How to Get Paid for Freebies

We all have them (I hope); friends and colleagues, close associates, for whom we wouldn’t dream of charging a penny to help them with their spreadsheet, document, web site or accounting.

Sometimes it seems just too crass to even think about mentioning money.

This is not the client who calls up saying “I know it will take you only 5 minutes”, selfishly overlooking the fact that you spent 50 hours learning how to do it.

This is the colleague who drives you to lunch each time you meet, the one you phone to cry on a shoulder.

Here’s What You do

I’ll take a spreadsheet as an example; you can change the scenery.

Griselda wants to know how to set up her spreadsheet; you like Griselda and she likes you and you scratch each other’s back once a month or so.

Invite Griselda over for the morning; she’ll miss her tweets and eMail, so she’ll not hang around for ever. That puts a time limit on the face-to-face stuff.

Tell Griselda BEFORE she comes over that the spreadsheet is free, but if she feels bad about it she can buy you lunch. (Always order the corned-beef sandwich with spicy-fries; you can eat only half of it anyway; bring the other half home for a second lunch tomorrow).

Tell Griselda BEFORE she comes over that you’ll support her in her endeavors up to an including the last day of the following month. That’s anything from one to two months hand-holding.

Absolutely Free

But tell Griselda BEFORE she comes over that after the end of the first complete calendar month you’ll charge her for support at 50% your regular rate, payable by retainer in advance.

Is that Asking Too Much?

I think not.

Griselda is acutely aware that she is "imposing” on you, and you on her; but as well she values your friendship and hates leeching off you; as you do her.

This establishes, up front (“Good fences make good neighbors”) that a no-strings freebie is being offered, and accepted, but that if the task becomes onerous, you will be recompensed without placing a burden of guilt on here.

Talk to Me!

“A Client is Bad-Mouthing Me!”

No, not me, but a colleague of mine.

Seems that the product was shipped and failed to meet expectations. In fact, the product was dead, due to an series of delays in the shipping service.

That Happens

What happened next is not normal, or abnormal, if you prefer.

My colleague’s client waited a year then sent an email reminding colleague that the shipment was (literally) dead-on-arrival.

Why wait a year?

Why bring the issue up again? Colleague said she was sorry, offered a refund, a fresh shipment etc.

No wait! There’s more!!

Colleague’s Client took care to point out the they are now letting everyone they know (church, friends, school etc) that colleague takes the money then ships dead products.

“Don’t worry” I tell my colleague.

“There’s one in every crowd”.

Every now and then you’ll run up against someone who is never happy unless they are both miserable and trying to make everyone around them (church, friends, school etc) miserable.

The good news is that everyone around them (church, friends, school etc) already knows that Griselda is a whiner, 100% negative, unforgiving, resentful, spiteful.

Griselda’s Grizzles will be shed like water off the proverbial duck’s back.

P.S.

Come to think of it, Griselda is probably doing my colleague a favor by spreading the word; 50% of the people she tells will think “Griselda is always so wrong and negative; this supplier might just be good! I’ll go take a look at the web site …”.

Talk to Me!