WHo can you trust to mentor you

My personal opinion is this. A "packaged" mentoring program is not going
to give you the kind of help that you're looking for. I feel that you need
one on one coaching by a "proven" and "certified" coach...somebody who
can show that they know what they're doing.

Of course the problem is, with these folks, most will charge you quite a
bit for their time. I once paid $200 for about 90 minutes with somebody. It
was well worth it though. Imagine wanting this person's time for a whole
month of coaching. It can add up fast.

That is the reality of it, at least IMHO.

I am sure there are others who have had different experiences with
"packaged" programs, but I don't feel that you're going to get the same
kind of help that you would with personal one on one coaching.

Here are some of my tips when considering who to listen to and learn from:

1) Learn from real experts, not wannabe's. There are a lot of people "teaching" on the internet who have barely reached a considerable level of success.

2) Look for proof and testimonials (but don't base your opinion solely on it). It's easy to create fake testimonials, but you can usually tell if they're fake.

3) Listen to someone you can understand. If you don't connect with them, that's probably not a good fit.

4) Listen to someone who has failed at times. There are a lot of so-called coaches out there who got into the business a very short time ago, and don't have a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with adversity. If they've experienced some major failures and overcome them, that's a GOOD thing.

5) Listen to someone who's not afraid to tell you what you don't want to hear.

6) Don't write someone off just because they're trying to make money off of you (unless they are manipulative). A good coach understands the value of their own time.

7) Trust someone and follow them, but not blindly. At some point you have to trust your coach, otherwise it's pointless to have a coach. But always be alert and look for warning signs, because you can never be too cautious these days.

Brett,

If you'd like to spend some time of
the telephone or Skype, let me know
by PM.

Maybe I can help you determine your
best approach.

John

Brett,

First, I'll answer your question DIRECTLY... and then I'll expound a little more for those who like a story:

LIZ TOMEY is a mentor I would be glad to recommend.

There's your answer, brother. You CAN trust her. She has a wonderful following of pleased people and while I don't believe ANY known marketer has a spotless record, I have never heard anything but good about her.

Now, about MENTORING, in general...

If this site be true, and not just a place to funnel you off to the gurus, you'll want to hear what I'm about to say:

Several months ago, I received a phone call from a telemarketer telling me that since I ordered (well known product withheld) from (well known marketer's name withheld), I was "eligible" for a discount on his upcoming mentoring program.

"Hoooweeeee, just what I needed!", I thought.

But, not for myself... but, as a place into which I could funnel my own prospects for the ultimate in backend sales. After all, what established marketer wouldn't like the idea of OUTSOURCING mentoring as a backend service to anything and everything he was selling online?

So, I began the *reverse marketing* process and explained that I actually knew (name withheld) better than most people he was calling and asked how he came to be doing his backend "mentoring" work for him.

The man got the owner of the company on the phone and we spoke for an hour, or so, because that's what I do... I come from a family that has had a very large community/region based business and we ran things pretty impeccably, so I like to know as much detail as I can get.

For the sake of time and space, I'm going to give you the nuts and bolts of what most mentoring consists of these days. Please keep in mind that any specifics mentioned below are for example's sake only... they are not to be misconstrued as actual even though they might be (because things can change on a dime in this business).

HOW MENTORING GENERALLY DOESN'T WORK:

You sign up to be mentored by Guru X. A couple nights per week, Guru X gets on the phone with you and holds your hand through Y lessons over Z weeks. You and Guru X become great pals because now you're wealthy and part of his or her inner circle.

Ironically, however, it almost DOES work out that way with Liz. You start off with video lessons and then end up in webinars where she answers your questions, plus you get direct email access and a forum in which to get help from her and other members. That, to me, for the right price, is the IDEAL step-up for most intermediates and quick-learning newbs.

But that is not what most gurus mean by mentoring. And that doesn't mean a guru who does it Liz's way doesn't ALSO do it the following way, too. I'm just giving you the quick and dirty of it all, not the literal.

HOW MENTORING GENERALLY WORKS:

You buy product Y from Guru X. Guru X ships your information off to a 3rd party company who then calls you and pitches you on several different "mentoring packages", starting with the most extravagant first. After all, you're more likely to spend $500 if they start pitching you $10k packages than if they start off at $500.

Guru X is nowhere even in the mix. What you are generally being sold is a package that also includes a monthly hosting/service fee for a kind of WYSIWYG WEBSITE BUILDER with online documentation that is either SHODDY or OVERWHELMING.

Support generally consists of some young kid sitting alone in his room out in UTAH who seems to know even less than you about the website builder but will look up the answer in the documentation and then get back to you.

IN OTHER WORDS, YOU ARE BUYING A MENTOR PACKAGE STRAIGHT TO INTERNET MARKETING HELL.

Of course, I believe the marketers who sell you on these packages honestly believe they are not doing anything insidiously wrong. Thinking of you as a herd of cattle to funnel into such programs is not insidiously wrong, it's how marketing generally works but they don't believe they are sending you into internet marketing hell... because, as in most cases, a few succeed and the rest are blamed for being inadequate to the challenge... or lazy, or (fill in the blank)...

Guru X pockets about 25%-35% of what the sales pitch company converts. The sales pitch company and the website builder company have an arrangement for the remaining 65%, plus the residual for the builder hosting, etc.

The huge problem I encountered when doing my due diligence is that there was, in my investigation, no transparency. The sales pitch company gave names of other marketers who trusted them but they have no way to verify sales conversions so I had no way of knowing if they would be honest or not on top of it all.

FURTHER PROOF:

The Utah state website shows that Auction Success Inc. registered the name with the state in October of 2007.

I am a whistleblower who worked there from 2004 Mar. through 2005 Aug. I did not do any sales. I taught the customers how to build great websites and how to advertise them via ppc ads, double opt-in newsletters, etc. I have a strong technical background and a strong dislike of anything that is hyped up. Due to the hype and exaggerations of the sales guys and disappointed customers I left because it weighed on my conscience.

click here for full thread

Google for "Roger Brown" in conjunction with "ClickIncome" and you'll find a plethora of stuff. IT's not THE prime example, but it's ONE example. I even called Roger on the phone and spoke with him about it at length.

But what I described above is generally what you can expect... except some marketers are now baiting you into SEMINARS where you think it's about learning from, and mentoring with, THEM, but you are being syphoned off to some backend mentoring companies of the kind that would likely send my RED FLAG meter off the charts.

Anyways, best of luck, let me know if you have further questions but go do that Google search, and, right now, in my opinion, you can trust Liz Tomey.

Good luck,
Eric
ps. I am not here personally promoting Liz and I have not advertised her, or anyone else, in any other thread. That is just my direct answer in DIRECT response to a very clear request by the original poster.