Prospects wanting to pick our brain for free

Experiences with charging for first interview?

[makeyourlifesuper]

A number of prospective clients invited me to come see them at their offices. Normally IT and/or SEO people are present.

Dilemma; to demonstrate that I know what I am talking about, I need to aks important questions and give out some important information.

On several occasions, I had the impression that they just wanted to pick my brain.

Anybody having experience CHARGING MONEY for the first interview?

Thanks in advance

[rocknbil]

This is a tough one. From a customer's viewpoint, if I can't talk to you for free (and take up an undetermined amount of your time) I'll just go down the street. (This is probably what they're going to do anyway, right after they're done with you.)

If you're trained and have the work load, people come to you for more than business "fishing trips," you can pick and choose. I would say if your career/status is at that point, the initial consultation is billable.

In the past this is a BIG problem for me, but I'm changing it. Too many customers have come and gone, leaving knowing they'll get more out of the dollars they spend with me than months with someone else, but many of them just don't get it. All that time invested in the "pitch" is one big waste of time.

If I go talk to my lawyer, it's $35 for a half hour, and he/she hits the clock as soon as I sit down. That doesn't change if we start talking about his wife's gardening, or whether or not he/she can be of any help to my situation.

What's required is to look at it as an initial consultation. Not a sales pitch begging for work. I think your time is billable. If a customer can't respect that, let them go "down the street."

[Marcia]

You have the option of doing a first "preliminary analysis and consultation" for those who show signs of being brain-sucks. That way you get paid for what is actually a lot of consulting time and footwork for a proposal workup, and you can be up front with them that it is not optimization it's an assessment of their need. Then they can go with you, someone else, or do it in-house. It's actually a needs assessment - and you give your proposal with it, without giving away the store. Sometimes it's worth doing a dog-and-pony, some have picked up lucrative accounts that way.

Note: this does not work with many Mom 'n Pops and the totally clueless, many of them will think they are getting their whole sites optimized.

[ken_b]

Some retail shops make a habit of displaying cheap but attractive little trinkets out where shop lifters can make an easy score.

The idea is that an easy score keeps the less than pro thieves away from the good merchandise.

In the web world, the pros won't need to pick your brain, and the amatures will be thrilled to pick up a few less than productive hints because they won't know the difference anyhow.

As the old saying goes "Always leave them smiling".

[iamlost]

There are three approaches:
* one: I am a professional with an established reputation and all my time is billable.
* two: I am a professional building my reputation and will provide a one time only (maximum n-minute) general/educational talk on the ROI I can provide them after which all time is billable. Note: at no time discuss specifics i.e. their site design for free.
* three: I am a clerk and selling time is not billable. I charge only for delivered product.

Note: I recommend all work be by signed contract - even if it is as simple as maximum n-hours at n-dollars per hour to provide x-result. Verbal amorphous directions lead to he-said she-said I thought you meant misunderstandings and lost clients or revenue.

Anybody having experience CHARGING MONEY for the first interview?

I do now.
Prior to meeting I require the following from a client:
* synopsis of the company, its history, its products and markets.
* cv of company principals and employees with project authority.
* either a project RFP/RFQ or a description of project goals.

Prior to meeting I provide the following to a client:
* my cv.
* a short list of client references.
* a notorised statement of my business insurance cover.
* Note: if responding to a formal competitive RFP/RFQ I forgo the following: an initial meeting contract specifing where, when, how long, about what, for how much. One page very simple. No meeting without signature and cheque.

The requirement for information transfer forces the client to respond professionally; the contract requiring signature and cheque up front forces the client to take me seriously. It weeds out the "brain-pickers" nicely.

And yes I still get shocked responses but business is good enough to ignore them. Naturally I was somewhat more flexible when starting out.

See following "know your client threads" - yes, I am blowing my own horn but I believe the point is important:

Do a background check [webmasterworld.com]

Learning about the client got me the job [webmasterworld.com]

In the end it comes down to how you see yourself which determines how you act which determines how a client responds.

[Automan Empire]

For new prospects, you might quote a loss-leader type of fee for an initial consultation. For example, say you bill at $90 an hour, with a .5 hour minimum. At the $45 price point, you'll scare away a few good clients along with all the bad. You might try offering an "initial consultation for a nominal $20 fee" and indicate that you usually start at $45 but their initial consult is $20. Serious business people should not have a problem with a nominal consult fee. If the person refuses to spend a dime up front- what does that tell you about your future potential business relationship?
Granted you couldn't live off the $20 consultations- the goal is to weed out the people who AREN'T serious (to whom $0.01 would be too much money) yet not frighten off the quality prospects.
People often call asking if we are cheaper than such-and-such a place. I respond that we are the best, not the cheapest, and our prices are "reassuringly expensive." I know in my industry I could spend all day in the parking lot answering questions and looking under hoods for free if I let clients hook me into that. A firm but fair and consistent policy of only taking in serious clients, and letting price shoppers go down the road, has worked well in my oversaturated bricks and mortar niche.
This world is chock full of people who are unbelievably expert at wasting time. Sometimes you have to make a conscious choice not to serve the bottom 10% that manages to use up 40%++ of your resources.

[johntabita]

If you have a clear indication (even if it's a gut feeling) that the other person merely wants to "pick your brain," then you are no longer in a sales situation and should treat it as such.

The question is, how can you leverage this into a win-win situation? One way is to offer these types of people to "pick your brain over lunch." They buy you lunch and get an hour's worth of your wisdom and knowledge. Anything beyond that is a paid consulting gig.

You can use this in a couple of ways: it builds a relationship and you can ask the person for referral business at the end of the meeting.