Does anyone out there have any info on Brad Sugars or Action Coach? The company used to be called Action International but changed their name after several folks posted complaints on www.ripoffreport.com. I recently pulled their UFOC for their franchise online at www.corp.ca.gov in which their financial statements claim their US bank account is over drawn $25,000.00. These franchises cost a bundle but people seem to buy them according to their telemarketers.
Comments
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ACMarketing said on Nov 19, 2007....
Hi Johnson
Thanks for your inquiry. My name is Jodie Shaw and I am the Director of Marketing for the company …
Firstly, I can assure you that our change of name had nothing to do with the complaints on the Rip Off Report. It was a result of close to a year of brand research.
Secondly, the ROR is built on the anonymity of the poster so there is no way of telling whether the details are true. I can say that one of the main offenders (who actually posted under several different aliases) … resulted in the person going to jail for harassment.
I do not want to spend much time on the subject - however urge you to read this http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-02-01/news/the-real-rip-off-report/
Also maybe watch this as well ...
The challenge is that The ROR doesn’t check to make sure complaints are legitimate … and every time a company posts a rebuttal, you effectively add fuel to the fire in higher organic rankings in Google. So, we as a company, largely ignore posts on this site … and let the facts about our company speak for itself.
Yes, people do buy our franchise. We have over 1000 franchisees and operate in 26 countries. We are recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one the fastest growing franchises on the planet. We are ranked in the Franchise 50 - an independent and confidential survey of our franchisee satisfaction.
Also I would ask you to consider - as part of the due diligence process, interested parties get to speak privately with our franchisees about the worth of our franchise … On average, every single business day someone buys our franchise somewhere on the planet. And every single one of those astute business people has investigated our company, our people, our value. I think that has more credence than an anonymous post.
Thanks for your question. Please visit our website and leave your details and we would be happy to send you an information pack.
Regards
Jodie Shaw
Director of Marketing
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anonymous said on Dec 11, 2007....
Dear Ms Shaw,
You are correct when you state the Ripoff Report is based on the anonymity of the poster and no one knows this better than your company who has posted negative lies against competitors.
I urge consumers to go to: http://repprotector.com/ripoff118095.html
to get the real truth about Action, not some far fetched comment that someone is in jail for spreading lies about your company.
The truth is available in court and public records and as the Ripoff Report states they have not verified the information posted on their site but the consumer can certainly use this information as a tool to uncover the truth.
I have viewed the information on ROR about Action and found based on public records much of it is true.
I viewed your UFOC financial records filed 10/04/2006 on line at:
http://www.corp.gov/caleasi/caleasi.htm and found you settled lawsuits against your company in the amount of $440,900.00 and returned $1,723,408.00 in refunds & repurchase of territories to franchisees just before you changed your company name.
I also viewed the liens and judgments against Action Executive Richard Bernstein at: http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/reorder/or_srch.htm
By running his name in the official records which included a recent lien filed against him by the Nevada District Attorney' Office.
In regards to the Action executive who served time I found his name on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website at:
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp under inmate #81824012.
I advice consumers as part of their due diligence process to speak privately with those astute business people who sued Action or received refunds for the territories they sold back to Action totaling almost 2 million dollars in 2005 alone. By law Action was required to provide their names and phone numbers in their UFOC which can be obtained at the above website under franchisees who left the system.
Once again I suggest a review by you, Action and its leaders on the following points of culture you continue to push for it seems to have been forgotten.
OWNERSHIP, INTEGRITY, COMMUNICATION, and EXCELLENCE -
Ricky111 said on Jan 06, 2008....
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anonymous said on May 10, 2008....
BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -
anonymous said on May 10, 2008....
I am one of the many individuals that lost their life savings after purchasing an ActionCoach Franchise. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't have to continue paying $1,500.00 a month for franchise fees after my franchise went belly up so I guess I am one of the fortunate few. Many ActionCoach franchisees lost their homes, retirement funds and were forced into bankrupcy to avoid paying monthly franchise fees after their franchises were no longer operating. I am not listed in their UFOC as a franchise that left the system as so many others who walked away from their franchises after financial ruin. When I inquired with ActionCoach why........ I was informed my franchise was resold therefore they were not required to disclose that my franchise was no longer operating. Although they claim they resold my fanchise I never was able to recoup any of my life savings. ActionCoach is in the business of selling training, franchises and marketing merchandise. Once they clean you out financially they have no use for you. There is little support other than a call here and there out of the blue usually to sell you something else. The coaching was a tough sell because most people in America have never heard of Brad Sugars and the ones that have can't stand him. These people were turned off by negative posts on the web from farmers he stole from in Australia and his arrogant, self promoting antics. Hopefully my experience will save just one individual from the hardship Brad Sugars has inflicted on so many all so he can buy another fancy automobile to pose in front of and brag about how rich he is. Brad Sugars is interested in getting your hard earned dollars and offering nothing more than his tarnished reputation which is worthless in America. I would not recommend this franchise to anyone. -
craighohnberger said on May 31, 2008....
My name is Craig Hohnberger and I own a master franchise with ActionCOACH. I can honestly say that it is the best decision I have ever made in business and has changed my life and the lives of my family for the better, as it has for many of our franchise owners and their clients. I have found the culture, the values, the team and the opportunity to be everything I imagined and more. It has been a very good experience for me. I have found Brad to be fair, a tough business-man to be sure, but very fair. In fact, we currently have 2 local existing clients of our franchise owners (and there are many around the world like this) who loved the coaching programs and results they achieved so much in their current businesses that they wish to invest in their own ActionCOACH franchise. Just yesterday I was at a large client event with a number of our local franchise owners, and the clients were all overjoyed by the experience and what they've learned and applied so far. That certainly would not happen if this were a scam. Unfortunately, as in any business or any industry, there will be some people who do not succeed. But, that is not a comment as to Brad Sugars or ActionCOACH or whatever specific business an individual person did not succeed in. The key is to analyze yourself, speak openly with franchisees (and ideally clients) to determine if you are someone who will do well in this type of business or not. If so, this is an incredibly rewarding business that is based on fundamental principals that work and truly help people achieve their goals. But it is business ownership and requires a commitment to personal success. Feel free to contact me personally if you wish. I am in Ohio. Craig Hohnberger 614-833-3211 (b) -
anonymous said on Jun 08, 2008....
Brad Sugars “King of turnover” he would like to tell you that turnover is about profit unfortunately its about his staff he cant keep any staff in any country he is in, his staff has turned over in the U.S. more than 10 times in seven years and its worse in his home country of Australia. The man is corrupt without morals and would take your last dime or sacrifice your family without conscience. The fact is he has no conscience the things they say about him are true check the facts as commented above they are a matter of public record. Check the one positive comment by Craig Honhberger struggling to save his own business by acting as a proxy for Brad because he is weak and intimidated. I personally know he hates the man, I know he loves the business and needs to protect his family so he will say anything. Call the other master licensees they will tell you the truth if you persist because if you buy and they lied about this they will have to face you for many years. Truth is anyone who actually really knows Brad either loathes or hates the man but they are stuck with their eggs in his basket and would tell you anything to protect their eggs. Ask for the names of all of the past Presidents of Action USA or Canada and call anyone of them you will get the truth and it won’t be pretty. I will venture to say they wont give you those names or they will try to discredit them all 5 Presidents in 7 Years, or ask Jodie Shaw who leads off this post attempting to throw the light off the facts and truth ask her how long she has been telling lies for Brad and ask her to provide the names of the four who preceded her and ask her why they all quit. Or ask Brad yourself he can be found many nights in Las Vegas with hookers on his lap at various night clubs while his wife and kids are at home waiting for him. Run far and run fast -
anonymous said on Jun 14, 2008....
It was just a matter of time until the truth about this guy surfaced. I'm sure his legal goons are in action right now to shut this site/thread down!
Proverbs 26:24-26 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
Proverbs 6:15-19 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Proverbs 24:12 If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
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anonymous said on Jun 20, 2008....
As a former franchise owner who was not successful, I have nothing but positives to say about Brad, the organization and the systems they teach. The stuff works and works well, I simply did not follow the process and decided to go back to employment. (I think I need a boss looking over my shoulder, as much as I hate to admit that). But, many of my colleagues there did very well. Brad is a brilliant man who built a great organization. He was not involved in my day-to-day business or it's success/failure.I think some of these comments are out of jealousy and/or fear of competition. -
anonymous said on Jun 20, 2008....
Started as a client, loved the results so much I became a franchise owner. Brad has done nothing but add value to people's lives with the concepts he teaches and the franchise company he built. I have nothing but kudo's to give him. -
anonymous said on Jun 24, 2008....
Came across this site while researching the business myself after being referred to it by a close friend who owns one of their franchises. My friend absolutely loves it and says the support, the tools, the systems and the culture are true to what is pitched. Said he loves his ML and the team around him is fabulous. He had owwned franchises in other industries in the past and says the support offered is far better than anything he has ever seen. That's a strong statment.Being a bit of the skeptic that I am, I've watched from the sidelines (he wanted me to join him when he started) to see how things really go, and so far he is in love with this business even more than when he started. That's why I'm now seriously looking at it too. I've even checked out the entire industry and found that every rock I turn over, these guys stand out as best in breed, hands down.btw... if there was validity to the comments here, the FTC would certainly have shut them down with how regulatory the franchise industry is, Entrepreneur Magazine would certainly not have Brad as a columnist and they would certainly not have won the awards or attracted the talent of people they have attracted. I mean, I am thoroughly impressed with the caliber of people joining this company and they would not have joined if it were some kind of scam. From my perspective it appears that they have something special and will cominate the landscape for years to come. I even went to a client group meeting and the clients are all ecstatic about the impact their programs have.If you're considering joining them, get to the inside, meet clients, meet franchise owners, etc.. They even encouraged me to meet ex-owners to understand why they didn't make it to be sure I understoeed exactly what this takes... they all said the same thing as the guy/gal above... the systems really do work, if you work them. -
anonymous said on Jun 26, 2008....
It's very cool that there is a forum like this that allows people to post anonymously! According to the site, they don't collect IP's, logs, etc so it is very useful for people who are researching. Because of this, it allows the former and disgruntled affiliates of Brad Sugars to feel comfortable, and that's very useful when people are researching. Far too often buyers only get the opportunity to talk to the seller who has an agenda. In addition, I do like to see the people who are happy posting as well (but I don't know why they would do so anonymously unless they are just being a shill, but...)
One thing that bothered me right away about Mr. Sugars and his company is his claim, which is stated in multiple areas of his website, that he stated the business coaching profession. That is clearly not the case, and was a huge turn-off for me. Does he think that people are idiots? Maybe he and Al Gore are buddies.
Another obvious turnoff is the turnover of the key people which was referenced above. Aren't these guys supposed to know how to run a business if that's what they are experts on?
One question I had that was never answered for me was "what pecentage of their franchisees who start with you renew after the five year period?" I asked several times, and got the run-around, so I am assuming it's not very good. I am particularly interested in the US numbers, since I am American.
Since the head office is obviously monitoring this blog, I would really like the answer to that question, and I'm sure others would appreciate it as well.
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anonymous said on Jun 26, 2008....
Want to get involved in a great coaching franchise with respectable people. I recommend John Grays Mars Venus Coaching. Dr Gray's franchise is built on the same foundation as his books which is honesty, integrity and family values. His name alone opens up doors worldwide and I have never heard anyone utter an unflattering comment about him or any of his top notch staff. Reputation is everything to them and they conduct themselves everyday with that as a first priority. So if your looking for a company that is trusted and not only talks the talk but walks the walk than this franchise is for you. I have heard about Brad Sugars ActionCoach and I am familar with the lawsuits against him including one pending in Nevada now. Ask yourself why the turn over in franchises, why all the lawsuits and why all the negative posts on the internet as far away as Australia. I think it is more than just jealousy. I have seen Brad Sugars ads in Entrepeneur Magazine which surely cost a small fortune to run. This tells you nothing about what his franchise's are based on. I looked at their UFOC which states they were previosly shut down in California for awhile and have had problems in other states. We all know money talks and a team of good lawyers can put a spin on anything and tie it up in court for years. I've made up my mind and all I suggest is before being taken under Brad Sugar's ether do your homework. When Tony Robbins needed a coach he didn't call Sugars he called on Dr. John Gray. People want to do business with honest, caring and skilled individuals bottom line. That is exactly what Dr. Gray and his experieced dedicated staff offer. Check them out I can assure you because I did there are no skeletons in their closets. Dr. Gray stands behind his franchises and his staff and help individuals achieve their dreams . -
goodtrygumczar said on Jun 26, 2008....
Look at two things ...Mars Venus has 9 coaches ... Action 1000Everything MV does borrows from Action - even former staff.When Dr Gray coached Anthony Robbins he coached him after his first failed marriage. If you need help in your relationship with your wife - maybe you should call MV. But given that their US President avoids child support then maybe not.Dr Gray is not involved in the business day to day and gets a commission on sale of the franchise (obviously with 9 franchisees since 2004 he is not relying on this for his sole income!). I challenge anyone to turn up to any of the offices and listed and see Dr John Gray walking the halls.Get a life! -
anonymous said on Jun 26, 2008....
Check out this lawsuit:Deboragh Hardy v Actioncoach USA IncCase Number: 2:2008cv 00803Filed: June 20, 2008Court: Nevada District CourtOffice: Las Vegas OfficeCounty: ClarkPresiding Judge: Judge Lloyd D. GeorgeNature of Suit: Civil Rights- RacismOn top of all this I guess Brad Sugar's is Racist -
anonymous said on Jul 04, 2008....
If any of these rants were true he or his company wouldn't be allowed to do business. ALL the people I've met affiliated with them are top notch.It appears that either:A) there are some very jealous, cowardly people resorting to anonymous comments trying to trash the reputation of a successful person. Or,B) competitors who have no real substance to compete on are resorting to these tactics.Get a life and make your own success. Quit worrying about someone who is obviously way more successful than you. And the guy who quoted the bible must have forgotten about the verses to love your enemies. -
anonymous said on Jul 05, 2008....
It was Rich Bernstein who built Action and he was responsible for sellingmore franchises than anyone in the company history. Read your own press release Brad Sugars. It was Rich who decided to leave because of Sugars unscrupulous and unethical way of doing business once he came out of hiding after a 5 year sabbatical on the run. The lawsuits against Sugars which are public record are a true indication of who Sugars truely is. Rich has aligned himself with Bob Beers the Senator of Nevada a hero in the community, he has aligned himself with John Gray one of the best selling authors of all time. These are caring responsible individuals that truely have the public's best interest at heart. It is Sugars who has always been jealous of Rich Bernstein and can not get over the fact that integrity is far more important to Rich than a fast buck and that is why Rich refused to sink to Sugars level and left Action the company he spent years building. Get out of America Sugars we don't want your type here. It's time you rip up your green card and go back to Australia where you belong. -
anonymous said on Jul 06, 2008....
It seems like the supporters of Mr Sugars' only defense is that he is in business and therefore he must not have done all of these things since there are laws against them. With this line of reasoning, there would be no murderers, rapists or robbers since that is also against the law. Either these lawsuits exist or they don't. Either there are a large number of former franchisees who were broken or there aren't. Most of this info should be able to be found in the UFOC (although an earlier poster obviously hints to improprieties in UFOC reporting as well.) -
anonymous said on Jul 10, 2008....
More than 1,100 franchisees would disagree with the above post. Look at:
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=D2ij_lzZCCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljQtauRfN2E
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=BkPrUmm8o1Y
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=gqYRUqLiFiE
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=i1hKSNs5Huk
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=Q6GodAA8GOA
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=RR8Y2kWlOmk
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=2r5R_LBtdu0
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=gKPB27QIsgU
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=CBR8Va1sUUw
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=9akVIFp8JIc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A291-2HXYS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf-PUUeP7TQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raDwvhoAyig
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=qxEpRuI-43Y
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=ZfFog0R3jGQ
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=dU7gn_Ai1TM
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=6i0V1nQKyvM
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=PrcUYuMQ2uU
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=rhKFY-gSy64
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=Vv_9U1F5oMM
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=ZZIfDEdji9w
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=-sS5y0_Bpy0
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=O6xzTBvNl3M
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=F3PUMJB7EyQ
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=FWJxSK5Vxi4
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=WbkOZTEj8Ks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vaPJqfvnDE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6kLlAMRE8Y
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anonymous said on Jul 10, 2008....
How about real some franchisees actually speaking for themselves? Search for "actioncoach" yourself on YouTube or Google Video. There are several videos on YouTube of ActionCOACH franchisees talking about the difference (and the money) they make.
Look at: http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5B8E723E218F8564
On that playlist, coaches from North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia explain how ActionCOACH has changed their lives and helped them change others.
Think everyone's going broke? Then what about this video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=raDwvhoAyig
And racist? In that case, it's pretty interesting that franchisees represent 26 countries all over the world. It's pretty interesting that Brad Sugars is an associate, and did presentations for Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki. It's pretty interesting that employees of ActionCOACH are from all over the world - look at the company staff: http://www.actioncoach.com/meet_team_fr.php.
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anonymous said on Jul 10, 2008....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2ij_lzZCCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljQtauRfN2E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkPrUmm8o1Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqYRUqLiFiE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hKSNs5Huk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6GodAA8GOA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR8Y2kWlOmk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r5R_LBtdu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKPB27QIsgU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBR8Va1sUUw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9akVIFp8JIc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A291-2HXYS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf-PUUeP7TQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raDwvhoAyig
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxEpRuI-43Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfFog0R3jGQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7gn_Ai1TM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i0V1nQKyvM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrcUYuMQ2uU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhKFY-gSy64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv_9U1F5oMM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZIfDEdji9w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sS5y0_Bpy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xzTBvNl3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3PUMJB7EyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWJxSK5Vxi4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbkOZTEj8Ks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vaPJqfvnDE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6kLlAMRE8Y -
anonymous said on Jul 10, 2008....
They post a bunch of videos of brand new coaches as proof that their coaches enjoy success. The one that they highlight is a guy saying that the only way to fail is to quit... not that's proof! Here is a link of every coach who has made it to the five year point. It is their own press release http://www.prlog.org/10045733-actioncoach-names-new-president-club-members.html To make it look better, they even included the names of the ML's (including their spouses) who made it. As for the franchisees themselves, there is a grand total of ten coaches listed on this press release. Two of these aren't listed any more as coaches on their website, and two of them never showed up as franchisees until the 2007 UFOC. So it appears that there are six franchisees who are still in business five years after joining this wonderful franchise. I would love to know what the success rate is, but I don't know how many franchises they sold from the beginning of the franchise (1993?) through the end of 2007. Maybe Ms Shaw can enlighten us, but so far there has only been spin rather than answers. -
JodieMShaw said on Jul 10, 2008....
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NeilSinclair said on Jul 11, 2008....
I have just come across this site and I am astonished to read what I am reading! I have been with ActionCOACH 7 years since 2001. I started as a Coach in New Zealand was very successful there and was given the opportunity to become a Master Licensee in the UK as part of our Global expansion . The ActionCOACH Business is an amazing and fantastic business to own, FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Please look at this Testimonial DVD that we recorded at our 2008 European Conference of actual coaches declaring their stories and incomes etc from their ActionCOACH Businesses;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl_ydZICsmY
I accept that there have been people come through Action whom haven't been successful. There are many reasons why people don't succeed in this business. In my own humble opinion this is mainly because of their own challenges and mindset around 'Marketing and Sales'. Some people have real challenges around dealing with their own beliefs about 'rejection' from other Business Owners. Some people for what ever reason...are simply not prepared to actually follow our Business Systems that do work very well, when the coach does! I feel genuinely sorrow for these people, we are about helping people achieve success in their life.
On a more positive note there are hundreds of ActionCOACHes and Thousands of Business Owners whom are doing very well through ActionCOACH and the testimonials on my YouTube site above clearly demonstrate this. This is a great business to be part for many reasons, not just the profit, but also the lifestyle, the personal and professional growth, the ActionCOACH Community, the travel and adventures on offer and so much more....
As for Brad Sugars - I admire, respect and love Brad immensely. He has helped me dramatically improve the lives of many people including myself, my wife and two daughters, my extended family, my clients, coaches and their families. 'Yes' Brad is demanding, yet anyone with high standards who expects the best is... I personally wouldn't want him any other way. Through my dealings with Brad Sugars, I find him a 'straight-up' guy, he tells you how he sees it and holds no punches...some people do struggle to take that message that way at times.
I am willing to openly speak with anyone whom reads this site to find out more. My name is Neil Sinclair, I am in the UK you can e-mail me neilsinclair@actioncoach.com call me on +441234392804 or skype me on neil.sinclair.liberator in the UK.
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anonymous said on Jul 12, 2008....
Just was reading through this post, and wanted to add my two cents worth as well to this from a consumers point of view. I have just started my own business not long ago and have just joined action, in the last week i have been to a couple of networking meetings with other businesses and have meet 4 other business owners with established businesses that are using action and couldnt be happier with their assistance and coaching. Two of them wished that they had got them into their business from the very beginning. So really at the end of the day it is up to the individual who takes the knowledge that action share on board and apply it to their business, and if they dont succeed then its their problem (thats my way of thinking anyway). -
anonymous said on Jul 12, 2008....
Senator Bob Beers has started a franchise with self made millionaire Rich Bernstein called Beverage Plus Inc. Beverage Plus puts out an energy drink called MC2 sure to be all the rage. Beverage Plus even sponsored the Nascar race car driven by DJ Kennington. Richard Bernstein is a leader in franchising and believes Beverage Plus Energy Drink will be the next phenomenon bigger than Red Bull. They are selling franchises across the United States including California and New York their biggest markets. They are also selling Master Licenses across the US. In regards to Brad Sugars lies about Rich if all these horrible things were true a Nevada State Senator would not get involved with Rich. The best selling author of all times John Gray would not get involved with Rich either. Brad Sugars is mad because when Bernstein walked everyone went with him including Vic Ciuffetelli, Michael Brewton, James Taylor, Laura Stephenson and even Celeste Graham. Get over it Brad your washed up and its just a matter of time before your run out of town. -
anonymous said on Jul 12, 2008....
Mike Nieman (aka anonymous of the last post)Why don't you look underAnd do a search under inmate 81824012Bernstein is a convicted felon who has served serious time in a US Federal Prison. He is a cheating, lying, thief and deadbeat ... -
anonymous said on Jul 17, 2008....
What a fascinating read!I decided to research Brad Sugars because I was looking into business coaching and bought his book. The Amazon ratings were very high so I figured it would be helpful. The book was awful! Since the ratings were so high, I went back and read the ratings themselves and learned that they were nearly all fake reviews by his company employees and franchisees. In fact, Jody Shaw must have gotten lost in her fake reviews because she actually had two reviews for the book.How unethical! So I decided to do some more research. A lot of what I found has been stated here, but there is more. Did you know that they were sued by a couple in Oregon under a racketeering charge? In the complaint, they also alleged that the intellectual property of the franchise was almost nil, and "could be obtained at little or no cost." Since the case is listed on the UFOC, they must have settled for a material amount, and I have to assume the allegations were true.Then I find this conversation which begins with Jody Shaw defending Richard Bernstein and stating that the offender of the posting in the Ripoff Report was jailed for harassment. As I read, I see that he has left, and now she emphatically states that he is a criminal. If that isn't talking out of both sides of your mouth, I don't know what is!I would imagine that most of the anonymous posts by "disinterested parties" are also Jody Shaw as this seems to be their standard operating procedure.While I am not in favor of bringing someone's personal life onto a forum like this in an earlier post, I do feel that I have seen into Brad Sugars pretty well by reading this. He seems to be a man who is willing to lie, cheat and steal his way to riches, and he employs the same kind of people.I also don't doubt that his franchisees are good and honest people for the most part. After all, they bought his words and culture, which are wonderful. He just doesn't appear to live by them himself. It is no wonder that the franchisees don't stay with the franchise as stated earlier.I don't know the truth, but I have learned in my 54 years on this earth that when there is smoke, there is usually fire.There are a lot of other business coaching franchises out there, and I may join one of them or get training by one of the other hundreds of coaching schools. But it definately will not be Mr Sugars franchise nor Mr Bernstein's. Yuck. -
Boots said on Sep 03, 2008....
It is truly amazing to me that all the negative attacks on Brad and ActionCOACH come from anonymous postings. If there was any validity to these negative smears, they would not be posted anonymously. The true information provided in this blog is clearly noted by each poster. If you actually have a fact about something negative about Brad or Action, why are you afraid to reveal yourself? I trust those posters who identify themselves and provide data to back their claims about how powerful Action really is. I challenge any of you who have something negative to say, to reveal yourself. Provide a means to contact you as other real Action Franchisees have done in this blog. I have seen the value Action brings to the market place and to the struggling small business owners of the world, and I commend Brad and all those associated with ActionCOACH to continue with this great work! -Micah -
Texansrule said on Sep 05, 2008....
I received calls from two different Action Coach recruiters in response to my resume being posted on a board. I spend about 1 hour on the phone with 1 recruiter who then set up a phone call with the Master Franchiser. When I started asking questions that did not relate to buying a franchise, but about how the franchise was operated I was told I was not a good fit. Buyer Beware as it appears they only want your money. -
Texansrule said on Sep 05, 2008....
I received calls from two different Action Coach recruiters in response to my resume being posted on a board. I spend about 1 hour on the phone with 1 recruiter who then set up a phone call with the Master Franchiser. When I started asking questions that did not relate to buying a franchise, but about how the franchise was operated I was told I was not a good fit. Buyer Beware as it appears they only want your money. Oh yeah, then they wanted me to send back their materials on "my dime". -
anonymous said on Sep 11, 2008....
The rival company and the ex-employee Rich Bernstein & Mars Venus Coaching are now be sued for stealing an innocent victims business after providing business coaching.
Case
08-A-568654-C
Status
ACTIVE
Haakonstad, Joan
Attorney
Bennion, Charles W.
Graeber, Rayner
Attorney
Allf, Nancy L.
Judge
Adair, Valerie
Dept.
21
Total of 13 entries, presently displaying 1 through 10.
Party Name Party Type Status Attorney Bar# Attorney Name Total Attorneys Answer Date Answer Type Summons Filed Summons Served Address Phone Haakonstad, Joan PRIMARY PLAINTIFF ACTIVE as of 07/31/2008 005582 Bennion, Charles W. 1 Graeber, Rayner PRIMARY DEFENDANT ACTIVE as of 07/31/2008 000128 Allf, Nancy L. 1 NV Turn-Key Financial Group PLAINTIFF ACTIVE as of 8/11/2008 000127 Ales, Barney C. 1 08/11/2008 08/06/2008 NV Drewes, Bryan DEFENDANT ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008 000128 Allf, Nancy L. 1 NV AATFM DEFENDANT ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008 000128 Allf, Nancy L. 1 08/11/2008 08/06/2008 NV Bernstein, Rich DEFENDANT ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008 000128 Allf, Nancy L. 1 08/27/2008 08/26/2008 NV Mars Venus Coaching North America DEFENDANT ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008 000128 Allf, Nancy L. 1 08/26/2008 08/19/2008 NV Mars Venus Coaching International DEFENDANT ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008 000128 Allf, Nancy L. Party Name
Party Type
Status
Attorney Bar#
Attorney Name
Total Attorneys
Answer Date
Answer Type
Summons Filed
Summons Served
Address
Phone
Haakonstad, Joan
PRIMARY PLAINTIFF
ACTIVE as of 07/31/2008
005582
Bennion, Charles W.
1
Graeber, Rayner
PRIMARY DEFENDANT
ACTIVE as of 07/31/2008
000128
Allf, Nancy L.
1
NV
Turn-Key Financial Group
PLAINTIFF
ACTIVE as of 8/11/2008
000127
Ales, Barney C.
1
08/11/2008
08/06/2008
NV
Drewes, Bryan
DEFENDANT
ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008
000128
Allf, Nancy L.
1
NV
AATFM
DEFENDANT
ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008
000128
Allf, Nancy L.
1
08/11/2008
08/06/2008
NV
Bernstein, Rich
DEFENDANT
ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008
000128
Allf, Nancy L.
1
08/27/2008
08/26/2008
NV
Mars Venus Coaching North America
DEFENDANT
ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008
000128
Allf, Nancy L.
1
08/26/2008
08/19/2008
NV
Mars Venus Coaching International
DEFENDANT
ACTIVE as of 08/19/2008
000128
Allf, Nancy L.
1
NV
This person has been to Federal Prison, been in court multiple times and has numerous court judgments against them and cases pending … so attacking Brad Sugars character online (albeit anonymously - is so ludicrous it is laughable … because we know who you are … just because you have a dubious character - don't think everyone is like you ...)
So … because he is bored and the phone is not ringing – what does he do? He goes online and starts slandering the competition and its CEO to try to scare people away.
Writing horrendous stuff online about our CEO’s wife and children is nothing short of disgusting … and shows the character of the person (and this is for you – because we know you are bored and monitoring the thread - when you go home tonight and sit across from your wife and kids – how would you feel if what you said online was said about you and involved your wife and kids?
Do unto others what you would expect done to you Rich Bernstein.
-
anonymous said on Sep 11, 2008....
The rival company and the ex-employee Rich Bernstein & Mars Venus Coaching are now be sued for stealing an innocent victims business after providing business coaching.
CASE 08-A-56864
Joan Haakonstad vs Rich Bernstein, Mars Venus Coaching North America, Mars Venus Coaching International
This person has been to Federal Prison, been in court multiple times and has numerous court judgments against them and cases pending … so attacking Brad Sugars character online (albeit anonymously - is so ludicrous it is laughable … because we know who you are … just because you have a dubious character - don't think everyone is like you ...)
So … because he is bored and the phone is not ringing – what does he do? He goes online and starts slandering the competition and its CEO to try to scare people away.
Writing horrendous stuff online about our CEO’s wife and children is nothing short of disgusting … and shows the character of the person (and this is for you Rich Bernstein – because we know you are bored and monitoring the thread - when you go home tonight and sit across from your wife and kids – how would you feel if what you said online was said about you and involved your wife and kids?
Do unto others what you would expect done to you Rich Bernstein.
-
anonymous said on Sep 29, 2008....
False accusations.
I am a former Senior Executive of ActionCoach / Action International and I can clearly state that all of Brad Sugars charges have no merrit whatsoever. These accusations were made out of spite by Action Internationals founder Brad Sugars and in the end these were summarily dismissed by the courts as they were frivolous and had no merrit. These facts were clearly stated in the judges ruling which found that Action International and Brad Sugars had no basis for a claim against them. Action International and Brad Sugars were actually penalized by the Judge in the case for bringing a frivolous action and so were charged with double court costs for bringing a case that had no substance. Brad took these actions to purposely cause harm to these individuals and there business to prevent competion in the industry that Brad would like to control.
Brads actions were malicious and meant to damage the reputation of these individuals and their staff. They were the best team in the Action World and they merely wanted to leave and to be no longer associated with Brad Sugars. They even offered to sell their Action territory at a loss back to Brad so that they could move on without retribution. Brad refused this option and blocked the sale to many others who would have wished to own the best Action Master License in the system. Time and time again these men and their staff showed that they lived and followed the principles and culture of Action International, principles that Brad had written but could not adhear to himself. I was purposely instructed to sandbag their results in an attempt to discredit them, including such actions as, taking away the Master Licencee of the year award and giving it to the second place finisher under false pretences. Ripoff reports and others were filed by Brad and his staff to further damage the reputation of these gentleman and I am aware of this as fact, and can tell you they are false.
