Was thinking why some of the property/investing gurus start off with very good intensions, servicing clients well, making money for clients, but then we have some of those that go off the rail and basically start fleecing their clients?? I personally think in the main they start off with good intensions and then greed gets in the way and they start looking for volume, bigger $ and integrity quickly goes out the door. Why they do this, because they can. Have seen this in Australia and USA. MTR
I don't think it happens overnight. It's that little step "just a bit more" and before you know it you're off the course.
Don't forget also that guru strategies work well in specific market conditions, when markets turn and people have no conceptual understanding of what they are doing, they keep doing the same strategy and when it all goes bad - the guru gets blamed
It's like a drug to them, always looking for a higher high. Need to feed the ego to feel good. Usually, ethics go out the window at some stage the it all falls apart when it all comes undone with too many holes opened up and not enough new clients to replace the lost ones.
It becomes a case of the deal is risky, take a lower risk position (ie fee structure) and the client wears all the risk.
I went to see a 'guru' just over a year ago. It became clear pretty quickly I was viewed as simply another $ and there was no interest in developing a mutually benficial business relationship, just a quick buck. I haven't bothered with a BA/paid Guru since however this has meant that everything has stalled and I haven't purchased a property since!
Money shows a persons true colours. When people come into new money, they either become *******s (eg bieber, kanye) or continue to be their normal selves. The issue is that most fall into the former category.
It would not be that hard to be a "GURU",just send out 25000 emails saying you have 10 asx listed that will go up 15% over the next 16 weeks,add 40 property hot spots that will go above 10% cg in a year,then send out 25000 more saying the market going to tank these are the investment to sell,50/50 over time one way will be right,then starting selling the idea,.
LOL - I will challenge you to TRY to send out 25,000 emails and see how many you get following you. It is not easy to be an authority on anything, it takes time. Also sending out 25,000 cold emails - will get you no where. 25,000 warm emails, generated by adding to your database over many many years takes a lot of time and effort in building trust. Gurus can lose it all if they are not careful but it does take time to build it up.
Money is just a magnifier of a person's character. If you were a bit dodgy when you were poor, money just lets you be even more dodgier. If you were for example, a giver when you were poor, money lets you give more and have greater influence.
Xenia,i don't think the email numbers would be a problem with what a start-up company told me the other night depending on the target market,and yes your right the call back follow up rate would be less the 2%,and i have listened to most of the "GURU'S" that have come and gone ,and when one sits down the back and watching they are all the same ,but they may get 2 out of three things in life,money-ego- but they are never going to be happy,the same as captain smith found out in 1912 in a brand new ship,ice floats..
Not bagging all gurus, be interesting to hear from those who have had good experiences using property gurus. Back to the few dodgy gurus that have been around for years, some charging $30K for mentoring programs. I know a guru who looks at feasibility on projects yet has no idea on the particular suburb/area - how does this work? This person has never developed, so this strategy is alien - how does this work? Some people are so desperate to become rich they will pay whatever it takes. You would think the first thing you would want to know is what the guru has achieved, success stories, numbers etc. That's when the Bull Sh$t detector comes in handy
I did the Henry Kaye course over 5 days. (stop laughing you lot). It was money well spent, in my opinion, and I had a terrific time at the event - I have made that amount back several times over since that week. Could I have done it on my own? In hind sight; yes, but that was before I found SS and Steve McNight's forums, I had no knowledge and/or inspiration to move forward at that stage. I had bought all my IP's before finding SS. Have also done two Rob Kiyosaki courses (one night only courses) as well. Great stuff. Yes; there were strategies that were out at the riskier end during the HK course; but no-one was holding a gun to anyone's' heads and making them do anything...although' the pressure to do the breaking of the wooden arrow on your throat (tip first) while in a group of folks was a bit high pressure!! Mind you; I did not buy any of the properties they had on offer, or the boot camps etc - they actually encouraged everyone to do their own DD on their properties first (loads of folks wouldn't have). So, the question is; how much would you put on the value of the knowledge from those blokes? Of course; if you have found this forum already, then their seminars are worthless and you need not attend any.. I feel envious of those who are starting out and have found this forum and the MB's available on it....huuuge advantage.
I actually don't like the word 'guru' very much--it implies someone to whom you hand over your power and decision-making capability. Am I misunderstanding? Yes, gather as much information as possible from so-called experts. But don't get taken in. Do your own homework until you can make an informed decision. Question everything. Be curious. Be your own guru.
And realise that no one can really do anything to you without your consent. They are offering information, ideas and concepts that either fit into what you are doing - or not. I could say that I make a lot of money from my real estate license but not everyone that gets a license can make money - most go broke. I make money because I know people and can see opportunities. Gurus may be taking about particular schemes, ideas, methods but that is not the thing that makes them successful. What they are really expressing through their presentations and their businesses is their own mindset. You can't buy that! That's why in all of my wealth creation seminars I talk about mindset - people want strategies, if they had the right mindset they would have already found the right strategies.
Good points. This is also important when using Buyers Agents, if they are sourcing properties then don't take it as a given that it will perform, make sure that they back up their comments with evidence. MTR
I think that any investment with any guru should be carefully considered if the guru would co-invest for 33% of whatever is being promoted. If the investment pays off (just like the pictures of Porsches and yachts in the brochure suggest) then the guru will earn a bunch more than the current bank interest rate, and if the investment goes south, then the guru loses a bunch of bark, just like the "investor" (and I use the term loosely), when they fall off their bike. I'm would be interested in what the gurus think...
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