The business with money
Probably almost all of us have seen this advertisement:
Some guy between 20 and 45 grins stupidly into the camera and tells us that he gives us the secret recipe to get rich quick....
We just have to sign up for his "free book", which only costs us the shipping costs....
Zack and already we are full in the funnel!
But back to the beginning.
(I'm simplifying a lot of things so as not to get too deep into the subject matter).
What is a funnel?
A funnel describes a special marketing strategy, in which you can catch customers with buzzwords and a lot of populism.
After that, you can use a simple strategy to pull money out of the customer's pocket.
It always works according to the same scheme:
1. a general search term (e.g. "Just make a lot of money") directs potential customers to a page optimized for online search engines. (landing page)
2. there one finds many pictures, videos and completely exaggerated statements of a coach or mentor, which often still gives itself titles or designations, which are either freely invented or not at all protected. (That is, you can give yourself non-protected names without any examinations or certifications).
3. you are now led to a bait offer. These are often "Free + Shipping" products. So free products, for which one must pay allegedly only forwarding expenses or handling charges.
4. in former times still correct printed books were dispatched, today are it rather E-Books.
The twist with this product is that it doesn't contain any groundbreaking knowledge, but suggests to the uninitiated customer that the author is an expert in the field. Thus, one is drawn into the spell.
5. together with this "free product", one receives a newsletter directly and is taken to the next level in the funnel.
6. one is now fixed by the topic and very convinced by the provider. Together with the newsletter, an "exclusive" and "time-limited" offer suddenly lands in the inbox.
Oh no! Limited and time-limited! Zack, there we have the next strategy in the funnel:
You suggest a strong limitation to create pressure on the customer to buy the product! Often this is also done with the entry product.
This offer usually consists of a *free* webinar.
This webinar is of course pre-recorded and sometimes even an alleged live chat is simulated. (The provider then hypocritically asks whether it is easy to understand, while the chat dutifully answers that the connection is great. At the end, of course, there are still ovations and cheers for the provider). Again, the customer is further captivated and also feels special because he is allowed to participate in this highly limited and special webinar!
8. From this point on, the customer is ready to be properly excepted.
After the webinar, there are now two ways the customer is milked.
In this scenario, we take the long way.
9. A few days/hours after this exclusive webinar, there is the next offer:
An (exclusive and limited) online course with the provider. This is then accompanied by a few testimonials that either don't exist or have been paid for. Stock photos are popular). This course is often designed as a subscription and in the lower price segment. For example, in the starting month 9.99 € and as an upsell, there is this course as an audio book for an additional 14.99 €. (Of course, reduced prices are always displayed so that the "real" prices are nicely crossed out and the customer thinks that there is a cheap offer).
10. this online course shows again no surprising findings and is often not necessarily cost-covering. The key is that the customer continues to stay on the ball and is convinced of the provider as an expert.
The starting month is naturally extremely inexpensive and subsequent months cost fast 40-50€, with unfavorable periods of notice. One relies on the fact that customers overlook that it is a subscription and one lands in a subscription trap. It is not for nothing that the cancellation periods are often very long after the 4 weeks with the discount.
11. we are now a fully fixed on the coach and have also spent the first money for an online course. With more supposed knowledge, we are willing to spend more money for it.
The next step is to offer an online webinar (again limited). This is however exceptionally live and serves primarily the self presentation of the offerer. One shows well-behaved its Ferrari and its mansion, while one gets explained in the connection with a Flipchart, how one becomes fast rich.
The provider always assumes absolutely unrealistic scenarios, but this is completely lost on the customer thanks to clever voice modulation. Couple incomes of 150,000€ gross are standard. Again, a lot of buzzwords like "financial freedom," "get out of the hamster wheel," and "digital nomadism" are used.
12.1 In between, the customer is now ready to share in the success. One propagates "become friends" offers, where one can acquire products for family members or friends at a discount, or one should become active directly as an affiliate. Of course, one's economic existence is now also tied to these providers.
12.2 The goal is that one earns its money at the end completely with the advertising of these products. In reality, no 5% even manage to reach the payout thresholds of the providers.
13. what happens now?
The ultimate step is now the 1:1 coaching with the provider, who is of course prevented at short notice and is represented by an "extremely well trained colleague". It is not uncommon for an apologetic voice message or video message to then be sent to the customer to personalize this cancellation. Even if the coaching does not take place at the professional, the prices have it in itself. 1h coaching cost quite fast several 1.000 and 10.000€. (Of course, sometimes there is a hypocritical subsequent discount, because the provider himself unfortunately had no time).
14. in these coachings further typical "fortune cookie wisdoms" are spread and always referred to the fact that one needs several coachings. Motivating words incl.
Thus one is milked over a longer period and finances appropriate Coachings with princely conversions.
Since these things can be strongly automated, the costs for these companies are manageable.
This is exactly the strategy that more or less takes place with all these financial freedom mentors.
The secret recipe: truisms and a lot of suggestion
At this point, I will spare the names of corresponding "experts" who use these business models, as they are often very happy to work with law firms and cover people who expose these practices with cease-and-desist letters by naming them.
Look very carefully at the websites of these providers: Many disclaimers, use of the subjunctive, absurd promises (with direct exclusion that it only works if you stick to the coaching, etc.) and always nice to show off your own success. Of course on Instagram, on TV, etc.
Sources: I worked for a while for one of the biggest resellers of these coaches, mentors, etc. (funnel users) and am familiar with the business practices.
Please refrain from naming appropriate providers in the comments, as something like this can quickly become expensive or result in a long legal battle....
