That Fabulous Four Letter Word!

We all want it. Industries use it. Businesses are built around it. What is it?
FREE.
What do you mean businesses are built on free? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a business. Don't businesses exist to make money?

And that my friend is the magic question! Why does your business exist? Simply to make money? Most would answer no. In fact many people start businesses because we see a problem and we have devised a way to solve it - and make a living doing so. With that in mind, lets get back to FREE.

FREE is different than heavily discounted items. Free will make you money. Discounting heavily will lose you money - and here's why.

Discounting heavily creates an expectation for your clients that you have over priced an item and that you can afford to make money while selling it with big discounts. Your customers then become programmed to wait for a BIG sale or promotion before they buy.

Unfortunately, business owners KNOW that discounting loses money. Many do it to liquidate a product or to raise cash fast - but in the end it hurts their business.

FREE, however is magic. Everyone loves FREE. GOOGLE - one of the biggest and most profitable companies on the internet is built on the FREE model. Free email addresses, applications, document storage and much, much more.

Despite the fact that we think FREE costs us - it in fact builds our businesses. Think of the last time that you got something you liked for free. WOW. What a feeling that can leave you with. As long it is something you like, want or appreciate - FREE is fabulous.

Cereal is sold using FREE. Countless items are sold by giving something away. Chris Anderson in his book, "Free" explains it in detail and it is a fascinating examination of the new business model built on giving things away.

Free builds trust, goodwill, can introduce a new product or service, educates consumers and showcases a business superbly. Convinced yet?

(Now the objections) "But I cannot afford to give away anything for free!" Oh yes you can. Think about the knowledge you have. Are you an expert in your field? Of course you are! Now think about what a potential client or current customer might like or need. What are their interests? What bits of information can you offer that will make their worlds a better place or make their lives better?

Tips. Reports. A chapter of your book. Free sampling of your service. Think outside the box about what you can give away that does not cost you much financially. Small businesses stand to gain the most from offering things for free - because they are more closely connected to their client.

HOW do you do that? It's not hard. A list capture box on a web site and an auto-responder is all you need. So think about it. Get in on that free model and see how easily you can build your business!

If you want to learn more about setting up auto-responders - you can learn how to set them up at this upcoming webinar - or by visiting MS Web Consulting (where we give a lot away for free!)