Get Motivated Business Seminar is it a Scam?

[Wizard of Id]

I'm not sure if this is in the right forum.. There is a HUGE amount of advertising for this Get Motivated Business Seminar in my area. They list a whole bunch of well known celebrity politicians and are offering this for only $2 per person or $10 for the whole office. I'm not one to fall for advertising but, I'm curious if anyone has ever attended one of these. A co worker of mine is planning on attending and I don't think its what she expects it to be. I think it will just be one big sales pitch.

[cronewitch]

They had one here and tied up traffic for hours. The speakers all seem to have written books so it is probably a good time to buy books. I don't think it is a scam just a pep rally and book sales event.

[Deleted]

Yeah, we had this, too. I suspect that they also have an exhibition hall with vendors who want to "help" you achieve success by investing in their franchises, going into real estate with them, etc. You've got this audience all fired up and they're hot to get started- it's a good marketing opportunity.

[8 Bit WWBG]

Yeah... you want to be the guy throwing the seminar. I agree that its a "get you in the door and get you fired up" type of thing. I think WCPaul has said he writes copy for stuff like this or sells through it. Its VERY profitable.

[brdsl]

Co-worker went to it. I was skeptical, and didn't go.

It basically has the big name speakers up on stage each giving a half hour speech. Then between speakers you have the sales pitch, but you are free to go to the lobby, get drinks, etc. They tell you when the sales pitch is coming up, so you can do accordingly.

He said it was good, but he digs the whole...I was 5 foot from Kurt Warner, Steve Forbes, etc.


I might go next round, it is only 2 bucks.

[Clifford]

What brdsl said.
I sent 5 of my employees to one of these. They all enjoyed it. 2 of them got roped into buying additional materials - that's the business model.

[Deleted]

All they are is an upsell into something more expensive, most likely. At any low/no cost conference, you're not going to get actual actionable advice. You're going to get teaser advice.

[brdsl]

Jun 24, 2011 11:59:31 GMT -5 @davebo said:

All they are is an upsell into something more expensive, most likely. At any low/no cost conference, you're not going to get actual actionable advice. You're going to get teaser advice.

The way it was told to me, that wasn't the case. The speeches were not about money, or selling products. They were motivational, team-building, etc. each taught by a different speaker.

For Example: Kurt Warner talked about what it takes to be a champion. Dreaming, suffering, winning, etc.

He didn't say something, then say "buy my book." Now, after he got off stage, then the smaller time schuckster got up there and sold...but you could have left at that time. Many did.

[Wizard of Id]

Jun 24, 2011 11:11:02 GMT -5 brdsl said:

I might go next round, it is only 2 bucks.

I'm thinking 2 will get them 200

[brdsl]

Jun 24, 2011 12:28:02 GMT -5 Wizard of Id said:

Jun 24, 2011 11:11:02 GMT -5 brdsl said:

I might go next round, it is only 2 bucks.

I'm thinking 2 will get them 200

From where? It won't be me.

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2011 12:27:32 GMT -5 brdsl said:

Jun 24, 2011 11:59:31 GMT -5 @davebo said:

All they are is an upsell into something more expensive, most likely. At any low/no cost conference, you're not going to get actual actionable advice. You're going to get teaser advice.

The way it was told to me, that wasn't the case. The speeches were not about money, or selling products. They were motivational, team-building, etc. each taught by a different speaker.

For Example: Kurt Warner talked about what it takes to be a champion. Dreaming, suffering, winning, etc.

He didn't say something, then say "buy my book." Now, after he got off stage, then the smaller time schuckster got up there and sold...but you could have left at that time. Many did.

Sure, you don't have to buy anything at the free seminars. But expect to be sold. That's why they are charging little to no money. They pay the speakers to get there, get the space, collect your contact information, and then follow-up (or sell you as a lead).

If you look in the "make money online" seminars, you can go to many that are free or $50..."Pitch fests". The ones that are not pitch fests costs $5K.

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother. You'll get feel-good BS there. I'd rather learn from a guy that has made a few million working in his PJs.

[RoadToRiches]

Yes it's a scam. My work had free tickets for anyone who wanted to attend. It was more like a sales thing.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

It's got "motivation" and "seminar" right in the title. At the very least it's gonna be a pitch fest with time-share-salesmen like high pressure platform sales gurus delivering honed, well-reahearsed sales pitches that you are not equipped to resist

Believe me when I say this because I'm in the information business. I belong to a Dan Kennedy group in Chicago. I write copy for this kind of thing, and I've done plenty of events like this.

If you think you can leave your wallett, check book, and cc's at home and go with some resolve that you're not gonna buy anything, but meet people-- and that is all-- it might be worth checking out.

A lot of this making money in your underwear stuff is just like the get rich in real estate stuff-- it's all true, except for the part about not working or having any money to invest. Sure, it doesn't have to be ALL your efforts, or ALL your money-- but you're gonna have to make an effort and spend some cheese.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jun 24, 2011 11:02:55 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

Yeah... you want to be the guy throwing the seminar. I agree that its a "get you in the door and get you fired up" type of thing. I think WCPaul has said he writes copy for stuff like this or sells through it. Its VERY profitable.

Yeah- very profitable for us. For the attendees-- maybe one in a thousand actually does anything with the information. There's nothing magical about the internet, social media, or real estate. They are businesses. You need to have a plan, a work ethic, and some money.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jun 24, 2011 11:38:45 GMT -5 Clifford said:

What brdsl said.
I sent 5 of my employees to one of these. They all enjoyed it. 2 of them got roped into buying additional materials - that's the business model.

Yeah, nothing is 'free' or that low cost. To put something like this together starts around $12K for the presenters-- and it's likely closer to $50K if they've got all this talent there because they'll need event staff and catering (not for you- for the speakers. They're all premadonnas).

[Deleted]

Knowing what some of the high-profile professional speakers charge, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are commanding $12K each- in addition to travel and other expenses. (DH knew someone who had to arrange to get Isaac Asimov to speak at a scientific meeting. He pretty much had to travel first class, not lift a finger, and everything was to be pre-paid so he didn't have to handle cash or credit cards.) Those costs have to be made up by the speakers themselves selling their books or other deals, or from other exhibitors.

I think we saw one of these on a smaller scale- it was maybe 2005 and we were in a cheap airport hotel for a seminar on using the new Nikon DSLR DH had just gotten. They also had a big gathering of motivational speakers in another auditorium, with exhibitors advertising schemes such as buying real estate with no money down.