Free Sessions & Advocacy Are a MARKETING EXPENSE

Free Sessions & Advocacy are a MARKETING EXPENSE.

Stop lying to yourself that "helping" clients for free is going to attract more clients.

Over 90% of service businesses don't have any strategy around these types of promotions.

Time Is Your Inventory

If you run a service-based business, you are selling TIME.

Time is your Inventory.

Every hour you or your staff spend on "Free Advocacy," "Free Sessions," unpaid "Quick Reviews," or "just a little advice" is inventory taken off the shelf and given away.

If you sold physical products, you wouldn't let customers walk out with stock just because they asked nicely.

You would call it "Theft" or "Marketing Samples."

Yet, service owners give away $10,000's of billable time and call it "Goodwill."

The Principle

If It's Free, It's Marketing

If you are doing work for free, it is not "Operations." It is Marketing.

It must be tracked on your P&L apart of Customer Acquisition Cost.

If that "Free Session / Advocacy" doesn't turn into a paying client, you didn't do any good for yourself.

You simply ran a failed marketing campaign.

Stop Treating Your Time Like It's Infinite

Stop treating your time like it's infinite. It's the only asset you have that doesn't replenish.

❓ Question for the owners:

Do you actually track your "Free Work" hours, or are they invisible on your P&L?