A School of Gullible Fish
At my seminar someone asked if my course was anything like StoresOnline.com. I said it wasn’t, but when I received a pair of free tickets to attend one of their over lunch Internet conference at a hotel just a 15 minute walk away, I decided to check it out personally, so I would know just how my course was different from what they offered. I invited my brother Tom, who is often downtown in his wheelchair to meet me there.
Well, the free lunch was delayed for 90 minutes while the presenter did a very smooth spiel on how the internet was the perfect place to make money, and how we just needed certain helps to make sure the search engines knew about our “store online,” and presto, we could start making lots of passive money - even while we slept.
I listened closely and took notes, but couldn’t find any flaw on the surface. I did find it odd that he had insisted all through his presentation that it just cost $199 to sign up. Then at the end, he announced that just for those attending the price was dropped to $20. Plus they would throw in a full day training seminar on Oct. 7, but then we should come prepared to pay for extra benefits we could only get there.
Whoa, I should have recognized the “bait and switch” right there, but the crowd had been worked into a “yes” unit, and it was hard to say no to the way he phrased his questions.
When Tom asked in a whisper, “So what do you think?” I shrugged and said, I’ve got all the sites I can handle right now. I already know all about the marketing he’s talking about learning. I just need the TIME to do it all. However, if you are interested, $20 is a good price.”
People were lining up to sign up! There was a talkative fellow on the other side of me, so I conversed with him. He was one of the first to sign up. After a while I noticed Tom had not got into line to pay up. He just shrugged when I asked him about it.
The lunch, when it came wasn’t bad. A nice fluffy croissant sandwich, small salad and a jumbo chocolate cookie. They gave us each a tiny mp3 player as we went out the door.
I hurried home to dig up a flowerbed, and when I went back inside, exhausted, I sat down to figure out the mp3 player. That entailed going online for instructions. There it occurred to me to research this company called StoresOnline.com.
Whoa! I should have done that ahead of time! I found many complaints of people who felt burned by them, and two States in the USA are suing them! In the complaints I recognized the pattern, and realized why they like to get a crowd of about 100 in a room. Suckers fall into their nets like a school of fish!
There will be some who are ripe and intelligent and who build a successful store, but it will be because of their own hard work and strong motivation.
I am reassured that my course plan is a very good one, but my advertising will have to show that I am NOT like that company. In fact, I think I’m going to make it harder for anyone to sign up. I don’t mind helping gullible people learn discernment, but I don’t want to aid and abet someone with lousy ethics.