6 Ways To Avoid Getting Scammed By Some Self Help Program

“It's the lure of easy money. It's gotta have a very strong appeal.”

Glen Fry, Smuggler’s Blues

Most of us have had an urge, or taken action, on the lure of easy money.

Sometimes it’s buying a lottery ticket (“if you don’t play, you don’t win.”). Other times, it might be a real estate venture, weight loss scheme, online program, or just something on YouTube that grabs our attention.?

The formula is predictable, and repeatable, because it preys on our limbic system. This is where many decisions are made and where emotional regulation occurs. What’s interesting is that language doesn’t even exist in this region. That “gut feel” (good or bad) we have can emanate from this part of our brains. To be clear, it’s different from the parts of our brain attributed to intuition.?

The formula to get us to buy into these programs often uses emotional manipulation, using scarcity or urgency for some extraordinary opportunity. They often have some sort of “social proof” with others who might look just like you and receive extraordinary results. So, why not you? Wouldn’t it be nice to beat the system and check out of the daily rat race?

Well, while I’m not proud of it, I’ve certainly been sucked into these schemes before.

One program I enrolled in was exceptional at their intake and how they preyed on their victims (i.e. future clients). They did a great job of understanding the fears, needs, wants, and challenges and presented a supposed “sure thing” way to get past them and gain success. Parts of their program were incredibly enticing and validating, to be sure. In their promotions, they showed a handful of people (out of tens of thousands) who had become millionaires and were happy. They built a community and continued to appeal to the limbic systems of their clients (i.e. victims).

And, when this program might not work for a client, they made it all about the individual. The line was that that individual was either not “doing the work” or having the wrong mindset. It was never a flaw with the supposedly perfect program, nor was feedback received at all. This program made many millions and still exists. And, there are many like it. The clients (victims) pay $10k-$100k a year for these programs, not because they are dumb, but because these organizations are exceptional manipulators. And, the desire for different results in our complex lives is massive.

Often, these clients are in a struggle they don’t know how to overcome, and they hope this program will live up to its promises and help them.

Now, I don’t want to take away from the many exceptional business and personal coaches (and consultants) who are honest and help their clients get exceptional results. There are thankfully lots of these good actors, and they don’t use manipulation or shame as a tactic. You may notice their own humility and transparency in how they show up - instead of a superiority complex or a need to get you to buy now.

There are also many great side hustles that are profitable and help people reach their financial goals and create different streams of income.

At the same time, many programs simply manipulate people and replay the same self-help mantras.

The programs that I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been in have actually led to some small success for me - but I wasn’t okay watching the majority of others fail and be blamed for it.? I’ve somehow been in the small percentage of people who succeed financially or at least break even. But, more than 90% of those enrolled in the programs I’ve been in go into considerable more debt and aren’t moving forward. It’s just dishonest to suggest success being a sure thing and to blame others if they don’t achieve it in such a program.?

So, here are my 6 tips on evaluating if a new program or approach is really good for you and serves you. It’s what I wish I would have done before enrolling:

1. Do you feel like you have to keep this a secret from your loved ones? Could you have a conversation with them about this and do you think they would be supportive? If not, there’s a good chance that this program’s marketing may be manipulating you with language like “does your spouse make all your decisions for you?” and “how good will it feel when you are making millions and taking them on vacations?”
2. Does the person suggest using credit and going into debt for the program, or offer “easy payment plans”? This is the program focussing on its own success - not yours. While debt has a place and can be used responsibly, just getting you to sign-up for a program might not be a good example.
3. Did this program seem to come out of nowhere? Maybe you clicked on a Facebook ad, watched a Youtube or got an email that sucked you into their marketing funnel. Be careful here. If this is really going to change your life, a few weeks to review it and do your diligence is appropriate.
4. If the program uses language like “what would your life be like if X exists”, that’s on every sales script that manipulators use. They use that future state to get you excited and pretend they can deliver it. Spoiler alert - in most cases, they don’t, and it’s not always the participant's problem. It can trigger decisions that might not truly serve you.?
5. If the offer is only good for a specific phone call, or a short time, be careful. This is a tactic to “close” people and get them to make potentially impulsive actions. While they certainly need clients and commitments to do this, manipulating someone who really isn’t ready just isn’t right. They won’t likely have the success being promised, and will end up in more debt and have another example of things not working.
6. If you put this same amount of money into an investment that earned 15% for three years, would the result be better in the investment, or in this program? Yes, you’ll hear the best investment is yourself as a sales line. Just use this figure to make an informed decision. For example, if you are looking at a $25k program, do you think it will honestly return $38k in 3 years or less? That’s what a 15% return annually, for 3 years, will do.

Please also know, there are teams of professionals writing the copy, targeting the ads, planning the email and video sequences, and training the sales closers. Their goal is to get you to quickly make a decision to buy into something. Yes, some of them have good hearts and want to serve you - but not all. Often the sales closers have nothing to do with the program you are enrolling in, other than getting your business for a 20% commission. They aren’t the actual coaches that will support you.

Best wishes to all of you on your paths, and beware that some that look like they are about helping you, really aren’t.

#smartgoals #personaldevelopment #beaware #leadership