Are You A FAKE????

Here's a real headline for you.

"As many as 99% of all buyers may prefer Fake to Real!"

How can I say that?

It's easy.

Here's why.

99% of all Louis Vuitton bags sold are fake!

I’ve been doing some research into buyer behavior lately and discovered an interesting statistic.

99% of all Louis Vuitton bags that are sold are fake. Yes, if you see someone wearing a Louis Vuitton bag on their arm, there’s only a 1 in 100 chance that it’s the real deal!

The cost of counterfeiting impacts the world trade by as much as 7% annually and promotes LOTS of inferior behaviors. Lack of accountability in worker safety, child labor, lack of commitment to quality all are pervasive in the counterfeiting trade.

So, why does this industry thrive?

Why do millions offer counterfeit goods and more enter the market daily?

The answer is the market!

Leave it to the mathematician inside, but I can reasonably assume that if 99% of all Louis Vuitton bags SOLD are fake, then 99% of all Louis Vuitton purchasers would rather invest a little to appear like they appreciate quality than to make the choice to invest in quality or just invest in something more in keeping with their true budget.

In fact, many purchasers of ‘knockoff’ goods – knowing the shorter life expectancy of a counterfeit product will buy two or more of the inferior item – and consider it disposable rather than to invest in ONE of the genuine article and expect it to last for life.

In other words, the insatiable desire of the market to under-invest in the appearance of quality FAR exceeds the commitment to themselves to reward true innovation with the fair investment required to attain it. And in many cases, to be fair, buyers of counterfeit goods KNOW that the quality isn’t there…

Just the ‘markings’.

How does this impact you?

It’s amazing how this parallels into the world of marketing, coaching
and other things like mentoring.

I’ve watched genuine teachers faithfully churn out the same core message for years. .

One of the unspoken realities of the mentoring industry has been that there are obvious counterfeiters pervasive in our midst.

If we are following the trends of the rest of the marketplace (and why wouldn’t we be), it would suggest that a significant percentage of all information sold has not been vetted by years of proving ground and experience of the person dispensing it!

In fact, many people begin to teach principles only weeks after learning them!

The challenge with this is that many of the markings of the real deal are there. It is only after careful inspection that one can make the distinction between someone with the depth necessary to mentor in their area of expertise and someone with just enough buzzwords to garner a following. Some people will tell you they know how to market, when in reality they don't have a clue, they just learned what they're telling you in the last few weeks or months.

And while the true mentors may be quietly profiting in an exclusive environment, hawkers of lesser marketing ability appear on every digital corner selling 99% (?) of all mentoring sold to people primed for the ‘almost’ real deal.

I've found that to be true of nutritional counseling as well.

That means that we see opportunities to work with real professionals, people that have put in their time to learn their trade, but we then decide to buy fakes FAR more often than opportunities to mentor with someone who’s really going to benefit us the most!

I mean when you talk about nutrition, you're talking about your health. Why would you want to take supplements from someone that doesn't know their butt from a hole in the ground?

Not me. I want the real deal, and I'm willing to pay for that when the time comes.

In other words, at times, visibility may be inversely related to quality.

The best teachers may require some ‘finding’ instead of being in your inbox daily.

Gives you pause, huh? It did me.

The challenge with the mentoring industry arises when people buy highly promoted cheap knock-off mentoring from digital street corners, then get upset when their ‘mentor’ falls apart at the seams.

Same is true of your doctor.

A wise man once told me, "No one knows what you think they know." Why I remembered that, I'll never know. But I will tell you this. It's true. It applies to everyone. Parent, judges, policemen, doctors, attorneys, etc. You name it, it applies.

Some people do not know how to respond in critical situations, but they are the one, the fakes that you're paying. What they do is this. They give feedback that sounds good -- but doesn’t deliver results.

Then they might shift from topic to topic with their marketplace instead of learning their one area of expertise in depth.

It happens.

So who is responsible for this scenario? Who creates counterfeiting or B/Sing?

It exists because the market demands it.

The same insatiable desire for knock-off goods that pervades our desire to appear successful in the natural without the requisite investment rolls over into our behavior when we’re looking for the person to teach us how to be successful in our quest to lose weight, make money, have better sex, build a relationship, connect with GOD… and the list goes on and on.

Life is LIFE

Here's what I do know.

You can’t go wrong buying from the top of the heap!

If you want disposable mentoring with someone like a doctor or an attorney that may fall apart in a few weeks or months, then invest in whomever you want.

But if you’re among the 1% that still appreciates excellence and is willing to invest to get the best, I’d recommend you find out who has been the best in the area you seek help.

Invest whatever it takes to learn from them.

In the end it is MUCH less expensive and gets you far better results without the disappointment of truly getting what you paid for. Notice I didn’t say NOT getting what you paid for -- but getting what you paid for.

Or, you can choose to follow the majority who are still trying to get something almost as good for far less commitment and then be consistently disappointed when it doesn’t quite hold up and deliver what you wanted.They are the 99% buying the knock offs I talked about in the first paragraph.

AND…

if you’re feel the least bit concerned that the majority of people aren’t interested in your ‘REAL DEAL’, understand this.

There’s still a huge opportunity awaiting you in being at the top of your own heap and delivering what you are to the minority who value it.

Shake the temptation to follow the herd and echo the chants of the ‘fake seekers’ and choose instead – build your boutique client following who choose to invest in your true talent and calling. So no matter what you do, marketing is the key to getting them to your website or office, but it's how you treat them after they hold up their hand and say "YES". For Real!

It IS a choice.

And that’s the beauty of a FREE market!