Pulling The Plug On Perry Marshall

Perry Marshall, Internet Marketeer. He knows a secret and it is for sale. You will get rich quick too if you know his secret. Such intrigue!

His real last name is Sink, as in a kitchen appliance. You know, the place where money goes when it goes ‘down the drain’. Now me, I know little about such things as Internet Marketing. I get as much pleasure hearing about it as I do watching the defragmentation bar run on my computer or golf on TV (although we don’t have a TV). Some people really enjoy it and actually are successful at playing the Internet Marketing Game.

Joy really likes the subject. Computers are her ‘thang’. She has programmed for the US Government, Law Enforcement and NASA (to name a few). She is now retired at her sweet young age (from 39 till now) but spends many hours reading/learning about many things including Internet Marketing. She seems fascinated by it. This is how she came to learn about Mr Marshall (Sink). He has risen in the ranks of Internet Marketing Money Makers. Seems his knowledge of Google Adwords (secrets available to all) and his 80/20 principle work for him and have elevated him to a virtual Cardinal of Cash to those who worship Easy Money.

Now, Joy is a wonderfully sweet person but if you don’t know her well you get a totally opposite impression. She especially puts on no airs with strangers. And you are a stranger to her until she gets to know you. She was raised that way. Her mom, having no time for BS (she raised ten kids by herself and did a damn good job of it) taught her kids to not be wasteful. “Don’t spend your time or money on worthless people or things”. (I still wonder at times why she is with me but that is another story). And Joy also is not afraid to ask questions. This is not popular with everyone.

So, back to Perry Marshall (Sink). She spent a lot of time researching his ideas and liked them. She even went so far as to sign up for one of his very pricey seminars. We are in South Texas so she would have to fly to Chicago, a city unknown to her. And she was going by her own little self. But, she had a few questions. Let me insert some of this information as she related it to her brother Robbie. He knows Joy well.

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Robbie wrote: “What did you say to the guys at the seminar Joy?”

Joy writes: “I’m not sure what the key thing was.
Well, the sign up email said where and when the event was (May 17 & 18), the email address for questions, and that more information would be sent. I waited over a week and got nothing, so on May 7 I sent:

I have a few questions. 
1. Where is the "more information" that was promised? It feels like I've been
left in the dark out here. 
2. Do you need to know if I'm bringing someone? 
3. Is there any preparation I need to do? something to read? 
4. Is lunch provided, or is there a choice of where to eat there? 
5. As for the guarantee, part 2 says I should double my sales. What if my sales 
are $0? Not much of a guarantee in that case. 
6. Do you have a problem with me using a digital recorder during the seminar?

They answered 4 of 6 and then came back with lunch is not provided but there are restaurants close and the guarantee is what it is and the first part applies to you (it says if you don’t like it after the 1st day, they’ll refund). So I thanked them for the answers, but mentioned that I didn’t like most of them, and “the only thing left was a way to get in touch with other attendees to share a cab from the airport and/or meet for dinner on Friday night. Any ideas?”

Then the main guy replied and said

I've read the correspondence back and forth.  You don't sound very 
sure that you should be at this seminar, and if you're not I think we 
should immediately cancel your registration and issue you a refund. 
We will be happy to do so if you wish.  It's entirely possible that 
this seminar could be at a level beyond where you are right now and if 
so I understand.If you do come, I expect you to take full responsibility 
for where your business is right now (even if it's starting from scratch) 
and with an expectation of absorbing and applying everything that is 
taught.  

The guarantee is stated in the letter describing the event 
(www.perrymarshall.com/gladiator). We can't be responsible for helping 
people coordinate rides etc etc. You're on your own for that.

Well, he took the time to write me personally. So I replied:

Thanks for the personal reply. But I think you read something into 
my notes that wasn't there. I've been reading your stuff for over a 
year and I like what I read. During the past year, I've been 
stalled in doing business because I've been caring for my mother. 
She died in April, so I feel I can move forward.  

While I have a strong feeling that the 80/20 seminar is what I 
need, it is a steep price for someone just starting out. I'm just 
making sure I have everything all straight before it starts. Your 
sales letter did mention that it was okay if you don't have a 
business, so it seems only reasonable that the guarantee should 
reflect that as well. And you didn't mention recordings, so I 
thought I'd ask. I know my tendency is to think "I got it" as 
information is presented, but I have a hard time later recalling it 
accurately, so an audio recording helps me (I'm an auditory 
learner).  

I've watched several launches recently and yours seems to be 
missing a few elements that help the customer get the best 
experience. It feels really empty actually. Especially using 
Product Launch Formula as an example, the whole community aspect is 
important for your branding and relationship, but also so that the 
participants can bond. Getting questions answered is just one minor 
benefit as well as having a way to meet up.  Besides, how else can 
I know who else is going except through you? And those might seem 
like insignificant details to you (who live there and can go home 
for lunch), but those of us from out of town with only a few 
dollars to stretch need all the help they can get. 
I don't know the 80/20 stuff yet, but I can imagine that applying 
it to your most important set of people (paying customers) would 
mean that you should spend at least a little time making sure that 
they have what they need.

I thought everything was fine. So did they, I guess, since on the 12th they sent one note requesting the names of people attending. I answered with my name. And another note with a link to an audio to listen to “get under your belt before you come”. On the 13th they sent a non-disclosure agreement that they said we had to sign before being admitted.

So yesterday as I was listening to the audio (which had a few more details about 80/20), a woman called to see if there was anything I needed or questions that I had. I said I’d already gotten answers to mine and just needed to find people to hook up with. She said I was the only one that asked that so they’d make a note for next time. She pressed me for anything else, so I said that the non-disclosure agreement was a little ambiguous. She didn’t even know it had been sent (maybe it was only sent to me…) I read her the part in question that says “80/20 seminar attendees will not copy or modify any Confidential Information without the prior written consent of Perry Marshall.” I said it was unclear if that meant I couldn’t make a copy of a piece of paper or I couldn’t imitate the concept or what. She said she’d call back within an hour.

A couple hours later she called to say that they had refunded my money. They didn’t give me a choice.”

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So folks, especially you who are naive enough to expect good from most people: beware. Some are just so egotistical that the only thing that matters is money and worship. What do they want? Sheep, sheep with money. Sheep don’t ask questions. And if you carry a big enough stick (or have enough money) they will do as you tell them (80% at least).

This whole thing reminds me of Guru Maharaj-ji of the early ’70s. Come on in (to the Astrodome) and if you could afford it he would give you your own personal SECRET mantra word. I had a friend that fell for it at the time and he would never divulge his secret word but I suspect it sounded a bit like ‘sucker’. And I can just imagine all the ‘bah bah bah’ after one of Mr Sink’s (oh, I am sorry, ‘Marshall’) seminars.

It may go something like what I said to an old friend that took me to hear Timothy Leary speak at Rice University in Houston around 1967. I said “You know, I have no idea what he said, but it sure sounded good!” (Note: Unlike any aforementioned I have much respect and admiration for Timothy Leary.) But, in all truth, I know nothing of Perry Marshall or his teachings except for how he treated someone I love, Joy. And now, I could not care less what he has to say. I put him in the same percentage group that he puts me in, I am sure; Useless to me.

And Mr Marshall, Grand Marketeer, money is not everything in life. Find you a seminar on that. You don’t know all the secrets.