Disclaimer & What to Expect at a Marketing Event
Posted by Holly in Blunt Honesty, Marketing Events
In general, attending an educational seminar or marketing event can be a new and exciting way to learn and hopefully earn more. But, there are a few things you should be aware of before you head out and go to your Internet Marketing event. This disclaimer is one which the speakers of the events would not like me to share. I’m going against the norm here and telling you the truth so you can avoid wasting your money.
After posting a list of the upcoming Internet Marketing Events & Seminars for 2009, I began pondering my experiences at past marketing events. When I first attended a marketing event, it was in Southeast Asia in 2006. I attended one event in Singapore and one event in Malaysia. I was fortunate to have received a free entry into both events because I was a big affiliate for some of the speakers there and I e-mailed them beforehand. I then met them at the event, and was let into the VIP area which held a high price tag of $5000. It was exciting at the time.
The events started out with an upbeat, motivated speaker who shared some insights and welcomed the experts. Each speaker to follow, would hold the stage for anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. I personally take notes while attending and try to take in everything I can. I learned a lot. Then after learning and expanding my mind and marketing methods, suddenly the tone changed and it’s onto the sales pitch. It’s nearly the same for each speaker, in the same order, around the same price range.
To many marketers, this is a given and no surprise. But I was fresh to Internet Marketing, as I began my ventures online in 2005 and had no idea about this world of making money from teaching others how to make money – especially unfamiliar with this venue (seminars). Fortunately, I had a stable income online at that time. But for the majority of the event attendees, they were not making a stable income and spent their last few hundred dollars to be there in an attempt to salvage their lives and turn their situations around.
I like to observe situations and people – and I noticed the desperation on the faces of so many people there. They wanted change. Their lives were hanging in the balance and they were debating in their minds whether or not to spend their college savings on their schooling or on one of the coaching programs. One person who I met at the event, asked me sincerely for my advice on whether he should spend his college funds on the coaching or on the schooling. I stood there debating in my mind – even though it was not my money to spend and not my life to live.I told him not to get the coaching. It’s his life- but I am glad to have offered that advice.
Sometimes, there are coaching programs offered that are legit and can truly transform and assist you in your career path online. If you know of one – please share it in the comments section below. I don’t want this post to be bashing all marketers who speak at events and all coaching programs – because there are some honest marketers and honest programs to help lead you. For anyone new to my blog, I recommend that you first read Honest Riches, if you want to gain a stable foundation in Internet Marketing and make money online.
So, the disclaimer here is to be cautious when you attend the event. Lots of events are free or very low cost to attend because the speakers know they will get a percentage of the visitors to signup for coaching services. That’s understandable. When you attend, learn all that you can, take notes and network. Don’t forget to bring business cards – it is hugely important. Just know what to expect at the end.
Also, if you’ve had any experiences with conferences, coaching programs or scams – feel free to share them with us in the comments section. I also wrote a poem, “Message to the Scammers” after witnessing some of the marketing gurus take advantage of people.I felt angered and wrote a message to them! Please read it and retweet it on twitter if you like it. Thanks!
14 Responses to “Disclaimer & What to Expect at a Marketing Event”
Leave a Reply
mymoen
08. Jul, 2009
according to me, there’s no big different each other of seminar. Give spirit, share experience and many thing else. Little suprise for me when i saw the ticket price, $5000. Expensive, for me..
However, Nice poem…
Online Income Streams
08. Jul, 2009
Hi Holly
I always enjoy your blunt honesty with your experiences.
I have not been able to attend any internet marketing conferences as there seems to not be many in my area. The ones I have seen advertised come with a high price tag plus transportation.
I think just as you suggest get everything you can out of a conference and network, network, network. Actually going the next step and paying for coaching seriously consider the alternatives.
Great post and thanks again.
Luca
08. Jul, 2009
Hi Holly,
Very interesting post. I wish I had attended some seminars before starting my venture into Internet Marketing but the cost was usually prohibitive. I think that networking with like minded people helps in building any business. As for the sales pitch, well it’s just part of any seminar and I think you really need to think hard before taking the attarctive deals that are offered. As for scams (great poem by the way) I got bit early on, the sales letter was so convincing even for an old salesman like me. Having said that I learned from my experience and moved on. Still learning and I thank your honest posts.
