How To Choose A Good Online Course
I frequently get asked about which online courses I like or would recommend. There are so many different online courses covering such a wide variety of topics and new ones get created all the time. So, rather than saying which courses I think are the best, here are a few critically important points to consider to help you pick the best online course for you and your needs.
What Outcome Are You Looking For?
I'm not saving the most important tip for last. This is the most important thing to consider because everything else hinges on this. Are you looking for information about some topic or are you looking to transform something in your life?
Informational Courses
I categorize all online courses into one of two categories. Some courses are informational where you learn something that you can add to your skillset. For example, learning how to run Facebook ads. Or learning how to get better at SEO. These are things where you just need more information in order to be successful.
Transformational Courses
The other category is courses that fundamentally transform your life and your business. This is the type of program that literally transforms something about you or your business. These are courses where it's not enough just to learn a new skill or a new strategy to add to your business. Instead, it is about giving you a totally new business structure.
Be Careful Not To Trick Yourself
The reason this is such a critical thing to understand before selecting the right online course is that most people tell themselves that all they need is a little nudge in the right direction. They just need to learn one more little thing and then that will change everything for them.
It's so easy to fall into this trap because you get tunnel vision. People think, “Oh, if I could just find clients with a higher budget then I'd be able to build the 6-figure business I need.” Or they think, “If I could just learn how to get people on the phone then once I'm on the phone with them I can almost always close the deal.” But the problem is that they aren't seeing the bigger picture. They are trapped in their own tunnel vision.
For example, most people I talk to will tell me that if they can just get someone into a meeting or if they get the right person on the phone then they can almost always close the deal. But the truth is, once people are on the phone they are pretty likely to work with you. Otherwise, they wouldn't have accepted the meeting. The fact that they are talking with you means they are already interested in what you have to offer. The real problem is they aren't getting enough people on the phone to begin with and that points towards a transformational shift that needs to take place.
They don't just need to learn a “cool trick” to get more calls booked. They need to fundamentally shift their marketing and probably their business structure so that they can offer something that delivers better results. When that happens, many more people want to get on the phone and talk about things. That's a fundamental, transformational shift.
The #1 Reason People Don't Get Results From Online Courses
The truth is that virtually everyone I talk to needs to fundamentally transform their marketing, their mindset, and their business structure to get the results they want for their business. It's also true that they believe that all they need is to learn a little thing and then they'll be good. This is why most people pick the wrong online course.
If you want to double your business. If you want to go from making $50,000 to making $100,000+ per year. If you want to go from $2,000 projects to landing $10,000+ clients it's going to require a fundamental transformation of your marketing, your mindset, and your business structure. Just learning one more skill or tweaking one small thing isn't going to generate large-scale results like that.
Is The Course Structured For Your Success Or Theirs?
If you sign up for the course, who is really winning? In other words, is the program designed for YOU to be successful or is it designed for them to make as much money as they can off of you?
The other day I was asked what I thought about a particular program that was supposed to help people take a skill they already had and turn that into a 6-figure coaching business. That certainly can be done, but there is a LOT involved in making that happen. For example, you have to:
- Figure out how to discover the best use of your raw skills
- Figure out how you can actually help people with those skills
- Build a marketing message around your skills to attract people who want your help
- Figure out how to attract clients
- Figure out how to talk to clients to convey your message in a way that resonates with people
- Build out some sort of architecture for delivering your course
- The list goes on and on…
There is a huge number of pieces to this puzzle. So I started asking questions to see if the course was structured for the success of the course creator or for the success of the student. Here are a few of the questions I asked and the answers I got.
Q: How many people are in the course?
A: Over 20,000
Q: Do I have access to call or talk to the course creator?
A: No. You send help tickets to their support team.
Q: What qualifications do the people on the support team have?
A: No answer
Q: Is there anyone I can talk to BEFORE I sign up to see if this is right for me?
A: No. Just read the marketing info on the website and join if you want.
Q: Are there any pre-requisites to join or can anybody sign up?
A: If you've got a credit card you can sign up.
That was enough for me to know that this particular course was primarily designed for the success of the course creator NOT the student.
Is The Program Priced For Your Success?
If the course only costs $50, how can the course creator afford to give you the support you need to really get the outcomes you need for their program? Of course, they can't. Now, if the program is just a hands-off quick tutorial that walks you through the admin panel for running Twitter Ads then maybe that's OK.
But, if you're looking to make a big change in your business then the program isn't priced for your success. The course creator needs to make sure he/she has priced in the time they will need to spend with you to make sure you get the success you need.
How Long Have They Been Practicing What They Teach?
Unfortunately, today the majority of the online courses I see are run by people who probably just took a course themselves and now they are turning around and making their own course to teach what they just learned from somebody else. This happens so often that everyone is jaded now. So, is the course you are considering just a recycled version of someone else's program? Or, do they have some genuine thoughts of their own to share and teach?
Do They Get Results?
It's one thing to claim you can help people build a 6-figure business in less than a year and land $10,000 clients. It's another thing to actually do it. So, look and see if the course you are considering actually generates real results for people.
How Much Is It Costing You To Not Take Action?
The last thing to consider is how much is it costing you if you do NOT take the course. In other words, how much is missing out on even just one client per month costing you? Even at your current rates? Most of the people I talk to usually have an average project price of at least $1,000. If you're missing out on just one $1,000 project per month that's costing you $12,000 per year!
Most of the time people tend not to think about the opportunity cost of not taking action. They only look at the price of the program because that is what is in front of them. Not taking action to fix their business actually costs far more than they think. Look at both sides of the equation so you can decide what the right move is for you.
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