Jim’s rant about ‘gurus’
Posted by admin in Creative Ideas, inspiration on Mar 9th, 2010 | 12 commentsHow dependent are you on the advice and courses sold by the so called “experts” and “gurus” of Internet marketing?
If you are getting most of your instructions and advice from guys you’ll never meet that are good at writing sales letters and selling $900+ “shiny object” courses then I can quite accurately estimate how much you’ve made online so far…
zero.
How did I estimate that number with such brutal accuracy?
Simple – I read the email I get from readers.
Does that hit a little close to home for you? I know about this issue because I get email every day from people that feel “burned” by the very industry I’m in.
Some of those experts selling big courses are great guys with great ideas, but I have a new theory of success online that is based on having watched thousands struggle while only hundreds or even just dozens seem to succeed. I’ll tell you in a moment what the common factor of success is. It has nothing to do with which course(s) you buy by the way.
Before I reveal my one word success ingredient I have to rant about the industry I’m in…is that ok?
Here are some things that annoy me about this industry. Do you agree with these?
- It’s always the same guys with big email lists endorsing each others big launch products.
- Bragging about how much you sold of a ‘how to sell online’ course DOES NOT qualify you as an expert. We are smarter than that.
- Why can’t your customers all get together and interact with each other? Anyone can start a discussion forum in 15 minutes. Do it. What are you trying to hide?
- After all the hype for weeks leading up to a launch why do you never bring up that same idea later AFTER the launch? (It’s because you’ve moved on to the next launch right?)
- Simply having a big mailing list DOES NOT make you a marketing genius worthy of my time and attention. The good idea that got you that big list does not make you an expert on all things Internet related. Stop pretending it does.
End of rant.
How is it that some DO actually go on to success in spite of these pitfalls and “shiny objects” that so easily distract?
My answer is one word.
Relationships.
You just don’t see that many lone wolf success stories online.
The people that I know that are making good progress online have a community of like minded people available to them that they can access anytime they need to. They share ideas, successes and failures. They speak openly and get the advice they need from those that have made it. They disagree, argue points, change their mind, and try new things based on what they learn and share with others.
Relationships are IGNORED by most online entrepreneurs, but not by me. For me they are CENTRAL.
My main membership website not only encourages this type of interaction…it DEPENDS on it.
Examples:
Each of my two membership sites has active, open discussion forums. I don’t keep my customers separated from each other.
On MySilentTeam.com we have a few dozen experts contributing to the site. These are top reputation people making money by means other than selling “how to make $” courses. I have a relationship with each one of them and our members are encouraged to do so as well.
We’ve just recruited 20 members of MySilentTeam.com and crowned them “content managers”. These folks are the ones keeping pulse of the content and instructional needs of the site based on their RELATIONSHIPS with other members.
I’m at the top of the org-chart. Not to brag, but my recent independent nomination as ‘the most trusted marketer online’ caps off a leadership team that is unquestionably the best on the web. After all, relationships are built on TRUST right?
It’s impossible to overemphasize how different MySilentTeam.com is as a result.
We FOCUS on (instead of avoiding) building trustworthy relationships online.
The one thing that many of the “experts” DON’T want you to do is hang out with other customers and compare notes about how crappy, complicated, lacking etc. their latest big launch product was. That scares them to death. This means they aren’t going to tell you how to pursue relationships with their other customers.
I on the other hand want that interaction. I recognize that the BEST IDEAS and most creative strategies DON’T COME FROM ME…they come from the synergy of an active online community that grows with or without my involvement. I benefit from the community as much as any participating member does.
Does that make sense?
I hope so.
If you like this free blog and newsletter I promise you will LOVE MySilentTeam.com.
Will you be member number 4,085?
…we are waiting for you!
Final tip: Don’t be a “lone wolf”. There are also plenty of free forums online that you can use if you aren’t ready to invest in a community like MySilentTeam yet. The bottom line though is I just don’t see a lot of people out there making it on their own online. If you are trying to do that you need to find a community to spur you on.
Jim Cockrum
Proud Founder
MySilentTeam.com
A community of success built on trust
Please leave a comment, question or rant of your own below. We love feedback around here!
12 Responses to “ “Jim’s rant about ‘gurus’”
Leave a Reply
Free Newsletter
Join us at…
IM Report Card
Is Jim the most trusted Internet Marketing trainer online? This watchdog site thinks so...
Jim, I fully agree with your rant. It’s what I try to get through to my subscribers and anyone I talk about to about Internet Marketing. I hate the term ‘Guru’ anyway. It’s to easy for people to be misled or worse still follow the ‘advice’ from the so called ‘Guru’s’ and lose money. Like you I believe honesty and integrity is paramount. Keep up the good work Jim, and by the way your new eBook is excellent!
A shared creative community like this always will ‘out perform’ a top down personality based ‘guru’ model.
i.e. the ‘wisdom of crowds’
Cheers – Andy
I call this the ARROGANCE factor. My money and trust only goes to people I can interact with.
