Recently I spoke at an event where numerous people asked me to meet with them, have lunch, etc. I responded: Sorry, no free lunch meetings – if you want to meet with me you need to pay my hourly fee.
I mentioned this in an email and got this reply from Dennis:
Perry
I love your stuff, you are obviously a very talented online marketer. In addition I bet your a good person, I don’t know but I get the feeling you are. However one thing really bothered me that you said in your newsletter dated Tuesday October 28th.
As far as I can deduct you where part of a program that went late into the night that people paid for and after it was over several people wanted to take you to lunch etc, to pick your brain. You response was sure, just pay me my hourly rate. Now I’m all for people getting paid for there time, God knows if you say high to a lawyer your going to get a bill. Wlth that in mind there is such a thing as going to far. It’s called GREED. It’s what the me generation did to this countries economy today. It’s the reason our economy is in such a mess.
I have been here for 58 years and have met many successful people, everyone of these people that I have asked to take to lunch and chat never charged me a dime. And myself being a very successful sales person earning over $100 K per year since 1974 have always given freely to others who asked. My opinion regaring your reponse to a request to do lunch was not being a smart business person, it was greed with a capital G. Come on, lets get real here if this kind of greed does not stop this country is headed for the dumpster.
Can you imagagine having to pay everyone who you asked for advice ? Why not put a hold on the greed and give a little back without getting paid for it. Even the blood sucking lawyers do probono work, even high priced doctors volunteer there skill to help people who can’t afford medical care. Even old John D Rockefeller realised his greed and started giving his money away. Then theres Perry Marshall he won’t go to lunch with eager students and share his knowledge without getting paid. You can rationalize all you want, but your response was arrogant and greedy. Let me summarise, what you did was Bull Shit.
Dennis
This was my reply to Dennis:
Dennis,
Thanks for your note and I can appreciate how my comment made you feel. Yes if someone told me 20 years ago I’d be charging people $700 for lunch and turning away people asking for help, I might have felt the same way as you. As you wrote your email I think you felt more and more angry about it all the time.
My wife read your email and said, “Perry, this guy apparently doesn’t know how many people want to take you to lunch.”
Dennis, I have over 100,000 people on my email list. You have no idea how many people email my office and ask questions – hundreds and hundreds every month. I could EASILY spend all day dispensing free advice. The demand for it it ENDLESS. I could spend every single breakfast, lunch and dinner time slot dispensing free advice and the line would never stop.
At the meeting, had I responded to all those requests I would’ve been out to lunch every day this week dispensing free advice. Remember: I’m not a salesman. I’m a consultant. Advice, not widgets, is what I sell. When you were a salesman you didn’t give away your goods for free and you didn’t feel guilty if they expected you to and you wouldn’t feel guilty for saying no.
There are several reasons why I don’t dispense free advice:
-It would be unfair to those who pay for it, and there are many who do
-People almost NEVER act on free advice, especially if it requires them to do something uncomfortable – so what’s the point in dispensing it?
-If people want free information there are hundreds of pages of free articles and MP3’s on my website and it’s good stuff
-If I gave away my knowledge I would not be able to be generous to those who truly are in need.
You accuse me of being greedy and not being generous. You do not know that. You do not know me at all. You have no business making such judgments. You do not know how many people and/or organizations I DO give free advice to. You do not know who or what I give my money to and it’s none of your business anyway.
Just know this: If I gave away free advice I would have no money to give to AIDS orphans in Africa.
So given that I have people lined up to pay me money (for example if you want a 1 day consultation it has to be booked 1-3 months in advance; phone consults are booked 2-4 weeks in advance) why should I allow people to cut in line and pay nothing?
Would that be right?
Finally, most of the questions people would ask me are already answered on my website or in my products. Most of the business ideas people pitch me with are a waste of time. People who have not read my books or website first usually wouldn’t understand the answer if I gave it to them.
I am known all around the world for my expertise and my time is valuable. I am a STEWARD of my time and I am responsible before God for how I use it. To give it away indiscriminately would be irresponsible and wasteful.
