Have you ever heard the story of the baby eagle that fell from it’s nest only to land in a family of turkeys? He grew up thinking he was a turkey. He ate with the turkeys. He slept with the turkeys. He even acted like a turkey.
But he knew in his heart that he wasn’t a turkey. And one day he looked up to see an eagle soaring majestically in the afternoon sky.
At that moment he knew that he was an eagle.
When it comes to websites that want to sell you something, there are turkeys and there are eagles.
If you want to save the time and heartbreak of wasting both time and money, it will be important to be able to spot the eagles, and avoid the turkeys.
Here’s how you can do that…
HOW TO SPOT (AND AVOID) THE TURKEYS
1. They “Teach” What They Have Not Yet Experienced
Ah, my personal pet peeve. The Internet is littered with sales letters written by people who have only sold their “how to” book or audio or membership.
I see sales letters all the time claiming to help you earn big bucks when in fact the person who put up the site has not earned much of anything.
They haven’t done what they ‘teach’. They just sell information.
They read books, buy courses, visit forums, ask questions, and restate what people tell them.
Then they sell it.
Sure, they know how to sound slick, but they have not experienced operating and succeeding in an online business themselves.
If you are considering buying a product, look first to see that the person behind the product is walking the walk, not just talking the talk.
2. They Use Very High Pressure Techniques
Today we are seeing more and more “one time offers” than ever before. These pages begin with “You will only see this page once!” and then go on to make some outrageous offer where you get a million dollars worth of stuff for about 15 cents.
Sure. Right. Okay.
Another common tactic is the “special offer” that sells for only $37 but then traps you in what I call “upsell jail” where you are made to feel like a fool if you don’t buy the upsell.
Why is such incredible pressure necessary? It’s not necessary, but it works. And because it works more and more sites are using it, and more and more consumers are getting hurt.
The good news is that there is a simple solution to the problem of high pressure sales tactics…
Don’t buy the offer.
After all, how many of these offers have you bought and never used?
3. They Lie
Here’s one example: They send you something “free” that is valued at over a hundred bucks. But when you click the link and get to the page you discover that you have to buy something to get the freebie.
When did free stop being free and start becoming a discount instead?
If they want to offer a discount they should say that.
If they say the word free then what you get should not be conditioned on spending money unless they have been clear about that up front.
And who in the world invented the phrase “ethical bribe”?
That’s like saying “honest criminal” or “diet cheesecake”.
You deserve better.
If you find a website that sounds too good to be true or makes you feel like you will lose your one chance if you don’t act right now my advice is simple…
Close the browser.
Find someone who will share openly (and specifically) how you can get your share of the success you want and deserve before you give them your money.
Find something that sounds right, that makes sense to you … that you understand.
Find an eagle.
HOW TO FIND THE EAGLES
1. They Have Rock Solid Experience
It’s easy to spot the real people when you know what to look for. The people you can trust will usually have either a very deep level of knowledge about one subject or solid knowledge on various topics.
The knowledge and experience a person has will usually express itself in the form of information products, articles, information on a website, or a combination of these things.
If you look, you should be able to find other products or (preferably) free articles or an ezine you can read to get a sense of who the person is before parting with your money.
2. They Share Openly
When you sell information for a living it is often difficult to find the balance between how much to give away and what to sell. That’s natural and to be expected.
It’s unfair to expect people who sell information to give away everything they know free.
But if the answer you get to every question you ask is “buy my product” then be very careful about doing business with that person.
People who are really succeeding online should be making enough money that they don’t require that every phone call or email results in a sale.
3. They Can Be Reached
If you can’t reach someone by phone or email with a question, then watch out.
This is not to say that everyone out there will answer their own phone. People are busy.
But there is a growing trend among websites to not answer pre-sale or non-customer questions at all, and that must stop.
After all, you will be paying your hard-earned money, and they can’t take 2 minutes to answer your question? I don’t think so.
Would you buy a suit or dress from a store that refuses to let you try it on first?
Probably not.
Remember this, because this one is important …
The level of access you get to a person before a sale happens is often an indicator of the type of support you will receive after the sale.
4. They Lift You Up, Not Put You Down
Great websites lift you up and help you see the possibilities without resorting to hype. They encourage you that you can learn what you need to know and accomplish your goals.
They speak (as much as a website can) about you and your goals, not how wonderful they are and how much you should want to be like them.
There is a fine line here that can be discerned very easily. Does the site make you feel good – feel like there are possibilities for you, or not?
Or does it make you feel afraid of missing something if you don’t buy today?
Sites and people who lift you up, give you real help before you spend money and support you after you buy are the true eagles online.
If you rely on more than one factor to make your decision about the site’s credibility, you will protect yourself and avoid falling in among the turkeys.
The three things to remember are these…
- There are turkeys in the land.
- Eagles don’t fly with turkeys.
- You were born to be an eagle.
When you choose who you do business with based on a combination of the things above, you will move quickly toward doing business with people who want more than just your money… they want you to succeed.
And that is a beautiful thing indeed!
NOTE: The idea for this article came from what may be the best sermon I’ve ever heard. If you want to read the original story please look for the book “Turkeys and Eagles” at this site: http://www.parkavenuebookstore.com