I have now also left the employ of Action International / ActionCoach myself for many reasons including, that they are unethical and would do harm to anyone for financial gain under Brad Sugars leadership. As far as the Canadian Franchisees Brad purposly disrupted the support of the Franchisees and sale of Action Canada after also agreeing to the royalty sale, this caused direct harm to the Franchisees in Canada and was brought upon solely by Brad to cause harm to the Action Canada group, the result was a hardship on the Franchisees. Brad knew he was causing them direct harm but did not care as long as he could cause harm to the Action Canada team. Unfortunatly these men were made to be scapegoats for Brads actions and to those who do not have the facts.
I have since resigned from Action for this and many other reasons that have to do with how Brad Sugars unethically runs his business and abuses those who have invested their time, money and hearts in his companies. As far as the false reports put on this site by Brad I suggest you google all of the names mentioned, you will see that none of the names listed here have ever been listed negatively for anything other than these false reports that were filed by Brad and his associates.
Now for the true test... Google: Brad Sugars add the words (fraud) (ripoff) or various other negatives... you will see reports from Austalia, Canada, Asia, Europe, NewZealand, and the United States with accusations of frauds and ripoffs from people around the globe. Take it from me and all of the other Presidents and staff who have quit Brads companies, he is a walking fraud. -
anonymous said on Oct 02, 2008....
why all this frustration? -
bobalbin said on Oct 04, 2008....
The quote below is taken from Brad Sugars bio at www.bradsugars.com.
"My Dad decided I was going to be a businessman when he found me selling my Christmas presents to my brothers when I was only seven. The following year I’d become much smarter and worked out that if I just rented my toys to them for a day or two at a time, I got the money and the toys back afterwards."
So much for the season of sharing and giving!
I used Action Coaching for my business. Generally my experience was good and I did learn some new methods. I did feel a bit of pressure to stay on longer than I cared to and longer than my business could afford at the time. Regardless of my experience I find the above quote both revealing and troubling as to the nature of Mr. Sugars. He is evidently all about the $$$$. -
anonymous said on Oct 06, 2008....
After hearing about this site from an ex co-worker I felt maybe my experience could shed somelight on what was going on behind the scene at Actioncoach formerly known as ActionInternational. Brad Sugar's for some time was not in the company and living in Australia. I don'tthink he was truly aware of what was going on in Vegas with management. I have read the negative personal information posted about his family and found this the farthest thing from thetruth. Mr. Sugar's always put his wife and children first and spoke of them with respect andadmiration. I never observed any inappropriate behavior from him and always found that althougha shrewd business man he was cordial and above all professional. Mr. Sugar's greatest flaw wasthat he obviously did not run a background check on his management which created a horrificwork environment especially for the females. Not only I but several women were sexuallyharrassed by Rich Bernstein. We were forced to endure gross stories of his wife swappingtales and fowl disgusting remarks on his sexuality. In addition we were required to interceptphone calls and letters from debt collector's, goverment agencies and a parade of women hewas carrying on with. It is actually comical that he is now working with John Gray. I think onceyou become as successful as Mr. Sugars this kind of nonsense just comes with the territory but thefact that it is coming from someone like Rich Bernstein is just laughable because anyone who knowshim can truely say there is not one ounce of integity in this mans 5'3 inch frame. -
Throwdown said on Oct 19, 2008....
I happen to know Rich is about 5'9" and a much bigger man comparitively when it comes to integrity than is Brad Sugars. -
anonymous said on Nov 10, 2008....
I went to a Brad Sugars free seminar for business owners.
In the 2 hour presentation, he told about his golden rules for buying businsses. Rule 1 was to only buy from idiots. He then told us stories of how he managed to buy very profitable and good businesses for virtually nothing.
The seminar's purpose was to invite people, at £4,000 a time, on a course for 2,000 people in America the following year. I drew a parallel between ripping off business owners that he bought businesses from, and those who signed up for the course. I declined his kind invitation.
Another part of the seminar explained how to retire in 10 years by paying £50,000 per year and buying and remortgaging a £250,000 house house every year. A strategy that if anyone at the seminar followed, would have caused them extreme hardship by now.
I thought that on balance, the seminar was worth about what I paid. Personally I am very wary of trading with people whom I consider unethical.
Mike -
womenadvocate said on Nov 24, 2008....
If you are a women don’t buy a franchise from ActionCoach.
If you are a female and own a business don’t hire a coach
from ActionCoach. Women should not support Brad Sugars
or his franchise ActionCoach for he is a greedy chauvinistic
pig who has no respect for women. There is a long overdue pending lawsuit against ActionCoach in the Nevada District Court. The lawsuit was filed against ActionCoach because
of Brad Sugars the CEO, insulting behavior and vicious humiliating attack against a female employee. Sugars
behavior is well documented in the victim’s lawsuit. I
commend this victim for having the strength to stand up
to this despicable man for her rights. The victim was forced
to endure severe emotional distress, repeatedly informed all women were WHORES and cheated out of her commissions because she refused to give in to Brad Sugars sexual advances. The victim as part of her employment was required to accompany Brad Sugars on his US Tour but was abandoned
in Miami Florida and forced to fly home on her own dollar because the victim refused to participate in Brad Sugars
elicit behavior. Women need to stick together and not
support this behavior therefore I am requesting a boycott against Brad Sugars and ActionCoach by all women to
show our support for the victim. We don’t have to tolerate
men taking advantage of women in the work place and men like Brad Sugars have no right operating a business if they can’t obey the law.
-
anonymous said on Jan 17, 2009....
Last year I went on a coaching course by The Coaching Academy (UK) primarily to learn what coaching was about and what I could gain personally from using the principles. However I wasn't convinced that the returns were worth the investment Bronze package was £2995 as you can easily do a Life Coaching course from an accredited college for around £500. Thankfully I was unemployed and so couldn't pony up the cash. Since then I've been contacted by ActionCoach via an internet job board offering me an opportunity to join them. I've looked at the number of coaches listed in my area and in my opinion there are way too many for it to be successful. My advice is if you're interested in helping people, carefully research what personal/career/business coaching is about, identify the competition in your area, services they offer, rates etc to get a realistic idea of your expectations of generated income. If you still think this is the way to go then look for an accredited course from a recognised educational establishment and invest your money there. Why would you want to shell out thousands for a franchise to a middle man when you can market and promote your business on your own terms not theirs! -
anonymous said on Jan 31, 2009....
Every once and while I do a search to see what this "organization" is up to. this thread is over a year old and still going - Wow. I was an owner years ago and walked away becase of ZERO support, high fees, a hollow business model, intimidation, ethics violations, and a gap between practicing and preaching (just to get started). As for the Anonynous posting -- the word needs to get out about this scam. Posters have little power now that Brad has all of our money. There are some legal ramafications of sticking one's neck out -- alone. I have personal knowledge of numerous former owners that got bilked, I'm convinced that list grows all the time. I have personal knowlegde of Mr. Bernstiens antics. Not enough to do anything on my own. The reason I look once and while is to see if there has been a class action suit started. Action is sold under false pretences, lies, deciet, and unkept promises. Somehow everyone needs to pool their information, shut Brad down, and get their money back. -
anonymous said on Feb 14, 2009....
Logic Prevails.... 1) There are too many negative comments about Sugars and Action not to be true. 2) The rebuttals are coming from current employees or ML's that are trying to make a living at it. (Power to them) 3) Franchisees and ML's that left had to sign very restrictive covenants to get pennies on the dollars that would effect an aggressive reaction, thus delaying class action. 4) Historically, in the US, with this many negative responses, regardless of restrictive covenants, class action will happen. 5) Mr. Sugars is keenly aware of this. He has a couple of options. Time will tell. -
anonymous said on Feb 15, 2009....
First of all I have no clue who Sugar is, although I like in my coffee. I do not know anything of Action except I wish I had more of it. From your response, you must believe everything printed in the Weekly World News and The National Enquirer. Call me stupid but I am more inclined to believe the people who put their names to their posts. Like the tabloids it is like reading "a close source said" which is a clever way of saying - we don't know if it is true, but writing something negative or bordering on defamation is more interesting. Clark Kent PS Oh and what about the fact that once upon a time, doctors used to prescribe smoking for your health. Reading blogs might be interesting, funny sometimes - most of them are not true. Any idiot who has been online for more than a day knows that. Blogs are a person's opinion which may or may not be based on truth. Anonymous blogs are more times than not based on revenge. My advice - find out th facts for yourself using rational judgement. Rather than heeding the words of a person who may be socially inept, spineless, friendless and who finds the only way to have a voice is to be vicious - anonymously. -
anonymous said on Feb 15, 2009....
Gee...You posted anonymously. Are you inept, spineless, friendless and vicious? He who casts the first stone....... -
anonymous said on Feb 16, 2009....
Your comment: Hi, I'm Alexis Brown. I'm commenting anonymously because I don't want to register and login to this site in order to post. ActionCOACH Ranked #17 Home-Based Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine: http://www.prlog.org/10149068-actioncoach-ranked-17-home-based-franchise-by-entrepreneur-magazine.html Prestigious Stevie Award to ActionCOACH for Excellence in Business Coaching: http://www.1888pressrelease.com/prestigious-stevie-award-to-actioncoach-for-excellence-in-bu-pr-76628.html 2008 My Business Awards: http://www.mybusiness.com.au/index.php?id=285 ActionCOACH Ranked as the #103 Franchise in the US by Entrepreneur Magazine: http://newsblaze.com/story/2008121818530200002.pnw/topstory.html -
Throwdown said on Feb 16, 2009....
of ActionCOACH is defending her company. Go figure. -
Throwdown said on Feb 16, 2009....
sorry, that should have said, "The Social Media Coordinator..." -
anonymous said on Feb 16, 2009....
Alexis Brown Named Social Media Coordinator at ActionCOACH Alexis Brown drives the social media aspect of the ActionCOACH business. Las Vegas, NV, October 01, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Alexis Brown leads ActionCOACH’s in-house social media optimization initiative to leverage the company’s internet marketing. Brown has been diligently helping build the company’s community presence on professional and social media networks – including LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace – as well as website editing, developing HTML E-mail blasts and monitoring infringements of the ActionCOACH online brand. Brown also achieved the “Team Member of the Month” title in August for going beyond her job description. “Alexis has accelerated our presence on all major social media networking sites and has strengthened this initiative with great results,” ActionCOACH Director of Marketing Jodie Shaw said. “She continues to be a high performer and a great company asset.” A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies. -
anonymous said on Feb 16, 2009....
The good thing about this site is you can use the info provided and get the facts yourself. Yes Actioncoach has been sued a number of times and those cases are public record. Someone above has been kind enough to provide some of the names to search and case numbers. I've read many of the cases available online on PACER and I'll tell you it ain't pretty. You used to be able to view this companies current Disclosure documents on the Caleasi website but not anymore. They obviously do not want this to be public record therefore who's to say what you are recieving from them is an actual current UFOC with truthful information. If you get your hands on the Actioncoach franchise documents I recommend calling a few of those disgruntled individuals listed that lost their Action Franchise to get the real facts why they couldn't make a buck and then make up your own mind. Oh and aren't Social Media Directors just shills working for a company to post positive blogs under alias'. -
anonymous said on Feb 16, 2009....
Alexis Brown posts under the alias (ACSMO) for Actioncoach honking everything from Brad's books to get rich scemes.Actually, free books make a difference in more than one way, when they're online. You can take bits and pieces for what you need, when you need it, instead of going with the whole thing. My sister runs a retail business and I sent this post to her right away. She also got a lot of exercises that got both our brains going from free E-Books by Brad Sugars. His site makes them free if you register, but they're also free with no registration at: http://www.actioncoach.com/free-business-ebooks.ph ...
Really good stuff! They're more for people who are already entrepreneurs and need info on customer loyalty strategies, advertising and the like. -
anonymous said on Feb 16, 2009....
His book were written by ghost writers. He didn't actually write them. -
anonymous said on Feb 17, 2009....
Ghost writers notwitstanding, The books are plagerized and poorly written. There is nothing that BS offers as original. It's stolen from other sources repackaged as his own. For the '5 ways' just look at Jay Abraham. Plenty of the tactics are very weak and laughable.
Sure there are going to be nuggets for anyone; but understand the true nature of the books -- they are marketing materials for his overpriced coaching services. Look at amazon the reviewers are all franchisees. As for the affiliation with Robert Kiosaki - I asked Mr. Kiosaki to his face about BS and he told me he sued Brad over his copying of the Cashflow boardgame in developing Leverage.
I have first hand knowlegde of what he offers, it's a needed service for small business, what is at issue here in this thread is the business model of Action and his delivery of the service. If you want to help small businesses YOU DON'T NEED BS. You can do it on your own! Your frachise fees are for materials that you can find through other sources including the public domain. Training after the fact is absymal and they are eager to disgard poorly preformingt franchisees they just want your ongoing fees providing no support or brand recognition other than a bad name.
Anonymity. of course! BS is very litigious. he'd love to get you in court.
-
anonymous said on Feb 17, 2009....
Litigeous? BS will receive what he gives and more. It's only a matter of time. -
anonymous said on Feb 17, 2009....
we need organization -
anonymous said on Feb 17, 2009....
How would you like to do that? -
anonymous said on Feb 19, 2009....
ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNERS!!! Here is the one question you need to ask yourself if you are a business owner looking for help in your business, "Do I want a company whose primary aim is to sell franchises for the sake of one (BS in this case) or do I want someone with credentials and education that can bring me the results I am needing?" It's that simple. Regardless of whether or not Brad Sugars is a swindler is completely beside the point in this case because if I were looking for help in my business, it would not be from someone who takes anyone with cash to start a coaching business. What education and training does the business coach have? Can any of them even describe the 13 ratios needed in financial management to understand where a business might need assistance first? Did they just buy the franchise because it was promised to them a huge income, regardless of the work you perform? Through all of this I have not seen any proven results from any business owners that have used this program other than a couple that said it was great. Well what was great about it? How did it help you? If you just needed someone to point out the obvious, give you some expensive "tools" to use, and held you accountable to make the investment payoff then get some books from the bookstore and ask your wife or husband to nag you everyday to make your business successful. But if you are looking for serious assistance in getting your business up and going and then growing, a cookie-cutter program like this is not the answer. Find an organizational development consultant that has the experience and the education to back up their claims and let them assist you in your quest. Why? Because they didn't have to fork over 6 figures up front and then $1500/mo plus 5% of profits for the next five years working for this company. Talk about having to over-charge and over-stay your welcome in order to make a buck. Give me a break. A good place to start is by looking on the OD Network site or the OD Institute site to get some answers. These are people that are actually trained in all facets (still do you homework) and can apply performance management principles that were learned from experience and Master's education that have actual merit. In two years I will have my Master's in the best OD program in country and also have a certificate in Project Management and Six Sigma so that I have every tool and knowledge set available for any company in any setting. And oh by the way, I have also been a professional trainer and curriculum designer for the past five years and can apply this to any business as well. Ask any of these coaches or franchise owners what they have to back up their claims (other than tired and untrue practices from a copy cat swindler) and see if they stack up to legitimate practitioners from the sights I listed above. -
anonymous said on Feb 21, 2009....
ACTIONCOACH JUST SUCKS. THEY SUCK HARD. THEY SUCK ASS. -
anonymous said on Feb 24, 2009....
This loser Sugars is so dirty you need a bath after just looking at him. His company scams everyone including the Teamsters Local Union 542 who sued him and "WON" less than a year ago for trying to screw them over. None of these lawsuits or settlements ever make it into their Franchise Documents as required by law so their targets they sell these scams to are much easier to rip off. This Aussie crook is finally getting what is coming to him and an angry mob of people he has conned have figured out they are not alone. -
jefb3us said on Feb 24, 2009....
It just dosen't stop....I think I will pass on the whole thing! -
anonymous said on Feb 27, 2009....
All questions about the integrity of ActionCOACH or their management aside, there's a fundamental flaw in their business model that I think any prospective franchise owner ought to be aware of.
In addition to monthly royalties, franchise owners are required to pay a percentage of their earnings into a "marketing fund". This fund is used by the home office to promote the brand and bring in leads -- clients for the franchise owners, and also new prospective franchise owners.
With the global economy in the state that it's in, franchise owners are no doubt having difficulties keeping up with their royalty and marketing fund payments (assuming they haven't closed up shop entirely). As the marketing fund dries up, so do the leads. Fewer leads means less business, which means fewer payments into the fund, etc. Factor that in with the likelihood that the home office's costs per lead are likely increasing, and you have a real problem.
Any prospective franchise owner who stumbles upon this page should ask these two tough questions before committing to purchasing a franchise:
"How much money is currently in the marketing fund?"
"How much money was in the marketing fund six months ago?"
"How many franchise owners have closed up shop in the last six months?"
"What percentage of franchise owners are currently behind on royalties?"
Assuming you are able to get a straight answer to any of these questions, I'm sure the outlook won't be pretty. Remember, when you purchase a franchise, the home office has a duty to continue building the brand. The home office can't do that if the other franchise owners aren't paying.
-
anonymous said on Feb 27, 2009....
FORMER ACTIONCOACH HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER WENDY FENTON IS A CONVICTED FELON, WHO PLEAD GUILTY IN 2000 TO CHARGES RELATED TO A SCHEME TO DEFRAUD PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES.
NEWS ARTICLE AT WASHINGTONPOST.COM
WHILE AT ACTIONCOACH SHE HAD ACCESS TO CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL RECORDS, AND TO SENSITIVE INFORMATION BELONGING TO FRANCHISE OWNERS. ANYONE WHO EITHER WORKED FOR OR CONDUCTED BUSINESS WITH ACTIONCOACH IN 2008 SHOULD CHECK THEIR CREDIT REPORTS FOR FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES.
THESE ARE THE SORT OF PEOPLE THAT BRADLEY J. SUGARS KEEPS COMPANY WITH. ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE THIS MAN YOUR MONEY?
-
anonymous said on Feb 28, 2009....
I have also been researching ActionCoach a bit and just came across this blog. Opinions on ActionCoach seem very varied so rather than add to the unverifiable mud slinging from pros and antis, I would just like to point out the following: In her post above Jodie Shaw says "On average, every single business day someone buys our franchise somewhere on the planet." I don't know if that includes weekends but just imagining it doesn't, that works out at about 260 new franchisees every year. Again I don't know how long this has been going on but just supposing it was just over the last year, that means that between 2007 and 2008 ActionCoach took on 260 new franchisees. However, when you look at the ActionCoach presentation on www.entrepreneur.com it says that over the same period the total number of franchisees went from 946 to 1008, ie. a net gain of 62! Just doing some simple math it looks like for 260 new people, just under 200 others left. Now that raises some interesting questions.... -
anonymous said on Mar 01, 2009....
Anon... You've hit the mail on the head. there is a tremendous churn rate that is not reflected by the UFOC. Stats say that the chances of business success are better with a franchise than going on your own based on reporting by the franchisors. They don't report all of the failure. It is true for all franchises, they report only what is required by law and the leave out everything that can get away with. It is especially true for Action. They use every loophole to not classify a failed franchse as failed and not include it in the UFOC. If they by it back at pennies on the dollar that is a transaction not a failure. If a you walk away from it they don't report it as closed. etc.etcYou don't need BSThere needs to be more nails hammered into BS's coffin -
anonymous said on Mar 02, 2009....
Corporate motor mouth Brad Sugars is back.
That motivational speaker that managed to loose quite a few people some serious dough, is back in town, drinking and dining in some style we hear.
After clocking up a decent luncheon bill at Montrachet in Paddington with 12 mates (over $20,000 we hear) he has been splashing his cash around various eateries on the Gold Coast and tripping the coast night club scene.
It’s understood he will be heading back stateside. In some investors view, the sooner the better.
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anonymous said on Mar 09, 2009....
Wonder how he is going to be when his director of finance leaves him -
anonymous said on Mar 11, 2009....
What makes you think of that? -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
Thank you all for your comments. I have been approached by actionCOACH in the UK and needed to get some background information on them before meeting up. I had a 1 hour phone call and it is a huge amount to shell out £40k(upfront) + £17K training (upfront) + £1.5k/ month in advance so I needed to know what sort of franchise I was getting into. I don't believe everything that I read but the pointers included here has allowed me to research further before committing to a bank loan! Thank you! -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
Goodness - that is a lot of money. What are they suggesting you may be earning after a year (obviously no guarantees)? I have a little information then as to whether it would be realistic. -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
How much.... In the region of £1.5k to £4k/ month depending on how much networking you can do You are given 10 qualified leads when you start (from their telesales/ marketing dept) and you are expected to spend 2/ 3hrs per week with each. Further leads are based on testimonials, networking, referrals etc. as well as help from their telesales. I phoned the local Business Gateway and they provide coaching/ mentoring for free (but I couldn't compare the services as they hadn't heard of actionCOACH). There are 4.5m SME businesses in the UK (according to actionCOACH) so the potential is there assuming that the SMEs haven't heard about the free government services. THe jury is out..... -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
How much.... In the region of £1.5k to £4k/ month depending on how much networking you can do You are given 10 qualified leads when you start (from their telesales/ marketing dept) and you are expected to spend 2/ 3hrs per week with each. Further leads are based on testimonials, networking, referrals etc. as well as help from their telesales. I phoned the local Business Gateway and they provide coaching/ mentoring for free (but I couldn't compare the services as they hadn't heard of actionCOACH). There are 4.5m SME businesses in the UK (according to actionCOACH) so the potential is there assuming that the SMEs haven't heard about the free government services. THe jury is out..... -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
How much.... In the region of £1.5k to £4k/ month depending on how much networking you can do You are given 10 qualified leads when you start (from their telesales/ marketing dept) and you are expected to spend 2/ 3hrs per week with each. Further leads are based on testimonials, networking, referrals etc. as well as help from their telesales. I phoned the local Business Gateway and they provide coaching/ mentoring for free (but I couldn't compare the services as they hadn't heard of actionCOACH). There are 4.5m SME businesses in the UK (according to actionCOACH) so the potential is there assuming that the SMEs haven't heard about the free government services. THe jury is out..... -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
How much.... In the region of £1.5k to £4k/ month depending on how much networking you can do You are given 10 qualified leads when you start (from their telesales/ marketing dept) and you are expected to spend 2/ 3hrs per week with each. Further leads are based on testimonials, networking, referrals etc. as well as help from their telesales. I phoned the local Business Gateway and they provide coaching/ mentoring for free (but I couldn't compare the services as they hadn't heard of actionCOACH). There are 4.5m SME businesses in the UK (according to actionCOACH) so the potential is there assuming that the SMEs haven't heard about the free government services. THe jury is out..... -
anonymous said on Mar 12, 2009....
OK - so after 12 months, you could be turning over between 18K and 48K per year. I have an action coach, he has been a franchisee for about 15 months and accidentally sent me some of his internal information! He has half a dozen clients paying between £500 and about £1K per month each. It is entirely reasonable that the top line figure of £1.5K to £4K per month is therefore achievable. What I will say is that our action coach is very much into it all - extremely enthusiastic and has embraced the action brand 100%. I think he will be successful because of this but I strongly suspect that if you are not like him, you would very much struggle. The qualified leads thing is interesting - I know how much all coaches seem to charge - about £200 per hour roughly. The cold caller did not say this in the original call - my coach, following up the initial cold call mentioned it at the end of our call. It does in fact work out around that figure - this may put a lot of people off. I strongly suspect that you will need an ongoing supply of leads - to account for churn. If you are left to your own "networking" after the initial 10 leads, then I personally wouldn't touch it, after all, what is the ongoing £1.5K for? Remember that you will be competing to an extent with other franchisees in your area (you don't seem to get exclusivity) and my cynical nature suggests that it would suit Action better to have a good churn of franchises paying out the initial £57K. I personally think the actionCOACH programme is good to an extent, although I will judge our £1,000 per month company outlay after 6 months and it is in the balance at the moment (2 months in). However I wouldn't trust Brad Sugars one millimetre after attending a seminar of his. Hope that helps! -
SoulCastAdmin said on Mar 15, 2009....
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anonymous said on Mar 27, 2009....
I am a former employee of the company when it was called Action International. I happen to know for a fact that "Brad" did nothing more than "copy and paste" from other individuals such as Dale Carnige, Robert Kyosaki, and more. That's just his lame books. As far as the franchise system, when I joined the team, there were only 5 franchise units in the Unites States. 3 of them were inactive and suing Brad. It was myself and the other 2 executives that actually put together the training material for new franchises, and attempted to add "meat" to his meatless diet of nonsense. The entire system is nothing more than hype, and if you know NOTHING about owning a business, then you can learn from his coaches, but you would learn more by reading the books he ripped off, such as " E-myth", "Rich Dad Poor Dad", " How to win friends and influence people", " Selling the Invisible" and more. In fact, Brad made it a point to make these books "required reading" for his franchise owners, forcing them to buy the books from the corporate office in their training kits. I also happen to know for a fact that at least ONE of his former presidents was payed almost half a million dollars to leave the system and keep his mouth shut about the antics that Brad had pulled, including hiding over 250,000 from his shareholders so he wouldnt have to pay them dividends. Do some research to see who the primary share holders were in the year 2000 and look to see what happened to them. Where are they now? Brad's UFOC is almost completely fabricated, and if the FTC took a closer look, Brad would be in jail right now. I happen to know for a fact that there were sales made in california when the UFOC was not even registered in that state. Those franchisee's demanded their money back, and seemingly "disappeared" from the UFOC completely. Brad Sugars is nothing more than a scam artist and a crook. I wouldnt piss on him if he was on fire. And by the way, he really DOES leave his wife and kid at home while he's off at the strip club spending the money that other people worked so hard to steal for him ~~!!!!!! -
anonymous said on Mar 30, 2009....
The post by "SoulCastAdmin" is fishy at best. That user has no profile or other posts. Instead check out user "soulcast". It's meant as a scare tactic and to stop the conversation.The terms of service are available for all to see and for the truly corrupt to distort for their own purposes. It's called fraud. I'm sure that Brad and his henchmen fabricated this post. It has his deceptive MO all over it; smoke and mirrors. If you get involved with Action expect the same tactics. -
anonymous said on Mar 30, 2009....
On a more interesting note ActionCOACH's CFO's last day was Friday, 03-27-09. -
anonymous said on Mar 30, 2009....
Time for a class action on ACTION -
anonymous said on Mar 31, 2009....
The user "SoulCastAdmin" is user #1823 and was created on 15-May by an ActionCOACH employee -- most likely either by Jodie Shaw or Jason Cooksey.
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anonymous said on Mar 31, 2009....
There are a lot of affirmations on this blog coming from people who present themselves as former Action employees. If this were the case they should have learnt that "The Answers are in the Questions..."Well for those of you who are considering purchase of an Action franchise, here are a few questions you might like to ask whoever you're talking to:1) What percentage of the franchisees make it to the end of their 1st contract?2) Of this percentage, how many sign on again?3) What percentage of the M.L.'s team is grossing more than 12k$/month?4) What percentage is grossing less than 6k$/month?5) How long has the M.L. been with Action?6) Over that period how many franchisees has he/she recruited and how many are still operating?7) Overall, since Action has been operating in the U.S. since the year 2000, how come so many of the franchisees have been in the system for less than 2 years?If you don't get straight answers to these questions maybe you should start asking yourself a few questions....P.S. Guys like Pat Coan, Craig Hohnberger, Kevin Alft, Jeff Weisman, Michael Feinner, Don Schin & Lee Huffman have been around for long enough to really know the story.P.P.S How much does a good executive MBA cost compared with the Action franchise + 1 to 2 years fixed monthly royalties? -
anonymous said on Mar 31, 2009....
Good questions, and lot's of luck getting answers. Is it possible to get straight answers is the question. Posts here show that the official UFOC has enough loopholes in it that it's not to be trusted. And to trust who came up with it? Anyone is better off not wasting their time with Action.To the P.S.Sure these guys know what's going on but remember they have a vested financial interest in getting you to buy a franchise. All of the intitial franchise fees goes to the ML. They are the salesmen for Franchises.To The P.P.S.Comparing an Exceutive MBA to Action is like comparing apples and oranges. The comparison should be the cost of Action vs the cost of buying the books that Brad plagerized. Action has no accreditation and is laughed at by legitimate coaching schools and programs. -
anonymous said on Mar 31, 2009....
this is a bunch of crap if any of it were true, they'd be out of business wouldn't have a FDD registered, wouldn't have won tons of awards and accolades, wouldn't have the chairman as a featured author on entrpreneur.com ,etc...and anyone that knows anything about franchising knows that in the early years there is lots of turnover as the zor figures out what the heck they're doing, action went thru that period like all do.bottom line, they have more $, more infrastructure, more experience than anyone else in their space and are so far ahead, they'll never be caught. The rest may not even make it out of this recession.it's probably some former ee or a competitor trying to trash them - at least they don't resort to tactics like that -
Anonymousguy said on Mar 31, 2009....
blah -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
"and anyone that knows anything about franchising knows that in the early years there is lots of turnover as the zor figures out what the heck they're doing, action went thru that period like all do." To anom 2 post above (or, maybe another Action "cybertrooper".) : The figuring out about a franchise system, ie, a business model that works, as preached by Action itself, should be taking place BEFORE a single franchise is ever sold, that is why it's called a franchise. What is described in your post above, if that is the perception of a Franchisor, ie, sell a non-proven system and use other people's money to work out the kinks, is exactly the reason why Actioncoach should be banned if it is true. How can anyone justify lots of turnover in the earlier years as ok and acceptable, it is NOT, it should be done using THEIR OWN MONEY and their own outlets BEFORE they sell a single franchise, this applies to every franchise, not just Actioncoach. If anom above is really a 'cybertroop' for action, it sadly confirms all the posts here and it reflects how low they are willing to sink. Someone should gather all failed franchisees and start a class action suit now. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
Looking at the third last post above, it looks yet again like someone from Action H.Q. feels the need to make an anonymous post...
Anyway an obvious reaction to all of that is simply to point to recent events with people like Bernard Madoff and Robert Stanford. Until they were exposed for what they really were, they were also "highly admired" public figures and, in spite of several investigations, even the SEC failed to find anything wrong with Madoffs operation.
While Brad Sugars doesn't seem to have succeeded in scaling quite the same heights (but he’s still a young man!), there are some obvious similarities - massive front loading on franchise fees and absolutely no transparency around either his business structure (see extract from UFOC below) or average franchisee performance. The Action franchise has many of the attributes of a pyramid scheme and when its FIRM model is added to the picture the parallel is even more obvious…
Extract from UFOC
ACUI (ActionCoach United States Inc) is a member of a controlled group of companies owned by Mr. Sugars. Action International Pty Ltd ( AIPL ) was incorporated in Australia in 1994 to develop the business, and offered franchises in Australia using the Action International marks from January 1995 until December 2006. Its address is Australia Fair Tower, Level 11, Suite 2, 32 Mains Parade, Southport, Queensland 4215, Australia. ACTIONCOACH LIMITED ( ActionCOACH Limited ) owns the ActionCOACH marks and other intellectual property relating to the ActionCOACH system, and has licensed them to MindRich S.A.R.L. ( MindRich ). ActionCOACH Limited and MindRich were incorporated in 2006 in the British Virgin Islands and Luxembourg, respectively. The principal business address of both entities is 124 Boulevard de la Petrusse, L-2330 Luxembourg. ACUI operates in the U.S.A. under license from MindRich. Other companies in the group engage in the same business activity in other regions of the world.
