I know I write about this a lot - but I think it’s important to keep this message in the forefront for all the newer investors out there and even some of us not so newbies.  The endless emails and direct mailing pieces I get that sell me on the next big, most important, I must not miss sell-a-thon from real estate gurus - is nauseating!  Gag me with a spoon!

I cannot believe the horrible trend that is happening that all the old gurus and new gurus are perpetuating.  And to make it WORSE (can it actually be any worse?), they not only send us endless sales pitches on their own product - they are getting bigger and bigger into affiliate marketing which means that they are letting us in “a secret”, or giving us “the insiders track”, or getting us a deal that only they can give us because this guru is “their good friend”… blah blah blah blah…..  gag me with a spoon!  (Did I say that already?)

What the heck is going on with this industry?  Really I wish I had the answer.  I cannot stand this b.s.!  I am a real estate club owner and I have to spend a lot of time convincing new people that our club is different -   that we don’t do pitch fest. It’s so sad how these gurus have made what we do - so distrustful.  So what’s the solution?  How do we stop the madness?  Well - I know what I am doing to stop it - but I need your help too!

For instance - I will never book one of these guru pitch festers to speak at my club.  Maybe right now - those big shots don’t care - after all, I am a new club and how much influence can I possibly have right?  Well, after my meetings this week - I had a 100 people attend my “little club” meetings this week.  Not so bad for a silly little girl who’s club only started 6 months ago. My goal is to continue to spread the word that we do not need to spend thousands of dollars A MONTH in order to learn real estate! Even if I do wake up with a bloody horse head in my bed someday! I will not be intimidated by your sneers - you “older, wiser and more successful” gurus and owners of real estate clubs! 

Newbie Alert:  Did you know that 95% of folks who buy endless guru products never learn the solid foundation that they need in order to be a successful real estate investor?   Why - because many of these products are a trap! Not all (there are a some good ones out there), but many of these products are just a way for the gurus to get their hooks in you so they can up sell you to their next product or bootcamp - ENDLESSLY. 

A few simple tips to follow to stay out of the “seminar junkie” trap:

1.  Ask your SUCCESSFUL (successful being the key word here), investor friends - who they studied from, who’s product taught them a lot, who they trust.  Then buy that program or bootcamp. If you are new and don’t have investor friends yet, join forums such as BiggerPockets and ask around.

2.  If you go to a seminar that was not recommended to you by someone you trust - then leave your wallet at HOME.  Don’t leave it in the car - because it’s too easy to run down and get it once these slickity slick slicks have hypnotize you into believing that you cannot succeed without them and their product!

3.  Decide what real estate strategy you want to be an expert at and stick to it!  Do not deviate and start dabbling in the next big strategy that is being pitched by the guru of the week.  This should help you stay focused and deter you from buying product on strategies that are not within your business plan.  Now mind you - as markets change, strategies change - I know this, but you do not need to know how to do everything single strategy right now.  You only need to know specific strategies depending on that current market!  Mr. Bruce Norris is the best at teaching us this.  He will never try and sell you one of his products if it doesn’t pertain to the specific market that is happening now.

4.  If you simply must buy a product - first check with your friends to see if they have it.  Maybe you have something they would like to study and you can exchange product for a while.  Or check with your local real estate club - some have a lending library.  

5.  Get a mentor!  Find a successful real estate investor who is doing deals now.  Personally - I would have been lost without my mentors and coaches.  I have learned more from successful - down to earth, REAL - real estate investors than from most of the product that I have bought.  Actually - the best product I have ever studied from was from a few of my mentors.

6.  Attend your local real estate club - as long as it is not a pitch and sell environment.  Stay away from those!  Yucky! (That is why I started my own club!  Cuz I couldn’t stand to be around that kind of environment a minute longer!)

The bottom line is that there is a reason these pitch festers continue to market like dogs in heat - it’s because people buy. When gurus sell $100K in product at seminars like these only a few of those people who bought will ever do a deal - they don’t care!  They know that most everyone in the room will not be successful.  It’s not about that to them.  All it’s about is making as much money off you as possible.  Sell - the poor bastards the dream….  That’s what they do.  

The answer is get educated yes - but also, get support, get trained, surround yourself with successful investors, and don’t be hypnotized by the smoke and mirrors (think of them as the Wizard in Wizard of Oz - that might help!)

Photo Credit: Jorge Bassy

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Tags: real estate club, real estate guru, real estate investing, real estate seminar

That depends. Who is the speaker? What is the product? Was it done in a pitch-fest? I tell you what, as of now; there are just a small handful of real estate investor speakers that I feel good about promoting and they deserve to make good money selling their education. Then, there those that I would sooner close down my real estate club before I would ever endorse them.

My mailboxes, both email and snail mail, are getting bombarded with opportunities to attend Wealth conferences, wealth seminars, how to Earn Millions on auto pilot seminars and “gurus” banging down my door to speak at my club.

What are my red flags and pissosities about real estate investor gurus, seminars and events?

1. Seminars, conferences, workshops that have 4-8 speakers. I mean really – how much do you think you’re going to learn from that many people speaking in 1-2 days? They barely have time to get you good solid info before they have to start pitching their product so he next speaker can come up and start the whole process again. Especially since so much of their speaking time is spent bloviating about their incredible life and millions they made in real estate. Do we really care about their beautiful spouse and kids or need to see pictures of them in front of their 60K car? “Selling the dream” is what this is called.
2. FREE seminars. While there are a few good ones available - I watch out for these in general. They tend to be biggest pitch fests around.
3. You pay a good chunk of money (anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to many thousands!) to attend a speakers bootcamp and before you know it – you have other speakers coming in to pitch you their product as well! Gasp (!) This is one of the worst offenses in my opinion.
4. After you buy a speakers product, they spend the next several months hard selling you to buy into their mentoring $20K $30K or even $60K program! (But first they “qualify you” by checking to see how much money you have on your credit cards!) YIKES! And the worst of this is that most of the time you will not even be coached by them personally! YIKES Again! This is the biggest of all scams! Run as fast as you can! (TIP: Take that $30-60K and use it for down payments on a couple of properties. There - now you’re a real estate investor!)

Now – don’t get me wrong. I am not dismissing how important it is to receive ongoing real estate education and training. I am a huge advocate for education and know that it is nearly impossible to be a success without it. However, what I am saying is that we need to choose our gurus, coaches and mentors wisely. Believe me – I know it’s not easy to navigate through the muck of the investor seminar propaganda and pitch fest. I mean – I am in the business and I too find it hard to figure out who the real deal is! When I was a brand new-bie investor – good Lord, I was so confused by all the hype. I really do understand.

Now my best way of finding my favorite educators is to seek out those folks that my gurus, coaches and mentors listen to and follow themselves. Darnet! Even with that said – I have started to see a horrible pattern of real estate club owners and promoters hawking all real estate gurus as their “good friends”. Arghhh! Well, I suppose that is what is so great about discussion boards and forums on sites such as Biggerpockets. We can all help each other with feedback and recommendations as to who we like and dislike!

I personally have several great gurus & mentors and most of them came from word of mouth and networking with successful investors. This past year I really only spent money on just one “big name” educator (Mr. Bruce Norris- who is worth every dollar!). The rest of my education generally comes from lesser known speakers, real estate professionals and real estate investors themselves.

Bottom line, I strongly agree that we all need to continue with our education; however just buying blindly from speakers who sell a good story is not the way to go. Get recommendations from your peers and sources you trust! Networking and asking a lot of questions is the key!

Tags: real estate education, real estate guru, real estate investing, real estate investing guru, real estate seminar