My recent post, Good Things Come in Threes, made the suggestion to buy three copies of good books.  The first is for you, the second for your spouse or a good friend, and the third is for someone else you know can benefit from it.

I also wrote about Spiraling Up, a new book on branding, growth and value coauthored by Lee Frederiksen of Hinge Marketing, a boutique marketing and branding firm focused on professional services firms.  Lee took the basic idea of “buying three” from my  post and applied it beautifully in his recent blog post, The Power of a Great Offer.

What may be different is suggesting a specific amount and a rationale as to why that makes sense for the purchaser. If you are using a content strategy to promote your firm, you can put this approach to the test. Try it on any number of promotions. Offering a workshop? Why not suggest having three people attend as a team because that makes it easier to apply the new learning back at their company.

In other words, it is a good idea to think about how we can broaden our services when it will benefit clients.  Professional service firms add value for their clients and themselves when they successfully employ this strategy.  Frederiksen goes on to say:

Here I believe the lens should be, “How can I deliver the maximum benefit to my client at a fair price?” It is all too easy to give the client what they ask for and not think through how they might enjoy a greater return by purchasing a larger or more complete set of services.

I’m aware that some people might reduce this kind of a consideration to a “May I supersize that for you?” level. It should not be a mindless, routine attempt to get every client to buy more from you. That may not be in your client’s interest. On the other hand, a thoughtful review of how a client might benefit by increasing the scope of the engagementis quite different, particularly if it is followed by a specific recommendation and rationale. This kind of thinking can benefit both your client and your firm.

By the way, Lees’s book is available for free download at Spiraling Up.  Employ the “buy three books and share” philosophy with at least three of your friends, clients or referral sources.  Share this post and link.  You’ll add value for them and yourself.