Formulas, tricks, gurus and hawks

You've been selected!

You're lucky. You're ready to win your first million, just do my seminar online and, from scratchYou'll become as successful an expert as I am, who's already enriched hundreds of ordinary people like you.

Seductive, isn't it? If you were excited to win your first million, here's the warning: there's bull on the line – the product is you!

Congratulations! You're the audience and sponsor of a guru who has more followers than cases. An expert in telling beautiful theories that only those with a lot of experience and workforce know how to make reality.

Online seminar it is not deception – it is an intelligent way to disseminate knowledge. It's serious.

Marketing not a beautiful way to tell lies – it is science that gives rules to business based on exchange of values. It's serious.

Gurus are not deceivers – they are experienced or market wise, able to inspire and teach people who aspire to improve. They're serious people.

Selling Hope to be a complete professional to those who have no experience or experience for this, basing this transformation on minimal effort of a miserable hopeful, is pure deception. And whoever does it is a fake guru.

Every time your ambition surpasses logic and common sense, these hawks thrive and gain legions from followers. These same opportunists are trying to turn powerful digital marketing into the new winning ticket scam. And if there are still people who fall into the old, who will say in the new, that it is disguised from a genuine knowledge dissociated from the necessary sweat and professional experience.

Okay, I did! I unspoiled and expressed what I was indignant about for a long time and disrupting the serious work I've been doing. But venting isn't necessarily useful to you, who's read this badass up here. To be useful, I called some friends who, by their maturity, have already understood the illusions created by false gurus, and I close this article with their tips, just as many gurus would: listing the 15 Gold Tips to Avoid Being Deluded.

