Internet Guru Idiocy: How Big Egos Costs Business
There are few things as annoying online as Internet marketers who believe that one or two successful product launches entitles them to mistreat everyone around them as lesser individuals.
Let me give you an example. Let’s call him Big Ego.
Big Ego purchased Website Legal Forms Generator software from one of my companies. He could afford to pay for an Internet lawyer to draft customized legal documents but decided to go for the inexpensive alternative instead. Not my call. Wouldn’t want him as a client (keep reading – you’ll understand why).
The first thing that Big Ego did was complain about the software and how much better it would be if he had developed it.
To be sure, Big Ego has developed software. However, Big Ego is not an Internet lawyer. Also note that the software is the #1 of its kind on the Internet and has a refund request rate of less than one percent.
Big Ego didn’t stop there. He kept sending lengthy e-mails to customer support and to me about how wonderful he was and how he would do things differently. Attempts to be nice simply resulted in more e-mails from Big Ego that soon took on an abusive tone. Why? Because we refused to re-develop our software in an entirely different platform based on his “expert” advice.
The abuse of customer support was only toned down after it was pointed out that one of the people Big Ego was being mean to happened to be my wife.
Sadly, Big Ego isn’t unique.
I’ve been to Internet marketing events where “legends in their own minds” wouldn’t even speak with someone unless they knew that person was important. This includes 1-hit wonders who snubbed decamillionaires and even a billionaire on the mistaken assumption that low-key meant unimportant.
When you consider how word-of-mouth works, imagine what it costs the Big Egos of the world in their businesses and reputations to mistreat the “little people.”
Think about this the next time you deal with someone’s customer support or meet someone new at a marketing event. Those unknown to you have the ability to make or break your business. Be nice. It will serve you well and it is the right thing to do.
Internet Lawyer: Consumer Advocate or Devil’s Advocate?
Some cannot understand how one can simultaneously represent some of the biggest Internet info product marketers while attacking others for unethical conduct. A public relations stunt? Loose cannon? What the heck is going on?
To understand the what, you’ll need to learn the why I’m about to share with you for the first time.
My grandparents and great-aunt instilled old-fashioned ethics in me from childhood. They grew up during the Great Depression and spent their working lives as blue collar employees. To them, “get-rich-quick” meant the stock market crash of 1929, massive unemployment, and doing without.
If I could sum up their views on how to live, it would be these words: “Do what is right.”
Have I always done the right thing? Of course not.
Like you, I’m human and have made mistakes (and hopefully learned enough not to repeat them).
But doing what is right is the goal post that I aim for each and every day.
Is there a conflict between representing “big gurus” and doing what is right? Not if the goal of those gurus is also to do the right thing.
Do these clients make mistakes? Of course. They’re human too.
And if there comes a time where a business decision is made to profit from knowingly doing wrong to customers, that’s where the attorney-client relationship quickly comes to an end.
Some claim that I’ve been too harsh on certain marketers who have engaged in fraudulent and deceptive business practices. But there is a difference. Those marketers who I’ve publicly criticized for such misconduct have not made a mistake. They’ve chosen a way of doing business that is designed to profit by taking advantage of others.
Exposing these Internet scams is done because it is the right thing both for consumers and honest online business owners who shouldn’t be tarnished by association with the so-called “guru” marketers.
This holiday season will be a tough one for me. My grandparents have passed away. In recent years, my great-aunt has been the sounding board that invariably answers “do the right thing.” Now terminally ill, I’ll be visiting with her for the last time this Thanksgiving.
I hope that in the coming years, I live up to her expectations to do what’s right. If that means offending some scam artists masquerading online as gurus, so be it.
Do old-fashioned ethics have a place in the way we do business with each other on the Internet? Absolutely.
That’s why a group of Internet marketers committed to doing the right thing has just formed the Internet Ethics Council. If you’re truly committed to treating your customers with courtesy and respect, you’ll want to join us. To learn more, click here.
