I recently prepaid $30 for a makeup artist to apply makeup to my face at Sephora. This consultation fee was mandatory whether or not I bought makeup, and if I didn’t show up, my card would still be charged. Additionally, I would still have to buy the makeup if I liked it — on top of the consultation fee. (And I did.) I asked the makeup artist whether Sephora changed their former policy because I remembered not paying for a consultation in the past. She replied that Sephora did change the policy because when people booked consultations for free, they often did not show and bucked at spending any money for makeup. It seemed that customers were content with getting a complimentary makeup application without buying any makeup. It was a waste of the makeup artist’s time, and it didn’t result in as many makeup sales as the paid consultations produced.

Not just at the makeup store but also everywhere I go, it is natural to pay for a consultation when you are interested in hiring someone for service. When I speak to a counselor, and I’m fact-finding for whether to hire them, I pay for that consultation. I pay for consultations when I go to the doctor. I pay for a mechanic consult on my car when it is making weird noises. I pay for an HVAC tech consultation when my AC isn’t blowing cold before getting an additional quote on how much it will cost to fix.

Want to know in what industry charging for consults is not often the norm? The legal industry! We are guilty as charged. In our industry, we have trained prospective clients to shop around for free legal advice.

Do you charge for consultations? If you don’t, you definitely should. But don’t despair; you are in good company. One of the biggest blocks I have faced in my law firm ownership journey is charging for consultations. Somewhere along the way, many of us lawyers have convinced ourselves that it is not necessary to be compensated for our time as long as we can get clients in the door. I still struggle with this one. A lawyer stereotype is that the cost of legal services is often very prohibitive. However, when small-firm lawyers think about providing services, we sometimes think we should get whoever we can in the door at a nominal fee or no fee at all. A disconnect exists! I informally surveyed some small-firm owners about this problem. Most of them said they do not charge for consultations, and the ones who did only charge a nominal fee that was nowhere close to being aligned with the value they provided the clients.

There are so many benefits to charging for consultations. You can eliminate people who shop around for the lowest price possible to solve their legal issues when you charge. Additionally, the chances are that you will attract higher-quality clientele because they are serious about your time since they are paying for it. They are also looking to invest in a solution to their problem, rather than crowdsource to try to get legal advice from a free consultation, which attorneys cannot give. Having paid consultations lets you delve deeper into client issues, especially if you’re doing a limited engagement or strategy session to offer legal advice.

Candidly, I’m currently in the free or “complimentary” consultation camp. But like Sephora, I am changing my policy and crossing the bridge to the other side by next week! I’d love to hear your thoughts on paid consultations. What are some pros and cons that you’ve experienced when charging for consultations?

Iffy Ibekwe is the principal attorney and founder of Ibekwe Law, PLLC. She is an estate planning attorney evangelist for intergenerational wealth transfer with effective wills and trusts. Iffy is writing her first book on culturally competent estate planning, available in 2022 (prayers up!). She graduated from The University of Texas School of Law and has practiced law for over 14 years. Iffy can be reached by email at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com, on her website, and on Instagram @thejustincaselawyer.