The Value of Free

Jason Leister posted an interesting article this week in Broker Agent News about an experiment that he did where one night he gave away a free report and another night he charged a nominal fee for the same report. The outcome was that he sold far more reports than he gave away when they were free.

To some this result may be surprising, but it simply goes back to the expression and perception of value to target clients. If you hear the words free report, what level of value do you place on the statement? The word report is completely generic and we have been conditioned to believe that if it’s free it either has very little value, or has costly caveats associated with it.

To avoid these responses, find ways to differentiate and place explicit or implicit value on the promotion. Leister chose to place an explicit value on his promotion by charging for it. You can take this approach or find descriptors that imply value. As a secondary example, what level of value would you place on the statement: Exclusive report: Five Million Dollar Secrets? What value would you place on it even if it were free?

The point is simply that whenever you offer a deal sweetener to attract real estate clients; be sure that you communicate the value of that tool, report, or CMA to your prospects. Either charge a small amount for the resource which places an explicit value, or take an approach of using descriptors that imply a high level of uniqueness and value.