I will give my time to people who earn it and that is why I am then able to be generous with people who need it. Hungry children in Africa need help more than well-fed Americans who are trying to solve their business problems. If they want free advice, they can ask someone else.
When people pay for my time, they get value. In life you usually get what you pay for, and when you pay me $725 an hour [note: my rate has risen since this was written, it is now $4,000 per hour] you get your money’s worth. My job is to deliver that value and make sure that knowledge is put to use for maximal effect to ALL involved – my customers, myself, and the causes that are dear to my heart.
Sincerely,
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
421 Comments on “Perry’s Greed”
Hi Perry,
I think we can all agree that a little tactfulness might have been more appropriate, but then again how else would Dennis have learned the difference between sales and consulting?
Thanks to you I stopped giving free advice two months ago. In one of your newsletters earlier this year you discussed this issue. You even recommended we copy your Marketing Consultation Request Form and use it to start getting in the habit of refusing to give free advice. I hate to admit it, but it took me four months to take your advice on that one.
The day I started using your form (and stopped giving free advice) was the day I called back two prospects I had given advice to just to follow up. I was blown away by the fact that neither one had the decency to return my call. That day my friend was the turning point.
Today everybody has to pay $495 to talk to me and I don’t return unsolicited phone calls or e-mails from non-clients… Sound familiar?
It took me a long time to finally “get it” but it really works. In essence what you’re doing is “disqualifying” the tire kickers from the serious prospects.
Perry you were instrumental in this breakthrough in my consulting business. The value you deliver is unsurpassed so stick to your guns!
Keep up the great work and have a wonder Thanksgiving.
Frank
Love Perry, his perspective and his advice (fee and free).
Hated the Thanksgiving message.
Perry,
I couldn’t agree with you more. You could probably cut your “lunch” invitations down by 75% by just stipulating that business/marketing topics are forbidden.
What is euphemistically described as lunch is just a request for a free consult OR the ability to tie themselves with your brand (“you know, I was having lunch with Perry the other day and blah, blah, blah”).
The economy may be the worst we’ve seen in awhile, but “will work for food” isn’t quite universal yet.
Give what you want and sell what you want. The only judgment that ultimately matters on whether you apportioned it correctly is– well– you know.
I think your answer to him was right on. And I think he should learn to use spellcheck.
Dennis just does not get it… good response, having just forked over another $2,500 to my consultant for work I know the value of it and am quite glad to pay for it.
As you get older (I just turned 40 this year) TIME truly is your most valuable asset. It makes sense to you in your 20 and 30’s but it really hits home now, especially having lost a dear and close friend at 39 to cancer last year.
I protect my time like a hawk, and so should Perry, Dennis and everyone else.
The lousy thing with time is that you cannot buy more! ;-)
Perry, you spoke your truth and set expectations.
That is something most people struggle with inside themselves.
They aren’t 100% congruent with their self-belief.
You are. And from you, I’ve learned to do the same.
When people call me now for JVs (I get like 5 a day), my criteria is:
– NO risk on my part
– NO time on my part
– NO money on my part
It’s fascinating how that criteria brings out the best and most lasting partnerships!
Thanks Perry..your devoted student..
Ari Galper
Creator of ChatWise
truth is a ladder
the level you are on affects how you see the world
if you are on a rung lower than someone else you will find a higher truth offensive
Newtonian mechanics works well, but its wrong/a lie
quantum mechanics works well, but its wrong/a lie
The truth that helps you now is not the truth that will help you when you are more successful.
May I suggest you find the truth that works for you now, where you are now. If you do so and take action on it, you will more quickly travel down your path to higher truths.
some insta quotes:
reality bites
reality is a truth sandwich
let reality determine reality
Kevin Moriarty
Hi Perry.
I personally have learned a lot from your adwords book and your programs and believe you have valuable advice to offer. “Valuable Advice!” Yes it has value!
Your site and newsletters are full of great information and have helped me tremendously. However, there is quite a large dollop of ego on display as well. I am not surprised that you were chastised for greed, (although I think in equal measure perhaps you are being chastised for bragging as well). I am surprised that you responded.
