If you’re concerned about sharing too much information about what you do, you’re not alone. Many people don’t want to give away their knowledge or trade secrets for free. Why would you?
But if you do it right, you can position yourself as a trusted expert who knows their onions … and when people are ready to buy, they’ll be knocking on your door.
There are certainly some customers who are always looking for something for nothing, or to get away without paying you for good advice. But frankly it’s easy to get a lot of information online for free anyway, and at the end of the day, people buy people. If you can give away some genuinely helpful, useful advice in a way that doesn’t cost you too much time, effort or investment it can help pave the way to a more lucrative relationship further down the line.
A really good example of someone who is not afraid of sharing their secrets is Lizi’s Granola. If you look on her website, you will see that Lizi tells you exactly how to make her granola, complete with a video.
Is she crazy?
Having watched the video, I thought ‘I could do that!’ – but in reality, have I got time? Do I want to spend hours toasting nuts or stirring treacle when I can buy a box that has been made just like that (albeit in larger quantities)? Safe in the knowledge that I could do it … if I wanted to … I’d rather buy it, but the fact that she is willing to share so much information helps me believe that she is genuine.
Just search online for Lizi’s Granola and see if this has damaged her business!
So don’t be afraid to share some of your knowledge. Think about the bigger picture and the business benefits it could bring.