Most of us have fallen victim to the allure of FREE stuff. I had a freezer full of big bags and boxes of frozen food from going to Sam's Club and being a victim of the FREE sample person standing in the aisle. I have gotten a FREE phone and Airpods that raised my monthly cell bill by 10 bucks and I had to chase down a rebate that never came. AARP keeps offering me FREE stuff if I sign up today. Our drawers are filled with free stuff (pens, chapstick, and tchotchkes) that I have gotten in the mail or picked up at meetings and trade shows.

FREE is for Consumers

When you offer something FREE, you generally appeal to a person's consumer mindset. People will often seek free stuff or advice when they don't have the budget to pay for someone to complete a task for them. They will look for technology or a strategy that they can implement themselves. Since it was free, if they find it does not work for them, they feel like they have lost nothing.

Consumers look for convenience and often don't see their time as a commodity. They will invest their time to save money. They will buy bigger bags of chicken nuggets to save money, even if they never finish them, and throw away the freezer-burned portion never used. They have a completely different mindset than someone who is running a profitable (and often bigger) business.

FREE is Not Free?

In business… free is never FREE! Time is money. Keep in mind that the average CEO knows that 1 hour of their time is worth $500 for every $1,000,000 of value that they bring to their business. If you want to get their attention, then you have to provide value.

You have to present something to pique their interest that offers them a potential return of investment on their time. They may not consume your content, but they may share that with someone else in their business to review and research. That means you have to show value in the short attention span theater of social media, email, or other communication methods.

FREE vs INVEST in the B2b World

If you are a fan of this blog and my podcast, you know I love acronyms. If you want to appeal to someone's consumer mindset, then FREE becomes a tactic. But that often misses the mark since it diminishes the value that you have to offer. I prefer to use INVEST over FREE to prompt people to take action.

Instead of “Download Our FREE (Insert thingy here)” Why not ask them to “INVEST Some Time To Learn More”. Business people understand that they invest in order to get a return on investment. So let's explore what Investing means to your perfect customer and what you can do with that?

• I – Interest
• N – Need
• V – Value
• E – Engage
• S – Seek
• T – Talk

Interest

Interest can range from curiosity to a burning issue that needs a solution. It's hard to get people to take action unless they are in a place of need, in order to invest their time to investigate a company, product, strategy, or solution. Just be aware that not everyone who views your content will act on it at the time they see it. That is why you have to stay in front of people consistently.

Need

Need is where they have identified that some action has to be taken or at least researched. This could be through their network of business associates, or by happenstance. Both can work to your advantage if your business networks overlap, and they are actively looking online for some answers.

Value

Value (like reality) is in the eye of the beholder. You should be providing something of value that makes your content, messaging, email, or connection request worth the efforts on their end. You shouldn't hide the good stuff. You have to be willing to provide your best ideas and information, even if that means that competition can see it as well.

Engage

You should be on the lookout for people who engage with your content. It may not be that they are even your perfect client, but you already know that they are engaging with you. So return the favor and engage with them. If they comment, comment back. If they liked your post or opened an email, INVEST a little of your time to reach out and maybe dig a bit deeper.

Seek

People often look at a “Like” on social media as just that, but I see an opportunity to do some additional research. Those who engage should be looked at again. You never know who they may have added as a connection on LinkedIn since the last time you chatted. It could be that they now have connected with a perfect customer who they could introduce you to, or at least provide some perspective.

Talk

If you identify a quality connection, reach out to them with a personal note. Say, “I see we are both connected to (Insert contact here), and I would love to connect. This is not the time to pitch or offer them your FREE giveaway. It should be short, sincere, and sales FREE (meaning void of). If they connect, then simply thank them and give them some space and time to see your profile, content, and comments to decide if they want to engage with you further. If not immediately, maybe later.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you get the point that business people think differently than consumers. Yet, marketing people and agencies (including myself) still use FREE as an attraction tactic.

“I think money is a wonderful thing because it enables you to do things. It enables you to invest in ideas that don't have a short-term payback.”

– Steve Jobs

I am doing an assessment of all my marketing and I'm going to A-B test to see if I can get more interaction, downloads, and attract more quality contacts by changing FREE to INVEST. If I can appeal to a business person's desire to create an ROI from their interest, then I am sure I can show them how my business and my strategies (that are currently working for my perfect clients) can work for them also.

I will let you know how it goes, but I am much more aware that FREE is not what business people want… they want profits!

I would love to hear your thoughts on how FREE vs INVEST resonates with you. Have you had success either giving or getting free stuff in business? How do you assign value to your time? Do you think it's worth investing in your business relationships? Is it time to take inventory of how you are trying to reach your perfect customers?

Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about using the word FREE vs INVEST.

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.