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Abelinc2009 said on Apr 01, 2009....
Those of you reading this blog should also have a look at the following post: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/383/RipOff0383890.htmI am actually a franchisee of ActionCOACH and am considered within the franchise to be quite successful. However, I agree with the other report on Brad Sugars and Actioncoach by the former franchisee from Las Vegas (although he sounds a bit more bitter about his relationship with action). Brad is, in my opinion, an incredibly greedy man who is willing to say anything to anyone for the right price. It has become clear to me and many of the other coaches in Action that Brad is constantly only looking out to make more money for himself, with little concern what it might cost others. He does have an extensively bad reputation, from what I read and understand, in both Australia and the US already, that seems hard for him to shake due to the internet following him around.
But Brad aside, my main concern is that I have seen time and again Actioncoach convince people to buy this franchise who are clearly not well suited to do this. Being successful in this business takes a very unique personality, level of confidence, work ethic, and background. I just spoke to a gentleman about 2 weeks ago who bought into this franchise then was sold into the idea of buying a 'firm'- a model that actioncoach has yet to see work profitably on anything resembling a consistent basis. He has now spent $300,000 from his retirement savings and is broke. The turn over rate for this franchise is alarming. I went to training with about 30 or 40 people and to my knowledge most of them are now gone- not one having successfully resold their franchise, most of them just run out of money.
Action also has a weird culture that seems to cause a great deal of fear of reprisal. It seems coaches are afraid of Brad, perhaps because he's constantly talking about how many millions of dollars he has. It's also driven into us that we must remain 'Above the Line', which means any time anyone comes up with anything that's less than glowing about Actioncoach they're quickly retorted with 'Hey, stay above the line buddy'.
Actioncoach also collects a monthly 5% 'marketing fund' royalty that never seems to develop any leads for any actioncoaches. Because of the legal language written into our franchise agreements it's very hard to make any headway when discussing this because they've included language that states they can basically use it how they see fit with no accountability to where it's going. This in my opinion is a way for Action to basically steal 5% of our revenues and there's seemingly nothing we coaches can do about it.
I will say there are many very, very good and talented people within action who are very, very good at helping business owners grow their companies. I consider myself one of them. But most who fall into this category I believe would be very successful without being part of actioncoach. I think some people are just good at being successful and it happens that they, and I, chose to join actioncoach as a vehicle to do the work we wanted to do. But since joining I've learned that most of the information that I thought was Brad Sugars' ideas was actually someone else's, Brad just decides to use them as his own. I've found most of what I thought was Brad's IP by reading and listening to Brian Tracy, who I'm pretty sure did not steal anything from Brad, if he's ever really even heard of Brad other than being paid to speak at one of his conferences.
Overall, I think actioncoach is a company that is led by a very dishonest man who, in my opinion, will never change because he's an egomaniac. I think he created and cultivates a culture of greed by some involved with actioncoach. I think it is, though, also made up of business coaches who are mostly good, honest, hard working people who honestly want to help business owners do better. I do regret buying my franchise because of the culture brad promotes and because it is clear brad and the other leaders don't really care about people- they care about money. That's not attractive to me.
I write this at the risk of potential future clients reading it. Again, I want to emphasize that my remarks have nothing to do with certain coaches' abilities to help business owners achieve their goals, but about actioncoach itself and its inner workings.
Anonymous
Las Vegas, Nevada
U.S.A. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
Those of you reading this blog should also have a look at the following post: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/383/RipOff0383890.htmI am actually a franchisee of ActionCOACH and am considered within the franchise to be quite successful. However, I agree with the other report on Brad Sugars and Actioncoach by the former franchisee from Las Vegas (although he sounds a bit more bitter about his relationship with action). Brad is, in my opinion, an incredibly greedy man who is willing to say anything to anyone for the right price. It has become clear to me and many of the other coaches in Action that Brad is constantly only looking out to make more money for himself, with little concern what it might cost others. He does have an extensively bad reputation, from what I read and understand, in both Australia and the US already, that seems hard for him to shake due to the internet following him around.
But Brad aside, my main concern is that I have seen time and again Actioncoach convince people to buy this franchise who are clearly not well suited to do this. Being successful in this business takes a very unique personality, level of confidence, work ethic, and background. I just spoke to a gentleman about 2 weeks ago who bought into this franchise then was sold into the idea of buying a 'firm'- a model that actioncoach has yet to see work profitably on anything resembling a consistent basis. He has now spent $300,000 from his retirement savings and is broke. The turn over rate for this franchise is alarming. I went to training with about 30 or 40 people and to my knowledge most of them are now gone- not one having successfully resold their franchise, most of them just run out of money.
Action also has a weird culture that seems to cause a great deal of fear of reprisal. It seems coaches are afraid of Brad, perhaps because he's constantly talking about how many millions of dollars he has. It's also driven into us that we must remain 'Above the Line', which means any time anyone comes up with anything that's less than glowing about Actioncoach they're quickly retorted with 'Hey, stay above the line buddy'.
Actioncoach also collects a monthly 5% 'marketing fund' royalty that never seems to develop any leads for any actioncoaches. Because of the legal language written into our franchise agreements it's very hard to make any headway when discussing this because they've included language that states they can basically use it how they see fit with no accountability to where it's going. This in my opinion is a way for Action to basically steal 5% of our revenues and there's seemingly nothing we coaches can do about it.
I will say there are many very, very good and talented people within action who are very, very good at helping business owners grow their companies. I consider myself one of them. But most who fall into this category I believe would be very successful without being part of actioncoach. I think some people are just good at being successful and it happens that they, and I, chose to join actioncoach as a vehicle to do the work we wanted to do. But since joining I've learned that most of the information that I thought was Brad Sugars' ideas was actually someone else's, Brad just decides to use them as his own. I've found most of what I thought was Brad's IP by reading and listening to Brian Tracy, who I'm pretty sure did not steal anything from Brad, if he's ever really even heard of Brad other than being paid to speak at one of his conferences.
Overall, I think actioncoach is a company that is led by a very dishonest man who, in my opinion, will never change because he's an egomaniac. I think he created and cultivates a culture of greed by some involved with actioncoach. I think it is, though, also made up of business coaches who are mostly good, honest, hard working people who honestly want to help business owners do better. I do regret buying my franchise because of the culture brad promotes and because it is clear brad and the other leaders don't really care about people- they care about money. That's not attractive to me.
I write this at the risk of potential future clients reading it. Again, I want to emphasize that my remarks have nothing to do with certain coaches' abilities to help business owners achieve their goals, but about actioncoach itself and its inner workings.
Anonymous
Las Vegas, Nevada
U.S.A. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
As a client I find this thread is very disturbing. My action coach asked me to share some thoughts, A couple of points:
1. Franchisors do regularly go out of business and struggle in their early years, so the post above that suggested that was accurate. My business is also a franchise and the zor may be out of business soon, especially with this recession. My uncle owned (and failed in) a Mcdonalds franchise back in the 60's when they were newer and blazing a trail.
2. Their systems work! I've had a number of various coaches and consultants in the past with no real measurable difference until my action coach. He is a strong guy, but claims the systems and training and support make all the difference. btw - I've seen just how much support he gets and it far surpasses anything I've seen in the franhise world.
3. The founder does have some ego. I've not met him personally, but was at a seminar he did awhile back. In my mind, he deserves to as he has achieved an awful lot for a young guy. That said, a friend of mone went to his bootcamp in Vegas and loved it. Said the stuff is brilliant.
4. All the great speakers, thinkers, etc.. borrow and take information from each other and put their own unique spin on it. He's no different. If he were copying it, he'd no doubt be sued for IP infringment by now.
5. It's obvioulsy a bitter disugruntled jealous soul who is behind all of this trash on this site. My coach even told me there isn't a coach who is considered quite successful in the Vegas area so the post above this from Abelinc2009 is just another lie.
6. for giggles I looke up the politicians I voted for, the celebrities I really like, the business people I admire (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc..) as well as some of the former large companies I worked for (Fortune 200) and all have anonymous trash talkers out there. Too bad Americans who can't be successful think the only way to feel better about themselves is to try to tear down others. funny thing is it won't work.
I've met almost 7-8 coaches now and several dozen other clients and it's a great company with a great culture, great people overall and a really good system - there stuff actually works!
So, don't believe all the BS above. That's all it is.
Adios.
-
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
As a client I find this thread is very disturbing. My action coach asked me to share some thoughts, A couple of points:
1. Franchisors do regularly go out of business and struggle in their early years, so the post above that suggested that was accurate. My business is also a franchise and the zor may be out of business soon, especially with this recession. My uncle owned (and failed in) a Mcdonalds franchise back in the 60's when they were newer and blazing a trail.
2. Their systems work! I've had a number of various coaches and consultants in the past with no real measurable difference until my action coach. He is a strong guy, but claims the systems and training and support make all the difference. btw - I've seen just how much support he gets and it far surpasses anything I've seen in the franhise world.
3. The founder does have some ego. I've not met him personally, but was at a seminar he did awhile back. In my mind, he deserves to as he has achieved an awful lot for a young guy. That said, a friend of mone went to his bootcamp in Vegas and loved it. Said the stuff is brilliant.
4. All the great speakers, thinkers, etc.. borrow and take information from each other and put their own unique spin on it. He's no different. If he were copying it, he'd no doubt be sued for IP infringment by now.
5. It's obvioulsy a bitter disugruntled jealous soul who is behind all of this trash on this site. My coach even told me there isn't a coach who is considered quite successful in the Vegas area so the post above this from Abelinc2009 is just another lie.
6. for giggles I looke up the politicians I voted for, the celebrities I really like, the business people I admire (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc..) as well as some of the former large companies I worked for (Fortune 200) and all have anonymous trash talkers out there. Too bad Americans who can't be successful think the only way to feel better about themselves is to try to tear down others. funny thing is it won't work.
I've met almost 7-8 coaches now and several dozen other clients and it's a great company with a great culture, great people overall and a really good system - there stuff actually works!
So, don't believe all the BS above. That's all it is.
Adios.
-
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
As a client I find this thread is very disturbing. My action coach asked me to share some thoughts, A couple of points:
1. Franchisors do regularly go out of business and struggle in their early years, so the post above that suggested that was accurate. My business is also a franchise and the zor may be out of business soon, especially with this recession. My uncle owned (and failed in) a Mcdonalds franchise back in the 60's when they were newer and blazing a trail.
2. Their systems work! I've had a number of various coaches and consultants in the past with no real measurable difference until my action coach. He is a strong guy, but claims the systems and training and support make all the difference. btw - I've seen just how much support he gets and it far surpasses anything I've seen in the franhise world.
3. The founder does have some ego. I've not met him personally, but was at a seminar he did awhile back. In my mind, he deserves to as he has achieved an awful lot for a young guy. That said, a friend of mone went to his bootcamp in Vegas and loved it. Said the stuff is brilliant.
4. All the great speakers, thinkers, etc.. borrow and take information from each other and put their own unique spin on it. He's no different. If he were copying it, he'd no doubt be sued for IP infringment by now.
5. It's obvioulsy a bitter disugruntled jealous soul who is behind all of this trash on this site. My coach even told me there isn't a coach who is considered quite successful in the Vegas area so the post above this from Abelinc2009 is just another lie.
6. for giggles I looke up the politicians I voted for, the celebrities I really like, the business people I admire (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc..) as well as some of the former large companies I worked for (Fortune 200) and all have anonymous trash talkers out there. Too bad Americans who can't be successful think the only way to feel better about themselves is to try to tear down others. funny thing is it won't work.
I've met almost 7-8 coaches now and several dozen other clients and it's a great company with a great culture, great people overall and a really good system - there stuff actually works!
So, don't believe all the BS above. That's all it is.
Adios.
-
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
As a client I find this thread is very disturbing. My action coach asked me to share some thoughts, A couple of points:
1. Franchisors do regularly go out of business and struggle in their early years, so the post above that suggested that was accurate. My business is also a franchise and the zor may be out of business soon, especially with this recession. My uncle owned (and failed in) a Mcdonalds franchise back in the 60's when they were newer and blazing a trail.
2. Their systems work! I've had a number of various coaches and consultants in the past with no real measurable difference until my action coach. He is a strong guy, but claims the systems and training and support make all the difference. btw - I've seen just how much support he gets and it far surpasses anything I've seen in the franhise world.
3. The founder does have some ego. I've not met him personally, but was at a seminar he did awhile back. In my mind, he deserves to as he has achieved an awful lot for a young guy. That said, a friend of mone went to his bootcamp in Vegas and loved it. Said the stuff is brilliant.
4. All the great speakers, thinkers, etc.. borrow and take information from each other and put their own unique spin on it. He's no different. If he were copying it, he'd no doubt be sued for IP infringment by now.
5. It's obvioulsy a bitter disugruntled jealous soul who is behind all of this trash on this site. My coach even told me there isn't a coach who is considered quite successful in the Vegas area so the post above this from Abelinc2009 is just another lie.
6. for giggles I looke up the politicians I voted for, the celebrities I really like, the business people I admire (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc..) as well as some of the former large companies I worked for (Fortune 200) and all have anonymous trash talkers out there. Too bad Americans who can't be successful think the only way to feel better about themselves is to try to tear down others. funny thing is it won't work.
I've met almost 7-8 coaches now and several dozen other clients and it's a great company with a great culture, great people overall and a really good system - there stuff actually works!
So, don't believe all the BS above. That's all it is.
Adios.
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anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
I love the company and everything about them. They've done so much good for the world and I even put my brother in law from Indonesia onto them and he is now a coach. He loves it and is saving many people's businesses. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
As a franchise attorney, I was doing some research on the company for a client who is looking at this franchise and my client wanted my honest opinion of this site and other research I could dig up, and I thought I might as well add a few comments here for anyone who may be looking.I personally find the owner to be a bit egocentric, however, as some of the posts above suggest, maybe he deserves to be. I do know that there are many an attorney who are more egocentric than he is. And, most if not all of the big-name success experts (Tony Robbins and the like) are as well.I find the FDD and legal history to actually be rather clean for a franchise like this. I did the research (that is what I am paid to do) and can't find anything that is not documented as it should be.The business model appears to be quite sound and I even have some attorney friends in another state who actually received CPE credits for participation in a program they did and they were extremely impressed.The Canadian situation is dis-heartening as it appears the former ML's from Canada started a competing business by selling off the future royalty stream to fund that business start-up and got away with not violating their non-competes by starting in the U.S., not Canada. Smart and shrewd on their end, but very unethical to say the least. If I were representing a Canadian franchise owner, I would suggest starting a class-action against their former ML's.The accusations of alleged stealing of other people's information is as some of the posters suggest, not an issue. I've reviewed the material thoroughly and yest there is overlap, but it is packaged in his own way with his own unique stuff as well. No different than, again as mentioned by some posters, any of the other great success experts who borrow from each other all the time.The interesting thing about this system is it actually works. I researched the other coaching organizations and most if not all have little to no infrastructure; many were started by an author who is now trying to build a franchise around it whereas Sugars started as a coach then franchised, and only then became an author. Several current coaching systems are re-started from the ashes of former organizations that already failed. Chances are they will fail too.It is true that many new franchise systems struggle in the early years and many go out of business. The poster who suggests that before the first unit is sold it should be perfected is living in a dream world. Franchise systems first perfect a unit then they have to perfect the duplicatability of that unit (which means trailing it on thier first franchise owners) and then perfect the recruitment, training and support to be able to support the growth of many many more units over time. That is a tough process and many who have a good business to start with really don't have something that can be duplicated, especially in a service-based organization like this one. In fact, in a service-based (non-commodity) type business like this one, I would venture to guess it takes hundreds of franchise owners to start getting some true duplicatability. To think that Sugars has buit something that has proven to be able to do that is quite remarkable actually.The agreements seem to be fairly boilerplate and the support adn training offered is quite a bit more robust than I have seen in other franchise systems. Probably because they've learned over the years what it really takes and they obviously have some deep pockets to fund it and the infrastructure to deliver it.I sum, I find it to be a good system and am raising no big red flags in regards to his pending purchase. I have also advised him that, as in any franchise system, the system cannot guarantee success, it is his own business and he has to use and follwo the prescribed process and work hard. Especially in a service based business like this one.Good luck to all who are considering this business.BTW - don't let people like the few who are trying to spread hatred like above scare you away. Actual due diligence with clients and franchise owners (and former franchise owners) will give you real information and a real sense of the culture which seems very unique in this case. As you do your due diligence determine in your own mind who you are most like, those that have succeeded or those who have failed. If you are most like those who have succeeded, then go ahead and continue with the investment. In my experience, in all successful franchise systems, those that fail either would have failed in any business or just didn't follow their systems. In newer franchise systems many more will fail early on that would not otherwise have failed later. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
If this were not intrinsically serious it would be frankly hilarious....I can understand why some people with griefs against Action and Brad Sugars in particular might spend time on this blog but the last three anonymous posts coming from people who spontaneously rise to their defense , all in less than one hour, is just too much....
Hey ActionCoach, we all know there are some really good people within the organisation but that's not the point. The point is that you are selling a franchise with very little serious content for a load of money and at the end of the road there are far more failures and broken lives than successes. If this is not the truth, rather than publishing ridiculous posts like the last three why not simply publish some figures which answer the questions raised in one of the above posts:1) What percentage of the franchisees make it to the end of their 1st contract?
2) Of this percentage, how many sign on again?
3) What percentage of the M.L.'s team is grossing more than 12k$/month?
4) What percentage is grossing less than 6k$/month?
5) How long has the M.L. been with Action?
6) Over that period how many franchisees has he/she recruited and how many are still operating?
7) Overall, since Action has been operating in the U.S. since the year 2000, how come so many of the franchisees have been in the system for less than 2 years? -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
Anyone considering a class action against ActionCOACH should know that ActionCOACH general council Jason Cooksey is not admitted to the Nevada State Bar Association. The argument could be made that "privileged" communications between Mr. Cooksey and ActionCOACH executives, employees, and franchise owners might not be privileged afterall. That could make for an exciting discovery process.
Isn't THAT interesting?
But you're dumb if you trust an anonymous post on the Internet. Go ask your attorney what he/she thinks!
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anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
I was lucky and got out early. DO NOT become associated with this company. People of integrity expect to be believed and when they are not, they let time prove them right. Time has proved that this company has no integrity. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
This company is such a joke. The post above from the "Attorney" is under anonymous which you would have to be brain dead to fall for that BS because no legitimate attorney would recommend a franchise to somebody that has been sued numerous times for fraud, slander, racketeering, sexual harrassment and failing to pay debts. The State of California even issued an order preventing Action to sell franchises in the State for several years. Brad Sugars hires convicted felon's because what better way to rip you off than to hire a career criminal to do his dirty work. Many of these issues don't even make it into their UFOC which they are required to disclose. This would entitle anyone who purchased a franchise under false pretenses to get their money back. Brad Sugars is a liar and a theif. He is the scum of the earth and the fact that he is living it up with private planes, fancy cars and several mansions around the world after stealing from hard working honest individuals is horrible. He is one CEO that should be outed. I suggest all comments be forwarded to 60 minutes, 20/20 or other news networks to get the word out about Brad Sugars just another cruel, greedy, arrogant CEO out to take advantage of innocent victims and destroy our economy further. I'd like to hear from Brad Sugars himself maybe he can answer some of the blogs above rather than getting his employees to answer anonymously posing as attorney's or clients. I guess we'll all have to wait until he's chased down probably at one of those strip joints by a camera before he's confronted to answer for all the heartache he's caused. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
I just can't believe the fools trying to save face here. There are some excellent people in Action Coach that is not disputed. The people make the difference in thier clients businesses NOT THE SYSTEM (or lack of a system). Action administration has no contact with the clients. If the current franchises lost Brad and ActionCoach they would still be good coaches.Trying to defend posing as a soulcast administrator? Explain how fraud is an Action tactic Mr. Lawyer. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
There is a tremendous amount of information on this page. Some of it valid, some of it BS. If you want to know what ActionCOACH is really like from the point of view of a franchise owner, there's no better way to find out than to ask a coach. Here are a couple of referrals to start with:
Dominick F. Mills, Esq. of Palmdale, CA
Patrice Lynn of Spokane, WA
You can find their contact information through Google. I'm sure both of them would be happy to speak to any prospective franchise owner about their experiences with ActionCOACH.
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anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
I'm sure there are great people working in the AC company. But, like AIG it's the nutjobs at the top that screw things up. -
anonymous said on Apr 01, 2009....
Former Employee here again. I just HAD to respond. Of all the posts on here defending the system, there are 2 I find the most amusing. First, the Jackass that used the word "accolades", and the supposed " attorney" posting. First, to the Jackass. To start, "accolades" is a word that is RARELY used here in America, if ever, which suggests that you are most likely from Australia, or some region close to that. Which ALSO suggest that you are either an employee, or a franchisee somewhere across the globe defending Brad because he's one of your buddies. If not, then why dont you buy your own Master Territory? For a mere high 6 figure investment you get a box of air and 100 dollars worth of books that Brad already plagerized. 2nd, To suggest that most franchises have a large number of failures when they get started is not only ignorant, its insulting. The very point of buying a franchise is to buy into a PROVEN system. Not to be a beta test for franchisees to come. And Last, as far as the "accolades" or "awards" as we call them here in the states, Entrepreneur magazine does ZERO research into the success rate of the franchises it represents in it magazine. It merely speaks to the number of franchise units sold within a certain time period. Contrary to the success of the franchisees. They dont investigate the system or training or ANYTHING of actual use to a potential investor. They simply tell you which franchise systems are popular at the time. In fact, they should rename the section " Current popular franchises".. Now for the "attorney".. at the time of your posting its in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday afternoon. Which suggest that an attorney has nothing better to do in the middle of the day than to hop online and write a sparkling review of a franchise that one of your "clients" asked you to review. And by the way, why did you post anonymously? If you put your name in there you might get another prospective franchisee to hire you to review the UFOC. That wasnt a smart business move if you ask me. Speaking of which, you claim that you "researched" the company and found the BUSINESS MODEL to be solid. You also state that you "reviewed the material thoroughly" and found no over lap ( that's a joke )... First of all, A franchise attorney receives ONLY the UFOC and the Franchise Agreement to review. They do NOT provide you with the training materials or any other proprietary information to take to your attorney before you buy. That would be stupid. Then what would be the point of selling you the franchise? You already have everything you need to start your own business BEFORE signing the agreement. You sir, are a liar. Let just ONE person state that their potential franchisor provided them training materials to take to their attorney to review and I will humbly and regrettably withdraw that statement. You did NOT review the material. By the way, in your research, how many franchisees did you speak with? How many FORMER franchisees did you speak with? If you even called ONE then you did TWICE as much work as a normal attorney would do. An attorney's job is simply to review the legal issues regarding the franchise. Not to do the research. That's on the potential franchisee to do on their own. It must have taken you about 30 minutes to write this, so according to my math, that's about 200-300 dollars that could be billed to an actual client that you were working for instead of wasting your time on the internet !!!!! You should feel a great deal of shame, however, as you stated, you are an "attorney" and most of them dont have a soul anyway!!!! This franchise is a scam. I challenge anyone to find even ONE of the original shareholders that is still with the company. Why? Because they were paid off and got out of the system. If you buy this franchise, your an idiot. Excluding of course Mr. "accolades"... as he clearly is an intelligent person who loves the system and has never even once read a single book on business development. This is almost funny, except its not. Peoples lives are at stake. Life savings are at stake. College funds for your children are at stake. This is not a joke, and I'm not just posting this because I hate Brad. I'm trying to prevent even ONE person from buying into the garbage that this company sells. -
anonymous said on Apr 02, 2009....
The “Franchise Attorney” post above is absolutely brilliant. It has just made my day. I have rarely seen anything funnier except that once again it shows how much contempt Action seems to have for people’s intelligence.
Apart from that fact that it takes a fair leap in faith to imagine any attorney taking the time off in the middle of the day to provide a glowing review of a franchise he has been researching for a client this attorney has also had the opportunity to discover that Brad Sugars (the owner) seems a “bit egocentric”…Great stuff!
Also, given that Attorneys are paid to be very cautious, any attorney looking at the content of this site would have alarm bells ringing all over the place and would never take the risk of actually recommending Action to a client.
As it happens, having had some personal experience with Action, what they tell you is that since attorneys are litigation adverse and afraid that you will attack them if something goes wrong, they will always find fault with the Action proposition, contract etc. Since that it is case, they will advise you there is no point in wasting your money going to see one….
Anyway, the pathetic rubbish in that post should further convince those who still have doubts just what a load of crap Action is..
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anonymous said on Apr 02, 2009....
Both Dominick Mills and Patrice Lynn were indeed listed as Coachs with Action (see contact details below) but when you try to access their websites you are now respectively redirected to Kevin Alft (one of the M.L.'s for California) or Rafael Maymi (M.L. for Washington State & Oregon). No doubt these two guys, who were still listed very recently, are just the latest in the long list of casualities who the defenders of Action would have us believe are an inevitable part of life in a "new" franchise system. After all, Action has only been operating as a franchise since 1997...
Dominick F Mills, Esq. 661-947-9768 Los Angeles Visit Website
Patrice Lynn 509-242-8798 Spokane, WA
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anonymous said on Apr 02, 2009....
Former Coach I'm posting anonymously, too, only because I'd prefer to avoid any potential contact from "Brad Sugars Action International." First, the post above beginning with "Former Employee here again.," is 100% true. He was an executive in the North American "office" in Las Vegas. I emphasized "office" because their office suite was better suited for a plumbing company than a professional outfit. It was located in an industrial (read: cheap) area surrounded by trucking companies and junk yards. In fact, a prospect of mine who had flown to Las Vegas from Arizona to meet with me in person before signing a coaching contract showed up in a limousine and was so shocked by the pathetic quality of the office space our meeting started on the downside of a steep hill. Anyway, "Former Employee" introduced me to the franchise and I became their first corporate coach. I did not buy the franchise but I attended their training in Las Vegas and worked out of their office. They wanted someone to build a client base to give their business credibility. The benefit to me was avoiding their steep upfront franchise fee and I didn't have to pay royalties. I also expected to benefit from their brand recognition - a "benefit" that I would later regret. They benefited from having a "test rat" to 1) Try their supposedly effective and proven client-getting system, and 2) I agreed to report to them what was working and what wasn't and share my own new ideas and business strategies that I developed while working with clients. In fact, I was in the same "coach training" as Craig Hohnberger. Let me be clear about this: Brad Sugars spent more time cutting and pasting together plagiarized materials from reputable people who actually committed their lives to self improvement and/or business development, such as Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and others mentioned above. He is charismatic but after the sale, there is NOTHING, not for the franchisees who pony up their life savings, and NO MEAT for the clients who pony up coaching fees of $1,000 minimum per month. Craig H. did build a successful master territory, but it was his own dedication and hard work that made / makes him successful IN SPITE of the garbage that the franchise sold as its franchise materials. I got to know him during two weeks of training and believe that he is a genuine person who very much loves his family and cares very much about the success of those within his franchise. I know that my go-to guy failed miserably trying to establish a client base. Another Las Vegas coach failed while I was there. I know of numerous coaches throughout the U.S. and Canada that failed during my time there. My experience, in a nutshell was like this: I would attempt to sell using their silly, unprofessional tactics and fail. Then, while management wasn't looking I'd sell professionally and get clients. Then came the real test. When I would leave a weekly meeting with a client and come back to the office with a problem that I needed help with, I would present the problem to my go-to guy and/or management. You won't believe what their answer would be. Now get ready to be amazed and astounded at the one-and-only answer I ever received as "support". Are you sitting down? Here's the answer to all problems, whether the client had a management problem I needed guidance on or whether they needed a creative solution to business finance: "BE THE COACH!" That's it! That's the "support" given to me as a coach, and not just any coach; I was ran their Flagship operation! Like Craig H. I also built a successful coaching practice and 100% of the businesses I worked with made a LOT more money. But it had nothing to do with the amateurish, cookie cutter solutions that plagued every single document and booklet provided by the franchise. The success of my franchise and the success of my clients had everything to do with my hard work, the hard work of my clients, and a lot of help from business experts who's books I used from the LIBRARY! Thank goodness I had a solid degree in business to build upon. Some unfortunate hopeful franchisees had no business experience whatsoever, and they were unfortunately persuaded by the charismatic Mr. Sugars and the franchise sales team that they didn't need any business foundation at all; that the franchise would provide everything necessary for them to operate successfully. How disgusting. It didn't take long to realize that the business systems that Brad claimed propriety over were ALL plagiarized. The training materials were 100% thrown together in copy-and-paste fashion. A high school student would have been ashamed to turn in such garbage. I also noticed that someone wrote above that Brad's dad knew he would be a businessman when he sold, then rented his Christmas toys. What a great story. But it might be BULL. The story we got is that he took a newspaper delivery route, then talked his "mates" into doing the deliveries for him and he paid them less than he charged, thereby creating a profit. So there's my input. But the smart thing to do is to conduct your due dilligence with an attorney and accountant. Don't cut corners. You may decide that this is the right opportunity for you; although before doing so, I sincerely caution you to take into consideration the massive number of posts here. Differentiating between the legitimate ones and the "plants" isn't all that hard, especially when those idiots attempt to insult the intelligence of you and me by including ALL the franchises keywords and such stupid, obvious mistakes. Speaking of stupid. The "attorney" above... WHAT A JOKE! You idiot! "Former Employee" said it well enough, but you are so completely stupid for trying to pass yourself off as an attorney. For one, as part of their extensive education, attorneys MUST master the highest level of grammar. Your grammar is of similar pathetic quality as the garbage employed by Sugars and Company. I hope you feel as insulted and as stupid as you have attempted to insult the people on this site. That's it from me. Buyer Beware! -
anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
I would not normally waste my time on such a post, however I was directed to this rubbish through a friend of mine.We are all somewhat upset to what happened to one of our "kind", and for those of you that are thinking of ever being involved with this company - actioncoach - i ask you to read this post.This hurt a good friend of mine, and for that - well - come to my house, mr sugars - and meet my dobermans.....I have 3 red males, all with testicles. -
anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
If you have questions about Brad Sugars or ActionCOACH, why not ask him yourself?
Brad Sugars
3306 Red Arrow Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89135
(702) 556-7508
Bradsugars@aol.com
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anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
What is the intent of posting this address on here? Are you a friend or a neighbor who visits him here? -
anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
Isn't that address among multi-million dollar homes in Summerlin? -
anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
That is a truly beautiful area and it is certainly among multi-million dollar homes. I wonder if any of those who know him personally could vouch for him. If you've been to his home and had a chance to meet his neighbors... personal experience to see what they think of him. Neighbors would know him as good as anyone I think... -
anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
I for one do not think most neighbors know each other, especially here in the Las Vegas valley.Also, shouldn't he live in a nice neighborhood? -
anonymous said on Apr 03, 2009....
3 red male dobermans - Is that you, Lora? -
anonymous said on Apr 05, 2009....
