What is the
value of free? For the majority of
people, free is the hook for; open your checkbook or break out the credit card
and pay for free for the next year or more.
I often wonder when something of value is offered for free, why most
people turn their nose up and say there has to be a catch. A great example of the value of free came
from a friend who bought a new refrigerator and placed his old working
refrigerator out by the street with a sign tapped to it “FREE”. It actually worked and would be ok in the
average rental property. It stood in front of his house for a week with no
takers. So he changed his strategy, he
placed a sign on it; works, $50… somebody stole it. Nothing had changed other
than a value had been placed upon it.
So what is
the value of cheap? If someone wants to
give another person a good deal and the price is too low in the mind of person
about to receive a deal; that equates to cheap. What do you get for cheap in
your mind? Poor quality, short cuts or
unfinished business and the imaginary lack of value. As a contractor, I have had customers tell me
they wanted the project as cheap as I could make it. After many unhappy customers, giving them
exactly what they asked for, my response became; you won’t like the look of
cheap. I even went further and gave my customers additional choices; cheap,
fast and good, pick two out of three. I
have often run into people who chose to go with another contractor because the
other contractor offered them cheap.
Quite often, later on, I have been met with a handshake and the comment; “I wish I
had gone with you” or “You were right”.
There is never any satisfaction with being right after listening how
someone else paid the price of cheap.
Expensive is
generally thought of as high quality or getting your monies worth and more
often, has a professional sales person reminding you of what a great deal you
just bought into. Keeping free, cheap and expensive in mind;
what is the value of free information that saves you a lot of money? What if you learned how to buy for a cheap
price through the power of negotiation and never had to make an expensive
mistake again? What would be the value
of that?
There are
professional people and groups out there where you can learn how to answer the
questions for free. They are not well
advertised and you will have to do your homework to find them. It will take you
time to find these groups and professionals who find their success with your
success. So what if groups and
professional people charge a fee? If as
a result of their information, you receive great value and success; would you
classify their information as cheap? More than likely you would classify the
information as expensive if you gained nothing from their information.
So if you
want to become successful and looking for value in building a solid plan, I
will give you three words to build your plan upon; cheap, fast and good, pick
two of the three. If you pick “cheap”
and “fast”, the results may not be good. Pick “fast” and “good” and the results
will not be “cheap” and if you choose “good” and “cheap”, the results will not
be “fast”.
Three words,
confusing analogies, the results of word placement which cause different
results, how confusing! Success is not easy and you will be judged by others on
your success.
My advice to you; choose your words carefully.
