Mentors, coaches, and programs. . .

How many times a day do you receive an email or see on any of the social media platforms an ad for a new mentor, coach or program?

How do you know good vs. bad vs. scammer vs. clueless?

I ran into a gal, an entrepreneur who boosted her 6-Figure income and proudly stated she was all that and a bag of chips. The course was $99.00. I had a good friend who had been following her for quite some time and stated she appeared it looked like it was a great deal and would be of great value if I was interested in joining and having a mentor in my latest and greatest venture of honing my craft of being a mentor and coach. S.T. (*changed for privacy reasons) was the name of the ‘coach.’

I investigated her site thoroughly and tried to find holes, but she was really good and hid any type of information that would date her courses or products. I believe she did this on purpose, but I will never know and is quite irrelevant.

“The worst thing about being lied to is knowing you’re not worth the truth.”

I spent $99 and the very first “WELCOME” video had comments embedded below and was from over two years ago.   😡  I thought for sure I was mistaken and this could not be the case. I started a very quick check of all the modules and coursework–sure as sh**, the information and site had not been updated in over two years!

Autopilot is good for business, bad for consumers

This isn’t an issue if the information is relevant and if you are forthcoming from the beginning. The site had been placed on autopilot and wasn’t tended too. I, as a potential and now paying new client wasn’t worth the truth or the time.

I immediately reached out to support and asked for a REFUND! Let me tell you what happened. I received a message almost immediately and was told NO REFUND! I was perplexed…Why is it the best in the business offers FULL REFUNDS within 30 days but this supposed expert wasn’t willing to honor a refund within 24 hours? Hmmm {insert question face}

I was tenacious and REFUSED to take NO for an answer. I kept the email communication going between this ‘customer service gal’ and CC S.T. on the emails. Finally, S.T. chimed in and most likely, she was the same person as the ‘customer service gal,’ but neither here nor there…

After several back and forth with S.T. the site owner and course content owner, she finally REFUNDED $99 and gave me the God Bless you and Good Luck.

I laughed at my small victory for truth and integrity. Here’s the take away from one S.T. 6-figure Mentor and Coach. DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE! She was all spiritual and ‘Godly’ but yet was all nasty when push came to shove when I pointed out not only the dated content but the poorly organized, edited and information provided.

The whole experience provided me the opportunity to write this post…

3 Things to Look for in a Coach, Mentor…

1. Are they relevant? Is their content, programs, and courses dated (have not been updated in over a year+). You want to dig into the potential program – and be cautious if the material is older than a year with no updates. There are hundreds of coaches who update their material frequently, I’d pick them over anyone who hasn’t updated in a year plus.
2. Do you feel icky inside when you ready their emails? Intuition. The saying goes, “If it smells like a rat, acts like a rat…it must be a rat.” Maybe that’s not the correct way to say it, you get the point. Listen to the small voice in your head or the uneasy feeling inside before handing money over to a ‘coach’ or ‘mentor.’
3. Social proof. I don’t mind social proof as long as it is legitimate proof. Any time someone is starting out or has a new program a coach needs social proof to encourage others to buy, correct? The problem becomes the authenticity of the proof.

Here’s what to look for in social proof:

1. 1. Dates. If the last WOOT! WOOT! came 2 yrs ago…proceed with caution.
   2. Circles. Social circles or inner club friends. Do a quick research on the person if you can. Friends, family, roommates do not count (in my opinion) for social proof. I’ve seen how members within an inner circle leaves glowing reviews without ever having taken the course or program…all for social proof.
   3. Guru testimonials. Let’s call a spade a spade. Receiving a WOOT! WOOT! from Tony Robbins is great (if it weren’t paid for). What I mean…I’ve heard stories of people spending $25K+ to hand with gurus like Mr. Robbins. During these hang sessions they are allowed to get pictures, ask questions, etc. That’s amazing and congrats for that…the way they market said photo and interview, etc. is the shady part. I’m not saying it happens (at least we’d hope people weren’t dishonest and tricky). Throwing it out as an option – to think about when you’re looking for a coach.

Whew…now that that is over. I recommend anytime you are looking for a coach or mentor, do your due diligence and ask others what they have thought and ASK FOR A backing of their work, and if they are legitimate, they will absolutely offer a REFUND POLICY or give you an industry standard reason for not offering refunds.Personally, my programs and courses have a limited refund, limiting hackers from coming to your site, spending, and then requesting an immediate refund. If you want to participate in any of my programs…do the work before requesting a refund. I want to see you put the effort in before I give you my work for free.

That’s all for now…