Another former coach back when it was Action International. Anonymous for obvious reasons. Whether readers want to believe the rubbish posted by Brad Sugars cronies, ie, "SoulcastAdmin", "My coach ask me to post", "Franchise Attorney" or to believe a bunch of anonymous postings, up to you but here is what I can say. Brad Sugars not only hack other authors' work in his books, he also hack all his coaches' contributions and claimed it as his own innovation. There are a lot of great people in Action who believe in the culture preached and share all their knowledge on Action's innovation forum. Brad took the best, repackage and then attempted to sell back to the coaches community without even acknowledging the source, which is there for all to see. For example, a coach shared his version of seminar handouts online with the community, couple of months later, coaches received in their mail a 'draft' copy of same seminar materials 'actionized' with an order form at exhorbitant prices! Another prominent coach with his team took what was just one slide and added on to it until it became almost the de-facto coaching process, the team get no recognition except from the coaches community and Brad Sugars claimed ownership of everything. In a nutshell, to Brad Sugars and his bunch of corporate crooks the coaches community are just a captive customer base for them to practise their "Number of Transaction" and "Average Dollar Sale" strategies on and he will milk, push, demand, threatened in the name of growth and progress. No doubt as most anonymous posters who claimed to be ex staff or coach said, there are great, passionate coaches in Action who believed in and practise the culture preached, the ones who don't practise are the preachers, head preacher being BS himself. And in fact it is very true that Brad Sugars used coaches to beef up the system(in the name of teamwork and abundance) and sold licences to anyone with the money without qualifying(which explains the dropout rates) and early licensees are treated as guinea pigs while being led to think they were being sold a complete system. To see "Attorney" justifying that is normal and proper is absolutely disgusting! As to success rate, within the first 2 years, I was the only one who remained from my training batch of almost 20. So buyers beware as someone said above, you are buying into grief and hypocrisy of the highest order. -
anonymous said on Apr 05, 2009....
Former Employee here again. By the way, when Brad came to the states intially, it was intended to be a "seminar company" but Claude X ( Name deleted for protection ), A great man, and former investor, talked him into creating a coaching company, as a fly by night seminar company would not work here. The "coaching" concept wasnt even Brads idea. Talk about stealing Credit !
I will rejoice in the day that Brad is cell mates with Bubba the 7 foot sodomizer.
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anonymous said on Apr 07, 2009....
To 'former employee' of immediate last post, I am former coach who posted above you. Even though Brad Sugars & Action International is as described by a lot of posts here of former employees and coaches(including my own which you can see was not a positive post about Action), I believe credit is still due where it is due: Action International has been a coaching company since day 1 years before relocating its HQ in US. Claude X, whoever it might be, did not talk Brad Sugars into setting up a coaching company in US because it takes a lot more than just changing terms from seminars to coaching, so to say Brad Sugars got the idea of a coaching company in US from his investors is untrue and will hurt the credibility of whatever else you have posted and give credibility to Brad Sugars cybertroops to claim you an just a disgruntled ex-employee out to get them. -
Anonymousguy said on Apr 07, 2009....
Former employee here... Brad was a "seminar guru" in Australia. YOU didnt see the materials they had, and YOU didnt work in the corporate office everyday. But thanks for sharing your opinion. The "coaching" aspect has been evolving since inception in the US for those exact reasons. If you had seen the materials, you would know for fact that what I'm saying is true. It had to be "americanized" to work, as the simplistic nature of the initial materials looked as if it had been written as a term paper in a business 101 class. A poorly written term paper at that. By the way, with even one ounce of intelligence, Brad knows who I am.. as there cant be that many employees there from the beginning to help re-write the materials. -
anonymous said on Apr 07, 2009....
Hi Anonymousguy, former coach again. As I was with Action International before they became Actioncoach, in the early days, in Australia, of course I have seen the materials and even use it. That was why I could share exactly how Brad hacked from the best from the coaches’ community in the intranet. And I can share the dropout rate is so high because you are given a bunch of books of other authors, you are given simplistic materials which is 3rd rate at best and you are given the impression it's a complete working system during the sales process. The only plus at that time was we were sold licenses and not franchises so even though there were no escape clauses, we could get out of the contract easily and we were the lucky ones. So the point is, BS might have made his name, positive or otherwise as a Seminar Guru but the business of Action has always been coaching, material sucks or not is besides the point. And your post is inconsistent, earlier you said Brad got the coaching concept from Claude X, subsequently you said materials suck and doesn't work for US market and you're heavily involved in rewriting... so is it about Brad stealing the coaching term or is it about Brad not acknowledging your contribution in making the materials presentable that you are so worked up over? It is interesting because you seem much more bitter than coaches who invested their life savings into an action license and didn't make it, perhaps that is why Brad never bother to come after you even if he know who you are? Because if even ex-coaches who themselves are bitter with Brad feel inclined to defend him against your extreme claims, why should he feel the need to get involved? Sorry, bob, never thought I would see the day I am actually 'defending' Brad instead of banging him, but there you go... get a life, mate! -
anonymous said on Apr 08, 2009....
Former Coach,
I'm the Former Coach from the "headquarders" in Las Vegas, USA. My post begins "Former Coach I'm posting anonymously, too, only because I'd prefer..."
I emphasize "headquarters" because for years they ran their scam out of the cheapest office space in an industrial area. Search the address of the office out of which they taught success and you'll see it's in an old industrial area. Go to maps.google.com and type in 5670 Wynn Rd, Las Vegas, NV and you'll see for yourself. The businesses that came up for this address include:Action International Place closedPremier Electric Unverified listingSnap-Loc Unverified listing
I'm sure the Actionites will point out the office has moved, which doesn't change the fact that the World's Number 1 Business Coaching Firm operated out of an office suited for a bugspray company. Anyway...
Former Employee is absolutely correct. What he pointed out is Brad Sugars wanted to do a seminar circuit in the US, starting in California, which Claude was trying to do. But all their attempts to get people to show up failed miserably. As Former Employee pointed out, the U.S. is an entirely different market and if you expect the savvy business people in the U.S. to listen, you had better show some sophistication and bring more than a few arrogant slogans and unverifiable claims with you. So BS's first attempts to milk the U.S. market failed. Claude had invested his own time and money and fought to turn it into something with substance.
It was then that the US effort shifted from a seminar series to a half-baked coaching company.
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anonymous said on Apr 09, 2009....
Former coach, thank you for clarifying what former employee was trying to put across, much clearer now & more credible too. -
anonymous said on Apr 09, 2009....
This post is addressed to both Craig Hohnberger and Neil Sinclair, ActionCoach Master Licencees who have done posts here (see posts from May & July 08)defending the "system".Guys, why not stick your necks out a little further and tell us how successful the franchisees you have recruited over the years have been and how those who are presently part of your teams are doing ?Be careful what you say though as I am sorely tempted to post the names of those who were members of your team at different points in time in the past and who have since visibly moved on to other things and am only holding back from doing it out of respect for those peoples privacy.Looking forward to seeing what more you have to contribute! -
anonymous said on Apr 09, 2009....
Interesting post (directly above). On one hand I feel it's outside the scope of this thread to attach Craig et al. On the other hand, they continue to be a part of the system, long after knowing its flawed and the majority of coaches fail.
So in defense of them, I would be saying they couldn't have known until after the fact. But in judgement of them I am thinking they continue to profit from the lies. You see, they have known by now for a long time that the success rate of coaches is inflated many times over; yet they continue to sell to new franchisees who HAVE NOT YET LEARNED they will fail as a result of the BS.
I consider each sale an act of BETRAUA: against fellow human beings. Furthermore, as a former coach myself I learned the reasons that the potential earnings figures are also a complete lie. Since a coach must do his own marketing and sales, as well as deliver service to his clients there comes a point where a coach is so busy providing service he can no longer grow his practice. There is simply not enough time to make the calls and appointments to get new clients. Even if the new coach COULD realistically find infinite hours in the day to get new business, he still must service his clients. For me the most clients I was able to service at a time was 8.
Loyal Actionites might say this number is weak or say I could have followed their system and hired someone to do my dialing or whatever. While true, I found that one cannot deliver quality advice (which BS hasn't yet learned) and run a phone room selling to an infinite number of clients at the same time.
BS is BS. He would know this if he had ever delivered quality of advice and he would realize that the earnings claims are not sustainable because of the necessary cycle of Marketing to Prospects -> Providing Service (my apologies to those who feel the service aspect doesn't require a coach's time) -> Business Management (accounting, taxes, bills, etc).
Anyone who has ever tried to be a truly good source of advice to his clients will back me up on this, even if s/he loves the ground BS walks on.
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anonymous said on Apr 09, 2009....
I just posted above... The system isn't allowing me to edit / correct spelling errors. BETRAUA = BETRAYAL! -
anonymous said on Apr 09, 2009....
I am a also a past coach and completely agree with the past coach. I made an investment and lost. I wish I had found this blog before being recruited. I never would have done it. -
anonymous said on Apr 09, 2009....
It seems a lot of people are coming out of the woodwork to join this thread. I wonder what happened to Rich Gianinni. After reading some of these posts and a quick search here's what I foundhttp://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/347/RipOff0347485.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/359/RipOff0359417.htm
http://www.fcbbi.com/videofaq.html
Not sure if his venture is legitimate, if he's still flogging Action, or if he's posted here. Rich was not a bad guy but I wonder what side of the fence he's on. Lot of lawsuits flying around
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anonymous said on Apr 14, 2009....
ANOTHER LAWSUITIt just doesn't stop! On April 13, 09 another lawsuit was filed against Actioncoach in the Nevada District Court by Marcus Management Case #09-A-58765-C. This is just another example that Brad Sugars must be stopped from destroying the lives of good hard working honest people. It is time the victims work together and file a class action lawsuit against this theif. I am thankfull for this site which has most likely saved alot of people from being ripped off by Brad Sugars and Actioncoach. Unfortunately this is little consolation for the individuals he has already stolen from. -
bloglatest said on Apr 14, 2009....
To get the real truth on Action and cut through all the Bull S the process is simple.
1. GOOGLE: ACTIONCOACH
2. Click actioncoach.com
3. click on find a coach
4. Pick ANY of the 1000+ coaches around the world (at random or choose a selection)
5. Email them/call them and ask them what it is like to a) be an ActionCOACH b) be part of the ActionCOACH team c) have Brad Sugars as a CEO and d) any other questions that you would like REAL answers for and not answers from disgruntled ex employees, rival business coaching firms, biased actioncoach franchise owners/master licensees/employees
It is that simple.
Or you can talk to my sister who's friend's friend told her that in 2004.... -
anonymous said on Apr 14, 2009....
ANOTHER LASUIT - 04-14-09This lawsuit will most likely deal with a breach of contract (or similar) issue with The Platinum Hotel. -
anonymous said on Apr 15, 2009....
bloglatest: It's not as easy as you described for I did exactly what you said when I was evaluating the franchise. Over email, NONE of them dare to write anything other than positives to avoid the wrath of their MLs and Brad Sugars, take it from me, I know from personal experience having joined and left within a year, fighting tooth & nail to get out. After joining, I heard the other side of the story, from the very same coaches who told me everything was rosy when I was on the outside! Most live in fear as Brad & his MLs threaten lawsuits at every turn for the most ridiculous of reasons. For example, when I was there, his team threatened and actually sent legal breach letters to coaches all over the world for not attending regional conferences. Conferences where coaches are expected to pay for every expenses themselves on top of paying conference fees and the conference speakers are coaches themselves who are not paid anything except to participate in the culture of sharing. Guess who made money in the name of continuous education and who got fleeced, legally? So if anyone wish to seriously consider what bloglatest wrote, make you avoid the MLs (they earn a HUGE percentage of the initial franchise fees, they have no reason not to sell you.) and approach the coach(s) as an interested party of their coaching service. Get to really know the coach before asking and swear on your mother's grave you will keep everything confidential. -
anonymous said on Apr 15, 2009....
bloglatest: It's not as easy as you described for I did exactly what you said when I was evaluating the franchise. Over email, NONE of them dare to write anything other than positives to avoid the wrath of their MLs and Brad Sugars, take it from me, I know from personal experience having joined and left within a year, fighting tooth & nail to get out. After joining, I heard the other side of the story, from the very same coaches who told me everything was rosy when I was on the outside! Most live in fear as Brad & his MLs threaten lawsuits at every turn for the most ridiculous of reasons. For example, when I was there, his team threatened and actually sent legal breach letters to coaches all over the world for not attending regional conferences. Conferences where coaches are expected to pay for every expenses themselves on top of paying conference fees and the conference speakers are coaches themselves who are not paid anything except to participate in the culture of sharing. Guess who made money in the name of continuous education and who got fleeced, legally? So if anyone wish to seriously consider what bloglatest wrote, make you avoid the MLs (they earn a HUGE percentage of the initial franchise fees, they have no reason not to sell you.) and approach the coach(s) as an interested party of their coaching service. Get to really know the coach before asking and swear on your mother's grave you will keep everything confidential. -
bloglatest said on Apr 15, 2009....
Hmmm, thanks for your reply. I can't help but think though that a lot of it doesn't add up. When you say "NONE of them dare to write anything other than positives to avoid the wrath of their MLs and Brad Sugars" What exactly are you saying here? Are you saying that if you ask a Franchisee how they are getting on with their franchise they lie and say its going extremely well, when really its making them broke just so Brad (who has apparently conned them out of their money) doesn't threaten a lawsuit. COME ON. I think more highly of people then that and to state that all the people you spoke to at ActionCOACH during your due diligence lied to you is just nonsense. A lot of the coaches that join ActionCOACH do so because they want to help businesses. I have 2 close friends who were directors of FTSE 100 companies and joined Action as they wanted to help businesses, not for the money. They would never give false information to a prospective franchisee just in case they incurred the wrath of the MLs or Brad. It is clear from a number of the above comments that a number of them are malicious and made by competitors, disgruntled employees, current employees, old and new coaches. There are too many conflicting interests to have a real discussion and you need to fight to find the facts amongst all the lies. -
anonymous said on Apr 15, 2009....
Hi All, I am evaluating the franchise when I stumbled upon this, read everything written, took me 2 whole hours! Bloglatest, since you claim to know 2 friends who are willing to talk or reply to email, do you mind listing their names and contacts here to save me and others some time? I've actually tried to talk to some coaches other than those referred to me by the ML for my due diligence, I am always politely pointed back to the ML. And for the due diligence process, I am supposed to ask just five questions and report back what I've discovered in my 'assignment', questions like "What does it take to be a successful coach?" "What was your greatest challenge in your first 6 months?" "What was your biggest mistakes in the first 6 months as a business coach." I find it dodgy if you know what I mean, those questions are tailored to elicit a certain response and does not in anyway address the concerns of how well these franchisees are doing. Rather, they seem to be an extension of the sales process. They are reluctant to answer anything else besides those 5 preapred questions. Any comments anyone? -
anonymous said on Apr 15, 2009....
Run!!! -
anonymous said on Apr 15, 2009....
Lol, bloglatest, what an apt nick for the latest attempt at spin :-) Let's see, a person who's sister's friend's friend told her what to do back in in 2004... but then went on to list steps which include action marketing spin like 1000+ coaches around the world. By the way back in 2004 they were still known as Action International and definitely does not have or claim to have 1000+ coaches then. For someone who are supposedly not associated with Action except as a distant neutral observer as you tried to project, you sure know their marketing very well and kept yourself updated :-) Your response to the anom below you then went from sister's friend's friend to having 2 friends who are directors of some big companies actually part of action... talk about inconsistency, look at yourself first. Whoever read those comments can judge for themselves, while the anom might be a bit on the extreme side, he/she furnish at least did furnish details that showed he/she was on the inside, your 'clever' spin on behalf of action came across just as what it is, spin, no meat at all. A neutral and distant person who suddenly decide to create an ID just to post here using action's marketing statistics to back up your 'neutral' post. C'mon, to end this thread once and for all, all you have to do is to provide statistics as some posts above suggested: average earnings per coach, success ratio, etc... simple, let the facts speak, not the spin. What is so difficult about furnishing statistics if you have any? Surely action will double of triple franchise sales immediately, so why not unless it's hyped up? What's next after 'franchise attorney', 'my coach ask me to write' and you? -
bloglatest said on Apr 15, 2009....
The post above is clearly phoney, if you were actually looking at investing in a franchise would you seriously only ask 5 questions? No way, you'd ask 50. And as for the franchisees you refer to them like robots like they have a set script. They are people and are not part of some big conspiracy that they pay thousands of dollars to be part of and con more people into.They way the above post is written is in the exact style of a number of other "prospective coach" posts. All not asking questions that you would expect of someone who was seriously considering buying a franchise but of someone who is trying to purposely sabotage a company. It is so transparent.Shame on you. For those seriously looking into a franchise I urge you to simply do your own full due diligence, not just with ActionCOACH but with any and all possible business coaching franchises. Do beware that some franchises do use dirty tactics and slander each other, (see above). But, simply keep asking all the questions you have to until you get every answer you want, and if after that point you are confident in your ability and the organisation you decide on...do a bit more research, cool down and with a straight head make an informed decision.No one should ever rush you, it will be one of the biggest decisions you make in your life. Talk to a franchise broker or business advisery service who will help you identify the questions you should ask.Whatever you do don't listen to the above posts, the internet is a great place for faceless cowards to call people names, spread lies and hype with no substance and have no comeback.Good luck looking for a business, i've spent way too long posting on this site!! But hope ive helped -
bloglatest said on Apr 16, 2009....
The last post I made was in response to the post above "run...."Regarding the last post. "My sisters freinds friend" was sarcasm you fool....read the post. -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
bloglatest, I am the prospective coach who mentioned about the 5 questions I was supposed to ask, I actually ignored what others said about you but now I am real upset that you to call me phoney and for lashing out at me for not asking more than 5. I said I was given by the ML such a list of questions to ask and the coaches I asked answered those 5, I did not say I don't have more questions, else why would I google and reach this thread! I said I stumbled upon this website as part of my research! Funny how you told off someone else as 'fool' and to 'read the post' but you lash out at me without understanding mine. I am thinking the rest of the posters were right about you, you seem to describe yourself in describing others, you are anonymous as well, a nick doesn't count, you feint anger when asked about your two friends and the rest you just brush off as not understanding sarcasm. Famous last words, read the posts yourself you fool, before responding! Such defensiveness can only mean others hit too close for comfort. You could have offered to give me the names of your friends in a private note if you do not want to list them here and if you were genuine, instead, you conveniently call me phoney and others fools. Read the post, you anonymoust like everyone else is fool! Now, you more than anyone else, have made me think twice about joining action if they employ the likes of you. -
bloglatest said on Apr 16, 2009....
Youve lost me? Lashing out for not asking more than 5 questions? I'm not angry, not an employee, don't even care really just get on my high horse when I feel like people are being manipulated...as for giving you names of friends. I'll do one better
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bloglatest said on Apr 16, 2009....
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anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Dear Bloglatest, prospective coach here. First, you called me phoney, then you pretend you have no idea what I am talking about (In fact, that's what you did with other posters who questioned your intention, you either selectively ignore or take the moral highground.) Then finally, your friends turn out to be testimonial videos which action has been using to convince me all this while, on top of the scripted due dilligence I was asked to go through! Thank you for helping me make my decision, when the ML call me for my answer, I will quote this thread, I will inform her my decision is no, not because of all the negative posters here, but because of posters like yourself who claim to have nothing to do with action but so readily quote action statistics and link to action testimonials. Why would anyone who has nothing to do with action come here to post the way you did? At least the negative posters here are honest enough to admit they are ex-coaches, ex-employees and even failed coaches. You pretend to have no vested interest but the amount of time you spent here replying posts and defending yourself shows that you do have an agenda. At least, I was evaluating the franchise and was about to commit a large sum of money, I have a reason to monitor the replies, what is your excuse for being here continuously the past 1-2 days? -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Great testimonials posted by Bloglatest who, for a neutral, seems to be going to a hell of a lot of trouble to defend the Action franchise...
The problem is none of these testimonials prove anything except that maybe a few people have done OK with the Action franchise. I guess they must have or the franchise wouldn't have survived until now.
Rumour has it that Action has trained about 3000 people since the beginning (1997) of whom about 1000, (if you believe Action's figures) are still in activity today. If you talk to these people you will find the vast majority have been in the system for less than two years.
So yes, a few people make something of this franchise but unless Action is willing to publish statistics on how many survive beyond one year, two years, three years etc.. and how many sign on for a new contract, I would remain very suspicious about this business.
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bloglatest said on Apr 16, 2009....
And your life changing decision is based on? "I will inform her my decision is no, not because of all the negative posters here, but because of posters like yourself who claim to have nothing to do with action but so readily quote action statistics and link to action testimonials." I can assure you I have no affiliations whatsoever with Actioncoach I run a fairly successful network marketing firm in the UK and haven't even been a client of Actions although I have attended one of Brads seminars in 2007 when he toured with his Billionaire seminar tour and also part read a few of his books (and at one point almost did become a client). I posted the video links as one of my friends is featured in both of them and im sure he would be more than happy to speak with you.
I don't really think you should even be considering buying a business if your mind is made up over a blog. Best of luck though mate. Next time Mr Sugars comes to whereever you live maybe you should have a chat!!! As for me being on here constantly for the past day and a half. I post on about 40 forums and blogs (which I rotate) and get about 75%+ of my clients through this means. I subscribe to all and respond whenever I get PM'd. If i'm directly addressed I can't help but respond!!! And some posts I've been replying for over 6 years!!! ;) I'm also a Leo, so will always fight the other side to even the argument and will never back down from an argument!
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bloglatest said on Apr 16, 2009....
And your life changing decision is based on? "I will inform her my decision is no, not because of all the negative posters here, but because of posters like yourself who claim to have nothing to do with action but so readily quote action statistics and link to action testimonials." I can assure you I have no affiliations whatsoever with Actioncoach I run a fairly successful network marketing firm in the UK and haven't even been a client of Actions although I have attended one of Brads seminars in 2007 when he toured with his Billionaire seminar tour and also part read a few of his books (and at one point almost did become a client). I posted the video links as one of my friends is featured in both of them and im sure he would be more than happy to speak with you.
I don't really think you should even be considering buying a business if your mind is made up over a blog. Best of luck though mate. Next time Mr Sugars comes to whereever you live maybe you should have a chat!!! As for me being on here constantly for the past day and a half. I post on about 40 forums and blogs (which I rotate) and get about 75%+ of my clients through this means. I subscribe to all and respond whenever I get PM'd. If i'm directly addressed I can't help but respond!!! And some posts I've been replying for over 6 years!!! ;) I'm also a Leo, so will always fight the other side to even the argument and will never back down from an argument!
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anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Wow, I came across all this looking to see whether the #1 Business Coaching Firm could really deliver on their claims to be able to "grow my business."
By now people reading my note (way down here at the bottom of this page) have encountered twenty-five thousand words (I used a program to count them) of debate. Such a long debate with so very many participants would not be taking place if it weren't plausible -- just plausible -- that Mr. Sugars will apparently lie, steal, cheat, threaten, scheme, violate, plagiarize, scapegoat, misrepresent, and otherwise abuse people for his own selfish gain.
Good for him if none of it is true, but I don't even have to assert my own initial impression here; instead, just look up The Pope and tell me if similar debate can be found within the millions of pages on the Internet.
It's clear that some posters are part of the franchise sales end of the business and most seem to be currently or formerly involved as employees or franchisees or customers -- all of whom have provided very valuable insights about their inside knowledge.
On the other hand, the sales people are making some valid points too: simply calling and speaking with any current coach on their website would possibly provide some honest points of view, provided of course, you ask questions that can be substantiated and proven.
If you, too, are considering doing business with (or buying a franchise from) ActionCOACH, I say do your homework. Take good notes and throw out any claims that you cannot verify through your own research (in other words, do NOT use their marketing material or their statements as proof). -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Wow. I was sent the link to this blog by a friend. He posted above and I was involved (sorry sales guys, my experience stacks up on the negative side too).
What backpedaling, bloglatest. Then again, it seems like almost all of the "plants" show up here with their arrogant antics. The cycle goes like this:
...
Actually, about 2/3 the way through explaining why you "plants" keep blowing it I decided NOT to tell you HOW you keep blowing it. Poor simpletons... let's just suffice it to say that you really, really need to consider the following statement, look at it, absorb it, believe it:
You -- none of you -- are smart enough to pull off what you keep trying to do, which is to fool the people reading this blog.
Let me assure you that the type of person who is savvy enough to conduct his or her own independent research is smart enough to laugh in your faces, but probably too professional to do so. Your founder is responsible for the growth of the company from the beginning, and the basis for that growth IS plagiarism, fluff and lies. And I have seen plenty of individuals grow arrogant and pompous over time as a result of being part of a system that seemed bullet proof, superior and/or successful (however they may measure success). Getting people to buy your franchise MIGHT give you the right to feel talented if all those sales were not based on 80% B.S. (get it... B.S... anyway...).
Strictly from a SALES perspective, Action (International, COACH, whatever) has unarguably performed exceptionally well. When anyone looks at that marker under the microscope, many people arrive at the same conclusion, while others stand on the other side of the line and argue that it has merit. So be it. Agree to disagree... whatever.
However, you may think that because you have so-far been able to market the lies that continue to remain perpetuated in the marketing of the Action franchise and the action coaching services, which brings in your leads (genuine people who want to believe your lies), and you are able to pick LOW-HANGING-FRUIT doesn't make you smart, intelligent, nor experienced enough to pull off fooling intelligent, savvy people.
Trust me on this: You are embarrassing yourselves, especially as more and more of you try to be next in line to take your turn at going incognito on this blog (and SOOO many other places where you're being attacked) and artificially support the organization, Mr. Sugars or whatever aspect you choose to defend. The best thing you can do at this point is STOP trying. You're not smart enough to pull it off.
Please, don't take that as the same as being told *you are stupid*! That is not what I am saying at all. I'm only saying that those of you who have chosen to try it have done nothing more than offended smart people (offend potential buyers) and created distrust and deep doubt about ponying up their live savings for the franchise or writing a check for thousands of dollars to receive Action's valuable services.
As I mentioned above, my experience was not positive, so I'm not sure why I'm doing you the favor of showing you your mistake and how to stop causing offense to smart people. But I think not everyone in the organization is a bad person, no matter how tainted they may have become as a result of exposure to a horribly tainted organization.
Good Luck! -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Mr. Leo bloglatest... fascinating
network marketing = pyramid scheme. Your credibility is low and as you keep posting it only gets lower.
"I don't really think you should even be considering buying a business if your mind is made up over a blog"
But you get most of your business from blogs and forums?
Well now. Isn't that INTERESTING. So you would have people read a UFOC that's been uncovered here as a load of crap not by one person but by many. And you want us to believe "canned” testimonials that Action chooses. Action has plenty to hide and they have until now. The lies and deceit are coming out. Posing as an administrator as a scare tactic; threatening legal action for coaches that “tell the truth” to prospective coaches, Actioncoach personnel posing as imposters, sexual harassment, and on and on. You have been found out!
The power of the internet and anonymous communication (for fear of retribution) will take Mr. Sugars down. It’s just a matter of time. As the discussion heats up we get closer to the end of Actioncoach. He’s held back information and misrepresented the “opportunity” That is fraud and he will pay dearly for it. This is only one thread but it sure has garnered attention. I only wish I had the truth before I wrote the cheque.
A former coach who lost.
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anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Another question for Mr Bloglatest. Supposing you had the decency to ask the people who did the video testimonials you posted here for permission to do so, could you also invite them to make direct testimonials here stating among other things;
1) When they joined Action?
2) How many of the people they trained with are still with Action?
3) How many of the people who joined in their region in that particular year are still with Action?
That would really add a lot of credibility to your post.
Cheers!
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anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Just got back to this blog, interesting, 2 years running and still so active. Bloglatest is just one in a long line of action plants, from soulcastadmin to franchise attorney to... but he is definitely one of the most inconsistent so far not to mention arrogant. A neutral 3rd party who quote corporate lines and post corporate videos, yeah right. So much holes from 1 post to the next he's simply making a fool out of himself and he call others fools. I agree with the poster who said you should really gain the trust of a coach before you can believe what he said about the business, common sense as well as part of the 'mystery shopper' strategy that action preach to their clients. Prospective Coach was also very clear, he decided not to take up the franchise not because of the negative posts here but because you, acting on behalf of action, treated him like an ignorant idiot. He probably realize what kind of culture you really practise as oppose to what you preach, lucky for him he saw through you before he sign his cheque. So tell Brad Sugars, he just lost one not because of the 'negative bitching' going on here, he lost one because you, as his representative, acted in the most despicable manner by pretending to be a 3rd party leading him on, only to end up showing corporate videos. By the way, could it be that bloglatest is so inconsistent and able to post round the clock because more than one action plant is sharing the same ID to post? -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Just got back to this blog, interesting, 2 years running and still so active. Bloglatest is just one in a long line of action plants, from soulcastadmin to franchise attorney to... but he is definitely one of the most inconsistent so far not to mention arrogant. A neutral 3rd party who quote corporate lines and post corporate videos, yeah right. So much holes from 1 post to the next he's simply making a fool out of himself and he call others fools. I agree with the poster who said you should really gain the trust of a coach before you can believe what he said about the business, common sense as well as part of the 'mystery shopper' strategy that action preach to their clients. Prospective Coach was also very clear, he decided not to take up the franchise not because of the negative posts here but because you, acting on behalf of action, treated him like an ignorant idiot. He probably realize what kind of culture you really practise as oppose to what you preach, lucky for him he saw through you before he sign his cheque. So tell Brad Sugars, he just lost one not because of the 'negative bitching' going on here, he lost one because you, as his representative, acted in the most despicable manner by pretending to be a 3rd party leading him on, only to end up showing corporate videos. By the way, could it be that bloglatest is so inconsistent and able to post round the clock because more than one action plant is sharing the same ID to post? -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
By the way bloglatest, to add on to my post immediate above, you called Prospective Coach phoney and you did lash out at him without even reading what he wrote, the ML he met wanted him to ask just those 5 questions in his due dilligence, that was what he wrote. You actually hinted that he was not so bright as if he wanted to ask only those questions, then when you realize he could be genuine, you backpedalled furiously as someone else mentioned above. And not only did you not apologize for the earlier insults, you proceed to insult him further by telling him you can do 'one better' than just introducing your friends... and the 'one better' was... posting action corporate videos which as he said he's already seen as part of action's sales process. Great job on behalf of Action, make sure you get your just rewards. -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Someone get a lawyer to read this on behalf of the future plaintiffs. -
anonymous said on Apr 16, 2009....
Judging by the way bloglatest desperately tried to belittle prospective coach's decision making and encouraging him to speak to Brad, ie, reverse psycology, he obviously understood and knew he blew it with a genuine prospect, though he still pretended he didn't. Triple insult on a prospective coach who asked nicely enough and bloglatest want to pin it on the negative posters here. How about taking some 'ownership', huh? -
anonymous said on Apr 17, 2009....
I recently was approached to purchase an Actioncoach Franchise. After receiving their disclosure documents I decided to do my own investigation. I did see this site but when I mentioned it to the Action sales rep was told all the posts were posted by a disgruntled employee and his team who started a business coaching franchise. I do say he did sound quite believable and had quite a story to back it up. But one thing bothered me and that was the alleged lawsuits. Their UFOC only lists three. I started to look further and found many lawsuits and wondered how they could get away without listing them. When I tried to call a couple of the ActionCoach' for a reference, after taking my contact information neither one called back. I tried to call a few that left the system listed in the disclosure documents but they were either disconnected or wrong numbers. After I decided against the whole thing the Action sales rep became insulting blaming this site for my decision and informing me I was gullible. For whatever it's worth this site did not change my mind it was their disclosure documents which I found deceptive and untruthful. -
anonymous said on Apr 17, 2009....