I recently wrote a post on my blog http://www.reachsuccessonline.com/what-do-honest-internet-marketers-and-honest-politicians-have-in-common/ There are honest marketers out there that are willing to help and give back. My only regret is that I did not mention you on that post. Hmm ..I feel another post coming
Irish Tom
08. Jul, 2009
Hi Holly
This is a great post (and a great poem).
I have been “dabbling” on line here for the past four years and have seen the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
I am now keeping files of all the exploits I find and do my share of replying to them with no response back.
One thing I have found. There are genuine people out there who are trying to help both newbies and the more experienced and will also give various free reports which have excellent content. When I get these (usually in pdf format) I print them off and file them in my own training ring binder manuals. Obviously, these marketeers are also trying to sell their product and when you get the free downloads, it gives you a good idea what the content would be like in their main report. I will not buy on a whim especially with the usual..”buy at this price today before midnight before price goes up”. A week later you go back to the site and the same message. Another scam is “only 8 left”. Again a week later and they may have 10 left??
Another one is the follow ups from the Marketeer you have bought a manual from. Only thing it is not the Marketeer , but a Training/Mentoring/Coaching Company who “want a small number of special clients to earn $#@*+”.
How I deal with these people is I let them think they have caught a sucker and lead them in. After they have given me the “speil” about what they can do for me, I then agree to sign up on the condition they take their $3K/$5K fee from my profits which of course they won’t. They start asking me to supply a credit card number to get started and I reply that
“Sorry Buddy, that is a problem as I am a Bankrupt and just let of Jail for a number of crimes which I really didn’t commit but the Cops wouldn’t believe me”.
You would not believe the abuse I get for “wasting their valuable time” , and they hang up. Incidently, they don’t call me back. (I wonder why..I really am a nice guy)
Incidently I use the same comments when someone phones me to try and sell me a remortgage.
I am intending to do an article covering my experiences without naming names (I don’t want to get my butt sued off).
This is some great content and I firmly believe it will help our readers and save a number from getting conned.
Keep up the good work
Cheers
Tom
Anna
08. Jul, 2009
I would never ever recommend anyone who is just starting out spend huge sums of money. I started with the price of a domain name, hosting, and Honest Riches.
I am not a millionaire (yet?) but I am at least earning enough money online (and through what I learned in the meanwhile about web design which allows me an income from Freelancing) to work at home and continue building up my websites.
Every month my websites earn more money and have more traffic. Every month, they get closer to the top of the SERPS for very high-traffic keywords. I am progressing and learning as I go.
I never paid my life savings to get started! What if it had turned out that Internet Marketing was not for me? What if I didn’t have the persistence and interest to keep going, even in those first months where I had only a few nights to work on my websites and made 42 cents?
I always advise friends to start with a low investment, learn the ropes, find their interests, and get practice in the field, before investing any large amount of funds.
After you have started to get somewhere in a particular field, and you want to invest in a product, software, or service which you have certainty will help you earn more money or build up your business faster, that is a different story!!! Go for it.
As a general rule, I never invest more per month in my websites or Internet Marketing business than I have earned that month. When I was first starting out, I generally never had more than $100 invested than I had earned online. I recommend the same strategy for others. ESPECIALLY “newbies.”
There is SO much you can learn without spending a lot of money. Most of our hard drives are full of high quality reports, inexpensive eBooks, MP3s, and videos that we have been “meaning to study.” Our email inboxes are full of useful information from subscription emails. There are blogs all over the place one can follow and study. There is no lack of free or inexpensive information which can help you get started.
Once you are earning a few hundred or a few thousand dollars a month online you can consider paying a higher price for information which might be more streamlined or more targeted to what you are trying to do. But that is when you are already rolling, have a better idea of what direction you are taking, and can invest with more confidence.