“…you mentioned it in an email…” Actually you mention it a lot. I believe part of the problem is that you quite often make it a point to mention how much you charge, how much you are in demand, and how many people you advise. It seems to me that many of the communications you send me include ‘oversell’ of your value… and in my mind it often seems as if you are trying to justify yourself. Go back over the last 20 emails you have sent out. How much teaching… how much selling… and maybe just a bit — bragging?
PS: I get your free emails in one account, and have paid for the Renaissance Club in another… got your email twice. Seems to me it must really be bothering you if you sent it to both your free list and your Renaissance folks.
Perry;
Knowledge is a very powerfull and enviable entity. Those of us who seek it read your messages and come away more informed. Never have I thought that you were greedy, in fact just the opposite. Dennis is the uninformed greedy person. He obviously sells a commodity and does not equate the difference. I hope he reads these comments and becomes enlightened without anger.
Perry, I know the feeling well. Just retired (age 70) and one of the reasons was the number of people who picked my brain and then tried to do what I do for a living. I am a consultant for storefront retailers who want to have a going out of business sale. I got tired of people calling me a number of times probing for information (as well calling a number of other liquidators) and then doing the sale themselves. Result: They didn’t know what they were doing and then called to have me “rescue” them. Look, if I am going to give out value (information) then I expect to be paid for it. This is not a pro bono business.
Perry,
Naturally, you can’t go to lunch with everyone who invites you. I also think that you were right to refuse these invitations. It might even be argued that those invitations were thinly veiled attempts at getting something valuable for nothing and it was they who were being greedy. Like Dennis I’ve met some wonderful selfless people and some very greedy people in the busines world, many of whom wanted my money and others who were after my time. Perhaps his frustration comes from the way you formed your response. No one would expect Bill Gates or the president or a famous actor to have lunch with them just because they asked. People understand that this person’s appeal outstrips their available time. You may have intended your response to be humorous, but, it came off sounding a little obnoxious and short-sighted. Someone as smart as you should be able to find a more tactful way of quickly explaining that you just can’t accomodate all the requests of your time and still serve your clients the way they deserve. Having said that, if you’re ever in Central North Carolina and you’re up for lunch I’ll only charge you $300 an hour =)
Perry, I really look forward to your emails and read every single word of them. I take the info you give freely and utilize it. I wish I could afford to take you to a “working” lunch! Maybe one day…
As far as for Dennis – first of all he needs help with his spelling and punctuation! Second of all he’s way to arrogant and I personally wouldn’t want to be around such a man. His whining will get him nowhere in life.
Keep doing what you do because you do it very well!
Sharon
Reaction:
Well one thing is: I read the reaction of Perry all the way till the end.
This means I found it very good reading: objective with very convincing and realistic arguments.
It is a sign of not being arrogant really..and staying centred under pretty heavy attack.
Good he gave this reaction.
regards ,
Jorke van Eerten, Netherlands
Dear Perry,
First off thanks for sharing your thoughts and asking for comments. I have unsubscribed from the Renesanse Club and cancelrd my membership. I did that because I am yet to develop my business to the level, where I will apreciate the highest level of your intelligent advices.
You do remind Mr. Dorian Grey sometimes, but just a little) And I do not think it is about greed that you are not accepting lunch invitations-there are so many of us looking for magic advice instead of giving time and afforts to study and then implement what is freely available from you and other genereous marketers.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Warmest regards from Ukraine!
Your wife could have also mentioned that most people don’t realize that you are, in fact, a very generous person. I agree that it’s better to charge for what you do to earn a living and give away something else or at least only give away your expertise to charity.
It’s well known in my community that I have a lot of valuable contacts and a good reputation. I’m constantly being asked to “network” by people who just want something for nothing. I have a hard time handling that situation. Thanks for the advice.