RE: Purchase of AC Franchise...I unfortunately did not do enough do diligence. Shame on me. -
anonymous said on Apr 17, 2009....
Sure there are disgruntled employees here (note the plural) But I, as well as others are disgruntled coaches. Good people who put up the money in hopes of having the promises fulfilled. Many here were in the same boat you are now in; making a decision, a big long-term decision. There are even existing coaches here who realise what Brad is. If you do your due diligence you'll find that the few successful coaches are all good people but they have done it based on what they are not what action will claim to make you. The "system" is a joke it's a mish-mash of plagiarised ideas that don't hang together very well. There is no cohesiveness there is no system. There may be some "take-aways" and some a-ha moments but it's all out there. Start by looking at “landmark” training. Do a search on “large group awareness training” and look for a site by Rick Ross. www.rickross.com
Action is a cult. If you don’t succeed (that is pay your fees) you are the diseased one, you’re not “above the line”. Good luck in seeing through all the high-pressure sales tactics.
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anonymous said on Apr 17, 2009....
bloglatest, prospective coach here again. I am sure you are reading this though you've disappeared since you came in here and bashed everybody over a 24 hour round-the-clock period. I told the ML my decision was 'No' and that I was at this thread and I wasn't influenced by the negative posters but by the manipulative tricks you tried. First, she pretend she didn't know what I was talking about and tried to persuade me... finally, guess what. She admitted that Action uses '3rd party referral strategy' which is very effective which they can teach me to get clients, they do it by planting 'neutral parties' in blogs, BNIs and other networking functions, where these plants supposedly 'know an actioncoach' and raves about the coaches and suggest people they meet should consider purchasing a franchise. She said you 'might' be an overzealous one and apologized for it and she said I should let that distract me from the facts that the franchise works. bloglatest, if you really are who you claim you are, then you make a big innocent mistake defending them here and I suggest you update your 'two friends'. And if you are not innocent as claimed, SCREW YOU, A$$H@LE, for what you attempted! -
anonymous said on Apr 18, 2009....
What a crock of S##T! "Action uses '3rd party referral strategy' which is very effective which they can teach me to get clients, they do it by planting 'neutral parties' in blogs, BNIs and other networking functions, where these plants supposedly 'know an actioncoach' and raves about the coaches and suggest people they meet should consider purchasing a franchise."Why would a coach agree to such a malicious tactic? I've been a coach for the past 3 years and can 100% guarantee that such a tactic is absolute crap. The coach would surely be risking his/her reputation and potentially whole business and for what? To help sell a franchise? It just would not happen and more to the point, would an ML communicate this most unethical strategy to a "prospective coach" that had just decided NOT to buy a franchise? Of course not. My conclusion...Prospective coach YOU are a plant, 100%. -
anonymous said on Apr 18, 2009....
Hmm... Lets ignore everything else posted here for a while and just read read the exchanges between bloglatest & prospective coach. it is quite clear that while prospective coach was polite(until his final post that is) and consistent, bloglatest has been inconsistent throughout and backpedalled a couple of times from post to post. So my conclusion... I tend to believe the person who is consistent. On a different note, I wonder how much the original blogger Johnson is earning from such an active thread :-) -
anonymous said on Apr 18, 2009....
LOL... to the anom who wrote prospective coach is a plant... LOL... sorry, I just can't help laughing out loud... a 'plant', in my opinion, should be someone with an agenda to reverse/cast doubt/counter a certain trend. This thread's trend is very obvious to all visitors as being anti-action. In the exchanges above between bloglatest and prospective coach, one was seeking information and one was working hard to reverse/cast doubt/counter the obvious trend here(besides the inconsistencies, the biggest giveaway was his two friends which end up as testimonial videos). Unless someone has vested interest or has very strong pro- or anti- action tendencies, it is quite easy to determine rationally who the plant could be. By the way, anom, congratulations for being a coach for 3 years, I am sure you must be one of the 'good guys' to make it this far. But even the greatest organizations in the world have some bad apples, you cannot discount the possibility outright you might have colleagues who's just interested in making a sale... -
anonymous said on Apr 18, 2009....
There is clearly a lot of crap on this blog, from those who are visibly anti Action and even more so from those "neutrals" who keep coming out of the woodwork to try to counter all the negative posts. However, it is interesting to note that since Jodie Shaw's post right at the beginning of this thread, no one from Action has tried to provide anything remotely like straight answers to the questions raised here.
Also, regarding the "neutrals", I have just noticed that "Bloglatest" is still logged onto this site and seems to have been logged on here permanently since his/her first post 3 days ago. Humm, a bit strange to say the least especially given the deafening silence from this contributor since some of the reactions to his/her posts ...
Bloglatest, when are your friends on the videos going to post here and answer the questions that were asked above?
On the same subject, since everything is squeaky clean in the world of Action, I am just a little surprised that Craig Hohnberger and Neil Sinclair haven't come back here to answer the questions that they were asked.
Might it be that all of these people are seriously afraid of getting sued if they provided straight answers to the questions raised, either by their existing franchisees who were lied to when they joined (at minimum by omission) or by former franchisees who will know from the answers that they are lying...?
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anonymous said on Apr 18, 2009....
Hello all, I want to share my own experience evaluating the actioncoach franchise. I am not in US or UK, in my country, the franchise act is not very tight and does not require disclosure of lawsuits, number of failures, etc. My experience is 2+ years ago though and I've never met Brad Sugars, my experience is from responding to a classified followed by attending a preview seminar, after which I had a one-to-one with the ML, got a copy of the draft agreement and coaches to contact for the due diligence process. I can relate to what 'prospective coach' wrote above. The due diligence was positioned as an assignment which I have to do, which was to speak to 5 coaches and ask them the 5 questions given. I asked why those 5 coaches and not more, I was told the team is very busy with their clients and there were many coach prospects, so they had to limit each to 5. That was the stage at which I got a bit suspicious because it sounded very convenient. Furthermore, I was not given a straight answer when I asked how many failed. I delayed my decision and got a couple of my friends to register for the preview and go through the same process, all of whom were given the same 5 names to call! I did a bit more research on my own online. A friend who was an IT guru showed me a way I can find out. He pointed me to a web archive which crawled the worldwide web and archived pages from early 1996 to just a few months from current. He showed me how to 'peel the site' for the number of coaches listed in the 'find a coach' for each year in my territory. (Sorry for the 'techspeak', those interested can google for "wayback machine". Do it fast though; the web archive mentioned has an opt-out policy where companies can request for a code to add to their websites to avoid being archived. But that is not the only way though. According to my tech guru friend, some university websites archive pages in their caches for years before cleaning them up, but those are much more difficult for a layperson to extract, I definitely cannot do it.) What I discovered was in the territory I wanted to invest in, besides the top 20-30% of coaches who's listed year after year, the other names keep changing and the total number of coaches over a 5 year period remained more or less the same. Perhaps 'prospective coach' and I were both so unlucky to coincidentally meet the same unprofessional ML, or maybe it is just the way their system is, who knows? I am just glad my suspicion held me back, I don't think I would have enjoyed being in a franchise where only 20-30% actually make it and opinions are so polarized. I would like to stresws though, those figures are based on my own research 2+ years ago on my own territory, things might have improved since then. -
anonymous said on Apr 18, 2009....
Me think bloglatest = coach who said "What a crock of S##T!" above. -
anonymous said on Apr 19, 2009....
People, really? It's not that serious! Just let it go! Get over it! This company and this guy don't spend a fraction of the time thinking about you that you invest being angry at both of them! -
anonymous said on Apr 19, 2009....
TO THOSE WHO HAVE TOO MUCH HATE...
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anonymous said on Apr 19, 2009....
Funny the last two posts. For one, both the open posts from people representing Action and the rather clumsy anonymous posts of late would seem to show that someone from Action takes the content of this blog very seriously and rightly so because anyone who does a Google search on ActionCoach or Brad Sugars finds it immediately.
Secondly, I haven't seen that much hate, just some stories,some very credible and some less so. The real positive about this blog is that it provides a very public place to discuss the facts about a franchise which seems, at minimum, a little controversial. Reading it from beginning to end one can only wonder why people from Action don't put a stop to it all by simply publishing the figures that have been requested in quite a few posts.
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anonymous said on Apr 19, 2009....
I received an e-mail solicitation from Action Coach through Linked-in. Very glad I found this site and didn't pursue a follow-up. Even if only half the negative comments were true I might conclude many of the positives are too, so where does that leave the reader? The fact is that no legitimate business operating with integrity should get such scathing reviews. Maybe Linked-in should be made aware of this company's questionable reputation before allowing them to recruit off that site any further. -
anonymous said on Apr 19, 2009....
They used to data mine on Monster.com and Google! Just add Actioncoach as one of your affiliations and watch coaches, MLs and company executives connect to you without abandon even though they have no idea who you are :-) -
anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
Holy! I did a search for actioncoach + bni & it lead me here, and I got to use word search to find the post with bni in it, such a long thread! I am a bni member, my actioncoach is no longer in bni because apparently there was a falling out between the country heads of action & bni in my country, just curious whether I can find something online. Well, the reason I post is I don't understand why the coach above said the '3rd party referral strategy' is totally unethical and action would never teach such a strategy because I am having exactly such a strategy with an actioncoach! I am an insurance agent and I've had an actioncoach for 2 years, I am very happy with her service to date so I have nothing to add to the negative posts here. Since my coach no longer attend bni she came out with a strategy which was a win-win for both of us. In my networking with new members and visitors of bni, I will casually bring action into the conversation and suggest that they see my coach for a 1 hour free consultation. In return, my coach paid my bni fees and a referral fee for each successful sale. Its a win-win for both of us. So I am not sure why the coach here seems to contradict my coach and say its totally unethical, perhaps the coach was misinformed or misused the strategy in an unethical manner himself? -
anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
"People, really? It's not that serious! Just let it go! Get over it! This company and this guy don't spend a fraction of the time thinking about you that you invest being angry at both of them!" "TO THOSE WHO HAVE TOO MUCH HATE..." If you read the tone of these posts and bloglatest's other posts, its probably his/her parting shots before logging off this site :-) But I am sure he/she is still monitoring this blog and will return in some form soon. ps: bloglatest, getting leads for your mlm business through blogs and forums is a fine strategy... until one realize that no one who claimed to get 75% of customers from blogs/forums will be stupid enough to try getting leads from an anonymous blog such as this one. -
NeilGSinclair said on Apr 20, 2009....
I have been watching and reading this site with interest and some concern. Clearly there are some very disturbed people on this site; clearly there are also some very dishonest people on this site as well with hidden agendas and clearly there have been others whom are prepared to have their say and make their comments based on rationale thought and research.
I was tempted to ignore this site and all the accusations and negative comments about ActionCOACH, Brad, and in some cases in posts above, a few individuals whom are slinging mud at myself and some of my fellow ActionCOACH colleagues. However, I have chosen to comment on this site for several reasons – the main reason is because I love this business – ActionCOACH - and I am extremely proud as to what I and my family have achieved and developed and for what we as a Business (ActionCOACH) have achieved globally and continue to achieve. Having started as a Franchisee (Coach) in New Zealand, growing a very successful business there, changing many clients lives for the better, I was given the opportunity to become an Master Licensee in the UK in 2003 to help ActionCOACH expand in the UK market…the journey has been challenging….as it is for any business owner, yet it has also been extremely rewarding and has given me a huge sense of self-fulfilment and personal pride, knowing my team and I have personally positively changed many people’s lives.
I have made a post above many months ago and in that post I stated my contact numbers and skype address for anyone whom may want to contact me to discuss any of the comments in these posts or even if they actually wanted to speak with one of the few people in these posts whom are prepared to be above the line and actually state my name and give my contact details. Until today, I have not had one person contact me via these posts. I have had a query today, so I will respond.
Additionally, people are using the excuse, that they think or fear Brad would seek legal action against anyone whom spoke out against him or ActionCOACH. I am no lawyer….yet I believe that if you were making accurate and truthful statements about Brad and ActionCOACH you would have nothing to fear as you can’t be successfully sued for telling the truth! If you aren’t telling the truth, then I would support anyone in protecting their own credibility and integrity.
There are a couple of questions in posts above that are asking myself to share with everyone some stats. I am going to share these numbers with everyone on this post. Before I do, I am also going to give everyone reading this post some ‘Thought provoking comments’ so that you all can use your own rational judgement on the stats I will share with you below – I am sure you are all intelligent people and can use your rationality and integrity to see through comments from people making extremely critical accusations (anonymously). I am also sure that there will be later posts from people whom will come back with negative comments to ‘further trash’ this post and create more doubt or scandalous comments about ActionCOACH or one or more of our teams reputation. All I ask you to do is to read this post – ask "Does these comments make sense? Could all the hundreds of testimonials online, people in ActionCOACH and the thousands of clients we have helped be doing so bad?….or is it more likely that there are a few ‘be-grunted’ people making negative posts here amongst the millions of people whom surf the net every day?" I do genuinely feel for these people and I hope and pray they will find peace in their lives.
Allow me to ask you a couple of very important questions;
1. What do you think is the purpose of ActionCOACH Business Coaching as a Business Franchise Opportunity?
2. Do you think that the realistic purpose of the ActionCOACH Franchise is to have everyone complete the first term of 5-7 years as a Franchisee?
3. What do you think could be other purposes or outcomes that would be extremely beneficial to the people whom invest in an ActionCOACH Franchise?
ActionCOACH Vision – ‘World Abundance through Business Re-education!’
In my humble opinion the achievement of our vision is not just to affect our clients it is also there to have a dramatic effect on our Franchisees as well and in most cases does do….
ActionCOACH still does have some ‘outright’ business failures in our Franchise – ALL Business Industries and Franchises do…I will share more on this later.
I believe that there are four main outcomes for people whom invest in the Franchise and the stats I supply below support my comments. Most of these outcomes are in line with the ActionCOACH vision, yet may not be in-line with what you or most people in jobs/careers, when they first look at their first business would normally expect, which is to invest in the ActionCOACH business and remain a franchisee ‘living happily ever after forever and ever!’ The reality is that for most people the personal and professional growth in this Franchise is immense and this vast growth, opens so many other doors in the Entrepreneurial world – many doors that some Franchisees want to take and leave the Franchise and if that is what they want to do, I encourage them to do so. We want to create greater abundance in people’s lives and if this means using the ActionCOACH Franchise as a development ground for 2-5 years and leaving the Franchise to achieve even more Entrepreneurial opportunities – GO FOR IT! None of us want to lose Franchisees and Coaches – yet if we are going to lose a Franchisee, isn’t it better to lose them to a more abundant opportunity that has been created through being an ActionCOACH Franchisee? This does happen quite a bit! There are also quite a number of coaches whom are in our ‘Presidents Club’ (Longer than 5 years in Action – approx 200 I believe) many of whom are investors in other Businesses, property portfolios and make significant donations to Charities and other philanthropic organisations. I myself have bought, built and sold three other companies whilst I have been in ActionCOACH. This only supports my comments above and below. Anyway - The four main outcomes for people whom invest in an ActionCOACH Franchise are;
1. Some Franchisees – complete their first term of either 5 or 7 years and either stay on or go;
2. Some Franchisees between 2-5 years as a Coach get fantastic offers by clients whom want their coach to leave ActionCAOCH and join their team and to invest in other Business Opportunities that offer them greater opportunities;
3. Some Franchisees after 2-5 years decide to simply themselves invest in other Business opportunities by applying the knowledge they have learnt and experience they have gained through being an ActionCOACH;
4. Some people fail in this business, which in my oppinion, in 100% of the failed cases is down to the Franchisee not doing the necessary sales and marketing activity necessary to achieve success in this business.
During the last 6 years, since I initially started marketing Franchises as a Master Licensee I have recruited 46 Franchisees of which 23 are still ActionCOACH Franchisees. Looking at these numbers, it would be easy to say ‘WOW’ only 50% are still Franchisees…yet let’s break this down further! Please be aware that Growth is always slow when you first launch any Franchise in a country. In my first year in the UK, I only recruited 4 Franchisees, in the second year 5 Franchisees…and we have steadily grown from there. Of the 23 Franchisees whom are still with us – here is the number of years they have been in Action;
5+ Years – 1
4 Years – 2
3 years – 3
2 years – 8
1 year or less – 9
Now of the 23 Franchisees whom have exited the Franchise a further 13 left for ‘Better Entreprenuerial opportunities’ or ‘Health Reasons’;
6 of these invested in another bigger business opportunity;
3 Franchisees were bought out by a Client to join them as a Partner in a much larger business opportunity;
2 paid a Franchise termination Fee to take Senior positions made available to them;
2 had to leave for ‘health reasons’!
So we now have a total of 36 people of the 46 to date whom are either still in the Franchise or have moved on to more abundant opportunities for themselves created through their experiences as a coach (except for the 2 with health reasons – yet I don’t regard these as a failure!)
Of the remaining 10 Franchisees – all 10 of these Franchisees did fail in their business solely for the reasons above – not enough sales and marketing activity.
The failure rate in Franchising is 20-25% as opposed to non-franchised SME’s which is 80-85%. You do your own figures on the info I have given you above. (I am sure these stats will create greater discussion !)
Now I want to mention here that there have been some ex-coaches commenting about the Franchise and how it did not work for them. I am genuinely sorry that this Franchise opportunity did not have a more positive outcome for these people…..There is a BIG ‘BUT’ coming….I have been a successful Franchisee, so I know ‘first-hand’ the amount of effort it takes to be successful in this business, just as many others do too!!!! I have to ask the failed Coaches whom are commenting on these posts to also comment on their activity levels when they were a Franchisee in posts below -
· “What their daily marketing and sales activity looked liked when they were a coach????”
· “How many phone calls, networking events, direct mail pieces, ActionCOACH Seminars, ad critiques etc did they conduct each week/month???”
· “How many appointments did they actually book in their first 6 months of their business???”
· “What was their conversion rate through our 13 Steps 7 Touch process???”
· “What learning activity and recordings did you undertake to improve both your lead generation and conversion rates???”
You see I have to ask some of these questions above, because these are the fundamentals of any successful ActionCOACH. Of the 10 Franchisees quoted above whom have failed in this business EVERYONE of them are people who really struggle with their beliefs systems around ‘Marketing and Selling’ especially when there can be a lot of ‘rejection’ involved in the marketing. It doesn’t matter how good our Marketing and Sales systems are if you have negative belief systems around marketing and sales! ‘You can’t lead a cavalry charge if you think you don’t look good on a horse!”
Our Franchise systems do work very well yet these systems only work when the people whom are using them work too! That is a fact. I am sure these failed Coaches will in most cases come up with many excuses ‘Why’ they couldn’t or wouldn’t do the marketing or sales necessary – yet the facts remain that ‘Failed Coaches’ just haven’t done the necessary work – and I am sure that will be a ‘Hard and bitter pill to swallow’ for these failed coaches. I am sorry but it is the true!
People in posts above quote of the number of people whom have left ActionCOACH since it started, please remember many of these people have not left worse off – they have in fact gone to more abundant opportunities that would have only been possible in such a short timescale if they had been an ActionCOACH. We do teach people how to get onto the Entrepreneurial ladder, some stay with us and others go…… my stats of Franchisees above indicate the fact that there are many more coaches whom have made a success either as a coach or have developed themselves as a Coach and Entrepreneur and now are in a much larger business opportunity – ‘Which in my eyes is helping to achieve World abundance through business re-education!’ That to me is the purpose of our Franchise – ‘To help Liberate Abundance for people whom want to escape the Corporate Rat Race’ and get on the Entrepreneurial ladder.
Again I offer to anyone who reads these posts to feel free to contact me in person. My name is Neil Sinclair, I am a Master Licensee in the UK my phone number is 0044 1908699930 (changed since last post due to move into a larger office); you can skype me on ‘neilsinclairliberator’ or e-mail me on neilsinclair@actioncoach.com
Regards Neil Sinclair
P.S. – ‘You thoughts either strengthen you or weaken you – its your choice!’
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anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
How gracious of Neil to respond. 100% unverifiable information. But gracious nonetheless. Thank you Neil. This information will be placed in the stack of "Action Facts... About Action, From Action."
How clever to suggest that affiliation with Action results in greater opportunities. According to these figures there must be hundreds of ex-Actionites who must LOVE Action for touching their lives not only by giving them an opportunity to buy the franchise, but also to receive the unexpected benefit of being quickly recruited for their amazingness by firms with much bigger opportunities. Surely these hundreds of people would sing the praises of Action. All we need now is for some of them to offer their contact information. We shouldn't even need all 300-500 of them. Let's just have, say 50. I can assure you that if I were so blessed by opportunities not afforded to me until I had been graced by affiliation with Action I would absolutely offer up my support.
Now THAT would be verifiable proof!
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anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
Mate, it sounds like you need an ActionCOACH to help you get over this!! :) -
anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
Not that I have any love for Mr. Sugars or his ilk, but I just noticed something...
Marcus Management/Platinum Hotel's attorney-on-record for case #09-A-58765 against ActionCOACH is Nancy L. Allf.
That name has appeared on this page before... Nancy L. Allf is also representing none other than Richard Bernstein in case #08-A-568654.
Curious, don't you agree?
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anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
Blah blah blah... " And then Brad Walked on Water, and parted the sea"...
Here are some facts that even a brain dead baboon could not ignore:
1. The action UFOC is PROVEN to be full of lies and deceipt
2. No matter how you look at it, Action has the HIGHEST number of franchise failures of any franchise I have ever researched.. or hear of for that matter
3. Any success that a frachisee has is due to his/her own effort, and NOT a result of the action system
4. Attempts to cover up the facts are clear
5. The post mentioned earlier regarding the previous employees starting their own franchise is false. While its true that 2 former employees of Action started their own franchise, I know them both personally, and neither has made even ONE single statement on this site. Also, the business that was started was sold, and is MORE successful than Action ever could be. In addition, the beautiful thing is this... the business was started with BRAD"S MONEY !!! Because the employee was paid to keep his mouth shut about the UFOC, and Brad hiding money from his shareholders !! If this person DID say something on this post, it would be in violation of a "gag order" issued during the lawsuit that Brad lost !!!! :)
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anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
Hi Neil, thank you for your detailed post, I am a coach who completed 5 years and opt not to renew because of 'value challenge' with the ML team in my territory. I have no complaints about my 5 years, I made money, I learnt and I have great clients who are still great friends today, so this is not a 'bash action' post. However, I do want to point out some 2 flaws in your post. First, you mentioned coaches paying Franchise Termination Fees to get out, there is NO SUCH CLAUSE in the agreement, which was why so many suffered in my territory. Are you saying the clauses varies from territory to territory? This is interesting because if it is, I am inclined to inform my former team mates so that they can fight it out with HQ directly, currently the ML use vague 'HQ standard agreement' for every question asked. I hope you can enlighten us here if you are actually telling the truth. In fact, the main reason I didn't renew was because I was told I have to pay the next 7 years admin fees whether I operate the business or not. Care to comment? Second, I agree with you regarding the effort required to be successful in an actioncoach franchise and I salute you if you tell it as it is in your selection process. However, the blame falls on the coach ONLY IF THE SELECTION PROCESS WAS TRUTHFUL. There are many cases where the franchise is sold as though it is a 'retail' franchise where a rosy picture is painted... as if a franchisee can 'set up shop' and customers will walk in. Other MLs who are monitoring this thread know who they are. (It's quite easy to find out anyway, from the ML's test&measure figures, if they have unusually high turnover of coaches as well as team members, find out why, discretely.) Some used fear to suppress their coaches and prevent any direct line of communication. Do NOT claim this is not happening because 'Brad is open and the culture is open'. It's happening. It's a fact. The stink of any organization starts from the top as coaches coach their clients, funny how in action, the blame is always on the coaches who didn't make the grade but the MLs are always blameless. Therein lies my value challenge. Would you now patronizingly 'pray for my soul'? -
anonymous said on Apr 20, 2009....
to the above post.. Neil is outside the US and its most likely a difference in the franchise law in the UK. AND I'd like to ad, another way for Brad to make money. If he DID charge to get out of the system, he'd make a killing from people here in the US f who want to terminate their agreement. Wouldnt that be "interesting". -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Hi Neil. Thank you for an excellent post, far better than any of the other contributions that have been made from people representing Action over the last few months.
As you expected, it does invite a few more questions though. For now we will give you the benefit of the doubt about the figures but just ask you what happened to Angela Chapman who was listed in the Central Midlands until very recently... ?
More importantly, one still can still only wonder why so many people leave a franchise which is advertised as being one of the most profitable businesses on earth - low overheads, high margins, recession proof… etc. etc.
Might it just be that it is so hard to make a living in this business that at lot of people will quickly jump at any chance to leave the boat?
So, while you were indeed very open about the number of people you have recruited and the numbers who have already left, you were somewhat less forthcoming about average earnings by coach and I have very good reason to believe that it is not a very pretty picture and never has been.
However, as I really believe you are sincere, I would like to submit the following thoughts to you;
Lies of Omission:
To lie by omission is to remain silent and thereby withhold from someone else a vital piece (or pieces) of information. The silence is deceptive in that it gives a false impression to the person from whom the information was withheld. It subverts the truth; it is a way to manipulate someone into altering their behavior to suit the desire of the person who intentionally withheld the vital information; and, most importantly, it's a gross violation of another person's right of self-determination
The Biggest Lie About Lies -- A Lie of Omission Is Not a Lie!
A lie of omission is the most insidious, most pervasive, and most common lie on the entire planet. Commonly, those who use this type of lie, have conned themselves into believing that to intentionally remain silent when ethical behavior calls for one to speak up is not a lie at all. In spite of overwhelming evidence that their silence deceives, misleads, and often causes untold grief and misery, they refuse to speak the truth.
Caught in Their Own Lies:
Here's a strange fact about lies and about the telling of false stories that you may not be aware of. The quote from Adolph Hitler, "Tell a lie often enough, loud enough, and long enough, and people will believe you." applies to the liar as well as to his intended target.
There's a part of the human psyche that tends to accept that which is repeatedly put into the mind (Everyone in Action has had this drummed into them! ). As a result, the peddler of lies very often reaches a point where he/she believes that his/her lies are actually the truth. Very frequently, loving well-meaning people get caught in these false stories and perpetuate them.
Neil, it's up to you to decide where you stand regarding these thoughts but like someone else has posted just above, if all pertinent information (including average earnings by coach) is not provided to prospects during the selection process, then you are effectively guilty of lying by omission…
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anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Here is the interesting thing about franchise acts: whichever country it is, it will specify the parameters for the agreement but it is up to the franchisor to choose what to enforce. In my territory we were sold on the basis that the agreement is standard for all and non-negotiable in any way because it came direct from corporate. We were also told even if those clauses were not applicable in a territory, it is still in it in case of 'future enforcability'. So I am curious whether Neil let slip that the agreement is non-standard after all, which will give my former team mates a legal basis to fight it out. Or, perhaps he decided to selectively enforce on his coaches on a case-by case basis, in which case again I salute his integrity. I believe in most cases and most countries, whether to release the franchisee or not, with or without an escape clause, is up to the franchisor but knowing that the clause is actually non-standard will be an interesting point for those still in it. The entire thing stinks if a franchisor, taking advantage of the franchise act protection, decide to operate on the basis of "hardsell and milk". If Neil doesn't, I am happy for his coaches. But in the territory I was in that was exactly how it was. Even if a coach went 100%, do the activities, read the books, attend all the training sessions.... and at the end of it all found that he/she really don't have what it takes, he/she couldn't get out even if he/she offer the ML 3-6 months admin fee as settlement. I know of coaches who borrowed money to finance their admin fees to the point where they were about to declare bankruptcy before the ML supposedly 'out of goodwill' release them. But I suspect it is more out of not wanting bad publicity of an action franchisee going bankrupt rather than out of goodwill. Some take legal action against the ML for overpromise, which always result in out of court settlement plus gag orders so we don't really know what happen to those. Believe me, some franchisees wouldn't mind letting Brad or the ML team milk them one last time from a termination fee, if they are allowed to do so. -
NeilGSinclair said on Apr 21, 2009....
May I just make it perfectly clear - that despite the 'anonymous' posters whom are hiding behind their anonymity are asking me to declare personal information on specific individuals, I will not break the UK law (data protection act) nor with I break Ethical and morale codes of conduct in our profession by naming and speaking about specific Individuals whom have been Franchisees.
I again want to point out that none of the Individuals concerned have answered even just 1 of my questions above about their activity as a Franchisee - 'Why?' Could it be that this puts the emphasis for their failure back on them? That would be a 'hard and bitter pill to swallow' - I know I would find that difficult as well...yet I must encourage them to get out of Denial here! There are many coaches whom have been successful in this business. Some people have argued that these coaches would have achieved this success despite them.... I have to tell you that I do not believe that to be true at all. I was a Primary Franchisee and Coach in New Zealand and I can categorically tell you that I would not have survived as a Business Coach if I didnt have the systems available to me? Any reasonable person just needs to look at other Business Coaches outside of Action and Business Coaching Franchises to find the Truth behind the 'You dont need the ActionCOACH systems' argument. Our success rate is much higher...what is the difference. Just to clarify this point more.....there were two gentleman whom left ActionCOACH after being coaches and later started to help develop another Business Coaching Franchise. After a few years I amongst others looked to buy that Franchise as part of increasing our Business Portfolio through an acquisition and merger. When we did the research we found that the Franchisees in that Franchise were earning less than half of the earnings of our ActionCOACHes and about 30% of their Franchisees were people we turned away from our Franchise! So we made the decision we didnt want to acquire that Business. So some of the arguments above around the 'ActionCOACH systems' in my mind are extremely flawed. Additionally I would be very interested to find out if any of the anonymous posters making these comments are successful business people or are they unsuccessful business people trying to give people advise on how to be successful? Ask yourself -'If I was going to become an Entrepreneur and get into my own business, would I take advise from 'The World's #1 Business Coaching Franchise' that has and is helping thousands of companies or would I take advise from a few 'begruntled' individuals whom may have failed in this business?
Now let me also just confirm that Brad Sugars hasn't invented most of the ActionCOACH system - The Franchisees have! Brad certainly put together the basic framework and over the years the Franchisees have addes to our systems to enhance our ActionCOACH systems. ActionCOACH Global still are developing alot of systems material, yet so do the franchisees. I have no challenge with this. Just ask yourself....Do you think Richard Branson designed and built all the Virgin systems himself? Do you think Bill Gates designed and built all the Microsoft Systems and products himself? Of course they didnt...yet they have developed a series of products and services that are theirs. Brad Sugars has every right to run the ActionCOACH business the way we are....it is the collection of a series of systems into one ActionCOACH system that is the true value here. If Brad or ActionCOACH were in breach of any registered copyright do you think the owners of that I.P. might sue ActionCOACH - I am not aware of this happening.
Regarding the Franchise agreement question - I am not familiar with the other Countries around the world (because I dont need to know), yet in the UK Franchise agreements there is a 'Termination fee' clause in there....and 'Yes' I have had 2 people pay me this fee to go to other opportunities.
Don't bother asking me to mention names I will not break that code of ethics and the law!
I ask the 'ex-coaches' again to answer my questions in my post above. This is my challenge to them - as if they answer my questions truthfully - ALL will be revealed as to what the real issue is to their failures. I empathise with these people and the outcome they have had, yet hopefully they can take the learnings to acheive a more abundant life from here...
