapy I got my 2000 hours in working in a non-profit setting with very low-income and homeless people, often with bipolar, associative identity disorder, schizophrenia etc. These folks didn't have money. But, I didn't work with them for free either. One of my hardest working clients (who to this day sends me a Christmas card every year) was a woman with associative identity disorder. Her payment at each session was a big yard bag of pop cans that she collected and brought to me to turn in for recycling. Others would go to a hot meals program, food bank or other community service and log hours in exchange for therapy. They brought me their signed slip documenting their hours with pride and they worked hard for their wellness. It was truly miraculous!

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Permalink Reply by Dale Welch on May 16, 2009 at 11:56pm

If i buy a pen for $250 but it feels the same as the pen i get for $4 it will probably only be a $4 pen to me even if it has a tag saying $250.
And if someone gives me a $250 object for free it still is a $250 object to me.
The question is not whether i know it is a $250 object
but rather whether it is the type of object i would value?
And if i do value it can i replace it?

John, if the pen has your name on it i would of course pay any price to get more ink for that pen.
Even if it meant going to your office and swapping out the insides of one of the pens there. ;-)

I worked for the salvation army for several years and so i am familiar with both those who take what you offer but don't actually value it and those who desperately value anything you give them.

Now of course we are hurt when people do not value our services to the extent that they should. And to quote a fairly well known teacher of old "do not throw your pearls before swine". Unfortunately it isn't easy to tell who is going to act like pigs. Mine are often aged 8, 11 and 12 and call me "papa". ;-)

I hope i will remember the times people have helped me and treat others well, and will respect the help others offer to me. I accepted a fellow member's offer of the cd/DVD's he made of his meditation presentation for the hypnosummit and i hope i will treat it with the respect it deserves. Shame on anyone who doesn't treat that gift with respect. He could have asked for postage but he did not.

So to summarize,,,
some will disrespect you
some will love your gift
some will want it but have problems and never be able to get together with you
Don't let it make you give up on everyone

--- dale welch

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Permalink Reply by John Cleesattel on May 17, 2009 at 6:36am

Dale Welch said:

If i buy a pen for $250 but it feels the same as the pen i get for $4 it will probably only be a $4 pen to me even if it has a tag saying $250.
And if someone gives me a $250 object for free it still is a $250 object to me.
The question is not whether i know it is a $250 object
but rather whether it is the type of object i would value?
And if i do value it can i replace it?

John, if the pen has your name on it i would of course pay any price to get more ink for that pen.
Even if it meant going to your office and swapping out the insides of one of the pens there. ;-)

--- dale welch

Dale,
It's not about the price tag, it's about how much YOU invested. If YOU shelled out $250 for a pen I feel somewhat confident that if the pen didn't work right, you would see that the pen got repaired, rather than just throw it out like a freebie pen. But then again, maybe for you it would take something like a $500 pen, or a $1000 pen before you would do that.

$100 -$150 is the usual cut off for median American household disposable spending (Its how much it takes to take a family of 4-6 out to dinner, the original disposable income investment). But it can change due to how much money you have and/or how easily you came by it.

The metaphor means that if you pay a lot for something (place value in something), it is not easily thrown away. Like the cost of a stop smoking hypnosis session. If you pay $250 (or however much is significant to you) to stop smoking, and you have problems, you will have those problems fixed rather than just throw that money away and keep smoking.

John

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Permalink Reply by Michael Haifleigh on May 17, 2009 at 7:51am

John,
I do not agree that Free = No Value.

Value is decided/applied and held by each of us – that’s keeping in mind that we can be influenced by others and the environment.

Michael

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Permalink Reply by Fable Goodman on May 17, 2009 at 10:40am

Is something free of value?

Most definately yes!

Who with an ounce of humanity left in their body/mind /soul would argue different?

Yes in a business wordl, there are expressions like "their is no such thing as a free lunch"

But in the real world, of human beings, I have gave and had, many free lunches.

No strings.

Is stuff that is free appreciated/ valued?

Well I have made available on this site, quite a few Free MP3s, and have had nothing but praise, and approval, and recognition, and aknowledgement.
As well as that, I have had feedback, which has been invaluable!.

so are my free offerenings 'valued'? I would say so!

I am one of those people who looks in skips, and down back alleys as I go about my everyday affairs... I often see things that other people have thrown out, which I can find a use for... I have no shame, in recycling them.

Sometimes, I pick something up for free, and it may lie around my (large) palace for years, and never be used, but every so often, someone comes along with a project, and needs something specific, ... and I can safely say..."have a look on the snooker table in the games room, I am sure you will fnd what you need!"

Or "have a look in the kitchen, on the floor... the thing you need is there on the left"

Ask those people.. do things for free have value?

Love, hugs, and bad spelling,

Fable

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Permalink Reply by Patti Hutcheson on May 17, 2009 at 10:43am

I graduated from a hypnosis school a year long program. I paid a lot of money I never missed a class I soaked in the information. I do not regret a cent I paid for the experience.
I found a place for free yoga. It had wonderful people I loved the feeling I got there. I went twice.

I keep thinking about this and I hate that it is true. My hippie side wants to believe in free love, helping those around you, and that the universe will provide for me.

But I keep thinking why didn't I continue going to the yoga place???
because it was free? I hate that answer.