“I’m not a salesman. I’m a consultant. Advice, not widgets, is what I sell”
As a consultant, that one positioning phrase alone (which I got above for free) will make or save me money for the rest of my working life
Perry,
I don’t think that either I or Dennis are qualified to comment on your greediness or lack thereof. Nor are most of the self-righteous commenters in this thread qualified to do the same. However, what I can say is that I have been your customers (in the Renaissance Club) and had to cancel. I canceled because of two things, both of which are no doubt choices you’ve made about how to relate to people:
1) The information was not dense enough. I was deluged with emails, offers, links to websites that linked to more websites and never came up with the pearls of truth I needed to take advantage of your experience. The common thread was that the information was self-promoting and too story-focused, and while the stories were fun, they didn’t help my business.
2) Most of the communications you offered were just gateways to signing up to purchase even more. Instead of paying to get something, I seemed to be paying to get advertisements for something. Sifting through the constant barrage became an irritant.
So, whether you’re a giving or a greedy guy I don’t know. But your marketing is manipulative. Perhaps that’s what works, but it is out of alignment with my committment to win/win outcomes and absolute equality between myself any anyone I deal with. Often, manipulation works, but it isn’t clean because sooner or later, you have to pay the piper when someone feels betrayed by your manipulation. You may be a very giving guy (I support African AIDS orphans too!) but if the gift comes with any strings at all, it isn’t a gift. The simplest change you can make is to get rid of any kind of signup or committment from someone you’re giving something to in your business. As one of the other posters pointed out, when you give from the open heart, it is returned in ways you can never imagine. It is only your expectations – in the form of what you expect or require to get back from your giving – that limit the return.
Perry, the first time I listened to your advice is when you sold a 3 ring binder with audio CDs (probally your first product).. your voice was so shrieky … I had to turn if off for a few minutes and then turn it back on just to continue listening (I just couldn’t bear the sound of your voice or the rcoording of it for long periods)…. your information back then (as it is now) is extremely valuable…. if the pain of listening to your voice (back then) was worth anything to understand your strategies …paying your consultant fee today is a bargain… we need you to stay on top…John
There’s no way to charge for an offer of free lunch that isn’t going to offend some people.
Run your business as you see fit.
Some gurus suggest some giveaways, others say that when you show up, you charge them. There is no clear answer outside of context.
Way to go Perry! You have a charge rate and they want you to work for food. I get loads of emails asking for personal gardening advice – my response is ‘buy my book’ – it’s only $10 but no, they expect your time for free.
Yep, I’m greedy and mean I won’t give my time for free to strangers. I prefer to feed my family and give to real charities.
Good for you.
John
Hi Perry,
I can’t afford your hourly rates, but I have gobbled up your free advice for several years. Thanks for sharing your insights with small business guys like me. When I first implemented your suggestions, my results from Adwords increased four fold and my monthly bill from Google dropped by 50%. I think I owe you a free lunch.
Thanks,
Jim D.
Here are my points on this one:
If I were the one asking to take you out, I may have been offended depending on how your response was structured…
NOT!
I wouldn’t have been offended at all, and I would have respected your time even more.
It is cool to have lunch with your customers, and you do that at certain events and occassions, but I can see your side as well.
If I had as many people ask me out for lunch as you do, I would have drawn the line somewhere as well.
It is not that you wouldn’t have enjoyed lunch. It may have been a lot of fun actually. But sometime it is necessary to send the message across to all these unecessary requests, so that you could clear up some time and only go to lunch when you ask for it.
(Which, could be the reason behind this post after all :) )
We all have only 24 hrs in a day, and there is prioritizing that has to kick in.
My hunch is that those who think you acted like a jerk and that you should have accepted the free lunch, have never had hundreds of people asking them for their time. It gets to be too much sometime.
Thank you for your leadership
Nik
Perry, once more you nailed it. i don’t think you left anything out with your response. You completed the circle. Brilliant! It’s all about the big picture. Value in the big picture takes a different form…not only value, for that matter. I think it has to do with that victimhood syndrom.
Sometimes you can detect the child or teenager running the show in adults bodies. Sometimes is just a thought. The thought attached to the resentment of a little child, not big enough to see the big picture.
