How to get FREE Expert Advice

Imagine you go to a doctor, a well-known specialist for certain health conditions. You tell him: "Doc, I have got this serious health issue. I think you can help me. Give me your expert advice please." Would you expect this service for free? Of course not! This doctor's help in getting healthy again would have so much value to you that you would happily whatever it costs you, even if you cannot bulk-bill it via Medicare or get it back from your private health insurance.

The same would certainly apply for a specialist lawyer, an architect or ... a railway signalling expert? The question mark behind the last example is there as some people seem to think it is not the same in our industry. I get enquiries for help, advice or information all the time. Just the other day I think I put someone off who asked me to give him basic CBTC knowledge and I sent him a link to Wikipedia's CBTC site. I wasn't flippant, I sincerely wanted to help. But the conversation went just quiet, no thank you or anything. What was the person's expectation here? That I would just hand out my CBTC training material that other people happily pay for, because their education has value to them?

Give, and you may receive.

A couple of my online 'mentors' (aka smart people I'm following) have provided blueprints how normal folks can stand a chance of getting expert advice, guidance and mentorship. The formula is not "Ask and you shall receive" which seemingly got very popular through the bestselling book "The Secret". Instead, it is rather "Give and you shall receive", or probably even more realistic "Give and you MAY receive". There are ways that people can offer compensation for expert services. Going back to the doctor example at the outset of this post, the patient could say they do not have enough money to pay the doctor outright, but they could pay instalments over 12 months, and walk the doctor's dogs, wash the doctor's car, whatever it is that the doctor MAY consider enough compensation for his health advice. But this is at the discretion of the doctor/expert, and people have a fine filter when others want to take them for a ride or offer something just to get back something bigger.

Free Content - Why Not?

In my case, I like to see myself as a grateful person who generously gives back to the industry that paid his bills and offered so much international opportunity for nearly three decades. Now, in early 2019, I undoubtedly offer more free content than any other expert in my industry. A free newsletter for which interested people can subscribe here, a free blog which can be found there, and lots of free LinkedIn posts and articles which people are informed about once they connect with me or follow me. (In case you haven't noticed, the last sentence included three open and genuine invitations to consume my free content.) There are other examples where I helped out people, for example offering free or discounted access to my training courses for young engineers who were willing to help me with a bit of admin work during the event, discounts for members of organisations who were willing to promote my events, the list goes on.

Free Consulting - Wait a Minute...

However, for any enquiries which I think deserve a monetary compensation, I will offer a no-obligation quote. (If you are interested in my services, please go here.) Just as the doctor would if the patient asked him how much it would cost to get treated. People may decide that they cannot afford it, or more precisely they do not want to afford it, and that's fine with me. This is normal behaviour in a marketplace of supply and demand. Just don't get angry at me because I put a price on knowledge which took me years to acquire, and because I refuse to give that knowledge away for free to a virtually unknown person, just because that person connected with me on LinkedIn 30 minutes earlier and sent me a message "Hope you are doing well." That ain't enough, folks!

Happy to read your comments about your own experience, whether you are an expert dealing with help enquiries or just someone seeking expert help (and maybe even got it). I promise I will read them all and likely respond as well wherever I can do this intelligently. Which is part of my underlying mindset on this topic - caring about people who a willing to give before they ask.