How Much Does FREE Cost?

I get a kick out of seeing companies in almost every industry or profession offering free this or that. The word FREE is a big trigger for consumers, and smart advertisers try to capitalize on that. In my industry, the offer is usually for “free consultation” or “free demonstration.” Now I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with this practice – we’re all trying to get our names heard in the mass media. But truthfully, the only way these things are free is if you, as the consumer, do not purchase anything from that provider. If you do make a purchase, that “free demonstration” is included in the price of your system. As part of the advertising budget, or simple overhead, the cost of something “free” is always incorporated into the business budget.

For my business, I must say that I actually do give a complimentary consult to perspective clients to talk about their wants and needs for outdoor lighting. The client needs to meet me and feel comfortable with me as a lighting professional if I want them to use my time and talents to design/install and then stand behind their professional outdoor lighting system. At this consultation we do not discuss actual design, but instead we talk about what the client wants from an outdoor lighting system. How do they use their space and where do they like to spend their outdoor time? We may also discuss their budget at this time. This free consult is limited to one hour. After that time, should the client decide that I am the lighting professional that they would like to do business with, they agree to pay me a design fee to create the lighting system that they would like.

I do NOT offer a “free demo” because I don’t believe I could do it honestly or fairly for myself or the potential client. As a business operator, I must charge for my materials and time so I don’t go out of business. To create a demonstration, fixtures, wire, transformers, etc. must be used, and time must be taken to set it all up. The majority of this time is at night, away from the family. I don’t believe that a service like this should be free, and I don’t think that the average outdoor lighting consumer would think that it should be. The materials used have a limited lifespan, and therefore do have an expense. If the provider of this service is to continue doing this, they must recover those expenses or the company fails. In order to compensate for those costs, they must recoup expenses for the time, materials and effort involved. If not from the consumer calling for the demonstration, then from ALL clients in some fashion. Under such circumstances, a demonstration is certainly not free. Perhaps a risk is being taken here by both parties involved, but I have been able to successfully sell my services using my photo gallery of work, and my ability to describe the desired effects of my designs. Standing confidently behind my work is reassuring to the client that we will not stop until they are completely happy with what they are paying for.

I am very fortunate to work with professionals in many different walks of life. My clients include rock stars, sports legends, doctors, lawyers, investors, and many other well-educated, business savvy folks. All of these fine people understand that time and knowledge does not come free to those who provide the service, nor to those who consume the service. These clients are very smart people who understand that you usually get what you pay for - and a free service is usually worth what is paid for it. They also understand that when a professional spends thousands of dollars to learn a craft, that individual needs to re-claim those expenses by charging appropriately for their services. These clients also appreciate that if a service provider does not make a decent profit for their business, they will not be around to service that system down the road because they will be out of business.

All of this being said, it doesn’t take a professional lighting designer to give the customer that just wants “five lights in the front” exactly what they want. Then the actual cost of the FREE demo just became the installation of a small lighting system. The client got just what they wanted (hopefully) but the demo was not free, it was covered when they wrote the check purchasing the whole system.