Shopping on the Internet can be like navigating a jungle. And, as jungles will show you, there are snakes around every corner. The goal is to minimize your time spent comparing prices, making-decisions and general frustration and maximize your time spent happily purchasing and efficiently producing, or “guruing.”
So, in order to get out alive, here are some advice bullets to give your online guru shopping experiences a little more ammo.
Detecting the Phonies
As a consumer, being able to spot who is selling a legit product or service is a really important skill to have. There are several red flags that scream “this is a scam, hit your back button now!” Some of the top signs to look out for include:
- If you see “get-rich-quick” you should “get-out-quick”
- If a wealthy foreigner needs you to put $1000 in their account until they can get over to America to pay you back, they won’t. This is the Nigerian scam, and I expect you are a brighter crayon than that.
- The four-hour workweek a-la Tim Ferriss is an excellent concept; though, don’t jump in believing you’ll be taking it that easy too quickly. Lots of hours and hard work are an essential part of business growth, and outsourcing a company you haven’t grown won’t work.
How to make yourself sound legit
If you’re a marketer/producer/guru, the last thing you want to do is appear phony. Here are a few things to remember when you’re trying to sound authentic to your consumers:
- Don’t be too flashy with your product and don’t promise your customers what you cannot deliver.
- Spend more time building a great product and not a marketing/sales funnel.
- Give your customers a little sampler—it’s the “don’t buy a new car until you test-drive it ” idea. If your product or service is that good, let your customers have a free trial, and let them feel it out for themselves and get a better idea before they purchase.
Background checking the “Gurus”
If someone is making some unbelievable claims about their products, chances are you shouldn’t believe them. A helpful way to know if something is worth buying is to do a little investigation on the guru in question. Where did they make their money? If it’s unclear or if they haven’t actually made enough money worth mentioning, then you’ll probably want to move on.
Remember that gurus that want to teach you how to earn millions like they did, will only give you about 80 percent of their tactics, but leave out the 20 percent that actually made them money; the real secret behind their money-making method.
Will the product actually work?
As the marketer/expert/guru, you want to find out if customers have enough confidence in themselves to take your teachings and advice on board. Most won’t. But, sticking to more timeless principles and teachings is sound advice for both the marketer and customer.
Customers should ask themselves whether or not they will commit the time and effort to the lesson, course or teachings online and if they actually have a connection with the expert’s message.
Now, for only $55.99 you can read the rest of my teachings and become a true advice-giving guru like me. I absolutely guarantee it.
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