I jokingly said to a coaching client that the only thing more dangerous than a crazy man with a gun is a guru with an opportunity. He was talking about all the get rich quick stuff he’d bought over the years and how he thought that maybe it was like an addiction. No doubt, it is an addiction.
When I co-developed a beginner’s course for Internet marketers I made the statement that most gurus can’t teach. What I didn’t say is most gurus aren’t gurus and many of them were one hit wonders, or they are lying. I’d love to see some of their tax returns.
Unfortunately, some of these people have the depth of a bedpan. But you’ll be able to tell how and I’ll show you how in a few moments.
There are, of course, many successful entrepreneurs who happily pass along (sell or even give away) the “secrets” of their successes. I know that there were some products that my client purchased that are excellent and could have helped him had he used them. I own a couple of them, one developed by Mark Joyner, and they certainly helped me. He just never got around to using them.
We live in a busy time. We are loaded down with information, data, technology, learning curves, and opportunities. For those who want to actively participate, the result can become acute overwhelm.
It’s been estimated that some 90% of e-training information products are never completed. They just sit there in cyber files, unopened, and unused, and paid for.
I was reminded of the story years ago of the motivational speaker who sold his 6-cassette tape albums both at seminars and via magazine advertising. After he’d sold the first run of about 500 albums it was discovered that quite by accident, tapes 4-6 were blank. All of them!
What was amazing was that they’d had only two complaints! So that means that either no one was listening beyond the first three or they just never got around to complaining about the missing information. I suspect the former.
The science of persuasion in advertising and marketing has grown to massive proportions. What was once a body of information gained through years of training is now available to anyone with an Internet account and a credit card.
Like any tool, persuasion can be used for positive or negative purposes. The devious and downright dishonest purveyors are using this material successfully to the tune of creating vast fortunes for themselves or influencing an unaware public to vote or believe a certain way.
In marketing, the honest, real teachers (gurus) are using this science to train others to succeed. They are using tried and true methods that have worked for themselves and others. But how can you tell the difference?
Unfortunately, we are consuming, voting, and reacting to the science of persuasion without much thought. This is truly a highly developed skill of hypnosis that we’ve become unwitting slaves to masters who are stealing us blind or influencing us in ways we might consciously never accept.
There is something you can do. Here are 3 ways to block hypnotic influences that may be harmful to you, especially when buying information products:
1. Don’t make a snap decision to buy anything from a vendor, ad, or influencer you don’t already know and trust.
2. Don’t trust – verify. Create a personal “mantra” that you can use whenever you like what you see: “This looks good to me, now I’ll research it before I buy it.”
3. Before you make the purchase or accept the promoted belief, ask yourself if you are willing to begin learning this material immediately. If so, how many hours or minutes will you spend on day 1, day 2, etc.? Don’t spend your money or your time until you make a personal commitment to begin consuming the material right away.
Yes, a crazy man with a gun is more dangerous. However, your chances of coming up against such a situation is very slim. However, if you’re into personal or income development, you’ll be in contact daily, probably hourly on the Internet with the “gurus of success.”
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May I Recommend: Perhaps the most honest, world class proven purveyor of self-development and marketing tools I know of is Mark Joyner. He’s a best-selling author with at least one out of print book that has sold on ebay for over $500!
After being positively influenced, trained, and motivated over the years through his work, I’ve come to know Mark personally. I can unhesitatingly recommend him to you. Once more, it won’t cost you a dime.
Mark is the creator of “Simpleology,” The Simple Science of Getting What You Want. The depth of his free material is breathtaking and well-proven around the world.
He gives this away for a very good reason. It’s life enhancing and you can see why almost right away.
When explore what he has to offer you’ll likely become a very satisfied customer of his free and paid products. Yes, he will make offers, he’s a very successful marketer. But first, just verify at no charge what I’m telling you here.
http://budurl.com/gptz
NOTE: While there is much information from Mark at no charge, should you purchase from his company in the future, the link is tied to my affiliate account and yes, I may make a commission. This will create two more happy people in the universe. You and me. Three if you count Mark.
http://budurl.com/gptz
Who Is Tom Justin?
When I co-developed a beginner’s course for Internet marketers I made the statement that most gurus can’t teach. What I didn’t say is most gurus aren’t gurus and many of them were one hit wonders, or they are lying. I’d love to see some of their tax returns.
Unfortunately, some of these people have the depth of a bedpan. But you’ll be able to tell how and I’ll show you how in a few moments.
There are, of course, many successful entrepreneurs who happily pass along (sell or even give away) the “secrets” of their successes. I know that there were some products that my client purchased that are excellent and could have helped him had he used them. I own a couple of them, one developed by Mark Joyner, and they certainly helped me. He just never got around to using them.
We live in a busy time. We are loaded down with information, data, technology, learning curves, and opportunities. For those who want to actively participate, the result can become acute overwhelm.