Regards Neil Sinclair
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anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Neil, Very interesting information and congratulations on your success. As an ex-coach, I tremendouly enjoyed being apart of AC for the 6 months I was employed. However, I do not beleive the proper way to increase the size of an organization is by hiring volume. I would never tell a business owner to hire 100 people to have only 5 people succeed in a two year period. But, this business hires by volume and charges a tremendous amount of money to become a coach. I know for a fact of the 20+ people I trained with, only two are still coaches and successful ones at that. The rest, including myself, became finacially "challenged" with bad feelings from all. It's sort of like the Madoff ponzi scheme...You are told of the incredible return, you invest, continuously told of a promised return, and when it comes to the end, you are the big looser. You must admit, this causes very bad feelings and this thread shows the negetivity of the scheme. Again, while I was employed, enjoyed being apart of it. It just cost me way to much to have fun. -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Neil, Very interesting information and congratulations on your success. As an ex-coach, I tremendouly enjoyed being apart of AC for the 6 months I was employed. However, I do not beleive the proper way to increase the size of an organization is by hiring volume. I would never tell a business owner to hire 100 people to have only 5 people succeed in a two year period. But, this business hires by volume and charges a tremendous amount of money to become a coach. I know for a fact of the 20+ people I trained with, only two are still coaches and successful ones at that. The rest, including myself, became finacially "challenged" with bad feelings from all. It's sort of like the Madoff ponzi scheme...You are told of the incredible return, you invest, continuously told of a promised return, and when it comes to the end, you are the big looser. You must admit, this causes very bad feelings and this thread shows the negetivity of the scheme. Again, while I was employed, enjoyed being apart of it. It just cost me way to much to have fun. -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Hi Neil, not interested to know who paid you termination fee to exit, enough to know that termination clause is not a 'standard hq agreement' that is imposed on all territories uniformly and non-negotiable, as claimed. But I do disagree with what you said that ALL ex-coaches fail because of lack of activity. I happen to know at least one during my time, who was passionate and went 110% but simply do not have the self confidence to close anyone. He had more appointments than most of us! I personally believe there are others like him who didn't make it for reasons other than activity level. So yes it’s not fair for ex-coaches to blame it all on action but it is also not fair for you to boil down all failures to one reason. You are right there are some who went in expecting leads to be passed to them, I've met those too and yes, those do deserve to fail (Provided again, they were painted an absolutely clear picture of what it takes to be successful, UPFRONT. Some were not.) While you seem to be clear what it takes to be a successful coach and you probably will turn away those who will not, in your opinion, make the grade, can you speak for the whole of Action that every ML have the same principles like you? Can you speak on behalf of all MLs in action, that not a single one of them have signed on coach prospects whom they knew or suspected in their hearts will not make it? No. You can only speak for yourself and your territory and your approach in selecting franchisees. This is why this debate will not end. However, since I am out and I've said my piece, I will not be back here again. Those who failed move on with your lives and take the learning’s with you. Those who succeeded enjoy your success and know that in the business you are in, you will not be successful unless you thoroughly deserve it. Well done. For those considering the franchise, if you are the type of person Neil described above, you will make it no matter who your ML is. And finally, yes the failure rate is much higher than claimed. -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Neil, your arguments are extremely flawed in some areas. First of all, Richard Branson & Bill Gates do NOT run franchises, everyone is EMPLOYEES who worked for them and are paid salaries to develop their systems. In the case of Bill Gates, many became millionaires from stock options. Action franchisees PAY fees to be part of the system and they also developed most of the system based on the 'structure' put in by Brad Sugars, you do not think something is wrong with your logic? You don't know the difference between being paid to contribute versus paying for the privilege to contribute? Unless you are only referring to former employees in your post :-) Secondly, you blamed every single failure to lack of activities on the part of the coaches. How about having a more honest recruitment system that filter them out upfront so that the franchise has a much better reputation and you don't have to put up with a blog like this? Isn't that win-win for all? But wait, that also means Master Licensees like you will make much less. The franchise sale is profitable upfront for a Master Licensee even if a Coach terminate immediately after training and never made a single cent as you well know. So every one of you is so professional you are not tempted to take the money first and hope for the best? It’s interesting how everyone involved in franchise sales in actioncoach have this belief about franchisees hardwired into their brains such that they see no flaw with themselves only with their franchisees. Thirdly, I read through the entire thread again and can't seem to find many references to coaches not needing the action system and making it own their own. On the other hand, there are tons of posts about being oversold, scripted due diligence and withholding vital information during the sales process. Why not address that instead? The poster above seems to think just because you gave a set of figures, you have integrity as compared to your colleagues; he's probably influenced by the fact that he was part of the system once. -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Aha-ha-ha! Anom you really nailed it. Comparing Gates & Branson to Sugars, employee vs. franchise, getting paid vs. paying... and concluding it’s all the same. To come out with such an example truly reflect the values & mindset of the people involved. That's why they see no wrong in their sales method, that's why they see all failures as not their own. Preaching ownership but practising blame. -
NeilGSinclair said on Apr 21, 2009....
Just to clarify a couple of comments;
Regarding the post above....I did state in my earlier posts the reason for failure is a lack of Marketing and Sales activity.....this sales activity includes many areas. One of these areas, which is specific for the person referred above whom didn't have the confidence to sell is recording your calls, conversations, appointments etc....reviewing them, writing up a synopsis on what you did well and what you can improve on...sending this into your ML or another experienced coach for review. Alternatively, going out on appointments with other coaches or having someone attend appointments with you to give you feedback and advice. Either of these two training and support mechanisms work fine when the Coach needing the progress actually does these. Everyone in ActionCOACH understands that basic business formula 'Leads x Conversion rate = Customers' We too are business owners and also need to apply this principle and ensure that we have development strategies in both these areas to achieve our 90 day targets and goals.
Again I note that none of the ex-coaches who have been posting on here are prepared to quote their activity numbers when they were in the ActionCOACH Franchise - Anyone reading these posts will have to ask ....'Why?' If it was the ActionCOACH systems at fault - people should be quoting their weekly/monthly activity stats and showing us how regardless of their activity in Marketing and Sales our systems hindered their development or simply didnt work....'The reality is the facts are confirmed above by the previous poster...that there are many successful coaches whom have applied the ActionCOACH systems very well to achieve a successful business.
I do agree with another post and will say to people that the ActionCOACH Franchise is not right for everyone....We are looking for confident people whom are passionate about achieving success in Business for themselves and others. Additionally you must be a confident person whom is prepared to learn and diligently apply the marketing and sales systems that are core to bringing on clients in our business. If you have a major issue around getting rejection from people whilst you are marketing and selling our services, then I would suggest that you shouldn't be in any sales role that requires you to be a 'Problem Solver' in sales. If you are still going to be in a business and do have these issues, then I would suggest you consider a business that requires you to simply to be an 'Order Taker' such as a fast food outlet! I have never heard of anyone walking up to a Fast food counter and then saying 'Sorry I'm not interested!'
Regarding the Franchise agreement mentioned above - I do know the Franchise agreement for the UK is standard and I am fairly certain that the agreements are standard by country as the Franchise laws are different in each country. Franchise agreements are updated regularly and new clauses etc are introduced due to many factors such a Franchise Association changes, recommendations etc.
You just need to be aware of what is contained in the agreement and given the stats I have shared above, you will not know what Entrepreneurial doors will be opened to you in the future as an ActionCOACH, so I strongly suggest you are aware of your exit strategy options. Just as we advise to ALL business owners....everyone should start a business with an end in mind, understanding what is their range of exit strategies.
For anyone reading these posts, it is always good to have a level of 'healthy scepticism' to fully review opportunities. I recommend for any business opportunity actually speak with the people whom are in the business to hear their experiences. If after reading the posts on this site and speaking with the people in the ActionCOACH Business your mindset is swaying towards the mindset and comments of the negative posters on this site...then this ActionCOACH Franchise is probably not the right business for you....If you are an optimistic realists whom after spending a few weeks fully reviewing the Franchise opportunities diligently are confident you can combine your positive attributes and skillset, with our training, support and systems to acheive a successful business that will help you achieve your goals...then this will probably be the right business for you.
Again I do 'feel for' the people whom have invested in an ActionCOACH Franchise and failed and I wish them every success in their future endeavours. What I do not accept though is for these people to attempt to blame ActionCOACH for their failure, although understandable, in order to shy the responsibility away from themselves and their own abilities to apply the ActionCOACH systems, this is simply not the truth. Do your own research, we have many successful coaches whom have learnt great 'Entrepreneurial skills' still in our Franchise network and whom have left our network as well as thousands of clients whom have benefited greatly from having an ActionCOACH Business Coach.
Again, I offer for anyone wanting to speak with me to contact me via any of my contact details above.
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anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
I’ve been watching this for a while and can’t hold back any more I just have to get this out. I’ve written it off line while others have recently posted. Isn’t it interesting that we are coming to similar conclusions.
The two Gentlemen who started a separate coaching franchise were deemed unsuccessful you but your comparison is all wrong. If your sales process makes claims and omits the facts that there is a HUGE failure rate you are committing fraud. Other coaching franchise systems not withstanding the Action franchise cannot stand on its own, the failure rate proves this. If you were telling the truth in your sales process, your failure rate would be lower because the intake of new franchisees would be lower and draw people who can understand the risk and potentially do better. There is agreed aspect of selling the franchises under false pretences and that is why this thread will not die. You accuse people here hiding behind anonymity but you are hiding behind the law that entitles you to disclose only a small amount of the turnover rate of franchises.
I as a former coach understand the need to help dysfunctional small businesses That’s why I got involved a chance to use my business knowledge in a new and large market. A huge market, but a tough one to crack, as I found out. The vast majority of small business owners don’t have the funds to pay for coaches; nail salons and hair dressers. The number one reason for business failure is not attitude; it’s undercapitalization. The tactics are very light on hard-core help for business.
Action was sold to me as a Lifestyle business. Work from home; work as little or as much as you like; we have a great system, let it work for you. Do you drive your business or does your business drive you? Work ON your business rather than IN your business. It all sounded very appealing. Look at your own marketing materials.
The issue is the support and training promised for a $1500 fee every month; that’s $18,000 annually. That transfer of wealth is for what consideration? Repackaged plagiarized material that, yes, is added to by the coaches. You want to make more coaches successful? Get rid of the on going costs, have the coaches participate in a members only web forum for small fee to cover a small administrative staff. You even said it yourself that the coaches are adding to the materials, Let them own it themselves! You are giving it to Action and paying for the right to look at your own material. The system is at the heart of action and it just doesn’t exist. That is the come-on that gets people in. You sign up make an investment and we’ll provide on going support you for $18,000 a year on top of the franchise fee. Oh and by the way you need to pay to go to conferences, you need to buy out website, you need to buy our office materials, Oh yes the 5% of gross sales for a marketing fee. Cha-Ching!
Action doesn’t think much of other coaching schools: even though accredited universities and colleges around the world offer their accredited programs. How is the Action program accredited? By an organization, that Action set up! That is manufactured evidence you rely on to get the sale!
This is why you don’t need Action You have been duped into thinking that you are actually getting something in return for your initial investment, your training fee your annual $18,000.00 plus all the extra costs.
All of the materials are in the public domain or stolen from other sources:
5 ways = Jay Abraham
Be Do Have = L Ron Hubbard, Scientology
BFO Blinding Flash of the Obvious = Landmark Education, Aha
6Steps = Abraham Maslow
Leverage game = Cashflow, Kiyosaki
and on … and on… because you are not personally aware of any lawsuits doesn’t mean there aren’t any… re-read the thread.
They one bit of total truth in your post Mr. Sinclair is that you will be ripped apart by anonymous posters by your support of Action even though you admit it has flaws. You as others are part of a group that has adopted a belief that has a fatal flaw; a culture that Franchisees have to live by but not the leaders or the corporation. Rather than attack your rosy view of Action and your tendency to avoid the issue. I’d rather attack the root issue.
You will make an abundant amount of cash to give to your ML to give to Brad. You can keep some of it but you’d better hustle your butt. Where is the lifestyle? Theirs is abundance only for one, BRAD. He’s the one getting rich. I sat in an Action conference and looked around the room at the 100 or so Franchisees and looked at the stage. The vision I has was one of streams of money flowing from each person to Brad onstage. The BFO I had was that all of the audience was struggling and Brad was talking; beating us up and berating us for “not following the system”. That’s value for my money? I didn’t invest for mind control. I invested to use a system that was promised to me. Action is expensive especially after you learn what you are really buying after the sale. Give me lots of money and I’ll change your attitude. That’s the system; that’s the con.
Tell us, where is the value that Action provides you, or other coaches with, that you have not created yourselves?
Your answer will truly tell you why you, and a handful of other coaches are successful.
I’ve read through this entire thread and can only come to the conclusion that current Action coaches are just like Zombies who have put their brains on hold. Understandably so; when you make an investment in something (a big investment) you irrationally support it even though you were cajoled into it; it’s too painful not to. The action brand has built a community that exists for the lining of Brad’s pockets. That community is one that can be owned by the coaches, for the coaches, for less cost and the same if not better benefit.
Coaches, you need a new business model.
WAKE UP!
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anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Neil is 'amazing' as he can pick on points from posters above him to support his own views even when it is obvious to other readers he took those points totally out of context. He, like everyone else whether openly or covertly defend the action system till date, absolutely refuse to address all posts relating to their sales process and the absolute dishonesty of that process. Ignoring it will not make it go away. And most scary to me after reading the above exchanges, it seems like some master licensees refuse to release their franchisees who no longer want to be part of the system even if they are willing to pay termination fees, they would hold the franchisee to the agreement until he/she lost all capacity to pay by which time they would still demand a settlement fee. Potential franchisees beware. Even if you believe you will be very successful and you really are, things might change in your life such that you want to move on to something else. It seems like if you join Action, you have no way out except to declare bankruptcy unless you are part of Neil's team. -
NeilGSinclair said on Apr 21, 2009....
This will be my last post on this subject for quite a while. If anyone wants to speak with me in person, please contact me through any of my details in posts above.
I have to comment on the 'Employee vs Franchisee' model argument. 'Yes' there are many people whom have had share profit schemes in Microsoft and Virgin etc - yet not everyone has been made wealthy from these schemes nor have they been given the same opportunities or rewards as the majority of the shares etc go to management! At least when you invest in an Actioncoach Franchise you know what the investments are up front and the possible return on investment is. I have to say that the potential returns, the autonomy and lifestyle available to all our Franchisees as successful Business Owners far outweighs the average earnings, corporate culture and lack of autonomy available to the majority of people working in or for large corporate Businesses.
Prior to joining ActionCOACH many years ago, I never earnt more than 50k per year, since joining Action, I earnt 120k in profit my first year as a Coach ( I clearly banked much more than that) and since then have substantially increased my profits year on year. The lifestyle and autonomy has been amazing and my personal and professional development in ActionCoach supercedes by far my entire career development and University studies in the last 20 years. I doubt if I could have learnt all the Entrepreneurship skills anywhere else as quickly!
Our ActionCOACH Franchise Model is developed and innovated by both the Global Office Team and all the Franchisees in the network. Everyone gets to share this information and everyone gets the equal opportunity to gain and prosper from any and all developments as they can use them in their ActionCOACH business.
With well over a 1000 coaches world-wide we have a large amount of Entrepreneurial innovations within our business happening. We all want access to these innovations and developments when we begin in the Franchise and into the future and as part of the Franchise agreement we agree that any developments/innovations we may make are also are shared with the entire ActionCOACH Franchise and these innovations become the IP of ActionCOACH. This is how we develop the Franchise Model. This model is extremely cost effective for anyone wanting the enter the Business Coaching Market consider all the training, support, systems, models and artifacts made available to them.
Additionally - reading the posts above, I get a sense that some people do not fully understand what 'Investing in an ActionCOACH Franchise' really is. I have to ask.. "What do you think you are buying when you invest in an ActionCOACH Primary Franchise License? What you are doing is leasing a 'Business Model' from ActionCOACH for a specific term - generally 3 terms of 5 to 7 years. During these term you are given the rights, the training, the systems and support to operate an ActionCOACH Franchise whereby your aim should be to maximise your earnings and generate cashflow/profit that you can 're-invest' into other weath generating opportunities - be they enhancing your business or property portfolio etc. At the end of your term(s) if you decide not to renew, you either re-sell your business license and client base or at the very least hand back all the Business systems and the business model that is the I.P. of ActionCOACH.
In a post above an anonymous poster stated "That's why they see no wrong in their sales method, that's why they see all failures as not their own. Preaching ownership but practising blame." This is simply ridiculous - Let me explain the support the ML's give to our Franchisees. I do not 'Blame' them, yet with all the support on offer below, I do want them to take ownership. I as an ML offer 100% Inclusion on all our training and support - the main question is are they 100% involved? From my experience, the Coaches whom I have had fail outright in this business do not participate in all the support activities that they need to. Now I do take some ownership for them not participating as I am their ML and Leader here. Yet you know the saying 'You can lead a horse to water....but you cant make it drink!" When I was a coach I participated in everything on offer - because I was hungry for knowledge and success and I wanted to learn from and model what was being successfully achieved. In addition to the Global Training conducted, here is the support the ML's give to the Franchisees;- Every Coach is offered a Coaches Coach/Accountability Coach to help develop their skillsets and to stay focused on their 90 day plans. Access to these coaches is given initially weekly and as their income rises the support deminishes to a monthly call;
- All Franchisees are required to have a 90 Day plan;
- Franchisees are offered training support in the field either by their ML or the ML can contract another coach to do this;
- Monthly Regional Conference calls with a guest speaker on business development;
- Monthly regional training days on applying the ActionCOACH systems;
- A CD of the Month whereby the Global office interviews the top 3 coaches around the world on a specific area of our Franchised business;
- Book of the month is supplied to all Coaches for them to read to enhance their professional/personal development;
- Brad runs weekly development webinars on the Thursdays for all Coaches around the world to access;
- Coaches are given an IPOD with over 40 Gigs of our training material, videos and systems on it;
- Annual Regional (European/North American etc) 3-4 days Conference;
- Annual Global 3-4 day Conference.
As an ML I take my leadership and support role extremely seriously. It is the retention of Franchisees that is an integral part of my business and retention is best achieved by helping them to achieve the results and success they desire and building relationships with them. I offer all the support above and more as a wider range of options for my franchisees to succeed. A challenge does develop when Franchisees negative beliefs around learning how to apply our marketing and sales systems affects their ability to be successful in this business. Anyone my team identifies with this challenge, will be turned away from being rewarded a Franchise. We still do get some Franchisees whom develop this belief and behaviour over time simply because they are not doing enough of the Marketing and Sales activity that is stipulated in my posts above to build their own self-belief adn confidence that they can make a success of this business - Despite all the training and support on offer. Once I am in a situation whereby my desire for their success is greater than their desire for success - they just won't make a success of this business and we are both doomed! However, as you can see from the stats in my posts above I have many more coaches do successfully learn the systems and go on to prosper.
As you will see from our Website their still are many successful coaches in our network or whom have been in our network and learnt what they needed to learn to move to a better Entrepreneurial opportunity for them.
Again if anyone reading these posts want to contact me directly - please contact me via my details in one of my posts above. I am more than happy to speak with you. This is my last post on here for quite a while. I feel I have done my bit and given you all plenty of information.
Regards Neil Sinclair - 'Liberator of Abundance!'
P.S. I wish the posters making negative comments every success in your future endeavours. Your thoughts either strengthen you or weaken you - its your choice!
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anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Brad Sugars does no background check on his employees. As shown in this site a few convicted felon's have worked as executives for ActionCoach. Brad is smart enough to know what better person to keep his fraudulent activity quiet than somebody with a criminal mind and past. Brad knew he was slamming people with false claims and he got these criminals to do his dirty work for him. No respectable company would hire people like this. When it came out these ex felon's worked for Brad, rather than terminate them he promoted them. -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Neil, Like you this will be my last entry. A brief snapshot of my seven months with AC involved the following: - I never met my ML nor had any conversations with him. - My DL had a very negetive approch to corporate because he felt they were thieves. After training, I was instructed by him not to communicate with corporate. If I needed anything, to go through him. - My percentage was 35% and then I was taxed which meant I needed to have 15 clients to survive. - To get a client, my DL first handed me a stack of business cards and said start calling. I was then handed phone lists and told to call as well. I could go on with all the negetive stuff I encountered but then some might suggest I'm just a disgruntled ex-employee. Well, it's true...I'm an ex-employee and I'm disgruntled because I was ignorant and fell for the sales pitch. Luckily I was only taken for 25K. An expense lesson. I know a DL that was taken for 200k. A real expensive lesson. So for anyone remotely considering investing into this business, read this entire thread and complete an extensive do diligence not only with current and ex-employees, I also suggest retaining an attorney to do a thorough investigation. The cost of the investigation will save you big bucks. Promise. -
anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
Hi Neil. Your 1st post made you sound like quite a decent guy but it has been downhill all the way every since. I think you might just have been a little too long with Action for your own good as you seem to have completely lost your ability to stand back from things.
In your last post you go on about how much money you have personally made from Action and it sounds like quite a good story. However you can’t possibly believe that everyone else in the system has or is doing as well. I would actually say that most are not but more about that later.
Anyway, just so you do understand the issues I would like to ask you how old you were when you joined Action and how old most of the people Action recruit are. I suspect you were probably under forty whereas a very large proportion of those who take an Action franchise are well into their fifties, have been downsized out of relatively comfortable jobs in major corporations and suddenly have to learn a whole new ballgame. This is a massive challenge by any stretch and involves huge changes in both mindset and skills. The 11 days training Action provides for an exorbitant fee is nowhere near enough to do the job so these guys struggle for months while the outflow of money starts pretty well immediately.
For those who don’t survive beyond 2 years with Action, probably the majority, the loss is huge – initial license fee, training fee, monthly royalties plus all their business expenses which can be considerable if they use an external telemarketing service as many do. For someone in the U.S. the figure is probably somewhere between 150 and 200k$. You can pay for a hell of a lot of education for that sort of money…
Worse again, since Action is always on about being “Above or Below the Line” , anyone who does not make it is naturally “Below the Line” (you say as much in your posts) so on top of the financial loss, these people leave feeling like total failures. Since “positioning” is also a big subject in the Action world, I guess you could say that people are positioned to consider that if they don’t succeed it is entirely their own fault.
Now back to earnings. As we all know, Action classes coaches in different categories depending on their earnings:
Less than 6000 = Bronze
Between 6000 and 12000 = Silver
Between 12000 and 25000 = Gold etc…
I’ll stop there because so few people are concerned that there is no point in going any further. These figures represent gross earnings (including any local sales taxes) so to understand what money is left to coaches you should start by subtracting sales tax from the figures, the monthly royalty and the 5% marketing fee. After that you need to subtract operating expenses and once that is done you can already conclude that a Bronze level coach is basically making no money whatsoever.
Using the same reasoning, a Silver level coach is probably scraping along but I suspect he could have some difficulty saving towards retirement and paying for health insurance.
Conclusion, until you have reached Gold level, this franchise is probably not a very good investment.
If you have followed me up until now you can probably guess my next question. Yes, yes, yes…how many or what percentage of your team is presently Gold level or higher? Is it 20%, is it 50%, is it 89%...?
Answering this question will only take a few seconds so I guess you can still find the time to do it and if you do answer this question honestly then I will already have a lot more respect for what you have to say. If you don’t, then I will consider everything you have said here so far as total B.S.
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anonymous said on Apr 21, 2009....
This is also my last post ever (and actually only my second) because anyone with the patience to digest the thread would be able to draw their own conclusions and would be making an informed decision in buying the franchise. I believe this blog has done the job actions due diligence refuse to; it gives the picture from both sides and let the readers decide. It's absolutely amazing how Neil, like so many before him from action in this blog, goes on and on about the support & the benefits and NEVER ONCE addresses the main gripe here: unprofessional selling strategies to get franchisees. They practically confirm the fact, by not responding, that the selling process of the franchise is as described by the prospective coaches and the ex-coaches here. Now let me ask you: does anyone of you, during the franchise sale, ever mention to your prospects about lead X conversion = customers and what the average numbers are in action and what sort of activities they need to do in order to make it? Simple isn't it to avoid overselling? But you don't. They find out after returning from training. Why is that? As you well know, the numbers will be exciting for the right candidate and depressing for the wrong candidates expecting a retail type of franchise. The franchise salespeople knew all that too, so why no disclosure? Yes there are many success stories but there are at least two to three times not-so-successful stories. (All one have to do is to take the numbers provided in your marketing materials and do the mathematics. By your figure, you should be having 3000+ coaches by now.) Why bury that? And as some else mentioned above again, why not tighten the process to increase success rate and reduce the negativity. Only reason why not is the upfront franchise sale, it's all about the money. The employee vs. franchise argument Neil presented is still flawed and truly reflect his mindset as someone said above. As an employee, you don't expect to get rich but you get paid for your contributions. No one is talking about the potential earnings between franchisees and employees, they are merely addressing the fact that Action think it is ok to provide a 'framework' for franchisees to provide the meat themselves, where franchisees actually pay for the privilege to the tune of 1.5K per month. An employee is doing work for hire, he get paid for his contribution. In Action, you pay to contribute. Neil is so one track minded like all franchise sales people in Action he simply bulldoze his view picking on points out of the original context to support his arguments, again, as someone already mentioned. Ok, I do agree that it is a very powerful model for 1000 brains to work together and I am willing to contribute my part when I was part of the system. That is teamwork, I get that. But what I cannot accept is that ideas contributed by others to the actioncoach system is repackaged and resold to the contributors. That is not ok, that crosses the line. Neil wouldn't know. His contribution to the internal forums for the years I was there consists of cheerleading statements, like what he is contributing here. "Way to go!" "Well done" "Keep it up" "That's awesome Brad" He added nothing substantial but he takes. Someone mentioned above: imagine if you are the one who posted a training workbook to share online with your teammates and you are actually expecting nothing in return. A few months down the line, you receive supposedly draft copies of workbooks at AUD6 each with an order form. How would the contributor feel receiving that in his mail? How would you feel Neil? Still part of the happy-pay-to-contribute family? Did you actually miss the point on the employee vs franchisee post or were you simply doing your twist hoping no one notice it? Don't patronize the readers here. They are not stupid. Oh one last thing Neil, you are probably not aware, since you mentioned other countries are none of your business, of the checklist of support provided, not every ML provide them. Book of the month? IPod? Webinar with Brad weekly? Field support? In some areas if you bring your ML you are bringing a competitor. -
anonymous said on Apr 22, 2009....
Regarding ->"You don't know the difference between being paid to contribute versus paying for the privilege to contribute?" + "Repackaged plagiarized material that, yes, is added to by the coaches." t you call him a liar, no matter what? -
anonymous said on Apr 22, 2009....
"What do you think you are buying when you invest in an ActionCOACH Primary Franchise License?" Good question Neil, that is exactly what you and other MLs need to answer to the point where it is absolutely clear to your franchise prospects before they sign on the dotted line. If you have done that, coaches who don't make the grade should have no reasons to bitch, but if you have not, then they have every right to. Gee... don't you guys get it?? Look at your marketing materials and your franchise previews, where does it say anything even remotely resembling what you wrote here? -
anonymous said on Apr 22, 2009....
To the many posters who wanted Neil Sinclair & others before him to address the issue of false disclosure and unprofessional marketing process:
Doing so will open up Action to more lawsuits, so you can bet they will continue to ignore it while preaching their rosy numbers as their line of defence.
To Neil Sinclair who challenged the ex-coaches to declare their activity level while in Action:
They won't respond as well since doing so will give credence to your claims and potentially identifying them thus inviting lawsuits.
Sooooo..... Does that mean we have a stalemate?
Far from it, I recall hearing this story again and again from Brad's seminar materials regarding the lesson his dad taught him about recruiting people: You only get people you deserve.
According to this lesson, Action fully deserves having negative franchisees bitching about them because they attracted them in the first place. Unless they clean up their act and start to attract better people this will continue in one form or another. To start attracting better people it falls back to the very beginning - honesty in their selection process. Funny how, again and again, the people in action corporate office & territory owners fail to internalize the lessons they preach to others.
- Long time reader, first time poster.
Ps: I too find Neil's analogy of Bill Gates, Richard Branson vs. Brad Sugars amusingly twisted.
-
anonymous said on Apr 23, 2009....
I worked for Bruce Doyle re his phone room re his seminars which were targeted at businesses. The whole idea was to get as many businesses to attend as possible in order to stroke Bruce's massive ego.
I was always shocked and taken back when I knew first hand that the 99% of the coaches in Bruce's employ did not have the ability or credentials to actually coach businesses even if they wanted to. The only factor that a coach needed to become a coach was to be able to have the money upfront.
I found the whole framework very dated and backward. I was expected to run a successful telemarketing room with staff who were never given rewards for good work. There was no functioning data base and there was no way that the data could be handled in accordance with privacy laws on in any way that was in accordance with any sort of organization.
Bruce would tell businesses that they needed to have a customer data base when he did not have one himself.
My job was to overhaul a telemarketing room and bring it up to the times but was not given the tools to be able to do it. I was promised things but they never ever eventuated.
The overall way with which a so called coaching company was run was in short a joke. There were staff on the books who were semi literate who in fact were not capable of producing any sort of quality work. Many of the coaches were also semi literate and when I pointed it out to the then ceo of the company that these people are representing a company that is supposed to at least look professional he replied, ''blokes don't need to know how to spell''.
During my stay at Action there were many instance of sexual harassment, the ceo referred to the younger telemarketing staff as ''eye candy'' and thought nothing of inappropriate touching. Female staff including myself were called, ''sweetie'', ''honey'' and ''darling''. I was told that any objection to that was ridiculous. The ceo also talked about how he was a ''tactile person''. This information was brought to the attention of the owner of the company but he chose to ignore it.
I was expected to hold about 8 seminars a month with about 6 telemarketers, no real data except from what could be garnered from phone books etc. and one admin assistant. Bruce expected about 40 decent business owners to attend these seminars which started at 7am and finished at 10 am. Anything less was considered not good enough.
Many businesses realized they were not getting value for money when they signed up for coaching. I spoke to several businesses who could ill afford coaching fees, $2, 000 for nothing and they were expected to pay regardless of the lack of quality of coaching.
I have read the false resumes of some of the coaches. I read with interest that one coach puts himself down as having worked as an IT consultant when he in fact worked for Amway. I know that a lot of the claims some of the coaches are putting on their coaching resumes are false.
The sad truth I found out about Bruce Doyle's coaching company was that he was taught by Brad Sugars and they understand one thing and one thing only, money. Ethics, professionalism and any understanding of process etc. is lost on them. The frameworks that Action use are cobbled from the 1970's and earlier and not relevant in today's climate but that is not relevant re the way the company is modeled.
I personally am not proud that I was part of such a company. I feel very sorry for people who have paid money to Action Coach or Action International as both coaches or as clients who are not getting what they paid for.
To this day I find it interesting that the likes of Brad Sugars profile themselves as being success stories. If my millions were dependent on the suffering and misery of many people then all I can think is that he is a morally bankrupt individual who will eventually fall. -
anonymous said on Apr 24, 2009....
To all of you out there who are interested in the debate on this blog the following sequence of e-mails makes for interesting reading.
