This is one of the best complaints I've ever read...

First - I get Perry Marshall's free email, but I haven't bought his products nor am I an affiliate of his - nor do I condone or detract from his marketing efforts ...but I rec'd one of his emails last week (and yes it has some plugs in it) that is just amazing ...I'm going to copy and past it here, and include the link simply because it's only fair to do so (Dien/Gordon ...if you think it's too "promoting" for him then feel free to remove this and my apologies) ...

Okay - here's the complaint letter and then Perry's response:
(of if you want to go direct: http://www.perrymarshall.com/renaissance/picasso.htm)
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The Marketing Guru Dog and Pony Show: Rant from a Frustrated Estudiante

Got this rant from Joe DiSorbo, from Singapore:

From: Joe DiSorbo

To: Perry Marshall

Perry,

I find myself saying the same I was saying a year ago.

There are a bunch of tools and information out there and it looks like a jumbled mess. There is nobody actually selling results.

Let's take your recent Renaissance Club news letter for instance. Let's say I agree with you about Bullock and Livingston and I want to try their services. I can't.

The best I can do is spend $1000 on more CDs and manuals so I can spend 41 hours trying to learn something Glenn is an expert at which I never will be. Let's face it, Glenn is Glenn. It's a waste of my time to try an recreate Glenn's work (and time is the most important factor). It is like trying to copy Michaelangelo. I will never be able to replicate his work no matter how detailed his explanations. Glenn's systems works for Glenn because Glenn has a lifetime of education and experience behind it.

It's much more effective for me to hire Glenn to do it for me. However, this is not cost effective because Glenn is most likely making too much money as a marketer ($2000 an hour or something) because all the huddled masses are buying tape sets and getting no where. This puts the cost of hiring him out of reach.

Here is an example

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New York to Los Angeles

*My need is to get from NY to LA.

I see an on line advertisement in this regard and that leads me to visit a Ford dealer. They tell me I can have this great car that will take me from NY to LA in 3 days or less, in style.

I say great, I'll take one, how much are they?

Ford says "well, you can't buy the car, but for $995 we will sell you this 41 hour CD set that teaches you everything you need to know to build your own car. If you need more guidance, then for $9,995 you can come to a seminar where a guy who actually built one will tell you exactly how he did it. At the seminar you will learn everything including where to mine the iron ore used for parts, how to build a headlight, and all the other thing you need to get from New York to Los Angeles.

I say, " but I just want to buy the car. I really don't want to learn how to make the car."

And they say, "Oh, you're one of those, you want to do it the easy way. You're one of those customer that wants US to do all the work. Isn't it enough that we are telling you everything you absolutely need to know to build the car. You just don't seem to get it. How ungrateful can you be?"

I say, "I just want to get from NY to LA. That is what I want to buy. I don't want to buy the plans to build a car. I have no interest in building cars. My interest is in getting to NY."

They say "OK, we will sell you an actual car, but the price is $1,000,000".

I say "$1,000,000!, why does one car cost so much. This is a nice car but that is way too much".

They say "Because the ROI in selling the information on how to build the car is so lucrative, it doesn't make any sense for us to waste time actually building cars for people unless they pay us $1,000,000 a car. It is much easier to sell information because it doesn't have any moving parts, it doesn't break, has no warranty or guarantee, and customers keep buying it year after year."

I say, "Oh, sounds like a good business. However, it looks like I'm taking the bus. By the way, I have some land off the coast of Florida I am trying to sell, are you interested?"

They say, "No, but we have a list of people that might be".

*********

*I also want to talk about the "art" factor. The "art" factor is the one thing that is never mentioned in Internet marketing. Internet marketers disguise the art factor as systemization. Everybody acts like marketing is a system that can be replicated with the push of a button. The real truth is that the difference between the winners and losers is the art factor.

Internet marketers do not address the art factor for obvious reasons, because you cannot replicate it. It is personal.

You can give me a Picasso paint by numbers set and I can complete it, but it isn't going to sell at Sotheby's for $20 million. The same is true for Internet marketing. I can read every book or listen to every tape set on copy writing, web site design, Taguchi, or Guinea Pigs, copy it to the letter, but it still isn't going to make me a million dollars.

The thing that is going to make me a million dollars are the intangibles, the art factor.

The art factor *IS* Internet Marketing.

If you don't have the skills or time to become an artist then the next option is to hire the very best artists. That is what I am trying to do but even that is very difficult. Unfortunately, unlike in Michaelangelo's day, the artists are now very expensive and practically out of reach.

Frankly, the Internet marketing community is selling air, nobody is selling results.

I think there is way more money to be made in providing actual results to business owners than just selling air.

My challenge to you is this.

Show me a way that actually delivers measurable results to business owners and I will show you 5 times more money in your pocket than your making selling info products.

See you in Chicago.

-Joe
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For Perry's response go direct to the site (and again there's going to be plugs and stuff ... and while I still haven't bought anything from him - I've GOT to hand it to the guy for airing a fair, realistic letter and responding to it)...

Go here:

http://www.perrymarshall.com/renaissance/picasso.htm

Again, if this, with the links and stuff is agains the rules - sorry ...(I'm not Perry or anyone who promotes him, in disguise)...

KK