The price of FREE seminars

How often do you get invitations for seminars that are "FREE"?

Does it tempt you to attend, even though it is not something you need, want or can use, merely because it is "free"?

I get several invitations every day to attend personal development seminars that are "free". I put "free" in inverted commas as you & I both know that when something is offered "free" in the business world, it is usually part of a marketing campaign which often leads to over-priced goods/services further along the path.

For example, I attended a very professionally organised "free" seminar last year and was recently sent a trial copy manual priced at £300 by the organisers of that seminar. This manual may have been sold for £10 maximum in the local bookshops but the "trust building campaign" that the organisers have engaged in over the past year enables them to request a much-inflated price. Psychologically, we are inclined to pay much more to those we like, trust and respect.

The two sides to this coin are that: as business people we gain the confidence to demand higher prices from our customers/clients in return for their trust in us; as customers/clients, we are likely to willingly pay more to those who have gained our trust.

That may sound all well and reasonable. Until of course we realise we are being cheated with inflated prices. A customer that feels they are being cheated is very hard to win back. This is the same in all kinds of relationships. Once the trust is breached, we put ourselves into negative equity, perhaps in direct proportion to the level of trust that existed.

So when you are offering or, are offered, a seminar or something similar for "free", ask yourselves:

How am I spending my time? How am I investing my time? How am I wasting my time?

Your time is probably your richest resource and it is finite...whether you spend it, invest it or waste it, you cannot claim it back. There are no business guarantees that will give you your time back.

Most of us are aware when we are WASTING our time. It is harder to see the difference between SPENDING our time and INVESTING our time.

In what ways do you SPEND your time and what ways do you INVEST your time?

One of the ways I am investing my time at the moment is in building up my social and business community. Most of you are already part of my business community at Ecademy If not, please do join....you will receive a one month FREE trial if you click this link Ecademy (and after that we will ask you to pay through the nose!! just kidding!) If you are not a business person and would like to be a part of my online social community, please add me as a friend on Facebook I like the philosophy of openness and transparent communities that Facebook evokes (it is free) and out of the dozens of networks I am a member of, I find Ecademy and Facebook to be the most useful for business and social communities.

Jesvir Mahil