As we have all seen this week, Neil Sinclair did at least have the courage to state his opinions here which is more than can be said for most of the people representing Action. However it was also pretty obvious that Neil has a logic of his own and it would be still nice to know how many of his team (apart from himself) are actually making any serious money?
As for Craig Hohnberger, strangely rather than get into an honest debate, he would seem to prefer that this blog went off line. Just as strangely, Unfortunately, I didn't get Jodie's answer to Craig but I expect we can all expect to see more posts from SoulCastAdmin sometime soon.
fromCraig Hohnberger <craighohnberger@actioncoach.com>
toNeil Sinclair <neilsinclair@actioncoach.com>,
Minute Man ,
Jodie Shaw <jodieshaw@actioncoach.com>
dateWed, Apr 22, 2009 at 8:41 PM
subjectRE: Posts on Soulcast
mailed-byactioncoach.com
Jodie-
Please provide some advice/guidance on this. Thanks. See original email below.
Btw - What is the status on getting this stuff “buried”?
Craig
From: Neil Sinclair [mailto:neilsinclair@actioncoach.com]
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 3:38 AM
To: 'Craig Hohnberger'; 'Minute Man'
Subject: RE: Posts on Soulcast
Dear Minuteman – Thanks for your e-mail. I have recently seen the posts on this site and I am in two minds whether I even want to participate in ‘this trash’. Clearly there are some very disturbed people on these posts. Although I have a clear conscious and love this business, despite what I have said already and will continue to say….there is just no pleasing the ‘clearly disturbed’ people on this site.
Secondly I am not sure whether I even want to reply to specific questions directed at me, when the person whom is asking these questions is an anonymous person whom is not prepared to give their name!
Who are you and why are you using ‘Minuteman’ as your name? Let me know who you are and what interests you have in all these posts please….
I will contemplate whether I even want to respond to the trash online…considering all the factors of anon posts and what people are looking for and their agendas!
Regards........
Neil Sinclair - 'Liberator of Abundance!'
ActionCOACH Master Licensee
ActionCOACH
The World's #1 Business Coaching Firm
Gloucester House
399 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK9 2HL
UK
Main: 01908699930
Fax: 01908699931
Mobile: 07766111296
Website: www.actioncoach.com/neilsinclair
Email: neilsinclair@actioncoach.com
From: Craig Hohnberger [mailto:CraigHohnberger@actioncoach.com]
Sent: 19 April 2009 20:04
To: Minute Man; neilsinclair@actioncoach.com
Subject: RE: Posts on Soulcast
I had long forgot about this. Who are you, MinuteMan?
Craig
From: Minute Man
Sent: Sun 4/19/2009 10:18 AM
To: Craig Hohnberger; neilsinclair@actioncoach.com
Subject: Posts on Soulcast
Hi Guys.
Last year you were both very fast out of the blocks to do posts on the following blog: http://www.soulcast.com/post/show/71156/Brad-Sugars-Action-Coach
Since then it has become a very lively forum for discussion about the Action franchise and since you had so much to say a year ago I thought maybe you would like to know that some very direct questions were put to you on some recent posts.
So, if you haven't had a look at this blog lately, maybe it is time to have a look again. Even better, since there is an awful lot of crap (but also some very good posts) maybe you could raise the level of the debate by providing direct answers to the questions that were put to you.
Looking forward to seeing your posts.
MinuteMan
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anonymous said on Apr 24, 2009....
The "Status" comment shows that what will be the result of this. Its clear that they are working through legal means to sweep this problem under the rug and not answer the accusations directly; they can't.Their big complaint here is that this is an anonymous blog, and claim the moral high ground when clearly they are feverously working to shut this thing down.Another Action flipchart; Look in the Mirror; saying one thing and doing another; Practising andf preaching. -
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Hello Everyone,
I am about to retire and am looking for a 'retirement business'. Actioncoach's telemarketer has been very persistent in calling me so I decided to do a bit more research on the opportunity online and speak to some friends in my business circle. I supposed that is how everyone else stumbles upon this blog.
Let me share my experience so far and what I think about the posts here which I've spent almost 1/2 day digesting:
1. In my very extensive search on the internet, I find 99% positive news and only 1 blog such as this, plus 1 to 2 more forums with some discussion (unhappyfranchisees.com has another thread).
2. BUT, the biggest concern I have is that the 99% positive news can all be traced back directly to Actioncoach; in my many hours of search, I find no independent positive reviews whatsoever. This 'flooding the net with positive news' strategy has been used by a lot of online scammers, so while I am not saying Actioncoach is one of them, it definitely made me more cautious.
3. A lot of posters here, though there might be some who are very 'disturbed', clearly are former insiders. The corporation I worked with for 30+ years too have their share of negative postings online in anonymous forums and let me tell you this: as much as we hate to admit it and as much as we cannot admit it, there's truth buried underneath the 'crap'. So I do believe a lot of the posts here that described the inner 'real' culture of Actioncoach as opposed to what is being sold to the public. I believe any rational reader who has similar experience dealing with insiders revealing all will know what I am saying here.
4. One of the best sales strategies great marketing people use is to win over their strongest critiques with facts and figures. They know that when critiques turn around, they always become their best free salespeople. The fact that Actioncoach being in the niche they are in and do not see this blog as an opportunity to turn it into their biggest independent, free marketing blog tells me something: they are either not as good in marketing as they claim or worse... they have no facts to counter the claims made here. Another alarm bell for me.
5. After reading the blog for a few hours, it suddenly went 'blank' and I have to scroll for quite awhile before it ends with the ip trace link above. I believe this is Actioncoach's attempt to disrupt the discussions here and the last link is a form of intimidation to scare posters about the possibility of their IPs being traced. More alarm bells.
6. There's so many neutral posters who will seem to be willing to go to great lengths to defend Actioncoach, including a franchise attorney (in my 30+ years of corporate life, I've yet to meet an attorney who will waste their time online, what more defend an organization not related to them) and a MLM marketing person (who just happen to be here because he/she has friends in action who happened to be featured in Actioncoach's testimonials) among many others; that clinches it for me.
7. I have researched Actioncoach's archived websites as described by someone above (Very helpful, mate, didn't know there were such thing as an internet time machine. It helped me recover an old website of my own which I forgot to backup, cheers!) And clearly the failure rate is much higher than publicised.
So in conclusion, I am not interested to pursue the opportunity further. For what it's worth, it's not about the negative posts... it's about how Actioncoach attempt to handle the negative posters here that really say something about the people running the franchise.
-
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
I can only agree with the poster above. If the lines of code inserted into the recent posts were designed to intimidate people and try to stop this blog, it says more about the weakness of those that are doing it than any of the the more crap contributions here.
Anyway, as a massive amount of the material here is about people’s experience with Action, mostly coaches, it’s also probably worth talking about the MLs, especially after the massive criticism Neil Sinclair received last week.
Being an Action ML means you’re in a pretty hard spot – between Action, or more accurately Brad Sugars, basically trying to milk *his* franchise for all its worth, and the franchisees who have invested a lost of money and a lot of faith in the Action system. Action HQ provides the initial training 11+3 days and a follow-up self learning course over 12 weeks called Team Success Academy with a 1-HR call each week. Other than that, pretty well all the ongoing training and support is provided by the MLs.
In the US, an ML usually provides such training and support by phone, mostly due to the great geographical distance between his office and his coaches. This means that most franchisees don’t get to see much of their MLs, as some people have already pointed out. Since the initial training covers a lot of ground very quickly, most new coaches come back from the training both confused and not really knowing much. This is why the MLs are required to provide a lost of ongoing support. But, as I already said, because of the distances involved, this does not always happen as it should. In my opinion, this is already one major reason why so many people fail to make it as a successful coach.
Another major reason I believe so many people fail is candidate selection. The MLs have not only invested a lot of their own cash in buying their territory, they also have minimum performance targets to meet in terms of monthly royalties to Action which means that they have to pay a minimum monthly royalty figure whether they have the required number of coaches on their books or not. As a result, many (most?) MLs are pushed to sign on pretty well any candidate with cash who looks like he or she might make the grade. The MLs also have to do all the cleaning up once things go bad, which seems to happen pretty often.
If you’re considering buying an Action ML territory, you should be aware that price per territory, minimum performance objectives and all other financial conditions are based on what Action thinks it can get away with. You might believe you’re getting the same conditions as everyone else in the system, but talking to your colleagues, you’ll find out sooner or later that this isn’t the case. Moreover, Action goes as far as warning the MLs already in the system that they’ll be breached if they disclose any of this type of information to ML candidates.
Another thing you find out is that all costs for franchisees (license fee, training fee, monthly royalties, annual conference, etc) in countries like Australia and New Zealand are far lower than anywhere else. For example, they charge more or less the same nominal amount, forgetting that US$1 = 1.4 Australian Dollars. These countries are always held up as examples to everyone else, but in fact they’re playing the game in a totally different ball park.
I personally think the cost structure in these countries is far more realistic and gives the franchisees a far better chance of making a success out it. I don’t understand why a franchise has such different policies from one country to another as this can totally distort any comparisons you’d try to make.
I thought this post was necessary after all the other posts to that you’ll see more clearly where the MLs are coming from. Ever heard this one: “when a fish stinks, it’s from the head down…”?
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TappedouT said on Apr 29, 2009....
Nathan Smith and Jodie Shaw - Please stop these childish, blank postings. -
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Actioncoach's latest tactic to distrupt this blog shows real desperation and childishness and of course they won't admit they are doing it like they won't admit to the high percentage of failures and their manipulative sales process. What they don't seem to understand is there's already enough information for anyone browsing this blog to make up their minds long before they reach the empty spaces (By the way folks, a webpage loads from the top, visitors can start reading long before the page finish loading, sigh, so stupid!) So next poster, we'll see your post after the white space :-) Visitors to this blog, I am sure you will agree with me if you actually read long enough to reach here, you've seen enough long before you reach this part and that if you were positive about actioncoach before this, just looking at their antics on this blog make you at least a bit suspicious about their professionalism. By the way, as an IT guy, I can totally agree with poster above the ip-trace like is a very stupid scare tactic.... -
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Thanks blank space I got your hidden message - very clever message, if read backwards..... -
TappedouT said on Apr 29, 2009....
Nathan Smith and Jodie Shaw -
Please stop these childish and unprofessional blank postings!
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anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Don't tell me what to do, I'm just a dummy....hint hint. Can you only read left to right........ Please refer to me as blank space..... worked it out yet?
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TappedouT said on Apr 29, 2009....
Nathan Smith and Jodie Shaw - Please stop these childish, blank postings. -
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Very clever, "killing machine". I'm looking forward to your "knockout punch". In the mean time, I'm compiling a list of links to nearly all of ActionCOACH's websites, which I intend to post here along with the meta keywords from each of those sites. Let's see how clever you feel when this page finds its way to #1 on Google. -
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Who are you, you fool. Whose team are you on? Blank space is on the same team???? You idiot for posting the above. Hell, I want to kill you myself you dumb FuK. Get organized read again and pay attention, who gives a shit about google rankings you IT freak. White space is in charge now, so pull your head in and follow the lead you johnny come lately. You are mucking it up for the rest of us. I'll metatag your skull if you can't listen. -
anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
Oh bless... aren't you quite the feisty one?
Now, let's have a shuftie at your post for a moment... as I believe I'm fairly certain that I know who you are. Your seemingly utter lack of pedantry and nonsensical use of punctuation I believe all but seals the fact that you're Australian. Your hysterical attempt at embedding javascript into one of your earlier posts would have it that you either are computer savvy, or have access to those who are. The fact that you are attempting to use the heckler's veto (look it up) to stifle this discussion shows where your allegiances lie.
I'm fairly certain I know who you are, and I have ways of determining this as fact for all the world to see... but I cannot be bothered.
You, however, haven't the foggiest clue who I might be. You might believe that I am Richard Bernstein, or someone acting on his behalf. I can assure you I am not.
You might be fixated on the possibility that I am a former employee with some long-standing grudge against Brad Sugars or his company. Again, you would be wrong.
You might, again wrongly so, believe that I am a former franchise holder.
You might believe that I am solely responsible for the posts to this blog, and you would believe this to your own folley. It would seem that there are quite the large number of individuals out there with a bone to pick with Mr. Sugars. Surprised? So was I, I must confess.
I will give credit and acknowledge that your posts, as sociopathic as they appear, are probably borne more out of fear of losing your job (and subsequently your US visa) than any personal proclivities you may have. So for that fact and that fact alone you have my deepest sympathies.
I will say one thing in the defense of ActionCOACH. You could quite easily substitue the name "ActionCOACH" with the name of any global franchise organization, and the name "Brad Sugars" with the name of any global franchise organization's CEO, and have a fairly accurate representation of that organization. The business of franchises runs rampant with fraud and deceit, one-sided agreements, litigation, lost fortunes, what have you. ActionCOACH is not unique in this or any sense.
Simply put, to engage a franchise is a fool's errand. My advise to anyone considering it: don't.
In closing, I cannot be bothered to "wait for your link in a few days". Frankly you have done more to demonstrate ActionCOACH's true colors in just a few hours than an entire year's worth of posts to this blog have accomplished. Well done!
...but while I'm at it, I'll just leave these right here... we wouldn't want Google to skip over this, would we?
business coach, business coaches, business coaching, business consulting, business consultant, executive coach, executive coaching, executive coaches, action business coaching, sales coaching, business mentor, business mentoring, coaching franchise, small business mentors, Brad Sugars, entrepreneur, business coach, coaching, life coaching, brad sugars, bradley sugars, bradley j sugars, educational speaker, motivational speaker
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anonymous said on Apr 29, 2009....
I understand that I had stated in my last missive that I would not reveal the identity of the individual responsible for abusing this page, but I realized that I should at least post some small gem, unpolished as it were, that would reveal to Mr. "White Space" that my post above had a basis in fact rather than a simple guess.
Let's review what I had asserted above about the identity of "White Space":- Australian
- Technically Inclined (or at a minimum resourceful)
- Affiliated in some manner with ActionCOACH
Since you, Mr. "White Space", seem to enjoy puzzles as evidenced by your posts above, I'll entertain you (and all else who might be interested) in a puzzle of my own.
"The surname of the person responsible for Mr. "White Space" conjures images of the preparation of food."
It's not a very good puzzle, I'm afraid, but you must admit that you haven't given me very much to work with at all, have you?
I eagerly anticipate your next reply... only be warned: despite my obvious geographic handicap I know more about you than you might realize, so you would be best served to govern yourself accordingly before you post another blank message...
...would be quite the shame if what should remain private were to become public.
-
TappedouT said on Apr 29, 2009....
Jason Cooksey, ActionCOACH's legal counsel, is not technologically savvy, but Nathan is! A compilation of three Aussies might be the answer as none of the three can hardly wipe their bottoms by themselves. -
anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
Just another warning for the Action folks. This blog has performed a very useful public service by presenting the other side of the coin. If you think you will get away with this sort of sabotage you are making a very big mistake. There are plenty of even more direct ways of communicating with people who need to be aware of the discussions here – among others, those who have already fallen for the hype and who are now regretting their mistake. If you guys really want to be on the receiving end of a class action suit, continue with your blank posts….
-
anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
Here's an interesting bit of information that was surely meant to be kept private - http://franchisefacts.netii.net/the-truth-about-businesscoaching/ -
anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
Hello Everyone,
I am about to retire and am looking for a 'retirement business'. Actioncoach's telemarketer has been very persistent in calling me so I decided to do a bit more research on the opportunity online and speak to some friends in my business circle. I supposed that is how everyone else stumbles upon this blog.
Let me share my experience so far and what I think about the posts here which I've spent almost 1/2 day digesting:
1. In my very extensive search on the internet, I find 99% positive news and only 1 blog such as this, plus 1 to 2 more forums with some discussion (unhappyfranchisees.com has another thread).
2. BUT, the biggest concern I have is that the 99% positive news can all be traced back directly to Actioncoach; in my many hours of search, I find no independent positive reviews whatsoever. This 'flooding the net with positive news' strategy has been used by a lot of online scammers, so while I am not saying Actioncoach is one of them, it definitely made me more cautious.
3. A lot of posters here, though there might be some who are very 'disturbed', clearly are former insiders. The corporation I worked with for 30+ years too have their share of negative postings online in anonymous forums and let me tell you this: as much as we hate to admit it and as much as we cannot admit it, there's truth buried underneath the 'crap'. So I do believe a lot of the posts here that described the inner 'real' culture of Actioncoach as opposed to what is being sold to the public. I believe any rational reader who has similar experience dealing with insiders revealing all will know what I am saying here.
4. One of the best sales strategies great marketing people use is to win over their strongest critiques with facts and figures. They know that when critiques turn around, they always become their best free salespeople. The fact that Actioncoach being in the niche they are in and do not see this blog as an opportunity to turn it into their biggest independent, free marketing blog tells me something: they are either not as good in marketing as they claim or worse... they have no facts to counter the claims made here. Another alarm bell for me.
5. After reading the blog for a few hours, it suddenly went 'blank' and I have to scroll for quite awhile before it ends with the ip trace link above. I believe this is Actioncoach's attempt to disrupt the discussions here and the last link is a form of intimidation to scare posters about the possibility of their IPs being traced. More alarm bells.
6. There's so many neutral posters who will seem to be willing to go to great lengths to defend Actioncoach, including a franchise attorney (in my 30+ years of corporate life, I've yet to meet an attorney who will waste their time online, what more defend an organization not related to them) and a MLM marketing person (who just happen to be here because he/she has friends in action who happened to be featured in Actioncoach's testimonials) among many others; that clinches it for me.
7. I have researched Actioncoach's archived websites as described by someone above (Very helpful, mate, didn't know there were such thing as an internet time machine. It helped me recover an old website of my own which I forgot to backup, cheers!) And clearly the failure rate is much higher than publicised.
So in conclusion, I am not interested to pursue the opportunity further. For what it's worth, it's not about the negative posts... it's about how Actioncoach attempt to handle the negative posters here that really say something about the people running the franchise.
-
anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
Do not click on the link abovefranchisefacts.netiireferencing "the truth about business coaching"it takes you to a site that may run malicouis code on your computer the ISP has been alerted and is shutting down the sitebeware any redirects or links posted. They are trying determine who is visting the sitetrying to make this blog unreadable is just a childish rant by a twisted group of people - namely actioncoach -
anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
Yeah right. Please stop your childish fear tactics
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anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
It's sad how many people spent their last hours on Hoover dam begging for mercy. Extra weights needed for this one. A floater for sure.
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anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
You Action Morons are ridiculously desperate. Your efforts to make people stop reading the post are completely transparent. Like were stupid and think that spammers are the ones posting all this crap on the link. That's ok, because I've already contacted the admin to have the blank entries and garbage removed as it is irrelevant to the subject !!!!! You think we americans are SOOOO stupid but the joke is really on you! AND, I"ve got a VERY special surprise coming online soon. The actual documents that were used for.. Former president to win his lawsuit against you !!!!!! For the WHOLE WORLD to see !!!!!!! Your Done !!!!!!!!!!!! HE might have a gag order against him, but I dont !!!!!!! " no worries mate" !!!! the whole world will be able to finally see the proof! -
anonymous said on Apr 30, 2009....
STOP IT YOU MORONS !!! YOUR EFFORTS TO DETER PEOPLE FROM CONTINUING TO READ THIS POST ARE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT. I'VE ALREADY CONTACTED ADMIN TO HAVE THE SPAM AND BLANK ENTRIES REMOVED, AS THEY ARE IRRELEVANT TO THE SUBJECT. SPAM IS NOT ALLOWED. ALSO, A BIG SURPRISE FOR YOU IS COMING UP SOON... THE ACTUAL DOCUMENTS USED TO HELP A FORMER PRESIDENT OF ACTION WIN HIS LAWSUIT. YOUR IDIOTS ARE DONE, AND THE WHOLE WORLD WILL HAVE PROOF OF WHAT A SCAM ARTIST AND LIAR YOU ARE BRAD. ITS OVER. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS YOU OR YOUR TEAM. I ASK EVERYONE READING THIS TO CONTACT ADMIN AS WELL AND REQUEST THE SPAM AND BLANKS BE REMOVED, AND THE ACCOUNTS THAT POST THEM BE BLOCKED. -
anonymous said on May 01, 2009....
EOF -
TappedouT said on May 01, 2009....
EOF -
RollingC said on May 01, 2009....
Someone should just delete Anonymous comments. -
anonymous said on May 02, 2009....
This discussion appears to be resuming at http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/actioncoach-brad-sugars-overview-discussion/
I'm certain this post will be buried in more of ActionCOACH's amusing sabotage of this page, but I comfortable with that prospect. While human eyes might not see this post, Google undoubtedly will.
-
anonymous said on May 02, 2009....
Q: Are you wondering who number 3 will be?
You ofcourse
-
anonymous said on May 05, 2009....
It is funny how this site went dark all of a sudden. -
anonymous said on May 06, 2009....
Be careful of the 'related post below that attempt to look like its a continuation of this thread. "Does anyone have any questions or comments about Action Coach formerly Action International, Brad Sugars its’ CEO, the business coaching industry or coaching franchises in general? As administrator of this thread, I will keep comments on topic and even approach coaches past and present executives and Brad Sugars himself for their answers and comments." Reading the last line, it is obvious that it is another effort at killing the previous thread and moving the discussion to one controlled by Action. I mean, c’mon, who can ‘approach coaches past & present & even Brad Sugars himself’ and why as an anonymous blogger. They still don’t get it, do they? Despite the many attempts at planting 'neutral' 3rd parties and the many times they get caught out, they still try, sheesh... -
anonymous said on May 06, 2009....
Agree with poster above. Warning, related post below is obviously planted! -
anonymous said on May 10, 2009....
Hello in here. Where did everyone go? -
anonymous said on May 10, 2009....
Nice job of trying to change the google ranking by spamming the post with irrelevent information. 2 can play at that game. I've already contacted soulcast admin to have your spam removed, but in the meantime:
Brad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee's Brad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sNice job of trying to change the google ranking by spamming the post with irrelevent information. 2 can play at that game. I've already contacted soulcast admin to have your spam removed, but in the meantime:
Brad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee's Brad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee'sBrad Sugars Scam Artist, Brad Sugars theif, Brad Sugars stole from Share Holders,
Action Coach Fraudulent UFOC, Action Coach Highest Failure rate, Action Coach Sexual Harassment, Brad Sugars Liar, Brad Sugars lacks integrity, Brad Sugars takes advantage of frachisee's -
anonymous said on Aug 24, 2009....
let us bring this one back to life! -
anonymous said on Aug 28, 2009....
Good to see this thread cleaned up. Looking forward to new posts. -
anonymous said on Sep 01, 2009....
28 August 2009 - Marketing and IT Director Nathan Smith leaves ActionCOACH Global HQ to become a business coach in Las Vegas. Is it a good sign when even the Aussie rats leave the ship and strike out on their own? -
anonymous said on Sep 04, 2009....
Interesting... beyond belief. The best way to make money (or eek out a living) with Action Coach or any coaching is to coach the coaches or to get on the payroll and become an employee. Coaches generally starve.
The question is; can you stomach working for an idiot? Whether you're a coach or an employee Actioncoach is just a bad company.
Rats from a ship? More like from the frying pan into the fire
-
anonymous said on Sep 06, 2009....
Actioncoach had tried to bribe unhappyfranchisee, and it looks like they finally accepted their bribe. Search Actioncoach on unhappyfranchisee. It's gone.
So for those of you who don't think they bribed them, isn't it a coincidence that first the big soulcast post was removed and put back up with less views so it would rank lower in google, then unhappyfranchisee removed ALL of their Actioncoach stuff? ...interesting indeed. -
anonymous said on Sep 06, 2009....
...they're all gone except for the only one that was propaganda for brad's website. -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 08, 2009....
Anonymous wrote: Actioncoach had tried to bribe unhappyfranchisee, and it looks like they finally accepted their bribe. Search Actioncoach on unhappyfranchisee. It's gone. So for those of you who don't think they bribed them, isn't it a coincidence that first the big soulcast post was removed and put back up with less views so it would rank lower in google, then unhappyfranchisee removed ALL of their Actioncoach stuff? ...interesting indeed.
Anyone who contends that the disappearance of the ActionCOACH posts and comments on UnhappyFranchisee.com is the result of bribery or coercion either:
1) Is one of the criminals (or is in league with the criminals) who illegally hacked and sabotaged the UnhappyFranchisee.com site. OR
2) Doesn't know the site owner, Sean Kelly (me).
Anonymous commenter might think it clever to try to anonymously discredit the site by implying that the site owner crossed over to the dark side and is on the Sugars payroll... and imply that the drop in search engine rank of Soulcast was also the result of a bribe.
It's also interesting that I've never posted that ActionCOACH tried to bribe me to make the posts and comments go away. Who would know that? How would you know that Anonymous commenter? Hmmm...
It's a typical oafish and nonsensical attempt by someone who thinks he/she is clever, but isn't. The strategy is obvious: Divide & Conquer. Don't for it. If someone at Soulcast was bribed, the thread would have gone away forever, not been reposted.
If someone at UnhappyFranchisee.com had been bribed, the ActionCOACH posts at sister site FranchisePick.com would have gone away too - not increased as they will shortly on FranchisePick.com.
I can't say with certainty that ActionCOACH or Brad Sugars was behind the attack. But their posts and comments were the first and most thoroughly destroyed.
Some franchisors don't get it. They will spend all their effort and money trying to make dissent disappear through tricks and illegal "black hat" tactics. They pop the champagne corks when their hired weasels destroy someone else's intellectual property and temporarily sabotage free speech.
But here's what they don't get: The resentment of current franchisees grows as they watch their marketing resources being spent on dirty tricks and they see valid objections being attacked rather than being honestly listened to and earnestly addressed. And so the dissent grows, as will the lawsuits.
Something else they don't get: franchisors who take a whack-a-mole approach to online criticism must make a long-term commitment to pounding down online dissent wherever and whenever it pops up. Even if they kill SoulCast, UnhappyFranchisee.com threads or the position in the search engines, they better be able to dominate Twitter, Facebook, complaint sites, all variety of blogs and forums. And the more whacking they do, the more obvious it will become.
I will rebuild UnhappyFranchisee.com and it will be more secure and have safeguards in place to prevent future occurences of this type. If you are willing to contribute to the rebuilding effort, even $25, donations are graciously accepted. Email me at UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com.
In the meantime, FranchisePick.com will pick up the slack and will shortly invite discussion and dialogue on new posts. I think it's clear that the conversation should occur on multiple sites.
As I said, I can't say positively that ActionCOACH and Brad Sugars were behind the illegal attacks on UnhappyFranchisee.com, but if they were I'm sure they don't realize what a foolish, foolish move that was.
Gasoline on a fire foolish. Red flag in front of a bull foolish. -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Not surprising at all. I'm sure they are plotting against soulcast again.
For current franchisees... isn't it comforting to know that that your 5% marketing fee is being used for pay-offs to keep the bad press away? What happened to all that "positve affirmation"?
Nothing but hypocrisy.
-
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Sean,Good for you posting here and getting the word out. As to the 5% marketing fee, it's clear the money is not being used for pay-offs but to finance hackers. -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Hi Sean,
For what it's worth, I am a regular visitor to your site and this is what I posted yesterday in the other actioncoach thread on soulcast:
If you click any links on unhappyfranchisee right now, it gets to a 404 message, earlier, it was a different layout, a very basic layout with all info intact, still earlier it was inaccessible... and all this just before the Admin posted a message appealing for donations and stating they've been under 'black hat' attacks, ie, denial of service, spam, etc... by parties which want to take them down. Admin also said he's working with google to sort out the ranking issue... So rather than assuming everyone sold their soul to the devil, wait and see how it plays out. As for the other soulcast like, a lot has requested the admin here to remove the junk codes, that could be what they have done. If you notice, it was not a very 'clean' removal, some junks remain which is enough to prove ActionCoach's attempts to kill the link earlier... so again, let's not just assume the worst... if you want rankings to go up, just resume activities on the other link instead of this one.
Also, if you do not have any backups, post your email and I will email you a cached copy. What the idiots don't realize is, almost every search engine holds a cached version and the one I saved have up to comment 269 or 2nd September :-)
-
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
ps: You can also recover the rest of your pages the same way. -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
pps: I just emailed you... -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 08, 2009....
anonymous:
If you could email that to me at unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com it would be much appreciated.
I'll be putting up another conversation thread on FranchisePick.com shortly and linking to it from UnhappyFranchisee.com
On a personal note, thanks for all the notes of support. It's always natural to jump to conclusions that someone got paid or threatened. But keep in mind, the kinds of people with who create and maintain sites like this or unhappyfranchisee.com are not the types of people who are easily bought nor intimidated.
Don't be discouraged or silenced. All those comments still exist. It may take a while, but they'll be back.
-
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Sent 30+ min ago, with suggestion on how to retrieve the rest of your links as well... did u receive? -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
maybe he is that much better than The Natman and could knock down the Unhappyfranchise stuff. -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 08, 2009....
Sent 30+ min ago, with suggestion on how to retrieve the rest of your links as well... did u receive?
Received. Thanks!
-
guruguruchi said on Sep 08, 2009....
I look up the cache as per anom's post and has reposted the archive here
http://www.soulcast.com/post/show/255491/UnhappyFranchisee-ActionCoach-Thread-Archive#
Hope unhappyfranchisee admin wouldn't mind :-)
-
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 08, 2009....
I have re-published most of the UnhappyFranchisee.com ActionCOACH blog posts on one of my other sites: FranchisePick.com.
FranchisePick.com is part of the bizzia business channel on the b5 Media network, a 350-blog network based in Canada. FranchisePick.com has stronger security, a legal department, and even higher search engine authority, so until UnhappyFranchisee.com is rebuilt I'll be publishing most of my ActionCOACH posts there as well as supporting this forum.
Please visit and comment there as well as on Soulcast, and I will link back to this discussion as well. It seems that the key to staying heard is mutually supporting multiple conversations.
Thanks to the Admin here for help and support. Apologies to ActionCOACH franchisees for the (alleged) waste of your marketing dollars.ACTIONCOACH, BRAD SUGARS:Deleted Discussion
ACTIONCOACH: Brad Sugars Answers Criticism
BRAD SUGARS & ActionCOACH Battle the Blogs
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anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Jodie Shaw, Gerard, and the rest of the scam artists are in the boardroom as we speak discussing this with their lawyer on a 47 in tv. Apparently they're a little pissed off that their little trick with the hacker was found out. -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Unless it was replaced the boardroom TV is about 60" -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Notice to Brad Sugars from current active franchisees, from across the continent (Yes, we speak and we share, especially since you started abusing our marketing funds and blatantly lie on askbradsugars.com, we are not blind nor stupid.): We know you are doing this, we are fedup, we are a HUGE network of coaches. We all heard your stupid idea to coaches and MLs in your webinar to survive the recession is for Coaches to approach MLs to 'finance' their business (because according to you there's no 'better time', implying we should take advantage of MLs when they are desperate.) and for Coaches to 'finance' their clients through the recession, ie, coaches reduce fees to sustain their businesses. Great idea Brad, how about you reduce our admin fee as well? You bloody bloodsucker, everyone should make less but you, even if they have to declare bankruptcy. Don't you deny this or we WILL post the recording of the webinar online. In fact, we will post Jodie Shaw's as well on supposedly how to harness the power of the internet for our business. Let the public decide whether such 'support' is worth the fees paid. -
anonymous said on Sep 08, 2009....
