Have we killed the law of reciprocity in business? You know, that thing where you give stuff for free and people are supposed to want to trade up to your paid stuff?
Today’s episode of the Dare To Dream Bigger podcast is for you if you have ever worked your backside off creating a freebie or a free challenge or a free video training or even a whole free programme, hoping that the law of reciprocity will get people signing up for your paid stuff, but it didn’t work the way you were told it would:
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Tweetable:
[Tweet “The very people who told us to give our best work away for free are the ones who broke the model.”]
Resources
All the links I mentioned in the podcast refer to Dare To Dream Bigger – here’s where to get your copy.- The Limiting Beliefs course I mention is here: www.ClareJosa.com/limitingbelief/
- Podcast: “Free For Exposure?” Is Giving-On-Empty Killing Your Business? http://www.clarejosa.com/podcast/038/
- Podcast: How To Stop ‘Feeling Like A Fraud’ From Getting In The Way Of You Asking For Business http://www.clarejosa.com/podcast/039/
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I’d love to hear from you!
How do you feel about all of this? Is the law of reciprocity still working for you? As an individual? Do you feel obligation towards those who give you stuff for free? Is it working for your business?
Do you agree with me on what has been causing this? Are there other factors?
What kinds of things are you prepared to pay for these days? And what might you do differently in your business, so that being able to put food in your fridge AS WELL as change the world becomes a no-brainer for you?
Let me know, via the comments.
With love, Namaste,
Clare Josa, Author of Dare To Dream Bigger, Mentor To Passionate World-Changers
P.S. Need some extra support with this? You could work with me, one-to-one? xx C.
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This is really interesting and thought-provoking. There’s an orthodoxy about what you do as a microbiz majoring on online promotion, and I’m seeing a swell at the moment of questioning the elements of that and finding new models that’ll work us questing folks with different personality types. I think what you’ve said here fits into that, and there are follow-on thoughts to be had. Eg what draws people in, what makes an impression, showing rather than giving…
I’m with you on this, Tim!
As micro businesses, we need to find a new way to do business.
This over-giving, on the advice of the multimillionaire big guys, is closing small businesses down. I’m seeing colleagues going back to ‘day jobs’ every week because we have taught a generation of B2C clients to want everything for free.
And then there’s the ‘free for exposure’ trap that is endemic in B2B. Every week I get a request from someone to do what could be up to a week’s work, for ‘exposure’. It’s a no. If they’re charging for the ticket, they need to pay my fee.
Thanks for your comment.