Sometimes I Do Not Agree With Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich

Crimson

Well, at least, one time I did not.

Because, in an email to me about his “breathtaking insight about customers and human behavior,” he discussed two categories of customers:

People who will NEVER pay…

  • Asked “How much is it??” before asking anything else
  • Asked question after question, even once I’d answered it (trying to talk themselves out of it)
  • Picked an esoteric item to complain about instead of focusing on the full value of the course

The BEST people — customers who actually signed up…

  • Asked how much VALUE they could get out of the course
  • Asked how the course was different than others (doing a simple competitive analysis)
  • Asked, “What’s the worst that can happen? I get my money back after taking the full course if I don’t love it?”

Okay.

Well, you see, I am in the first category.  I am one of those who ask “how much” first before listening any further.

But let me defend myself.

I find that salespeople blabber on and on about how wonderful a product is and refuse, for some sadistic reason, to name the price until the bitter end because they know it will be the deal breaker.

Of course I want to know, if possible at the onset of the sales pitch, if a product is within my budget because knowing that would make me decide if I should give the seller my precious time, if I need the product or just want it (yes, the price elevates the product to a want if it is unreasonable), makes the wheels in my head turn thinking about where to get the money, gives me the proper perspective (oh, okay, so it is within this range, this is what I should expect from it).  Then the game is on and it is much more fun. (well, at least that is the idea)

You see, I have, at some (low) points in my life, got excited and decided impulsively, setting the price limits to the skies (where it sometimes went), and got duds.

Duds.

Like the time we spent almost $1,000 for a massage chair just because the sellers were congratulating us (clapping realistically and cheering, cheering!) for winning the chair along with other bonuses like cookware, a feet massager (great, another massager!) and a face massager (yey, another massager!?).  But as soon as we got the stuff home, I knew we made a huge, expensive mistake but could no longer return the darn thing because my beautiful (but naughty) Maltese chewed the darn electric wires.

Or the time when we bought our timeshare because we unwittingly got the price so low that we put ourselves in a corner where we could no longer back out because we felt guilty of wearing down the agent (and his manager).  Okay, okay, the timeshare does have its plus points…

Or when I bought my Shangrila membership card and did not get anything except for discounts vouchers, most of which we did not use.  Okay, they were good discounts (50% off mostly) but spending something (card was some USD$150) just to spend some more is not in the category of a good deal for me.

So Ramit, I do pay.  But I want to know, at the onset, if I can.  And if I would want to.

But I still love Ramit.  I love his no-nonsense take on finance and valuable, valuable insights on money and getting to rich.

And I know mostly it is tough talk.  He wants to get his audience riled up (like he sort of did me) just so they will take action.

And he did come out with a cheaper version of the product he is selling (sort of an admission on his part that some people who ask how much maybe will pay).

And I know most of it is a trust issue.  When a reader trusts, he buys.

I trust.  But as to buying his Earn1k product, we’ll see.

Article by Issa. Art by Danvic Briones. Copyright 2011.
Website: www.YouWantToBeRich.com
Email: issa@youwanttoberich.com

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