Robert G. Allen: Guru or Sham?
But that doesn't mean he's any different from the rest of them. It just means I never got around to it, and he wasn't a participant in the seminar crowd that competed against him in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, it's pretty much a given that he was the first. Or at least the most emulated. Everybody wanted to get on the bandwagon back then, and Allen was a tough but profitable act to follow on the dog-and-pony-show circuit.
What's astonishing is Robert G. Allen is still going strong today, even after filing bankruptcy in 1996. They say those who can't do teach. And plenty of dreamers, lottery players and novice real estate investors come to Allen's seminars and buy his books. I am not saying his techniques don't work; I'm saying the success rate is few and far between, plus . . . read more about Robert G. Allen.
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Comments
One thing many of the so called gurus are good at is selling stuff. as a student of marketing I have bought a lot of material over the years and I must say some is great but what I found whith Rober Allen it was all about what he could sell you next!
You’re right, Tony — these seminar guys are in the business to sell books, tapes, videos and more seminars. If they were in the business of dispensing valuable free advice, they would be a nonprofit.
That is why I love the web so much. You can network and meet others who have purchased products from so called Gurus. Then you can just purchase the best one for your application.
It is a given that they make all of their money on selling the product and idea.
The stuff they are selling they have never done.
You do have to be amazed at the amount of money they are making in the teaching arena.
More power to them. I know I have spent my fair share.
I first met Robert Allen a little over a year ago and have really grown to like him. I now consider him a true friend.
Sure I had heard all the snake oil salesman hype out there, but once I got to know him I found that he is genuine and truly loves people.
Sure, he’s a GREAT salesman, and a strong business owner, but when he approaches business I found that he did it from a view point of truly wanting to help people.
Sure, he’ll be the first to admit that he made mistakes along the way, but he learned from them. And often times the reports out there are directed to companies that have the marketing rights to the use of his name in the seminars that Robert originally taught. So they are teaching Robert Allen’s information, but they are responsible for the sale portion.
As the previous comment states, there is a lot of money in the teaching arena. That’s why Robert Allen now spends much of his time teaching people how to use their knowledge to create a living for themselves – through seminars, books, etc.
I like the others have stated have purchased many programs over the years. In 1992 I purchased a 2k program from Robert Allen. I have since acquired 3 4-plexes and a 3bd rm home. I chose to hold and manage these properties instead of the “buying and selling method”, and do receive a decent positive cash flow. The bottom line is that there are many ways, avenues to seek and obtaining information. the key is once you obtain it what you do with that knowledge. 10% is purchasing the material 20% is reading/studying 70% is taking action, and applying commonsense. I learned a great deal from his course. Life long lessons that I never did get from home or teachers or school, and I did pursue higher learning after High School.
I signed up for a mentoring program with Robert Allen and I made 600k in the first year. The naysayers are the ones who failed because they didn’t put the time in and do what they are taught. I did and now I’m a millionaire, just like he teaches others to be. The only people that have bad things to say are the ones who are looking for someone to blame for thier failures.
I have read many books of ROBERT ALLEN, and asisted to a couple of his courses. My worth is now on the 5 million. I don’t have words to express my thanks to him, for the information he put in my hands.
YES he sells his products very well… he is a seller. BUT Nš1: if we follow his advices, we have the sky as our limit. BUT NŠ2: he is “hands on”. What he teaches, he has done it.
We have 2 alternatives:
-believe and give it a try.(following exactly his How To’s)
-don’t believe and stay where we are.
The decision is yours.
I am very happy I believed… I have become very rich, not only in $$$, but ALSO in the most important things: family, friends, quality of life, etc, etc, etc.
Thank you Bob Allen, you have been my mentor throu your books & tapes.
I VOTE FOR GURU
What amazes me is that Robert Allen continues to seel his “no money down” and other ways to fund RE transactions that just don’t work in todays market. He doesn’t realy teach anything you cannot read in a RE book and provides a lot of out-dated referenes and links to banks and other financial institutes. What Robert Allen is really selling is seminars and products which he uses to get rich himself. He promises monbey back garuntee but the fine print makes it impossible to prove your point and get your money back. Also, he sells your name to other RE investment marketers, who have so many differnet names (a legal maneuver that make sit hard to sue them) and they try to sell you their products and services as well. I bought the first seminar after a “free seminar” by being covinced that I would learn all I needed to become a RE invester. At the next seminar, they suggested that I needed additional training and used high pressure sales techniques to try to get me to “buy up” tot the next level. Well, they got me but when this next more pricy serivices and seminars did not offer anything I needed (e.g. funding sources), I stopped buying. Did this stop them and the other RE marketers? No, I get at least a dozen e-mails for seminars and services each week from RA and others. One other thing to keep in mind. They claim that you have to spend money to make money and that this training is a tax write off (but of course they add a disclaimer as an after thoguht that you should check with your accountant). As it turns out, these seminars and services are not a valid tax write off for me or most people unless: 1. you are a professional RE invester (an IRA define that most beginnign investors cannot meet) and 2. after you own rental or investment property, then certain training can be tax deductible.l So, in short, I sent a lot of money, “buying up” the Robert Allen product chain; worked real hard for about 1 year trying to make RE deals using his “proven system” with no favorable results and in the end, got nothing but more debt. DO NOT BE FOOLED. IF you go to a free RA or other RE guru seminar, first, listen for the sales hooks and not so subtle sales pitches such as a “rich people take action when others don’t” or “5000.00 you will make that up in one RE transcations…how would you like to make 20,000 in 30 days?”. Then watch and count the number of people who sign up hoping for a break: 5000.00 x 10= 50,000. Not a bad take for 2 hrs of a salesman’s time. I bet they use their profits to buy RE that the rest of us cannot transact! What a scam.
Personally, I am sick and tired of the email spam from Robert G. Allen. I have never signed up with any Real Estate Investment offerings yet I get four to six email spam a day from this guy.
Furthermore – since money is only created by the creation of debt – wealth created by real estate speculation only creates debt, somewhere, for others, which has created a debt load for the average consumer that is unsustainable. Robert G. Allen cares for people? He’s an example of why we are in the financial problems facing us today!
One name. Dave Ramsey. Guru that WON’T let you down. How much is his stuff? You can listen on the radio FREE. Many things on his web site are FREE. Get is book from your local library FREE. Ready, set…GO!
I paid RG Allen $10,000 in 1995 to teach me how to be more successful in my accounting business. In the next 18 months I brought in over $2,000,000 in additional revenue. The number one thing he told me was “Use this or you have wasted $10,000″