You are a genius
You are a genius
Hi Perry
As a teacher and hotel owner I make it policy never to argue with customers … I can see how his email was ill-considered … How about, “Dennis thanks for the invite, you may be right, but my schedule won’t allow for lunch right now. Best wishes ….”
John Wootton
Perry I agree with you.
I have saved clients in some instances almost 50 million annually. Then i get the potential client that tells me all the great things we will do together. They keep asking for more detail and a proposal and i tell the fine pay me for 3-5 days and i will get you one.
If they are serious they will make me a vendor and cut a check before i go any further.
After working in hundreds of companies i know when they are trying to pick my brain for free and intend to do nothing except hang a carrot out. I usually find these people to be the slackers and people that do not add much value to a company but play the CYA and get off of my TURF game.
I have worked 60-100 hours per week over the last 30 years to master my craft (not playing golf and going to sports events all the time) and now if i see the bait and switch i give them just enough to hang themself out there.
They either hire me, call my stuff unworkable because they don’t have the missing wisdom to deliver the solution or hang themselves.
You materials do contain most of the information and maybe instead of playing golf or watcing a football game on a sunday they could study the materials and learn something instead of trying to cut to the front of the line.
Way to go Perry! I always love your responses to crap like that. Why is it that people don’t seem to value time the way they do a tangible product, yet the actual value of time(especially yours) is often worth SO much more? I think this Dennis guy just doesn’t value his OWN time.
Hey, I’d love to be your next best friend and do lunch just like the other 100K people on your list, but that wouldn’t be fair to you or paying customers.
-Susan
Current Bobsledder happily paying for Perry’s time :)
Hello Perry,
It has been said a few times already. Maybe if you had said what you did in a bit of a nicer way the whole thing might have been avoided. Also, don’t forget, to many people on your mailing list that is a rather large sum, including me.
One more thing, maybe you should pick one or two people every month to have lunch with minus the $700/ hour fee. People who you know are not rich and don’t have tons of money to spend. Kind of like winning the Perry Marshal lunch lottery.
And yes, I think you have handled the whole thing well.
Knowing where to put the “X”:
An elderly gentleman retired from his 40-year job as equipment maintenance engineer at a manufacturing plant. He was given a token parting gift by the company – no “golden handshake” or exotic pension plan. After he’d been retired for a few months, he received an urgent call from the plant manager. An expensive piece of machinery critical to operations had failed, and production had ceased as the equipment maintenance staff struggled to repair it. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were being lost each day the production line was down. The elderly engineer told the manager he would return to the plant to look
at the machine, but as an outside consultant. The plant manager agreed, saying, “Anything you want, just help us out.”
The engineer arrived at the plant, tested the machine and looked it over for about five minutes. He then walked over to the drawings of the machine and drew an “X” over a small component in the interior of the machine. “Replace this part, and the machine will work perfectly again, ” he said. Then he left. The part was quickly replaced, and he was right – the machine began operating and production was up again within the hour.
Two weeks later the plant manager received a bill from the elderly engineer: $50,000 for consulting services. Remembering the engineer had spent only five minutes looking at the machine and identifying the problem, the plant manager telephoned the elderly gentleman and angrily demanded a detailed invoice. The following day the detailed invoice arrived:
Time spent identifying the problem: $5.00
Knowing where to put the “X”: $49,995.00
BTW Perry, I am working on a system that is getting good results and has the realistic potential to net 100 million per month. Contact me
[email protected]
Perry:
I disagree with you. I frequently attend seminars/events and have spoken at seminars. Meeting people for lunch afterwards is not something I would charge for. It’s the civil thing to do and is part and parcel of attending a seminar-especially as a speaker.
You were disrespctful to the attendees and the organizers in my opinion.
Frequently poeple approach speakers for follow up questions after a speech. The civil thing to do is to continue to educate, and if it is lunchtime why not join them for lunch?
Also your response reveals a problematic approach to marketing and presentation. Why mention the children in Africa? That turns me off.
See Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Time Management Book for Enterpreneurs.
