Something for Nothing...

So often, I hear people say that free is of no value (i.e. if we give our work away for free, the client will not value it, and so the work's effect is lessened or even negated).

Yet there are so many requests for a person's own work to be given free to the requesting hypnotist/hypnotherapist that it makes me wonder why those people who wouldn't give their work for free to a client expect others to give their work to them for free.

Many times on this site, people very generously choose to give their work to all of us, or to selected individuals for free. Many more times, people ask for this stuff to be given freely to them (usually so that they can improve their business with it).

I have both given and received help on this site; I enjoyed sharing with others and I'm very grateful to those who have helped me by sharing their work and experience with me.

I am getting a little tired of being contacted (not by anyone on here) out of the blue and asked to give my work to others for free so that they can build their businesses using it. There are those who say they are interested in learning from me teaching them on a course, but there are too many (IMHO) who weren't that interested in helping others because if it costs them money, they don't want to know. Working for the NHS is wonderful in that I can help people who could not afford to pay privately. Working for the NHS is not so wonderful in that the money I get per hour is a quarter of what I would charge privately; and so I do not have the spare cash to be able to give lots away; that's where quartering my hourly rate comes in! I would rather give help to patients who truly need it than someone who just contacts me for what they can get from me, then slopes off.

Any thoughts, anyone? Am I just being grumpy?!

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Permalink Reply by John Cleesattel on September 26, 2011 at 8:21am

Henxy,

For me, helping people has been a double edged sword. I have a sincere desire to help others be successful so that the hypnosis field itself can be viewed by the general public as a viable alternative to medicine and psychotherapy. We will only get there by having successful sessions.

That said, I have to eat too. So I try to provide as much as I can at a very reduced rate to other hypnotists compared to what else is out there, and share techniques that I have developed that have proven to be reliable and repeatable.

This is not always an easy thing, as there are some who would discourage this practice because it undermines either their teachings, credibility, and/or their product line, which is money out of their pocket.

So sharing what you can and a reduced rate for hypnosis education materials is the best system I have been able to come up with to balance my desire to help others and my need to provide for my family.

I prefer to give people a hand...instead of a handout.

John

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Permalink Reply by Steve Andrade on September 26, 2011 at 10:31am

Hello Henxy,

What do you think about a person just starting out renting a space in a facility that has a different type of customer going thru it, mostly women, and the hypnotherapist offering the handful of employees no cost hypnotherapy. They do come in contact with many potential clients. So this would be more like walking advertising since they share much conversation with all their clients, again, a different business but still a service orientated business?

Steve

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Permalink Reply by Roy Hunter on September 26, 2011 at 4:47pm

Sometimes people have manipulated me into giving away a free or discounted session. Whether I give a session free OR at a discount, it needs to be MY choice in order for me to feel good about it.

On the occasions that I choose to give a free session to someone who needs it, I ask them to pay it forward...do something good for someone else with no strings attached.

Roy

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Permalink Reply by Richard Clark MFT on September 26, 2011 at 4:54pm

Henxy,

I have read your post twice in the last day and still I'm not sure what you are saying/asking.

Can you rephrase it?

Richard

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Permalink Reply by Margaret Ann Jones on September 26, 2011 at 9:53pm

Hi Steve, I worked in a place like the one you describe, and yes it is worth giving a basic healing Hypnotherapy session to the staff, I also gave a short Reiki session as a lot of the staff being younger than I, had not heard much about Hypnotherapy or Reiki, I did got some good clients from doing this.

Steve Andrade said:

Hello Henxy,

What do you think about a person just starting out renting a space in a facility that has a different type of customer going thru it, mostly women, and the hypnotherapist offering the handful of employees no cost hypnotherapy. They do come in contact with many potential clients. So this would be more like walking advertising since they share much conversation with all their clients, again, a different business but still a service orientated business?

Steve

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Permalink Reply by Henxy on September 27, 2011 at 2:10am

Thank you, John: wise words and a healthy approach.

John Cleesattel said:

Henxy,

For me, helping people has been a double edged sword. I have a sincere desire to help others be successful so that the hypnosis field itself can be viewed by the general public as a viable alternative to medicine and psychotherapy. We will only get there by having successful sessions.

That said, I have to eat too. So I try to provide as much as I can at a very reduced rate to other hypnotists compared to what else is out there, and share techniques that I have developed that have proven to be reliable and repeatable.

This is not always an easy thing, as there are some who would discourage this practice because it undermines either their teachings, credibility, and/or their product line, which is money out of their pocket.

So sharing what you can and a reduced rate for hypnosis education materials is the best system I have been able to come up with to balance my desire to help others and my need to provide for my family.

I prefer to give people a hand...instead of a handout.

John

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Permalink Reply by Henxy on September 27, 2011 at 2:21am

Hi Steve, I think if a person's happy that way, that's great.

Sadly, I feel I am being treated as if I am public property because I work for the NHS; and that the various people who contact me & expect me to hand them everything I have worked hard to achieve without their paying me for it so that they can make money out of it themselves.These same people argue that they can't give anything free to clients because it undermines their therapy.

I give a lot away to patients & hypnotherapists & trainees, and I work for relatively low income. I feel this is enough... yet I feel guilty when I decline to hand over all I have worked hard for to someone who is just after what they can get for free. This is not a person I'd want using my methods... yet the guilt is still there when I don't give it all away. The people who expect it for free (having asked for it for free) tend not to bother to reply when I say I am writing a course they could attend.

I guess Richard, I am asking is whether I'm being selfish; but John's answer helps me to think not. Sorry to be so waffly- it's probably all those pregnancy hormones!

Steve Andrade said:

Hello Henxy,

What do you think about a person just starting out renting a space in a facility that has a different type of customer going thru it, mostly women, and the hypnotherapist offering the handful of employees no cost hypnotherapy. They do come in contact with many potential clients. So this would be more like walking advertising since they share much conversation with all their clients, again, a different business but still a service orientated business?

Steve

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Permalink Reply by Henxy on September 27, 2011 at 2:23am

Hi Roy,

A lovely approach, too. I love the pay it forward thing. It works with the best of human nature: trust and altruism.

Roy Hunter said:

Sometimes people have manipulated me into giving away a free or discounted session. Whether I give a session free OR at a discount, it needs to be MY choice in order for me to feel good about it.

On the occasions that I choose to give a free session to someone who needs it, I ask them to pay it forward...do something good for someone else with no strings attached.

Roy

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on September 27, 2011 at 3:27am

Hi Henxy,

I trust hope all of us recognize we are not discussing" compassionate" care for those in need -

"Schnorrer" is a highly technical term for the kind of parasites you are dealing with. People who want profit by modeling or copying the protocols and models that you have developed without paying you for the models and related techniques.

I recommend giving it away and certifying the people who actually take your courses and demonstrate a competency in your method... This way - any one can use your models and techniques to help people and you are creating a network of practitioners who have paid to be trained in your models and techniques.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Clark MFT on September 27, 2011 at 4:54am

Yeah, those pregnancy hormones can really drive you nuts huh? :o)

Henxy said:

I guess Richard, I am asking is whether I'm being selfish; but John's answer helps me to think not. Sorry to be so waffly- it's probably all those pregnancy hormones!