If you’ve seen some negative SFM reviews while doing your due diligence you might be falling for an age-old ploy. I’ve been with SFM and DEA for 5 years now. In this post I wanted to offer some perspective on some of the reasons you are seeing negative SFM reviews. Here’s why you should take them with a pinch of salt as most of the SFM community do.
I joined SFM in 2014 as a basic member and upgraded to DEA Gold a year later. I’d tried a couple of online business opportunities before then. One of them turned out to be a scam, the other was simply let down by extremely dated training. I’d caught the online lifestyle business bug but had learned that I needed a solid online business model and high level, up to date training/mentorship to boot. I did not want a succession of business “opportunities” that would let me down after a year or two. When SFM’s introductory video series came my way it looked very much like I had found all of that in one place.
When you do your due diligence on any potential investment, particularly an online business, you naturally want to be as sure as possible that it is not a scam. The simplest way in theory to do that is to type “Is (insert opportunity) a scam?” into a search engine. I did this with SFM myself. At that time most of the reviews returned were positive. Things are a little different now however. The same search now will return a good few negative SFM reviews. Lets look at why and why you shouldn’t take them at face value.
Unbalanced Negative SFM Reviews
Four or five years ago SFM and partner organisation DEA were in start up mode. Both founders Stuart Ross and Jay Kubassek are well known, successful and respected online entrepreneurs, but their partnership platform was new to the market. It’s not surprising that SFM reviews in general were scarce and negative SFM reviews were rare. No one had been involved with them for long enough to judge. Since then they have undergone a fairly steep but reassuringly strategic growth. There has been time therefore for some people to build very profitable partnerships with them and others to fail – just as happens in any business.
In some respects the Internet is a weird place. One aspect of this is that its sheer size makes it nearly impossible to police (although that is changing) That means that you can pretty much say whatever you want about a business online without fear of redress: Its common practice to divert traffic from a thriving business by calling it a scam and offering another as an alternative. When a company grows as SFM has, more of its rivals will adopt this strategy. Negativity is easier than positivity and quite rightly we all hate a scammer, so some of the mud that is slung will stick.
Negative SFM Reviews – Gaming The System?
The online business industry has itself to blame for this to some extent. In the past the make money online space has been stuffed with get rich schemes, false promise and dodgy marketing. Its not surprising that the bad reputation this created lingers like a nasty hangover. There is also the fact that for some reason we queue up to bring down a success story. Some marketers have capitalised on this bit of human psychology. They know that a negative review will get a lot of interaction and that search engines, keen to protect their users will reward them with enhanced ranking.
Personally I have no major gripes with SFM or DEA. They are not perfect – what is? We are in the arena of entrepreneurialism here and that has been perfectly described as flying a plane as you build it. Sometimes announcements are made with huge excitement but take longer than suggested to happen. The Internet is a fast moving thing with ever changing policies, methodologies and systems – “The best-laid plans”, and all that… Often months of work need to be revised at the last minute due to some sudden announcement from Google, Facebook or another major player. As Internet entrepreneurs we need to accept that this is how the game is played – what works today might not work tomorrow. Just look at the recent turmoil caused by GDPR, or Youtube’s ever-changing advertising criteria.
A Healthy Pinch Of Salt
I learned long ago to take negative reviews in general with a pinch of salt. In the case of negative SFM reviews I feel qualified to ignore them. I’ve made very good money as an SFM and DEA affiliate partner over the last few years. I love their approach, ethos and transparency and the global community they have created. I’ve been to a number of their regular events and have spent time with the founders and their excellent team. I’ve even been on a course held at Jay Kubassek’s home in New Jersey.
I have looked at a couple of negative SFM reviews when prospective members have asked me to. I’ve have found they have common traits: They are clearly intended to push people towards an offer of some kind; They are from ex-members who found –despite having it drummed into them constantly – that making money online is not a get rich quick thing. The latter will probably bounce from one “opportunity” to the next ad infinitum in search of the easy way (which they will never find) Often they will claim that SFM and DEA products are very expensive. Ironically they will spend much more time and money in the long run than if they had just stuck with it and done the work.
Negative SFM Reviews – The Price of Success
People come into the SFM and DEA community for several reasons. One is to learn a skill set that will help them thrive in today’s exciting but challenging digital world. That might be to improve employment possibilities or to boost an existing business online. Other’s want to buy into a ready made franchise-like internet business with a high level of support and mentorship. Many join to become part of a community dedicated to self- improvement and to acquire an entrepreneurial mindset.
Most members – and bear in mind there are now thousands of members – have a superb experience and find exactly what they were looking for. Some will discover – as we all do – that Internet marketing is a profession, not a way to get rich quick. They come to the conclusion that it’s not for them, which is fine. At least they gave it a shot and at least learned what’s actually involved. Of those though, a minority will for various reasons decide to post negative SFM reviews. C’est la vie.
My advice is to look closely at those reviews and ask a few questions. Has the reviewer actually purchased any products from SFM or DEA? I’ve seen some where the reviewer clearly states that they haven’t – how then are they in a position to offer a balanced review? Are they blatantly trying to promote another product? Only this morning I removed a comment from one of my Youtube videos about SFM, which was doing just that: “Great video!” it began followed by a link to another product.
Making An Informed Decision
As I mentioned at the top, SFM introduce themselves with a free video series. When you subscribe you are sent one video per day for 7 days. The videos explain in detail what is on offer. They outline the founder’s career paths, the history of the digital revolution and what is involved in becoming a professional Internet entrepreneur.
There are no hidden costs, no forced purchases and no commitments. You are left to judge for yourself and are clearly told what happens next should you decide to invest. If it’s for you, you are asked for an application fee of $29.95, which is refundable up to 30 days. During that period you are able to arrange a call with a dedicated SFM consultant with whom you can discuss options, costs and any questions you may have.
It is literally impossible to be “scammed” out of any monies unless you completely ignore all the information you have been given. If you do that then I’d suggest that with respect, this industry – or any business – is definitely not for you. If on the other hand you are prepared to keep an open mind (and maybe look at the many positive reviews on SFM you will also find out there) then go ahead and sign up for the video series on the link below.