Perry’s read it… its my time management bible.
Every entrepreneur should read it.
Ben Glass
Fairfax, VA
Right on Perry!
I have never purchased a single item from you. Yet, I’ve learned more from you than I have from any other “guru”. I look forward to your emails and tele-seminars all the time. I’ve gained so many tools and value from the free info which have already put money in my pocket…so that’s an exponential return on invesment.
You are worth every penny of what you charge.
I think Dennis misses the point that if he paid you that $700 fee, it would probably bring him back at least 10 times that amount if he implemented your advice correctly.
By charging for your time, you also eliminate the time wasters…those who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.
I’m looking forward to the day that I need to pay you $6,500 to spend the day with you. I’m not there yet, but I know it will be great day when I’m spending thousands just to hear you speak. Because after that day, I know a fortune will be right around the corner!
Dean Teitelbaum
Perry – Two comments:
1) I hope you received Dennis’ permission to post his email to you.
It was obviously directed and addressed specifically to you. It wasn’t a blog post or other public posting – it was a personal email. If you didn’t get his permission, I would agree that you are just trying to make a public “event” out of this, and try to stay on the forefront of people’s attention at Dennis’ expense. I enjoy the content of your emails, and your writing style, but at the end of the day, it’s just part of a campaign to sell yourself, and this particular email and web link is part of that.
2) I agree with your basic message about the value of your time, but not the way you delivered it. Many of us are busy and get solicited for our time, or our money, or our expertise.
When I think about the people I admire in my life, they are all busy people, and yet can all juggle requests upon their time without belittling others.
Dennis said “Come on, lets get real here if this kind of greed does not stop this country is headed for the dumpster.”
I say “Come on, lets get real here if Dennis’ kind of feelings of entitlement do not stop this country is headed for the dumpster.”
Perry, you are absolutely right. As a lawyer, I’m always shocked at how people think that buying a lunch is somehow different than paying for my normal services. My product is my time, and I only have so much of it.
Perry,
You may well be worth far more than $700/hour, especially to the right client, perhaps even me.
At one time, I estimated my own time at $2000/hour, and it was a stressful, busy time. At that rate, nobody could afford my advice, obviously, but they continued to ask, even pester, anyway.
One of the things my father would kid me about when I first tasted success, he would say, “Your time is worth so much, you cannot even afford to go to the bathroom!” Or, he’d clap his hands and say “Wipers!” to mimic Eddie Murphy in the movie, “Coming to America” to tease me.
But I was still left with the problem of how to properly allocate my time!
I discovered that telling people what my time was worth was nearly always counterproductive, as it led to increased envy and frustration, for both the advice seeker, and me.
I developed other ways for people to tap into what I know, and milder and easier ways to share. I also have 85,000 people on my email list, so maybe I could teach you a thing or two about marketing.
To be honest, I’m the kind of guy you should seek to have lunch with for free, but then again, who would pay who, and how much? But then again, I have not made you a compelling offer, either.
Be careful. What is God’s time worth? Be thankful that God does not have such limits on his time, and that God gives to us freely.
In your case, it costs YOU $700/hour just to talk to God, pray, or read the Bible, which can be quite the disincentive for you, if you are not careful, and if you lose your perspective.
I agree that the other man who expected free $700 worth of advice for a $20 lunch was more greedy than yourself, Perry. That was a good insight.
Then again, remember that you are a teacher, and such a man was obviously in need of teaching and correction, and perhaps there is a better way of teaching that does not lead the seeker to anger and resentment, but thankfulness and appreciation, instead, as others have already pointed out.
I don’t always get that right, obviously, as many people will always be bitter, no matter how you try to help them, but still, I try.
I’m still learning myself, and I appreciate the opportunity here to share what little I know on this topic.
Perry,
I think Dennis was ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. Someone is being greedy, but it ain’t you, it’s him. Dennis either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about all the FREE content you send out via email. That’s just not enough for him. He’s entitled to much, much more. Not sure why, but doggone it, people just LIKE him.