It’s been estimated that some 90% of e-training information products are never completed. They just sit there in cyber files, unopened, and unused, and paid for.
I was reminded of the story years ago of the motivational speaker who sold his 6-cassette tape albums both at seminars and via magazine advertising. After he’d sold the first run of about 500 albums it was discovered that quite by accident, tapes 4-6 were blank. All of them!
What was amazing was that they’d had only two complaints! So that means that either no one was listening beyond the first three or they just never got around to complaining about the missing information. I suspect the former.
The science of persuasion in advertising and marketing has grown to massive proportions. What was once a body of information gained through years of training is now available to anyone with an Internet account and a credit card.
Like any tool, persuasion can be used for positive or negative purposes. The devious and downright dishonest purveyors are using this material successfully to the tune of creating vast fortunes for themselves or influencing an unaware public to vote or believe a certain way.
In marketing, the honest, real teachers (gurus) are using this science to train others to succeed. They are using tried and true methods that have worked for themselves and others. But how can you tell the difference?
Unfortunately, we are consuming, voting, and reacting to the science of persuasion without much thought. This is truly a highly developed skill of hypnosis that we’ve become unwitting slaves to masters who are stealing us blind or influencing us in ways we might consciously never accept.
There is something you can do. Here are 3 ways to block hypnotic influences that may be harmful to you, especially when buying information products:
1. Don’t make a snap decision to buy anything from a vendor, ad, or influencer you don’t already know and trust.
2. Don’t trust – verify. Create a personal “mantra” that you can use whenever you like what you see: “This looks good to me, now I’ll research it before I buy it.”
3. Before you make the purchase or accept the promoted belief, ask yourself if you are willing to begin learning this material immediately. If so, how many hours or minutes will you spend on day 1, day 2, etc.? Don’t spend your money or your time until you make a personal commitment to begin consuming the material right away.
Yes, a crazy man with a gun is more dangerous. However, your chances of coming up against such a situation is very slim. However, if you’re into personal or income development, you’ll be in contact daily, probably hourly on the Internet with the “gurus of success.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
May I Recommend: Perhaps the most honest, world class proven purveyor of self-development and marketing tools I know of is Mark Joyner. He’s a best-selling author with at least one out of print book that has sold on ebay for over $500!
After being positively influenced, trained, and motivated over the years through his work, I’ve come to know Mark personally. I can unhesitatingly recommend him to you. Once more, it won’t cost you a dime.
Mark is the creator of “Simpleology,” The Simple Science of Getting What You Want. The depth of his free material is breathtaking and well-proven around the world.
He gives this away for a very good reason. It’s life enhancing and you can see why almost right away.
When explore what he has to offer you’ll likely become a very satisfied customer of his free and paid products. Yes, he will make offers, he’s a very successful marketer. But first, just verify at no charge what I’m telling you here.
http://budurl.com/gptz
NOTE: While there is much information from Mark at no charge, should you purchase from his company in the future, the link is tied to my affiliate account and yes, I may make a commission. This will create two more happy people in the universe. You and me. Three if you count Mark.
http://budurl.com/gptz
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Who Is Tom Justin?
First, thanks to all who've taken the time to comment both privately and on the blog.
Re; the question of how to verify marketers; Google is the first best bet. You'll get some idea of what kind of stuff they're doing online. But keep in mind that some are just marketing others programs as affiliates.
In your search, you can break it up too. Look at things like Yelp by including that in your search engine. So, the name, product, or company in quotes then Yelp or BBB, etc.
But also look at your time/cost ratio. If it's a $27 product and they show a guarantee, how much is your time worth? The larger the cost, the more you should research it.
Hope that helps,
Tom
Posted by: Tom Justin | April 13, 2010 at 12:26 PM
I agree Tom, but I'm still not clear on how you can verify the claims of these people and do your due diligence by researching them. Any suggestions?
Thank you very much for the information.
Posted by: D'TaRelle F. Tullis | April 12, 2010 at 06:44 PM
Excellent thoughts here, Tom. With so many rags-to-riches promises out there, so many forget that Internet marketing is a business and it takes time to build one that's got a foundation of credibility and authenticity.
Rosey Dow - The Prospect Profiler
Posted by: Rosey Dow | April 12, 2010 at 02:46 PM
Dear Tom,
Thanks for being so honest and straightforward. Many people have been sucked in (including myself) from a great salesletter with all kinds of "proof", but when the program arrives, once you find out what's really involved, you feel like you've been kicked in the stomach. Or, there were so many hidden costs or other products you needed to buy to make it work, that it wasn't worth it.
Please keep sharing the truth.
Darshan G. Shanti - The 24 Hour Champion
Posted by: Darshan G. Shanti | April 10, 2010 at 10:57 PM