By the time someone gets on a free consult with you, you’ve already invested hours into that interaction.

🧠 You spent years gaining your expertise.
📣 You’ve invested in marketing to get the lead.
⏱️ Now you’re showing up, ready to guide, teach, and listen.

So while the consult may cost the client nothing, it absolutely costs you something.

Free consultations can be a powerful, smart marketing tool but only when approached with strategy. If you’re not factoring that time, energy, and expertise into your pricing structure, you’re leaking value and undermining your own authority.

Your free consult isn’t just a casual chat. It’s the start of your client experience. And how you value that time sets the tone for everything that follows.

Understanding Your Costs

Free consults are like giving away a sample of your expertise. But don’t forget, your time is valuable, and giving it away for free without strategy could be a missed opportunity. You’re investing time, effort, and expertise in that consult. You’re offering value, not just a “freebie.” If you’re not thinking about the costs involved, you might end up giving more than you’re getting. It’s essential to understand that your time and knowledge should be accounted for whether you’re charging for it directly or not.

Know Your Margins

You wouldn’t give away inventory, so why give away your most limited resource: time? If your consult takes 30-60 minutes, factor that into your client onboarding or package rate. Whether it’s pre-baked into a retainer or part of your client acquisition cost, it shouldn’t be invisible.

Set the Right Expectations

Clear is kind. Setting clear expectations from the get-go. Be clear on time, topics, and expectations. This will help your potential client feel like it is an investment on their side too, not a handout. Clients should know exactly what they’re getting when they meet with you so they don’t take over and run the consult. 

Be sure to focus on their pain points and show them how you will solve them. Ensure they understand it’s a sneak peek into the full value of your service. If they walk away from your consult thinking they just got a “freebie,” and that they can self implement, you’re not setting yourself up for a premium-priced future with them. And they will keep coming back for a consult versus signing up to work with you.

The Value of Expertise

In that “free” consult, you are giving them a slice of your brain, your years of knowledge, intuition, and hard-earned strategy. And when clients experience that up front, they are more likely to see the true worth of working with you. Clients are getting more than a chat; they are also getting a roadmap to their success and having their problems solved by you. 

How to Price Your Free Consult

Here’s a simple example: If you charge $200/hour and offer a 30-minute consult, your services need to account for that $100 time cost. 

You can:
1. Roll it into your onboarding fee
2. Raise your base package rate
3. Use the EPI formula: Expenses + Profit = Income to make sure that the payroll costs for the service include the “free consults” you offer.

That “free consult” call is an expense. Don’t ignore it.

Don’t Give It All Away

To wrap up, giving a taste of your brilliance doesn’t mean offering the whole buffet.
📉 Know your margins
🔐 Protect your time
💡 Showcase your expertise
📊 Build the expense into your pricing model

When done right, your “free” consult becomes a conversion tool, not a financial drain.

Remember, you’re not giving away a deal, you’re offering a preview of the amazing work you’re going to do for them. So, let’s get those numbers right and stop treating your time like it’s just free for the taking.

At My CFO, we’ll help you map out your pricing with up to date bookkeeping by building in your consults, and stopping the cash leaks before they happen. Because your time is money and we’re here to make sure you’re earning both.

📩 Email me or fill out the contact form.
Let’s make your “free” consult the smartest investment you ever made.

💸 Because at the end of the day, cash flow isn’t luck, it’s strategy. 🧡🦄