Last week a blog post called "The Horror Pitchfest" by Australian entrepreneur Leonie Dawson was making the rounds on Facebook. 

In it, Dawson gave her review of a recent event in Australia headlined by Gary Vaynerchuk. 

To say she wasn't a fan of the event would be an understatement. 

In her words: 

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Yesterday, I went to the worst business conference I've ever attended. 

It was the stuff of nightmares, of horror convention folklore. 

I've heard about such events before, but couldn't comprehend it until I was actually there. 

F*ck all content or wisdom to speak of ... just hardcore sales pitches. 

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She was angry that Gary was used as "bait" to get people to buy tickets, but most of the event was other speakers who endlessly pitched and gave no value whatsoever (Gary showed up for a few minutes at the end, and she panned his performance too) 

I wasn't at the event, so I can't speak about that one - but I have been to others where similar tactics were used. 

These events have the speakers encouraging people to race to the tables at the back of the room to buy expensive masterminds, and those who don't do it are branded as unmotivated slobs who "don't want it bad enough".

These events focus on testimonials and fluff, and having people do jumping jacks, instead of delivering anything of value (eight or nine hours can be boiled down into a few minutes of useful information, if any at all). 

I don't think people mind being sold to - if they get good value out of the event they paid for. 

If they get something from the expert's stuff, they're more likely to take the next step and invest in getting further help. 

Although slimey, arm-twisting sales tactics will never go the way of the dodo bird, in the future those in the personal development space will have to deliver the goods and not just feed people fluff and BS followed by a heavy sell. 

The Internet is a small place, and word gets around fast (like it did with the event in Australia). 

With this in mind, I spend a lot of time writing every issue of my Secret Coach Club print newsletter. 

It's not repackaged content, or testimonials, or filler. 

In every issue I give my subscribers things they can take and put into action right away to get more coaching clients and customers. 

(From a selfish point of view, I know that if they like what's inside its pages they could hire me or buy my other programs, which often happens). 

If you want useful strategies to grow your coaching business, the November issue of the newsletter goes to print soon.

You can subscribe to it here: 

Marc