How to spot dodgy marketing (and avoid it)

Dodgy marketing exists. I’m here to call out the B.S.

(This is day 8 of my 37 days of content challenge. )

The crux of it is this – there are many “gurus” out there teaching dodgy tactics.

The issue is that a lot of good people end up following these tactics because they are, like anybody else who has had the courage to start a business, struggling to make it work.

If it was easy to generate consistent cash flow in a business from day 1 we’d all be doing it, right?

Now back to the dodgy tactics…

It makes me cringe whenever I see it.

It makes me feel even crappier that I was sucked into applying the same dodgy tactics in the past before I saw the light and learnt the truth – that it doesn’t serve anybody to copy those tactics.

In case you’re still not clear on the types of tactics I’m referring to allow me to share Richard Bravo’s Ultimate “Anti Sales” Sales Letter with you (which calls out the dodginess in an entertaining way)…

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Tired of failing miserably in life? Me too. I’m desperate…

You’re About To Discover Just How Full Of Shit I Truly Am And That I’m Only Interested In Getting Your Money!

Imagine this… I learned this part of “opening loops” from some NLP guru who suckered me into buying their course. Now I’m repeating what they did, but I’m not as good at it.

In this exclusive LIVE but recorded webinar, I’m going to reveal my made up secrets that will entice you to open up your wallet to pay me for stuff you’ve already seen everywhere else.

I’m going to make a bunch of promises and show you images of unbelievable statistics I Photoshopped so you will begin to think of me as the person who will help you unlock the secrets to living the life of your dreams!

I might even show you my Lamborghini, but only if you’re nice 😉

Here’s What You’ll Get Inside This MAGICAL Webinar:

• I’m going to spend 15 minutes talking about how amazing I am. I hope it makes you feel sorry for yourself. Creating an inferiority complex in my audience increase sales!

• I’m going to talk about a bunch of random disconnected things that sound like sage advice for about 10 minutes. There will be plenty of technical jargon you won’t understand that makes me look smarter than you.

Rest assured… I don’t understand this shit either.

• Really it’s all just going to make you more confused than you already are. I do this intentionally to set you up for what comes next. Like the dope man giving you your first hit free.

• I’ll spend the last 30 minutes of the LIVE but recorded webinar trying really hard to convince you to buy my course. The ensuing pitch is designed to piggyback on the confusion I created in your head.

The reality is I’m really not any good at this sales stuff or how to build a relationship with my audience. I even emphasized a part of the letter here I probably shouldn’t have.

Oh, and Bill Gates. This is called anchoring to a recognizable celebrity personality so you subconsciously link me to their success and believe my bullshit even more!

• I already know you aren’t going to buy my shit. So after the webinar I’m going to obliterate your inbox with a series of worthless emails I wrote ahead of time reminding you to buy the thing you decided not to buy on my exclusive, power house, ultra shazam LIVE but recorded webinar.

• YES of course it’s all overpriced, over hyped nonsense. That’s what market trends told me you buy most.

[INSERT TESTIMONIES]
Just pick some off the internet; that’s what I do.

ACT NOW -Space Is Limited!
Not really, I just say that to make you feel a sense of urgency. I really need the money and have no intention of closing the doors. But suckers fall for this all of the time so I keep using it.

[BUTTON: JOIN THE WEBINAR ALREADY IN PROGRESS]

Quantities Are Limited!
Hey, let’s not bring up physics and the fact that we’re talking about a digital product that occupies no tangible place in space or time. I already have you eating out of my hand, why get all technical now???

PS: If you don’t buy, I’ll make sure to send you an email that makes you feel stupid and hope you’ll still buy my shit, even though you probably hate me now.

[INSERT PROFESSIONAL LOOKING GUARANTEE SEAL]

PPS: I have an iron clad 100% mega sexy satisfaction money back guarantee. But please don’t ask for a refund. I’m broke and in debt up to my eyeballs. Someone help me.

[BUTTON: PLEASE JOIN MY LIST — MY LIFE NEEDS VALIDATION]

~*~

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So, did any of the above look or sound familiar to you?

How did it make you feel reading it?

More importantly, how does it make you feel when you see people selling this way?

The Surefire Marketing Failure Formula

The typical formula that I see every single day online without fail looks like this:

STEP 1: Serve Facebook AD promising rainbows and unicorns

You’ve seen them before… “build a gigantic email list”, “launch your first 6-figure product”, or “quit your 9-5 and sit on the beach with your laptop sipping cocktails whilst enjoying the laptop lifestyle”…

I’ll teach you this in exchange for your email address!

By the way, here are a couple of ads that I was served today on Instagram and Facebook…

STEP 2: Make an offer

Join my list to get SOMETHING COOL THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE so that I can apply (poorly) a method that I learnt from a high profile internet marketer to “nurture” a relationship with you. In plain English that means “so I can convince you to buy my high ticket course or program”

Now if you have any level of respect for yourself and the people you genuinely want to help…

Don’t be that person.

Let me clarify something here – I’m not against online marketing and sales funnels. Far from it.

They can be extremely effective when done right and done with integrity.

In fact I teach entrepreneurs, creatives and change makers how to build marketing funnels for their own businesses, and have been implementing funnels for my clients and my own business for a number of years now.

What’s critically important is that to win in business you need to have a remarkable product or service, and fantastic customer service post-sale to back it up.

[bctt tweet=”To win in business you need to have a REMARKABLE product or service.” username=”anferneec”]

How many of us have purchased a course or program from a seminar or webinar speaker only to have them disappear after you handed the money over?

Not only is that annoying but it does not leave a good taste in our mouths for that person, right?

[bctt tweet=”Biz tip: You can’t skip the “deliver something truly awesome” bit.” username=”anferneec”]

The alternative approach: Give tremendous value before you sell

Would you ask a girl or guy if they want to get married without dating them for a while first?

What kind of response would you expect?

Not a great one right?

(Most of the time at least…there are exceptions I suppose lol).

So I can’t believe people try to sell with the “buy my sh*t” approach without providing any real value.

The internet marketing space gets too cluttered sometimes as there are countless “gurus” trying to always sell something without adding any real value first.

What makes people think that the rules of engagement online is any different to anywhere else?

It makes no sense!

Good news! There is another way.

Now imagine receiving feedback from people like this…

“Love your approach! Definitely follow all your stuff :)”

It’s definitely possible and in an upcoming post I’ll share with you how to do it. (So watch this space!)

What are some other dodgy marketing and sales tactics that you’ve come across?

Alternatively, what’s a specific example of sales and marketing done well in your opinion?

Share your experiences in the comments below.