Stop underselling yourself to get a 'foot in the door'. The tactic undermines your credibility and attracts the worst types of clients. There's a much better approach.
The observation that "organisations commit time where they commit budget" is super insightful. I work with enterprise companies and the planning effort to even get to a live project is substantial: by the time something starts, there is budget, political backing from senior leadership, and committed resources.
That results in a vested interest in making it successful even if the project has issues. When something is free, there is less of this institutional momentum needed to start, so it's easier to kill.
On a related note, my local alumni club has found that charging even a nominal amount for events ensures people who sign up actually attend -- even a $5 fee gets people personally invested in seeing their commitment through.
The observation that "organisations commit time where they commit budget" is super insightful. I work with enterprise companies and the planning effort to even get to a live project is substantial: by the time something starts, there is budget, political backing from senior leadership, and committed resources.
That results in a vested interest in making it successful even if the project has issues. When something is free, there is less of this institutional momentum needed to start, so it's easier to kill.
On a related note, my local alumni club has found that charging even a nominal amount for events ensures people who sign up actually attend -- even a $5 fee gets people personally invested in seeing their commitment through.
Thanks Adam - useful insights here.
Companies generally don't value things they get for free - there's no risk to it. No-one is on the hookfor it.
Ha, interesting that charging fee increases attendance. I've considered that with webinars in the past.