The “Work For Free” Client
This is the client that invites you to attend their events or their business and they want to meet you at Starbucks with his or her business partners to basically… pick your brain. Hey, if you are not going to pay me to use my services then at least pay me a consultant fee… right? They have no intention of financially supporting you but dangling the carrot will, in their minds, get them the answers they can’t seem to get from more savvy, less desperate business people. I’m not knocking it, I’ve been there myself… I’m just being honest.
What we think we are hiding is often BLATANTLY apparent and obvious and sometimes we ignore our instinct on these types because we need the business. Truth be told they are desperate too because they need the information. We will often give TOO much information and then we are left in the cold and they have just gotten a free education. First of all, if a client wants to pick your brain and they want you to meet them at Starbucks they are cheap. If you ever listen in to some of the business meetings or interviews that take place at Starbucks, they are often futile and ego-driven by one of the people.
This is not to say some of the meetings are not successful but let’s be realistic if a client offered to take you to Starbucks and another offers to take you to dinner.. which one do YOU think is more serious?
