Most of the time when you see this type of headline it is simply an attention getter so that the person using it can sell you the product after telling you how good it is.
That is not the case this time. I actually mean to stongly suggest that you NOT buy the Google Sneaky program.
It is not that the information inside is awful or wrong. Nick Marks gives you several short video sessions on how to video your presentations using Camtasia or MS Movie Maker and he tells you why it is so important to use video in your sales process. Anyone who has a copy of the Mind Movie Creation Kit, the various programs from Kickstart Media (Traffic Geyser folks), or courses from any number of other online experts, will already have this information. If you don't, ask your teenager for help for free!
I have a couple of main gripes. One is, you will be subjected to a high pressure, sleezy sales pitch for his coaching program over the phone, and if the fact that you will be receiving a call is mentioned, it is in very fine print. I have been through this many times for many other internet marketing programs and they tend to follow a pattern, although this is on the high end of the pressure scale from what I have experienced. When I said I was not interested they were not willing to drop it and just go on to the next person on their call list. They tried to make me feel as if your efforts online have been unsuccessful and they are your ticket to wealth and happiness for a substantial coaching fee. They won't take no for an answer.
The marketers who tell you up front that you will have a 30 minute free "coaching session" as a result of signing up for the loss leader offer I find generally have a little more useful and helpful information to share. They are still trying to ultimately sell you on a high ticket coaching program, but they do provide some valuable help.
Marks' team springs this call on you at just about the time you get home to make dinner and don't even ask if this is a convenient time to call. They don't warn you that by signing up for the basic offer you will be called about coaching. When I told them I wanted to cancel the ongoing $97 charge, the first person to call said, "Oh yes, the hidden charge." The next day someone else even more obnoxious called and when I asked for information on how to cancel, he said he could not do that, and hung up. Rule one of salesmanship is, when a customer wants to cancel, make it EASY for them to do so. Maybe then they won't blast you in a blog post or a forum discussion.
I have been all through my emails and for the life of me, I can't find any follow up on the Google Sneaky program that gives me info on how to cancel. The trial period, if you bothered to read the fine print, was 7 days and then you'd be billed $97 for his ongoing program. It looks as if I will have to wait all 7 days and then call from the number on my credit statement. What a waste of money! What incredibly poor customer service! It is almost a given that when they make it this hard to cancel before the first billing, they will be unwilling to refund the charge.
In contrast, the marketers with continuity programs that I respect and follow regularly, like Michael Cheney, Alan Bechtold, Erik Stafford, Mike Filsaime, Dr. Mike, Frank Kern, Ryan Deiss, Marc Horne, Todd Gross, Tellman Knudson, the GVO team, and several others I have had ongoing relationships with, all are very up front in the way they advertise their continuity programs and how you will be vetted through their funnel. They also make if very clear from the moment you sign on to a program how to get ahold of customer service, even if you are calling to cancel. They treat their clients with respect, and they are rewarded in large measure because of their excellent service, not just because of the excellence of their programs.
If you decide to get the initial Google Sneaky offer for under $10 you will have two upsells right away. One is to a "free" website, which really just means you'll have the same replicated site as thousands of other people. That will get you nowhere. When you realize that you are offered a fairly expensive upgrade for a more "flexible" hosting plan. My experience with trying that plan for a couple of sites is that it really gives you little or now help in setting up your site. You can do better simply getting yourself a hosting account at Hostgator that offers lower priced plans for hosting one site, or GVO, which offers excellent service and training for newbies.
The other upsell is to Traffic Geyser, which is a good service, but will cost around $97 per month. There are less expensive ways to start with video marketing. For one, if you sign up for a GVO plan you will get free video hosting. In addition, unless you take very good note of where you can cancel-- and I didn't find thatinformation in the basic member site nor in any follow up-- you will be charged $97 per month after 7 days. There is very little information about what that continuity program will get you.
I expect better service, better products, and more transparency from someone who won the Marketer of the Year award a couple years ago. Google Sneaky? Marks Sneaky is more like it.
Liz Nichols
lizdnichols (at) gmail.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
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