The cost of “Free” advice
A few years ago, a village near our office suffered terrible flooding. Having experienced my own family home flooding in 2007, I know firsthand how devastating it is. I also know that, with the right measures, the risk can be reduced.
When a homeowner in the village reached out to us for help, we wanted to do the right thing. The general consensus in our office was that, given the circumstances, we should offer a free survey. It felt like a way to give back and could also enhance our reputation locally.
I arranged a time, turned up… and the homeowner wasn’t even there. I waited.
When they finally arrived, I carried out a thorough consultation, lifting manhole covers, inspecting drainage routes, and gathering all the property information. Back at the office, I went even further, completing a detailed flood risk assessment, analysing climate change impacts, assessing whether a flood wall would be feasible, and even researching funding options, all compiled in a comprehensive report.
And then… silence. The customer ghosted me.
If people won’t pay for your advice, They probably won’t follow it either
A while later, I saw they had taken matters into their own hands. Instead of following my recommendations, they bought an untested flood barrier off eBay, despite my report clearly stating the importance of testing standards for insurance recognition.
Fast forward a few years, flooding hit the village again. Their property flooded, with water entering from multiple areas.
And then they reached out to me. Again. Asking for more free advice.
This time, I set out my fees.
I never heard from them again.
Now, their house is on the market, struggling to sell. They’ve dropped the price by over £25,000. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), flood damage can impact property values for around seven years post-flood. Had they followed my advice, they might have avoided the flood, or at least reduced its severity, making their home far easier to sell.
My advice had real value. But because it was free, it wasn’t valued and wasn’t followed.
Running a business or a “busyness”?
If you run a business by giving everything away for free, you’re not running a business, you’re running a busyness.
We could easily be very busy, driving around the country offering “free advice” or “free surveys,” but we’d be busy fools -soon out of business, and our advice wouldn’t be taken seriously.
We’ve seen this problem even when conducting surveys on behalf of some councils. When homeowners aren’t personally paying for a survey, they tend to be less engaged in the process. Over the years, we’ve invested heavily in free resources – videos, how-to guides, and downloadable forms – so help is available. But when it comes to expert advice tailored to a specific site, understandably, there’s a cost.
It’s not a sales pitch, it’s professional advice. And if it was a sales pitch, it wouldn’t necessarily be the right advice.
We hire the best talent, pay them well, train them, insure them, and that all comes at a cost. Our consultancy arm, FPS Environmental Ltd, exists because expert advice is valuable and needed.
The race to the bottom never ends well
Despite industry standards, we occasionally see new entrants marketing ‘free surveys.’ I roll my eyes every time. Inevitably, this isn’t sustainable. To fund them, they must make sales from the visit, and the equipment prices have to be bumped up to cover the costs – there is no such thing as “free”.
If you’re building a flood wall, for example, you need to understand how water moves both onto and off your property. That means pre-planning work, like a drainage survey, structural engineering design, and calculations to ensure the wall doesn’t hold water inside or create problems for neighbouring properties.
I watched this play out in the same village. A homeowner told me our fees were ‘too expensive’ and went ahead without proper planning. When the floods came, water filled up inside their flood wall. There were no backflow measures in place. The house flooded, and two cars were written off.
The right advice at the start, combined with the necessary follow-on surveys, could have prevented the entire disaster.
Free advice isn’t just a flood risk issue, It’s a business issue
This isn’t unique to flood protection. It happens in every industry:
- Legal: A solicitor won’t give you free legal advice because it carries liability and value.
- Construction: Architects and engineers charge for their expertise because their work has consequences.
- Marketing & business consulting: Free strategy sessions are often the hook to reel you in to buy services, but if you want bespoke business advice, it will cost money.
Paying for good advice upfront is often far cheaper than dealing with the consequences of getting it wrong.
There is no such thing as free
“Free” isn’t really free, there’s always a catch. Whether it’s hidden in the fine print, tied to a sales pitch, or masking a bigger cost down the line, ‘free’ often means you’re the product. In business, free advice usually serves as bait for something else, or worse, it’s not worth much at all.
Giving too much away for free doesn’t just devalue your expertise; it sets the expectation that professionals should work for nothing. Worse, it encourages clients to cut corners, leading to costly failures down the line.
The real takeaway? If you believe in the value of your expertise, charge for it. If clients won’t pay, they likely won’t listen.
