Share, my friend

I believe sharing your knowledge is good business. If you’re a consultant or expert and keep everything to yourself because your knowledge is what customers pay for, you’re making it harder to build your own brand. Help others and show them what you can do. That might be exactly what makes them choose you when they need to buy help.

Here in August 2010, I’m heading on holiday with the family. We were supposed to visit Washington and the White House because my wife’s friend works for Biden. That didn’t happen because of work on the house, so now we’re taking a mini-cruise instead.

I needed to write something for a newsletter but thought I’d make a video. I’ve discussed it before, but on Amino I keep meeting experts afraid to give away any of their knowledge.

Sharing your knowledge isn’t giving your business away

At this point, we’re attracting lots of different people, including a slightly older audience. Among some consultants, I encounter the attitude: I know a lot, and I won’t share anything, because my knowledge is what people buy.

I think that’s a shame. I’m not saying it’s morally wrong or unkind. I simply think it’s a really stupid idea from a business perspective.

When you keep your knowledge to yourself, you miss a chance to show who you are and what you can do. Of course, you can build a brand in other ways, but in my opinion, that makes it harder.

The baker who gives you the recipe

Imagine going to a baker and buying a loaf. The baker also gives you the recipe: Here are the ingredients, here’s how to mix them and here’s the oven temperature.

What do you think afterwards? I’d think: Bloody hell, what a nice man. He’s telling me his business secrets.

He could also hold baking classes in his shop and show people how it’s done. Even if I didn’t attend, I’d think he had something to give and wanted to share. That would make me happy to shop with him.

But would I then bake all my own bread? Perhaps once in a blue moon. And when I did, I’d think of that nice master baker.

Everyday life is different. When it’s Saturday morning and the kids wake up, I might not feel like starting to bake. Some will, others won’t. I don’t think the recipe makes lots of people suddenly take over all the baker’s work.

So in the short term, I don’t think he loses much business. In the long term, I think he gains through credibility, helpfulness and showing he has something to give.

The bookkeeper is remembered when you can afford help

I see the same thing among experts on Amino. Bookkeepers explain what goes in debit and credit and help people understand accounts and tax returns.

They get an incredible amount of marketing from it. Lots of people see them as authorities because they don’t simply say they’re skilled. They show it in their answers.

Do we all really want to do our own accounts when it comes down to it? Perhaps we have to at the start because we can’t afford anything else. But we’d have to do that regardless.

When we can afford a bookkeeper, who do we choose? I’d choose the one who already helped me understand it. The one who explained debit and credit and made a good impression.

Free answers can be the beginning of a lawyer’s client relationship

That applies to lawyers too. A small entrepreneur with no money can go on Amino, ask questions and get answers from a friendly lawyer who normally charges a couple of thousand kroner an hour.

Does the lawyer lose revenue? My point is that the entrepreneur couldn’t afford to hire the lawyer in the first place.

Someone who can afford it will often still buy the help. Even if you can do quite a bit yourself, your time may be better spent on what you’re good at. Your own core competence.

And what happens when the young entrepreneur later faces a lawsuit, needs a trademark registered or a partnership agreement written? I think they’ll call a lawyer. And there’s a good chance it’ll be the one who was nice and shared their knowledge.

A good answer can keep working for you

Posts on Amino don’t disappear just because the conversation ends. They can keep marketing the bookkeeper, lawyer and other experts.

Someone searching Google for something about trademarks may land on a relevant post where a lawyer explains the subject. Then the reader might think: That was competent. That was good advice. I’ll call that lawyer.

That helpfulness sends several signals. The person deserves support because they spend time helping others. You’ve formed an impression of a nice person. And perhaps the expert doesn’t seem like the most expensive either.

That last point doesn’t mean you need to be cheap or aren’t skilled. You can charge a high price. Then you need to explain the value and be good at selling your help.

Show the generosity you want people to buy into

Sure, you might lose the occasional customer who uses a free answer and doesn’t buy anything. But my claim, which I think is supported time and again, is that you gain far more by helping.

The more you share with others and the more you help, the more you show you have something to give. And we like working with people like that.

So to AdWords experts, lawyers, accountants, designers and everyone else: If you want customers for your business, show others how it’s done. Be helpful.

In my opinion, that’s a much better route than sitting on your knowledge for fear of losing it. You give others something useful, and at the same time give them a reason to choose you. You’ll find my experiences of attracting customers online in E-pusher.