You could give Dennis ALL of your stuff, ALL of your seminars, FOR FREE, and he’d never appreciate it. No doubt he doesn’t appreciate the fact that you gave him a personal answer to an email while hundreds of others have to be satisfied with a subordinate or even no answer at all.
Keep up the good work, Perry, and never, ever let anyone PICK your brain–what if they don’t put everything back in the right place?
WOW !
After reading many of the comments, I now know why you have such a following and why people are willing to pay for your valuable advice.
I feel like that I share a group debt to you for all the Free advice you offer everyone.
There are some very caring people and Great Minds or Thinkers who replied with good advice for us all!
Would you consider trying to post a Summary of your Professional prospective on all these comments, without your personal oponion’s or an emotional reply back to any of them ?
I think that this has been a very interesting experiment in people movitation.
Hey Perry. How bout a Cubs game next year? I got great seats!
keep up the great work Perry. Love the free mp3’s.
Neil
ps: I have a better chance of getting Paris Hilton to agree to have lunch with me than Perry:-)
Ironically, Dennis is the one who is greedy for your time and advice, and he’s grumbling that he doesn’t get what he wants.
Thank you for sharing your response, Perry. Aptly worded with wisdom and understanding. I especially appreciated your wisdom in acknowledging “I am a STEWARD of my time and I am responsible before God for how I use it.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hebrews 4:13
This person obviously does not know you very well Perry. I am constantly amazed at all the free advice, MP3 downloads, etc., that you send me via e-mail. And NONE of it is EVER junk! Several times I have replied with a sincere “thank you Perry” — knowing full well that you would never get the message. So if you really do read all these replies, please know how much you are valued and appreciated for sharing your incredible knowledge so freely. Thank you!!!
Perry,
All I ever bought from you was your original Adwords ebook. I found it to be better than some of the $5000 dollar coaching programs floating around. I agree with you: anyone who really wants free AUTHENTIC information should just subscribe to your newsletter. Then they will know whether you give away things or not.
I also get this type of complaints from my own subscribers. And I’m in a niche where everyone feels everything should be free. So I give away 61% but I lock down 39%. I used to argue, like your good self, that those who get things for free never use them. Now I’m being forced to revise my thinking. Hundreds of those who REALLY pay attention to the free stuff have been reporting great successes of late. But that doesn’t mean everything should be free — for the very reasons that you mentioned.
God bless,
elisha
I generally agree with the writer. But the issue seems to one of approach. Maybe Perry could have explained himself a bit better at the time rather than just off the cuff refusing lunch.
Hello Perry, I read this blog post with great interest. Like you, I could sense that Dennis was getting more angry the more he ranted.
And I have to confess to a certain amount of empathy with some of what he was saying — at least to start with.
However, your polite yet robust response was right on the money. (No pun intended)
It is so indefensibly put that I wonder if Dennis had the grace to acknowledge that.
My own opinion on “advice” is simply that I do not give it.
Talk is cheap, and advice freely given is frequently of no value.
When people seek my advice, my response is “I don’t give advice, I’m not entitled to tell you what to do or what not to do. However, what I can say is that if I was in your position my opinion would be (fill in the blank) and what I would do is (fill in the blank)”.
In your professional capacity as a teacher, coach, guide, mentor, you are sought out by serious people for help.
They may be at their wits end and desperate for support.
What you are providing is more than advice, it is guidance. And that carries with it a heavy responsibility for both parties.
The giver does not do so lightly, and the receiver is expected to take action based on it.
Otherwise it’s a waste of everyone’s time and effort.
Since this transaction is so serious it is not at all unreasonable for it to carry a serious financial cost.
If you don’t value your time, how can you expect anyone else to?
I’m often faced with the same situation as what Perry just shared with us (my hourly rate is $175 so a bit more affordable but I get similar guff from someone who buys one of my books or products and then wants free consulting to help them start or buy a business to go with the purchase). That kind of unrealistic expectation does make (or I should say “used to make”) for an awkward exchange. When I could I used to give time away but it really became a matter where I just could not meet that demand because I have to focus on producing revenue and not devoting time for “freebies”. You have to draw a line.
