Beware the False Prophet continued...

There are coaches and mentors all over the internet who offer to teach and develop you. Not to disparage those much younger than I but I’m always amazed at the young under twenty types who describe themselves as some kind of personal development and life coach. Maybe I was the unusually slow developing guy, but I know that when I was in my twenties I was barely able to coach myself, let alone suggest to others that I could direct them to the best path to success in their lives.

Obviously most of these people are not close to being qualified to show you the road to success. So why are there so many people who describe themselves as coaches and mentors? It’s that they’ve been taught that they need to project an image of being the solution for those who need help. It’s a posture to attract people to them so they can market to those people.

You’d hope that someone who was promoting themselves as a coach and mentor would start by going out and developing huge success for themselves first, and then learn to teach the skills they’ve mastered, finding success for their protégées. Some do. But many hope to find their own first successes by attracting people to their opportunity, or their digital training programs. They list themselves as a life coach and network marketing specialist even though they are struggling themselves. The person who is terribly frustrated in their Network Company or their Affiliate program goes to the internet to find solutions, bumps into the description of the life coach, clicks on their link, and finds themselves on a capture page that describes all of the frustrations they are feeling. There’s a box that promises free solutions and all anyone has to do to get these pearls is to register leaving their name and email address. How often would you figure that the solutions sought are found after clicking on a button the says “Submit”?

I’m not suggesting that you should avoid registering on an intriguing site. Spam laws make it simple in most cases to opt out of an autoresponder email campaign. The companies that offer autoresponder services are very careful to avoid complaints that could jeopardize their business. So opt in. See what pearls are returned. The first premise of an attraction marketing program is to build a relationship by first giving valuable information for free. It’s assumed that when you opt in and get information that truly has value, trust will build, and when they eventually get to suggesting you buy something, you will, because they gave you value already and you fully expect more value when you make that purchase or join their opportunity.  

In this internet age when you can surf the web and don’t have to contact any person directly, here’s a novel idea. Use it when you are considering joining or buying from someone who you’ve never known or even heard of. When you get to that offer and you are intrigued enough to consider buying or joining, call the person who is making the offer and talk with them directly. Ask some questions. Tell them exactly what you want to accomplish and ask how the program or opportunity you are considering will work for you. Listen to what they say and go with your gut.

Some of the offers of coaching, mentoring, or training are for you what Alice found in Wonderland. Once you enter the Rabbit Hole you are on a journey that can take you further and further from the actual destination you originally sought. Save time and money- pick up the phone. No phone number? Send an email and ask for it. No phone number or email contact info? That should tell you something too.