The argument against free

Background: This is part of an exchange between a software developer and me about the pros & cons of offering "free for life" law office management software. Do not read farther into it than in this context. There is still a valid argument to be made for free samples which is perfectly consistent with the position I express below:

Hi Paul,

It's perfectly OK if your comparison results in"Exactly the same". There is aHUGE market that's not yet in the clouds. So the challenge isn't to lure them away from any other cloud basedservice. Just to lure them away fromnon-cloud, to cloud and be able to stand toe-to-toe with the cloud-basedcompetition.

I respectfully could not disagree with you more about theissue of money. Money cuts through thebullshit to get & keep people focused on being productive. I have tried to help many people for free inthe past. I found I am generally doing them andmyself both a disservice.

As soon as Itell a lawyer he or she must pay to join my coaching program it forces them tomake a decision. For some it's a toughdecision. Maybe even an embarrassingone. But the decision serves their livesbecause it forces the person to commit to achieve their goal or admit thatthey're not committed to the goal so they can then move on with their lives andfocus on some other goal(s) in their life that they are more desirous of. Remember everything I do comes with 100% guarantee so the investment I ask a lawyer to make in him/herself is financially risk-free.

You offer me a free law firm management software program andyou're going to have to work pretty hard to convince me that I should takeit.

Why?

Because "free" is not the deciding factor for the program I'mdepending on to run my whole life. Reliable, responsive, rock-solid, bullet-proof, safe & convenient arethe deciding factors. I'm sure there areplenty of lawyers who will take "free".

But for the most part I doubt those will bethe kinds of people I want to be doing business with. Because if free (or even "cheap")is their deciding factor when it comes to something as important as their lawoffice management software then I know from ten years experience they're goingto be making questionable decisions in other parts of their practice too.

There are MUCH better ways to address value than freewhen it comes to law office management software. Better for you, better for the lawyers whoyou're asking them to depend on you and of course better for me too if I'm theone being asked to make the introduction regardless of if I get a penny out ofit.

I hope you'll give serious consideration to what I'vesaid here. I'll look forward to speakingwith you soon,

RJON