Shaking hands with the people

Free is great. Free concerts are better. Recently our city had a free concert in the park with a well known band from the '60s. The band got paid by the city, but the smartest thing they did was sign autographs after the show.

Here is the brilliance of this old-school business practice.

Triple the normal cost of your product because it is in demand. You could have bought the CD that afternoon at Best Buy for $10 but because you can't run there at the moment and need something to be signed you pay the $30. It's then free offer, to shake hands and sign an autograph that creates the costly demand. And then spend a moment or two with each person creates a buzz causing more people to jump in line.

My guess is that a few hundred CDs were sold. Not to shabby for a band that was already paid. Think of it as a $5 grand tip.

Lastly, if every person in line were like my mother than they were on the phone calling everyone they knew the next day. That reminds those who weren't their to buy the product. Also, we can't forget about those who came just to see a free show and walked away fans.