Arrogance is a common way for people with insecurities to protect themselves. They can’t let people see behind the curtain because they don’t feel confident. They are afraid of exposure.
I bought an ebook two weeks ago from someone who seemed to be in the right place at the right time. (My first ebook purchase in a few years.) Since then I’ve emailed back and forth a few times with the writer, and have scheduled a phone call for later this week. (He’s on vacation so we’ll talk when he gets back.)
The guy is doing everything right.
Terry
PS one other point. Back when I started selling eBay information I met people who were also starting out. (You were one of the people I met back then Jim.) Some of the people I met went nowhere and quickly disappeared from my view. Others stuck and grew. They are now my PEERS. The people I call when I am working on something. The people who call me when they are working on projects. All of them are approachable because they have nothing to hide.
Right on Jim. You seem to have a knack for hitting the “nail on the head” every time. That is why it is soooo good to belong to your membership sites. Thanks
From “Day One!” I have been ranting about the supposed “gurus” in Internet marketing! Men and women who are not even close to the embodiment of what a true guru is all about!
The Dalai Lama is a guru…and there are others. The slick marketers, the salesmen and women selling the same promise of instant riches over and again are not even close to what a true Guru is all about!
“Bright shiny objects” and “The Siren’s Call” of quick and easy wealth, the 4 hour week! For many people, seeking an answer and real help before going under, seeking someone who truly has their best interests at heart? For them it is a last gasp for assistance! What do these clowns do? They sell them the same half-baked theories in repackaged containers. Free! Limited Time! Trial Offer! All with the aim of building a list in order to sell more stuff. Jim, the information I have received here and from your other interest, OfflineGold, has been invaluable! You are a rare one! Keep it up! Great stuff! The real stuff!
John
Hi Jim,
Not going to waste my time about the guru thing, you quite rightly pointed out their business perspective it`s called GREED no time for it!
However yes i fully agree with the content on communial interaction of like minded business people, to me it`s the lifeblood of success online, i am one of John Thornhills students of 2009, i am just starting to see success with my product and blog!
But the point i want to make here is this, my success is also attributed to Johns Masterclass forum where all students regularly bounce ideas both good and bad of each other to try and put into practice, with varying degrees of success BUT success nonetheless, and learn from the failures!
Anyway thanks for a fantastic post as usual Jim or do i call you Mr eBay, you`re the man see you in the mix….Ed.
Hi Jim,
I absolutely agree with your rant. This also used to happen in the MLM I was in a few years ago. There would be a “brand new way” to bring in customers and prospects every month and the methods they were teaching last month were forgotten and never spoken about again. I think people forget that it takes time to get good at something and if you keep jumping around from one thing to another you will never succeed at anything.
A ‘guru’ can be loosely translated as simply a ‘wise teacher’ and YOU are a very wise teacher, Jim. Your online networks that encourage discussion blast personal integrity into the stratosphere, along with posts like this one. That ‘guru’ term has picked up a negative connotation sometimes, true. Yet I think of those guys as a bunch of goofs and think (hope) their slick marketing hot hyped launch tactics are becoming just ridiculous. Thanks for all you do, a true guru!
Hey Jim,
Just want to say that after all the paths I’ve tried and the people I’ve listened to I always end up back with you. This is where I started and you are still the only one I really trust. Keep up the good work!
Loved Andrea’s point about sticking with something to get good at it. The constant promotion of the ‘newest and greatest’ tools cause great confusion and worry to those of us who need real guidance on how to become successful online. I have been the victim of thinking that I need the latest tool, or I’ll be behind and not able to succeed.
I have just given up at times, thinking I’ll never make enough to buy the next course so I can keep up. I’m so thankful for your book, your team, and your website.
I am learning to calm down, slow down and complete a task, get good at one thing before moving on. I know this is going to lead to my success.
Thanks for all you do. You are the real deal, and so are the people you bring together on your websites.
Good rant. What’s a ‘guru’ anyway other than a person who calls himself one? But I have to say that in the very short time I have been active in the blogosphere and using soc-med that I have learned a lot by reading the posts created by these so-called ‘gurus’, and therefore am very grateful for their advice and pointers. It is helpful of course to identify the real deal from the charlatan. G
I’m a 54 year young guy from Toronto who was kicked to the curb 3 years ago in the job market.
I came from network marketing in the 80″s and 90′s before the internet.
This last decade has been an eye opener for me in too many ways to list. I’ve only started doing things poperly since end of 07.
That’s when I found and implemented the strategies of Mike Dillard even though I haven’t been a fan of that industry online.
Great learning there though.
I’ve worked my butt of for 3 years full time to build my name out online.Google my name.
Bottom line is I found you through TG which I’m into my 3rd week with and love it.
What you folks say above is bang on and I stopped buying “guru” stuff 2 and a half years ago.
I already work with folks like you seem to be but it took me years to find these new friends who are honest,with integrity and yes I MAKE$ with them.
I am intrigued with your offline biz and am have started to look at implemneting your teaching there to make some upfront money by helping local businesses.
I have not looked at MySilentteam.com as of yet but I’m going there now.