1. If the charity is big, suspect – over-the-top offers are usually hard to keep. Even based on correct concepts and information, the promise of an easy and effortless journey is unreal and frustration is certain.
2. Try to know cases of failure – the fact that the supposed guru has people who have obtained positive results does not mean that all who walk the same path will also get them.
3. Distrust the statements given by whoever is selling the product to you – do you want to share this wonderful product or are you just guaranteeing your fat commission?
4. Analyze the resume and results of those who are selling – don’t get carried away by the touching story he’s going to tell – this is the strategy called “hero's journey“, whose goal is to establish an emotional connection that reduces your rational decision making ability.
5. Think of what a business “guru” is for you? – Question, how does a “guru” with so much “success” not appear in mass media? Well, from their speech, shouldn't there at least be a book of him next to Kotler on the bookstore shelves? And more, notice the close relationship between self-help and what the “guru” is talking about. Did all the people who bought books where the title promised to reach the first million actually get it? Did at least one person who read a book like this accomplish promised? This may seem a conservative thought, but question whether the information told on the journey of the “guru” is important to you or merely to add emotion to your decision.
6. Note that the preacher’s speech is always very inconclusive – The “guru” speaks, speaks, speaks, but says almost nothing but leave you with “like of want more” (as happens in the “scenes of the next chapter in soap operas), where in the next video he will reveal the “great secret” of the first million. “Oh, he’s so good, isn’t he?” Here's a quote from Millôr Fernandes: “I suspect every idealist who profits from his ideal.”
7. Identify mental triggers This is a powerful convincing technique. If you have an interest in understanding what these fake “gurus” do to you, it is important to read: The weapons of persuasion – How to influence and not be influenced – Cialdini, Robert B. After reading, notice that if you enter this business, you will be exploring (in the negative sense of the word) people's weaknesses and fears. Are you willing to act on this booklet? If so, you have no right to express an opinion against most Brazilian political speeches and corruption in the country.
8. Make sure you know exactly what you want before you listen to the service offer – if someone offers you something you were not looking for, don’t buy until you are absolutely sure that it solves clear problems of your business, with measurable results.
9. Check that the alleged guru is considering the ethical implications (alignment with the strategic definitions of your business – identity, mission, vision of the future, principles, values and beliefs), organizational (business model, corporate structure, management and budget)  and marketable (economic conjuncture, customer segmentation, technological and demographic trends, regulatory policy) the decisions you are recommending to make – do not allow ready and generic solutions to be applied to your business, it will cause you more problems in the medium and long term than short-term solutions.
10. Escape from securities “Twenty-eight results in only NN days” – Especially when it comes to acquiring followers and customers on social networks, there is no magic. Relationship is built with time, dedication, consistency of content and reciprocity. Most of these gurus choose a particular niche (for example, Brides), and “teach” the secret of how they got 50,000 brides following their Instagram profile in just 10 days. They charge, for example, R$ 29.90 (or much more) for you to download the e-book that will teach you how to achieve this, and the e-book will direct you to get a tool for other R$ 29.90 monthly. These tools automate the entire publishing process, likes, hashtag selection, and even automated comments on profiles that use the same tags. Think: If you are automating, you can be sure that many are too, and at the end of the day each automated profile ends up following and being followed by thousands of other automated profiles. The result? None, of course! You've wasted your time and at least $59.80. Now imagine that all the thousands of marriage market professionals are doing the same thing and paying the same values for these forgers. Yeah, they get millionaires overnight, just by putting on that scam. Of course, there are a number of sensational tools that automate various steps of Digital Marketing and that can help a lot in obtaining results, but these do not show you how they work. In fact, they probably don't know how to make them work. In practice, to fly a Boeing 777 it takes years of dedication and much study. The problem is, these gurus sell the dream of you getting to Japan on scooters in five days.
11. Escape Magic Formulas – There's no magic. Each case is always unique, invariably. False gurus promise to package miraculous tips that will make you rich in just 5 steps, always using your own story as an example or your co-linkers, paid to help fantasize the facts. Even in real cases of large Marketing agencies, applying the same project to two different clients, from the same sector, simultaneously, will generate different results, one being super positive and the other causing loss. There are always many factors involved and it is impossible to predict results. Always suspect that someone will say that they will make you rich with some magic formula, that he compiled after he had wronged, caught and learned how to do right, or that he has already done and worked.
12. They DON'T trust you – False gurus set up large conventions charging high values for you to have a chance to participate, and they still say that only selected people with high potential for success will have this chance (look at the mental triggers). They make you believe they really selected you so they can charge you with absurd values, after all, you have potential and you will pay, happy and hopeful. In some cases, they even charge astronomical figures so that you spend a weekend in a paradise hotel, surrounded by other great entrepreneurs, doing a lot of networking (with other unsuspecting ones). They say you've been selected to have your project evaluated and used as a case study to leverage your business. They start by listing everything they're supposed to offer you, which sometimes goes for over R$ 100,000, but because their business has a lot of potential, they'll allow you to participate in your Mastermind for the R$ 50,000 bagatella... But since they really trust you and your ability to become a millionaire, you only have to pay R $ 25 thousand in cash and the other R $ 25 thousand you only pay after making your first million. Look how nice these gurus are and trust you. Or do you think they're only interested in your $25,000? The worst thing is that they end up deceiving a crowd of newly unemployed people, who take their withdrawals and apply them fully in these blows, completely disrupting families who are already experiencing difficulties. Yeah, you're gonna spend the weekend in a nice hotel with these guys discussing your business, but at the end of the event they brainwash you by giving you back the responsibility for your outcome. They say it's up to you, your effort and your dedication to get all this investment back and more. Maybe this is the only truth, but you wouldn't have to pay $25,000 to know that, right? Open your eye!
13. Beware of “Do it yourself” – If Marketing, digital or traditional, were such a simple science, it would not be taught at the world's largest universities with dozens of distinct specializations for each area. And yet if we consider almost daily changes and updates on all platforms, hardly anyone will have enough knowledge to change their strategies as market rules change. Ahhh! Here's the secret: When you know a subject, its theoretical bases, general rules and specificities, you are able to adapt your marketing plan according to market changes, and this is only possible with years of much study and experience, perhaps some colleges, one or more graduate courses, MBA and several other extension courses. There... well... You've already changed your business, you've put your business aside and you're already living as a marketing professional. In short, it is very difficult to perform your professional activities and still do your own Marketing well done. You're either a goalie or a striker.
14. In short, what is the function of Marketing? –Marketing aims to increase the perception of value of a product or service, before consumers. By recognizing the value, which is something intangible related to emotion or symbolic values, the consumer accepts to pay more. When the brand gets that differential, it sells better.And Marketing is the one that guarantees this prominence among competitors. Its application can be in various ways, strategies and formats, from the traditional mouth to mouth to the most modern tools of the digital age, which involve many data. With this data achieved by the Marketing tools, it is possible to create new products according to consumer preferences, verify which product mix is best for the brand's audience profile and base all actions, always thinking, to serve the customer in the best way. Even a small retailer who does not have the resources to invest in technology and tools can adopt simple attitudes that can boost sales. Do you talk to your client? Ask about your preferences and write them down. Whenever you receive a new one that matches that client's profile, send a message or call. Show that you are always attentive to meet your needs. What I think is very important to highlight is that marketing should represent what your customer finds at the point of sale or at the virtual store. If you do a marketing promising a thousand things that are not possible to deliver, this is hacking and this article has the function to warn about a practice that, unfortunately, has been widely used in the market:  inflate marketing over weak or non-existent features in the product and sell what does not exist. These people are selling only promises, labels and, no, products or services.
15. But how do I make money then? –That there's no easy money, we all know, you're only wrong if you want to, there's only one way in my opinion of making money, and believe me, it's not overnight. Solve the People's Problem! Don't promise to solve it, Solve it. The result of a work focused on people's problems is incredible. What these fake gurus do is promise to solve their problem that is usually related to the lack of money then sum up without further ado: ” We only make money by solving it. (really) the problem of others”.

Finally, let's think about it, all the new professions have gone through this low-maturity internship where the levity of promises compromise the real delivery, so if you're a professional and you're reading this article, reflect on your attitudes and eliminate those most appealing which do not stand within the parameters of the enforceable reality and defend a more honest and sustainable market.

If you are a digital marketing client, use the author tips of this article and Try not to believe in the extremes, for it is usually at the extremes that the miraculous promises are unsustainable.

Author
Christian Chaussard

Graduated in Technology from USP and Strategic Marketing from ESPM
MBA in Knowledge Management and Innovation by USP. E-commerce specialist for wholesale, entrepreneur, owner of Flexy Digital Business, e-commerce platform.

President of the Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce in Santa Catarina and Director of Innovation of ADVB/SC. She teaches Marketing and Online Commerce at the Postgraduate Course of Sá, UNIDAVI, INPG, UNISUL and FURB.

Co-Authors (Elaborated Tips)

Alberto Costa – Business Consultant

Anderson de Andrade – President of ABRAdi – Brazilian Association of Digital Agents

Fred Rocha – Retail and Consumer Specialist

Olímpio Araújo Júnior – Professor of Marketing Management

Rafael Colombo Dias – ASBM President – Brazilian Marketplaces Association

Stivy Malty – Publicitarian