The Business Growth System Seminar and A Little Rant On The Side
Yes, I’m still following Rich Schefren’s Business Growth System, though I use the term “following” a little loosely here because, the truth is, I’m way behind with it and I’ve also been struggling to see how I can apply some of it to my business. But that probably just means that I need to review the material and put some more thought and effort into it.
One thing Rich has concluded from running the course up to this point is that there have been too few “contact points” with us on the monthly program. I think that’s true. Life has a habit of getting in the way and providing distractions and without a regular reminder, the BGS has become a bit of a background activity for me. Even with the Q&A calls in between the monthly modules, I think communication could have been a lot better.
So after months of speculation, a couple of weeks ago we finally got firm dates for the seminar and it’s coming up fast – the weekend of February 10th and 11th. I guess I should have been waiting for the confirmation, ready to book flights as soon as it came in but, after all the mucking about, I kind of lost interest so I’m still considering my options.
The seminar itself is part of the course so that’s essentially free. With travel, accommodation and expenses, I reckon it will cost me around £850 to attend. Then I have to factor in a few days of lost work through travel and jet lag. Still, it’s doable.
So what’s the seminar all about?
Well, to be honest, I’m not really sure. And that kind of bothers me. When you sign up for a regular seminar, there’s usually a 300 page sales letter that tells you exactly what to expect but in this case, since it’s just part of the course, the details are non-existent.
We’re told that Rich will:
- tell us what’s working and what’s not (in relation to what? his business? do I care? does it have any relevance to my business?)
- review ‘exciting’ new developments in store for us (!)
- expand on topics from the Business Growth System
And pretty much, word-for-word, that’s it. One paragraph. I think it’s a shame when these same gurus are telling us that we have to “sell” even the “free” stuff that we’re not given more information in which to make up our minds. Especially since the committment to go is quite significant for many people in both time and cost.
Despite questions being made, there are no further details on the forum except for the usual banter from people saying how great it will be and what a good opportunity it will be for networking and making JV deals.
Ahh, the networking aspect…
If I had a penny for everytime I’d heard that the real benefit of attending these seminars is not to listen to the speakers but to meet lots of people and make deals, then I’d probably have enough to buy a King Size Mars Bar by now (and they’re really expensive these days). Just bumping into the right guy at a seminar could be worth, ooh, I don’t know, two hundred thousand dollars or more. Yeah, right!
The thing is, I’ve been to a lot of these seminars and met a lot of great people (and a lot of not-so-great people), some of whom I’ve stayed in contact with and remain friends with. But in every case, apart from offering a little help and advice, neither of us have been in a position to help the other with any kind of JV deal for the simple reason that we’re in completely different markets and, apart from that, are not at the level of business where we can offer such help.
For that to be the primary motivation for going to an Internet Marketing seminar, I think one of the following 3 things must be true:
1. You’re in the “how to make money” business. In this case, half the people at the seminar will be potential partners.
2. You’re a personal or business coach. I think there’s a parallel here with the “making money” business with it’s broad applicability and “business boosting” potential.
3. You know exactly the sort of person you need to make a deal with and can hunt them down by talking to as many people as possible until you find them. But even if you talk to everybody, you still might not find someone suitable.
I’m really talking here about business/sales partners and not about finding good copywriters or services like fulfilment houses. You don’t need to go to a seminar to find them though you might meet someone who could give you a recommendation. That’s the networking side of things. But you do need to know exactly what you want first.
Otherwise, the chances of meeting someone that can accelerate your particular business is slim. You may meet lots of like-minded people and make lots of friends but don’t expect your business to explode as a result.
Okay, rant over. For now…