Perry nailed it. It is extremely rare for a person who I helped for free, to actually go out and do anything. Whereas someone who paid very often goes out and follows my advice, gets things done and accomplishes the goal of what they wanted to pay me to help them with. They appreciate the value that I gave them which is always more than what they paid for. That is a “give back” in my book.
Perry,
I think there are two obvious take-aways from Dennis’ request and your repsonse:
1) An economics lesson. Supply vs. Demand and what people will (and do) pay for goods or services.
2) A contrast between generations. You don’t have to go back very far (past GenY and GenX) to understand where Dennis’ expectations stood. This is not an attempt to label anyone or any group, but I believe people are more aware now about their value to themselves (as entrpeneurs) and their employers than they were 30 years ago.
After reading your response and the rationale behind it, I will make sure to have a similar explanation if this situation is presented to me.
Perry already gives away plenty of free or almost free advice in his e-mails, newsletters, teleseminars, books, etc. If you want one-on-one Q&A time with him, you have to pay the price. It seems reasonable to me.
When you’re just starting out, you might need to offer free consultations and lunches just to get established, but once you’re in the position to command $700/hour, there’s no reason to start doing volunteer work to help out a business.
Perry,
As someone who has been one of your subscribers for over two years, and having purchased one of your $1,000 consulting packages…YOU ROCK!
A relationship consultant once said, “You need to ask for what you want from people, but be willing to accept what you get.” I loved that statement. I think this is a prime example of someone asking you for what they wanted…lunch. However, you have every freedom to reply however you choose. It’s called ‘freedom of choice’. Fundamentally, you were dead on when you spoke of being a steward of your time before God.
Even moreso…when (as one of the meeting attendees stated — you stayed 3 hours beyond your committed time giving free advice) we get to see that you were already giving quite a bit.
Anyone who wanted lunch had that moment in time to ask their questions. C’mon for cryin out loud. Some people want your blood and they’re still not happy.
I think you handled it in great way. I’ll stop by your office when I’m in Chi-town so we can grab lunch ;-).
Ramon
Perry – spot on!
Anything that is ‘free’ is by definition valueless. That is why the benefits and facilities provided under socialism are so often abused. A consultant’s fees reflect their hours of learning and skills development which can be passed on to the requestor, so that they can take a short cut to success.
The guy’s spelling and grammar says much about his likelihood of success….
Ian
First, Dennis, our economy’s trouble has less to do with greed than sloth. The principles upon which our nation is founded have been treated like some quaint relic, occasionally to be dusted off. Oversight and management of our financial and economic affairs? Practically non-existent. The blame is bi-partisan. The People? Fit to be tied. And tie us up the enemy will! Our Treasury is being PURPOSELY bankrupted.
And, Perry, those persons who wanted to take you to lunch… Could they have become your first-line managers who, promoting the “Perry Marshall Way,” could one day bring your business orders of magnitude more revenue? Was it Perry Marshall who missed out on a great opportunity to build a dedicated sales force? Seems an Amway guy might see the value in having such an asset … particularly when there’s something of extraordinarily unique value to sell.
Now, here’s something controversial… Screw the AIDS orphans in Africa. Your money would be better spent getting rid of those political elements in our own country who leave Africa in its vulnerable, condemned state. In other words, how are we behaving any differently … any better … any more benevolently … than, say, the British Empire? Has our nation’s principle, indeed, been subverted by this Empire’s continuing tyranny (most notably by those same commercial interests who animate its being), as much now as 232 years ago?
Keep your money here, Perry. Get rid of the aristocracy-loving scum running our country, who sell out our Treasury to the filth on Wall Street and their controllers in the City of London.
By the way, I’m bullish the stock market for the very fact the sell-out has succeeded in setting up the U.S. Treasury for its pending bankruptcy sometime in the next 5-20 years.
The information I just gave you is worth far more than what you charge per hour…
Greedy? It’s called supply and demand. Simple. Greed is when you try and get more than the market can bear. This is not a case of greed.