Why You Bought That Expensive Course You Didn’t Really Want: Behind the Psychology of Sell-From-Stage Pitches

Oh, look at that. A free half day course! On how to sell more / build a business / make millions from social media / live a better life / find every success I’ve ever wanted!

But wait… surely there’s a catch? Why would someone want to give me all this valuable information, their time and resources, for free?

As a keen participant in the personal development space, I’ve found myself at a few of these “free” courses over the years. Some of them have been good, others terrible.

It’s a scary, unregulated space we’re in. Some speakers are insightful people who serve their clients with real value that can help them. Other figures project this perception of expertise and prey on the vulnerable, promising them the world before handing them an atlas.

When I first started sales training, I went to a few of these events. I wanted to learn, but I also wanted to understand how people conducted them. How did they get the ROI from the ‘free’ half-day event?

The most interesting thing I started noticing, though, was the common thread of psychological techniques used to influence the attendees. That’s what this article is about.

I should put the disclaimer that if used with integrity, and a genuine intention to serve their clients, many of these techniques are — in my opinion — perfectly fine to execute. There’s…