The5sisters
09. Jul, 2009
Great advice ,Anna, and I follow those same guidelines..It didn’t start out that way ,but I learned quickly and only need to make a few hundred $$$ more to break even.An eternal optimist that I am ,I should have known better.That is probably why I married a realist [she hates the word 'pessimist']
Building from Nothing, not Building from $5,000
09. Jul, 2009
[...] post was inspired by Disclaimer and What to Expect at a Marketing Event on Honest [...]
Irish Tom
09. Jul, 2009
Hi Anna
Really good points and it amazes me the amount of good material we download free “to check it out later” but we never get around to it.
Your reply motivated me to check out my stuff and low and behold I found some really great info I had forgotten all about, but now I can use.
Thanks for the points and reminders.
One of the people/mentors I read from regularly has an opening line he uses all the time..”STAY FOCUSED”..
I guess that is the biggest mistake we all make in our ongoing businesses, jumping around all over the place.
I find I am now deleting a lot more email without opening it because I know what it is promoting and I am not interested.
Thanks again Anna.
Tom
Anna
10. Jul, 2009
Hey Tom! Thanks for your response! Yep, there is a lot of info in those hard drives. And we need to buy MORE!!! Lol. Just kidding.
I know what you mean about deleting emails. Just today I was doing exactly that! Emails from certain addresses. It felt great!
And I have to agree with this:
“I guess that is the biggest mistake we all make in our ongoing businesses, jumping around all over the place.”
It can be one of the drawbacks of being your own boss – some people forget that you really do have to BE your own BOSS! (As opposed to just, not having a boss).
Anna
10. Jul, 2009
@The5sisters LOL. Well, the transparency is appreciated! Sometimes I wonder how many people are wondering if they are the only ones …
Normal Joe
10. Jul, 2009
Yeah, that’s pretty much a given that most seminars will have the speakers sale from the stage, it offsets the cost for them being there.
Once in a while, you will find a content only seminar where the speakers aren’t allowed to sale from the stage, but most do.
It is a tough decision, because they will make you feel like you need it, some may help, some don’t…however that’s the experiences of doing business.
Some people work best with a step by step high priced program, they put more work into it because they paid so much, others make it happen for free…and others explode on the scene after reading Honest Riches!
It’s so many different avenues for many people, but it is a shocker if you’re not expecting it.
Anna
10. Jul, 2009
Joe! Where have you been!
Lock Chee Hoong
18. Jan, 2010
I attended 1 global internet summit in 2009 and along with a group of Malaysians, we sign up for 1 course. This course lasts for a year and within months, it folded. It was the most expensive course at the event RM12k which is like USD3.7k
The Australian company promised lots of things and made the best sales pitch of the event.
When they returned to Sydney, they just chose to under-deliver their promises, and when things got hot and their students in Australia commented on them in Facebook, the management even had the gal to call them up and threaten them with lawsuits…how ridiculous can that be?
The company over expanded and in a few months time, they lost 5.5 million and had to be sold to another company, When we emailed them about getting the refund which was written in the contract, they just told us to refer to the new owner (based all the way in Australia).
They did not inform us of their sale, and for the past few months whenever we joined their weekly webinars, the host was never there.
If you go to Facebook and look at The Geekversity Issues Group…you will know what I mean….Some of the locals there were charged AUD18k to 21k…
These people ought to be hanged in public!
I saw (as you mentioned) many people with over-eager ambition to take up everything the speakers presented during the Kuala Lumpur GIS 2009. One even signed up for SIX COURSES!!! And he not a computer-savy person.
Another case of such scam involving an eBay guru.
He promised that we can buy and sell properties in ebay.
When my friend signed up and then turned up at the workshop, the “guru” told them they need to buy a special software that costs USD5k…
What happened was, they did not manage to buy or sell US properties because of one simple rule – NO SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.
Everyone else – in their haste to make money – forget that basic, simple fact.
SO my friend ended up losing lost of money , around USD6k.
These so-called gurus can be real mean and inconsiderate people. they are willing to con everybody (i think even their own parents) if they get the chance.
Holly
18. Jan, 2010
Hi Lock Chee,
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with this. It is horrible what people will do for money. The conference attendees are there seeking real guidance – not seeking to waste all their money on something that is not as promised. I hope you can get your money back on the other thing..that is horrible. I wish I could help.