In almost every business, whether online or offline, there's a good chance people will ask for a free sample or copy of your product. When this happens, it's good to know what you're going to say. You'll be glad you thought through the best way to handle this request.

To be clear, I'm not referring to giving products to close friends or family. I'm also not referring to giving away a bonus product as a special promotion. Rather, I am referring to strangers who contact you and ask to have your product for free.

This actually happens to me frequently. I'll get an email from a person I've never met or heard of, asking me to give them a copy of my product for free. Sometimes he or she will even ask for one of my products and promise to pay me back if and when the business becomes profitable. To me this seems inappropriate and a bit crazy. I mean, what is the likelihood that this person will remember the debt he or she owes? Not to mention the fact that he or she has very little incentive to work on building a business.

But for some reason the information products sold on the Internet come across as less valuable than the products sold in a traditional store. For example, few, if any, people would walk into Best Buy and ask for a free copy of Microsoft Word. Just the thought of this is laughable. That customer would expect to pay for the item. Paying money attaches value.

I am the perfect example of this principle. I have a lot of products on my computer that I've never looked at because I got them for free. I guarantee if I had paid for them I would have used them or read them by now. The money I paid would've given me motivation to use them.

Because of this truth, I usually turn down these requests, graciously and without guilt. I do this graciously because I am a Christian and believe this is the best way to interact with people. I also do this graciously because I could still gather a customer out of the situation. But I do this without guilt because I am also trying to earn a living and support my family. I do this by selling what I am passionate about: step by step videos about how to start an online business.

I have invested significant time, research, and energy into the products I offer, and I am convinced that if people pay for these products rather than get them for free they'll actually use them and get the benefits from them. And in the long run this is one of the reasons why I do what I do.