What Goes
Around Comes Around
by: Heather Jacobson
I have a confession to make. I am notorious for meeting people,
liking them, and then when they realize what I do and that I could
help them, I end up giving away my services.for free. I have this
uncontrollable urge to help people, especially when I know it's
something that I am good at and enjoy doing.
Now I don't do this all the time, but occasionally I will, and I will
tell you why. It comes back to me tenfold.
For example, we just adopted a Great Dane. In my search for
information on this mini-horse breed, I came across a Yahoo! Group for
local Great Dane owners. I joined, sent my welcome message
introducing myself and Napoleon, and the owner of the group noticed my
signature line and contacted me for possible help with my services.
We were on the phone for at least two hours. I liked her.
So when we finally got around to talking business and she told me she
needed a sales letter written to send out locally, I told her I would
do it for free.
I didn't think twice about it.
We have chatted a few times on the phone, and we have met at our
Great Dane get-togethers, and I did her sales letter. It was pretty
good if I do say so myself. But here is what happened that I was not
expecting.
She's telling people about me.
That's right. I've gotten new clients by referral from her, and all I
did was spend two hours on her sales letter. Not a bad trade, eh?
I didn't do this letter for her with the expectation of something in
return. I honestly didn't. My boyfriend, my coach, and my colleagues
love to get on me about giving my services away, and I can see where
they are coming from. However, I'm a firm believer that what goes
around comes around.
This is just one example. I also had a colleague that wanted her
blog template to look just like her website. I was almost sure that I
could do it, and before I knew it, she sent me the information and
hired me to do it.
So I did it. It was a lot of trial and error, since I was dealing
with a programming code that I was not an expert in writing. I worked
with it until it was just right. When it came time to bill her, I
simply dropped her a note and said, "It's on me. I'm just tickled that
I could actually do it." And I was. I didn't expect anything from
her.
Yesterday, the FedEx man came, and I now have 12 brownies from
Fairytale Brownies. (Well, I HAD 12.there are only 9 now!) But again,
I wasn't expecting anything. I was just pleasantly surprised when I
got a package in the mail and it wasn't my birthday or Christmas.
And I'm sure when the conversation comes up and people ask her how
she got her blog to look like her website she'll say, "Heather at
Valley Virtual Assistants did that for me." Even if she doesn't,
that's okay with me. I felt good helping someone out, the brownies are
delicious (and hidden where no one can find them), and I'm content
with how I do business.
Let's be honest. We're not non-profit organizations, and many of us
rely on our customers and clients to put food on the table, a roof
over our heads, and clothes on our backs. We cannot afford to give the
farm away, but we can give a few bales of hay away, and we can choose
who should get them.
C 2006 Heather Jacobson
About The Author
Heather Jacobson doesn't pay for marketing if she doesn't have to.
Learn
how she does it and get your 10 FREE inexpensive marketing tactics at
http://www.10freetips.com" target="_blank">http://www.
10freetips.com.
|