Yup, they can discuss with the TV, opps, I mean lawyer, how they are going to sue every university, search engine, proxy server and other websites that have caches accessible to those who know how. Goodluck to them. -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 09, 2009....
I am doing a series of posts on the reasons ActionCOACH is suspected of hacking UnhappyFranchisee.com and disrupting the Soulcast thread. Comments are welcome.
I'm thinking of dubbing the controversy ActionGATE.
The first post is about Brad Sugar's borderline obsessive memo of May 5 about purging the search engines of negative comments, allocating all resources to it and, by July, being largely unsuccessful. That must have been frustrating as well as embarrassing, having gone out on such a limb.
Did ActionCOACH Hack UnhappyFranchisee.com?
I think the next post will be about the comments Brad made on AskBradSugars.com in which he alluded to his "forensics team" tracing negative blog commenters to their locations. I assume the only way they could get the IP addresses necessary to do that would have been hacking into the Admin areas of those blogs.
As of July, Rip-off Report, Soulcast & UnhappyFranchisee.com each had a post in the top 10 Google search for "Brad Sugars" Right now Soulcast & UF are gone and ROR has been moved down to 9th by the "microblogging" and content flooding effort.
Seems like they stepped up their game since July. Or got very very lucky?
-
anonymous said on Sep 09, 2009....
Definitely ActionGATE. If you goggle unhappyfranchisee + actioncoach, you get several articles playing with the term unhappy franchisee on actioncoach.com.
The above notice to Brad Sugars is genuine. I am in part of the committee in the states. We will connect with those in Australia next. The other territories will follow once we generated momentum. (Here is warning to coaches reading this: do NOT use your action email to communicate, they are monitored.) We are seeking legal advice regarding a few matters including:
- Gross misrepresentation in the sales process.
2. Whether the clause barring participation in class action suit is enforceable.
3. Whether the clause denying coaches the right to question the usage of marketing fund enforceable and whether we have grounds to challenge it.
4. Unfair competition from MLs and Coaches’ Coach. Coaches' Coach being employees but blatantly misrepresent themselves to prospects with the full awareness & support of their MLs who share 50-50 revenue with them.
5. Conflict of interest with MLs participating in Joint Ventures to sell ActionCoach programs with selected coaches in the same territory.
When soulcast’s original thread first became prominent, many senior coaches and MLs were sympathetic to Brad Sugars and gave him words of encouragement on the intranet. But as events play out, it become increasingly clear it is not so much ActionCoach’s name Brad Sugars is concerned about, rather, it is his own. Along the way, he blurs the line between ActionCoach and Brad Sugars by channelling every single cent of our marketing resources to defending himself. Along the way, he became more obsessed and dirtier. The majority of us agree to get the good news out there about what we do, about what is real. That was how we interpreted your memo, that was the reason we agree to our funds utilized towards the effort. We did not agree to this, this is way below the line.
Enough is enough. The business is suffering, he ask MLs to finance Coaches and Coaches to finance clients whereas the person who is in the best position to reduce the burden is Brad Sugars. Of the Admin Fee, MLs take 2/3, 1/3 goes to HQ. Even with 700+ coaches left in the system that is 350K per month to sustain the small team in HQ. He is in a position to do something. He doesn't. He sucks every cent he can until their cash run out and they declare bankruptcy, then he sells the license to someone else.
-
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 09, 2009....
I'd be interesting in learning more about the committee (confidentially of course). Feel free to email me at unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com -
anonymous said on Sep 10, 2009....
If you google "unhappy franchisee" or "unhappyfranchisee.com" nothing shows up... It's gone from google as well... I smell something amiss. -
anonymous said on Sep 10, 2009....
Hi Anon leading group in US, I am from Aust, I am interested to join your initiative... should I get in contact with you (confidentially) through unhappyfranchisee's Sean?
I'd like to add a few more issues, including one they swept under the carpet long ago:
-
The CRM payment was never refunded. If you recall, Brad forced everyone to subscribe to the CRM with an initial registration fee and a monthly subscription. I paid 7 months worth of fees before they pulled the plug. I NEVER got a receipt for payment made. Payment was to a privately held company owned by Brad which did NOT have a collection agreement with us. Instead of refunding those who've paid, they instead introduced a new "technology fee" for new coaches and that's it, our money gone. We paid more than the technology fee to a third party company without receiving even payment receipts but any attempt to raise it in the forum is immediately deleted and/or poster is branded "not abundant" and "playing below the line". Enough is enough. It is about principle and proper business accountability, not the amount of money. This is a clear case of unethical business practise which they managed to get away with so far.
-
Some of us threatened with Breach notices for not attending regional conferences even though that specific clause was only included in the agreement post 2007. We should sue back on grounds of malicious attempt to pressure/threaten franchisees.
I agree with you, we should get together as a group, in every country, to fight for our rights. No more divide & conquer. No more accepting as "below the line" and "not abundant" any attempt at profiteering at our expense. We must hold them to the "Rules of the Game" preached and make it consistent across the board, starting with BS and the rest of the corporate team.
-
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anonymous said on Sep 10, 2009....
I typed "Unhappyfranchise.com" in the Google search and it came back with lots of data. The 5th one on the list was: Action Coach: World's Leading Business Coaching Franchise ... Comments. If you are thinking about buying an Action Coach franchise you should read the information on unhappyfranchise.com ... businesscoaching.typepad.com/.../action-coach-the-worlds-leading-business-coaching-firm.html - Cached - Similar -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 10, 2009....
If you google "unhappy franchisee" or "unhappyfranchisee.com" nothing shows up... It's gone from google as well... I smell something amiss.
Yes, something is amiss. Thanks to some hackers who broke in, planted malicious code then deleted the ActionCOACH posts and hundreds of comments, UnhappyFranchisee.com is temporarily not being indexed by Google. However, you can go there directly or search through Bing.com.
The site will be restored and reindexed by Google, but that takes a while.
The same blogger who runs UnhappyFranchisee.com also blogs at FranchisePick.com (That would be me). I've reposted the deleted ActionCOACH posts and most of the comments there. Check out:Did ActionCOACH Hack UnhappyFranchisee.com?
The set of links above are to the restored posts that were deleted.
I am interested to join your initiative... should I get in contact with you (confidentially) through unhappyfranchisee's Sean?
I am not formally affiliated with the Coach's Committee anon mentioned but will be happy to confidentially email addresses or contact info if they would like. You can contact me at unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com.
Folks, be careful with your identities. Know who you're emailing to. Set up a gmail.com account because it's hardest to track back. I've been dealing with some sleazy franchisors on the 'net, but I've never seen tactics as blatant as this. -
anonymous said on Sep 10, 2009....
To Anon current coaches, you want strength in numbers? reach out to former coaches too. Too many of us have gone quietly away fearing legal action by Brad or ML's. I know of some that would like to take action but it's difficult when you're alone. Old lists of franchisees were regularly distributed to all coaches. -
anonymous said on Sep 13, 2009....
Everyone who has had bad experiences needs to post any emails sent from Jodie Shaw or Brad Sugars about breaches and agreements to show everyone here the truth. Just because there is a "confidentiality clause" doesn't mean that you can't do this. The is the United States; once you're out of the contract, you're no longer bound by the agreement. Please post these to save other unfortunate souls from losing everything. -
NathanBeam said on Sep 13, 2009....
Wow, the way "professional" business people act always amazes and saddens me. My name is Nathan Beam, I work as a BDM for my Dad, Dave Beam, who owns and ActionCOACH franchise for the Ohio Tri-State Area. Our master Licensee is Craig Hohnberger, and while my direct dealings with him have been brief, he is an upright and honest Christian man. My job is to market my Dad's coaching services to small businesses in Ohio, Wv, and Ky. As other have noted, it can be a tough sale, because not many people are familiar with coaching. But that doesn't mean it isn't an amazing service. Dad has been coaching in the same area for over 5 years now. We have an EXCELLENT reputation in the business community. He has worked with over 100 area businesses. Read our Client testimonials. http://www.actioncoach.com/davidbeam/testimonials.php Heck, give our clients a call, contact me if you want their numbers. I will ask them if they are willing to take your call and you can talk to people in our program yourself! My number: 740-444-4164 I honestly haven't done the research on any of Action's past legal debacle's. I am sure, that just like any and every other franchise there are plenty! Every franchise has its issues. Action is an easier target because it is a service based business as opposed to goods such as a Restaurant or Retail chain. I speak from my personal experience with ActionCOAH and from my history with other business franchises. My wife and I used to own a major sub shop franchise. We ran into many of the same issues that previous Action frachise owners complain about and almost lost the shirts off of our back's in the process. All the while we were paying franchise fee's and advertising fee's. I have been there, I KNOW what it is like to watch your lively-hood disappear to a franchise. But I don't blame the franchise! We made the decision to buy, (the previous owners did give us false financial information regarding the business but we could have done better research). I say all of this to get a point across that many of you should have had the common sense to already know... Business, even a franchise, takes a whole lot of work and discipline. And if you can't be disciplined, go get a job and stop whining about the fact that you couldn't make your franchise successful... because other people have made this successful. We are in one of the hardest places to do this business economically and yet here we are. Because my father had the discipline to learn the business and manage it well and continues to do apply himself and invest. With the sub-shop franchise that my wife and I owned (though it was a sinking ship when we bought it) we WERE not disciplined enough to seek out the answers and do what we needed to do to make it successful. We were absolutely at the bottom going in but I still take responsibility for buying into the franchise. It was my and my wife's decision. And we are the one's who, although we worked very hard, were not able to make it successful. We worked hard on the wrong things. So straight talk about ActionCOACH... ActionCOACH is an incredible franchise which, from everything I can see, is at the leading edge of business coaching and training. It has better systems, better info, and has shown more results with clients than any other franchise like it. It is THE "No. 1 business coaching firm." That being said, it isn't for the feint of heart. Don't get into this business unless you plan on investing a lot of time and money on the front-end. Just like ANY other franchise. Don't get in this unless you plan on selling something (Business Coaching) which, while being an amazing product, is not always an easy sale. You are going to be OWNING a business; it takes a discipline unlike anything else you have ever done with your life and if you can't handle it you will lose. Personally, I would not buy an ActionCOACH franchise because I know where I am at right now and I would not be a good candidate. I know what it takes to be successful with this business. I don't have a drive to work with Business Owners one-on-one and really improve their business. It is not my core passion. It is however my father's passion and I do enjoy marketing it. My point is, any franchise is a lot of work, and not just hard work, but smart, focused, work. Grow up, take some responsibility and stop blaming everyone else for your failures. Enough people have succeeded as Coaches and ML's for it to be obvious that the system works for the right person. To all of you anonymous posters, take a hard look in the mirror before you come on here and tear down anyone and everyone associated with ActionCOACH. I am sure the company isn't perfect and I am sure not everyone in the company has been above reproach. But everyone that I have worked with and interacted with in ActionCOACH have been of a Caliber you would be hard pressed to find in other organizations. That is because our Franchise tends to attract those people as Coaches. I say all of this for several reason. For some, it is to bring you into line. Beyond that I say it to defend the honor of people I have worked with personally and know such as Craig, and to warn those of you who would become a coach thinking it is a get rich quick and or an easy business. If that is what you are looking for you will not find it here nor anywhere and you are the last person we want as a Coach. Go work somewhere and make a living that way, but please stay away from business. And by the way I put myself in that category. At least at this juncture in life I should be working for someone, not trying to manage a business. I had to learn the hard way. I got burned. But it was my choice and it has been your choice to own this business either in the past or in the present. For those of you who love to learn and grow both personally and in business, who have a desire to help others and change lives, who want to be wildly successful by not only applying yourself but doing so rightly, I would challenge you to consider becoming an ActionCOACH. Feel free to give me a call anytime during the workweek, I will talk straight to you about my experiences with the Franchise, good and bad. I have been burned in business in the past by the wrong doing of others and by my own foolish mistakes so I can relate. My email address is actioncoachohio@gmail.com. My business phone is 740/444\/4164. Our websites are: http://www.actioncoach.com/davidbeam/ http://actioncoachohio.blogspot.com/ Feel free to visit the site, and also feel free to give me a call. I refuse to waste my time by getting into a legal argument (and honestly I am the wrong person for those kinds of questions). However I can tell you about my experiences, struggles, and joys in working for this business and being in the ActionCOACH culture. I will run some of you off from buying a franchise and for others a chat with me might be the honest confirmation you are looking for. Thanks, Nathan Beam Business Development Manager ActionCOACH (Ohio, Wv, Ky) -
anonymous said on Sep 13, 2009....
Hi Nathan, thank you for your sharing. To me, the answer is in the numbers. A great franchise has more success than failures. A not-so-great franchise has 70-80% failure with the 20% successful shouting loud enough to drown out the noise of the failures. Congratulations on your dad's success, he naturally deserves it. But don't buy into all the hype that failure is always due to the fault of the franchisee, open your eyes a bit. For a franchise with 20% failure instead of 70-80%, I would totally agree with you the minority are whiners. In this case, the numbers speak for itself... and the actions taken to cover up the numbers. Yes, ignore all the negative actions, feedback, etc... look at the numbers and tell me this: If you coach a business with 5-10% staff turnover, you'll probably focus on improving the recruitment system, etc. However, if you coach a business with 80% staff turnover, any coach will focus on the owner. Now relate this to ActionCoach HQ, you will see where the problem is. -
Nathan_Beam said on Sep 14, 2009....
Thought you might find the failure rate from another franchise interesting....
These are excerpts from: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1998/03/16/239302/index.htm
"It's hard to say exactly how many Subway owners are angry or in trouble. Certainly hundreds are prosperous, particularly if they have excellent locations and more than four stores. But owning one store usually means "you bought yourself a middle-paying job," says Steve Sager, a recently departed Subway agent from New Jersey. Consultant Marshall estimates that 25% of franchisees are unhappy and suffering, while about 40% are "just getting by and making a few dollars," and 30% to 35% are happy and doing fine--though many of the happiest owners are also agents, who can control the number of competing Subways in their vicinity. Sager estimates that half the franchisees in the Northeast are suffering. FORTUNE tried hard to find happy franchisees, but even those who were doing well complained about the company's practices. Franchise experts agree that anger and unhappiness are far more prevalent among DeLuca's franchisees than those of any other major chain."
I would judge 65% successful.
"Then there's the royalty: Franchisees must pay the company 8% of gross sales, the highest royalty in the food franchise industry. They also pay a 3.5% advertising fee (recently hiked from 2.5%). By contrast, the healthiest franchisors usually keep both figures around 4% or 5%; the total is lower, and far more of the money builds business through advertising, while less goes to the franchisor. At Subway, DeLuca and Peter Buck--the friend who loaned DeLuca $1,000 three decades ago and owns the company with him fifty-fifty--now split about $160 million a year."
Franchise and royalty fee's are pretty high to...
I'm not saying ActionCOACH is perfect or couldn't do some things better, I am only arguing that small business failure is extremely common, period. Franchise's tend to fair better in general, granted, but you still see people that buy in, don't make it, and then get upset. Often it is because they don't have the discipline to own a business.
The problem with franchises such as Subway and ActionCOACH is that they are relatively "cheap" as far as up front franchise costs go. This puts the franchise with in reach of the "common man" (for lack of a better term). This allows people into the organization who have no business being their.
Most people in the US work for their money (despite current political opinion), if you have a fair amount of money up front, you probably did something right to get it. I am not saying that everyone who doesn't have $1.5 million by age 40 is a failure. I am saying that most people that have that kind of capital by age 40 ARE exceptional. A franchise like McDonalds takes that kind of up front capital and, because of that, eliminates many people who cannot handle business ownership and attracts those who can.
I am not trying to be a financial snob either. The low up front cost of Action and other cheaper franchises has given many people (probably 18 of that 20% that are successful, if that is the real number...) an opportunity to excel, such as my father, who did not have that kind of capital at 40. The collateral damage however is that many people who won't make it also have access to the franchise.
I am not trying to be snobbish or rude, I just want you to consider this from all angles.
My major issue with all of this "acid slinging" is that it tarnishes business coaching and makes it that much harder for me (and many others in Action) to sell coaching to prospective small business clients who desperately need it. Some of us are trying to be successful here, don't tear us down in your rampage against the franchise. It sounds like you have been a Coach and therefore you KNOW the value of the product and its ability to change businesses and lives. Don't dilute that.
I appreciated your even keeled, non-reactionary response. It is much more adult than much of what has been said on here. It lends itself to growth and positive dialogue. -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 14, 2009....
Nathan:
Congratulations to you and your Dad on your success. And kudos to you for joining the conversation.
Your choice of Subway as a franchise benchmark is curious. Are you saying that because Subway owners are miserable, failing, bullied and gouged by their franchisor that ActionCOACH franchisees shouldn't complain?
As business coaches, I doubt that you counsel your clients to choose a mediocre, questionable competitor to use as a benchmark. Since ActionCOACH positions itself as a world-class organization, perhaps you should choose a more worthy benchmark for comparison. McDonald's, perhaps?
Can you name McDonald's CEO? It's Jim Skinner.
Do you know what percentage of McDonald's marketing budget is allocated to promoting AskJimSkinner.com, AboutJimSkinner.com & JimSkinnerisaCutie.com? Or what % is allocated to building Jim Skinner's stature as a motivational speaker at the expense of building the McDonald's brand?
I believe it would be "0%" I believe that Brad Sugars has at least 20+ more "microsites" promoting his personal name than Jim Skinner. I'm fairly certain McD's franchisees wouldn't stand for such nonsense.
Now if ActionCOACH execs did play a role in surreptitiously undermining their critics by disrupting Soulcast and hacking UnhappyFranchisee.com, they may have a bit more in common with Burger King. Last year some clever BK execs tried to undermine a migrant worker's group by posting negative comments about the group under fake names. When they were exposed the Burger King reputation was tarnished, they gave in to the group's demands and the execs were fired and shamed (Blogger Kings Caught Telling Whoppers; BK VP, Spokesman Banished).
That was just for shill commenting (also called "sock puppetry"). Think of how bad it would look for execs who actually broke the law in their effort to kill free speech? How bad will the ActionCOACH brand be tarnished if it turns out that they are in possession of illegally obtained IP addresses and are using them to silence suspected commenters? These alleged online tactics have the potential to do MUCH more damage to the ActionCOACH brand than unhappy franchisee comments ever could.
IMHO, Nathan, if you, your father, Craig, and all ActionCOACH MLs and franchisees need to stop trying to silence the commenters and start focusing on the real problem at the Global office, the decisions coming from the top and the credibility of the criticism.
Consider the lessons of Watergate. It's hard to even remember the specifics of the crime... It was the cover-up that toppled Nixon and brought down all those around him.
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Nathan_Beam said on Sep 14, 2009....
EDIT: "I would judge 35% successful"
I apologize. I got my numbers mixed up.
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UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 14, 2009....
Nathan:
It's also worth noting that the article you cite is from 1998... 11 years old.
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
Nathan, you shouldn't have return to make a second post. While your first post can be considered a fair comment from a successful franchisee's perspective... your second using subway's failure rate to justify action's own failure rate is rather twisted... two wrongs doesn't make a right. The issue is not about 'low' franchise fee attracting lower quality people, even successful franchisees will take offense with that :-) The issue is if ActionCoach do follow the recruitment system that they themselves teach clients, they would be able to gauge quite accurately most of the time, at the point of due dilligence, who is unlikely to make it as a coach and reject them. This is especially true for MLs who started off as coaches. However, the fact is almost NONE of them will turn away anyone with the money to invest in a license. They will take the money first, hammer away at the franchisee when they don't make the grade taking ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILITY about the fact that they could have been less greedy and decline to take them in. Instead, most will justify themselves with rhetorics like they want to 'give everyone a chance', it is 'not fair for them to be judmental', etc. IF coaches are brave enough to get together to take legal action, a lot of the allegations can be supported with facts... finally, Nathan, why don't you invest in a license independant of your dad and deal directly with your ML and HQ as a coach, the come back and give us your opinion. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
Yes, Nathan, the minority successful coaches and MLs could end up as "collateral damage" if ActionCoach's management were to continue along this path of self-destruction. One way to avoid it, in my opinion, is for those who consider themselves successful to stand united with their not-so-successful peers to demand for change and accountability from the people running the franchise. I am from a territory where the successful, in order to protect their own income, willingly become informers and rat on their peers planning legal action... I believe a shakeout with fair terms to those who wish to walk away and a renewed effort to follow the recruitment system dilligently, even though the franchise growth is slower, will result in a much better quality franchise with much higher success rate. Unfortunately, the way the franchise is structured, that will never happen because Brad Sugars and his MLs make more money upfront selling and reselling licenses than they do from monthly admin fees... and they know it. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
Has anyone received a communication that HQ has "evidence" that they are participating in the Soulcast and/or UnhappyFranchisee.com discussions? -
johnson1 said on Sep 14, 2009....
It has been over 2 years since this site went up. I am proud to say that many have been spared the misery so many have endured after getting involved with Actioncoach formerly known as Action International since reading these blogs. Through this site and others, individuals have been informed of the truth about Brad Sugars as an individual and as the CEO of Actioncoach. Brad Sugars has taken advantage of a lot of people first selling a worthless dream then sucking every last cent out of these victims. Many even after they lost everything (their homes, life savings and even their marriages) Brad and his flock continued to demand the $1,500.00 a month franchise fee threatening legal action if they did not pay. Brad is determined to stop these blogs even if it means hacking the sites as he has recently done. He has your dollars to do it. We must stick together and keep the public informed to protect others from all the hardship Brad Sugars has spread across the world with his lies, false promises and pure greed to steal not only our money but our souls. From this point forward the best place, safest and most productive to post your blogs is on the ripoffreport.com. If 5 reports are filed the rip off is featured, you can also post photos or piggyback on reports already filed against Action. Don't let Brad win just because he has the means to cover the truth up. Action may claim that every day they sell a franchise but the truth is these sites have the ability to prevent someone from being ripped off by Action everyday. Everybody do your good deed and keep these threads going by exposing the truth about Brad Sugars. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
I noticed the last two posters after unhappyfranchisee's latest post made almost similar observations as well as similar suggestions to Nathan... isn't it interesting that anyone looking in from the outside see the same picture while those within continue to live in denial...? -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 14, 2009....
johnson1:
While ripoffreport.com is ranked strong and is a battleship, it unfortunately doesn't look like it can be counted on longterm... necessarily. There are lots of allegations that ROR and Ed Magedson have a price... just a very high one (like $50K upfront and $5K a month "monitoring" fee).
I don't know if it's true but if you go there and do a search on the term "Rip-off Report Investigation" you'll see the stock exoneration of companies like DirectBuy, Cash4Gold.com and others saying ROR investigated and these cos are A-OK. There could come a day when BS and ActionCoach threads bear the same new headline.
I think they key will be to support multiple sites including Soulcast, Ripoffreport, FranchisePick.com, and UnhappyFranchisee.com.
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Nathan_Beam said on Sep 14, 2009....
"Nathan, you shouldn't have return to make a second post. While your first post can be considered a fair comment from a successful franchisee's perspective... your second using subway's failure rate to justify action's own failure rate is rather twisted... two wrongs doesn't make a right. The issue is not about 'low' franchise fee attracting lower quality people, even successful franchisees will take offense with that :-)"
I don't think I communicated my point about Subway very well... I am not trying to hit you with faulty and/or outdated information (i.e. an 11 year old article on subway). My point was not to justify ActionCOACH via subway. I apologize if that is what I communicated. My point was that failures in franchises (even recognized and apparently highly reputable ones) happen and that small business is not easy. Not many people are cut out for small business ownership. My contention was that the issue with lower cost franchise options is that more people can afford them who are often less prepared for small business ownership, and hence there is a higher rate of failure. I might be completely off-base in regards to my Subway observation. But take a look at other low-cost business options, take your pick of most MLM businesses. Most people who invest in an MLM don't make it.
I am not trying to beat up on you all here. I think you all probably have some legitimate claims. But you are tearing down good people while you are on your crusade.
I also balanced that statement regarding low cost franchise options, I don't think it is an absolute:
I am not trying to be a financial snob either. The low up front cost of Action and other cheaper franchises has given many people (probably 18 of that 20% that are successful, if that is the real number...) an opportunity to excel, such as my father, who did not have that kind of capital at 40 [years old] . The collateral damage however is that many people who won't make it also have access to the franchise.
I am also not being condescending. I lumped myself in with the larger group of people who can't handle small business. I'm OK with that. That is why I won't buy a license and do this on my own. My Dad handles small business quite well, and he gets some incredible results with his clients. I have neither the means nor the drive to make a coaching business successful (I know because I see what it takes). Is that a failure on the part of the business or a lack on my part? I view it as a lack on my part. I market coaching, I know it is tough. I enjoy the marketing side of it, but I couldn't imagine wearing the marketing and coaching hat. Dad has and has done a good job with it in the past. He brought me on to take over the marketing, he devotes his full time to coaching.
I got on here to interact with you, to hear your side, not to be torn down. I have lost money to a franchise in the past (i.e. sub shop franchise), I have been burned, I know. I also know I brought some of that on myself. I want to discuss the issue, not sling insults.
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All of this aside, I want to hear what you all think about the product, what about the Coaching? Is coaching worthless, does small business coaching work? We have over 100 past clients who would seem to agree that it does and they have the financial reports to prove it. That is my major concern, I don't want you to tarnish a product which works in your crusade against the corporation. We help, and have helped, a lot of people with our local franchise. I don't see too many people talk about the actual coaching, that is why I ask.
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Accept my apologies on anything I may have miss communicated regarding Subway. They say communication is the response you get so apparently I didn't communicate well. Aside from that, I recognize it is my 2 cents and I don't expect you to agree, only to consider.
I read what you all say, I do consider and I don't disregard it as simply complaints from people that couldn't make it. There could be a major opportunity here for the improvement of a franchise which offers a phenomenal service. But that is only going to happen with solid dialogue. I accept also that I am not qualified (I lack the knowledge of the franchise and the whole situation) to discuss all of the points of contention you bring up. I am simply making my observations from my experience with business, life, and my Dad's franchise.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Nathan Beam
Business Development Manager
ActionCOACH (OH, KY, WV)
740\/444/\4164
nathanbeam@actioncoach.com
http://www.actioncoach.com/davidbeam
http://actioncoachohio.blogspot.com/
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
"Coming from someone who is unhappy with censorship? You missed my point about Subway." Huh, Nathan? -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
Nathan, I think you've made your points loud and clear - "Please acknowledge coaching works for small businesses so that you folks don't affect my business with your whining." You want a "progressive" discussion but continuously repeat your view that low fees attract low quality franchisees, luckily your dad is better than the rest not-so-good-individuals-who-can-afford-the-low-fees. You do not invest because you don't think you are cut out for it, hinting that those who did and failed did not realize they were not cut out for it, your every statement falls into standard actioncoach justification of their failures - it is the coaches fault and never the HQ, from low fees attracting low class people to people too stupid to realize they are not cut out for the business... thank you very much Nathan for your contribution to this thread... let the public viewing this decide what to make of your postings... just like Neil Sinclair before you (if you have actually read the posts), you started off sounding like you are here to engage in healthy discussion but you just do not realize how transparent your intentions really are as you progress. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
Folks, the discussion Nathan REALLY WANTED was to have someone say "Yes Nathan, coaching for small business works." so that he can take the information to his prospects and tell them even though there's bitching about actioncoach online, even those who bitch acknowledge coaching works so please do not hesitate to sign up for coaching as even our detractors agree on the value of coaching. Read between the lines of all his posts so far... it is all about business as far as he is concerned, that is why he can be so disconnected, heck, he even pre-framed it upfront in case he get whacked. Sorry folks, I just can't stand slimy weasels feinting compassion and understanding while whacking everyone else as cheap investors attracted by low entry fees, what utter rubbish and disrespect to those who've declared bankruptcy and lost their live savings! To him, Action did not misrepresent or did anything wrong, just that these investors were not as clever as him and his dad. -
UnhappyFranchisee said on Sep 14, 2009....
Nathan:
I wasn't attacking you personally or trying to "tear you down." If it came across that way, please accept my apologies. I do respect you for coming on, posting under your name, and engaging in a civil discussion.
I, like you, am not a franchise owner but I've been involved with franchising for more than two decades.
I agree with you that not everyone is cut out for business ownership and not everyone has the sales ability that is needed to generate the necessary number of coaching clients it takes to succeed. I also agree that there is an element of risk that must be assumed by anyone embarking on a business venture.
That being said, I think you glossed over some excellent points made by the commenters after me, such as:
The issue is if ActionCoach do follow the recruitment system that they themselves teach clients, they would be able to gauge quite accurately most of the time, at the point of due dilligence, who is unlikely to make it as a coach and reject them. This is especially true for MLs who started off as coaches. However, the fact is almost NONE of them will turn away anyone with the money to invest in a license.
If the argument is that failure is a result of the nature, experience, personality, of the franchisee and there are widespread failures, there's something wrong with the "selection" process.
And if a system is heavily dependent on a specific type of personality or personal profile to succeed, perhaps the system is not suited for franchising to a general business audience.
I guess the matter of failure rate is a subjective thing. You feel a 35% failure rate is acceptable. Most everyone in the industry that I know would judge that entirely unacceptable. The FTC says that whatever it is it needs to be disclosed to prospective franchisees in the FDD so they can apply their own standard and decide whether they accept that risk. There's some question as to whether that's being done.
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Nathan_Beam said on Sep 14, 2009....
"Folks, the discussion Nathan REALLY WANTED was to have someone say "Yes Nathan, coaching for small business works." so that he can take the information to his prospects and tell them even though there's bitching about actioncoach online, even those who bitch acknowledge coaching works so please do not hesitate to sign up for coaching as even our detractors agree on the value of coaching. Read between the lines of all his posts so far... it is all about business as far as he is concerned, that is why he can be so disconnected, heck, he even pre-framed it upfront in case he get whacked. Sorry folks, I just can't stand slimy weasels feinting compassion and understanding while whacking everyone else as cheap investors attracted by low entry fees, what utter rubbish and disrespect to those who've declared bankruptcy and lost their live savings! To him, Action did not misrepresent or did anything wrong, just that these investors were not as clever as him and his dad."
That really wasn't my intention at all. It was an honest question from someone seeking an honest answer. There are so many people acting as "detractors" of ActionCOACH it makes me wonder about business coaching on the whole. I know the results we have gotten with our clients, I don't have a need for your agreement on this board on the internet to sell coaching, Dad has 6 years of results and a great reputation in the local business community. Partly I am also trying to find some common ground between us in order to facilitate better communication. Yes I would like to have someone tell me that they have seen coaching work with them and their clients past/present. This is what I sell on a daily basis, much of this discussion is a matter of integrity for myself and for those I do business with. If it doesn't work, I want to know where, who, and why? I want to be able to tell clients what kind of pitfalls they need to avoid if they start a program. I want to hear about business coaching from some different perspectives.
As a side note. I framed it because I recognized it as different from the discussion at hand which seems to be primarily about ActionCOACH corporate and the selling of franchises. I framed it once I got done with the post, realizing it was a bit out of place...
I am truly sorry if you went through Bankruptcy or lost your life savings. I have some idea of what that might be like but honestly can't imagine personal financial ruin of that scope. I hope you are doing better now and that you find success both personally and in business. I mean that without sarcasm.
That being said, I felt your post was completely ad hominim and as such I am not going to spend any more time responding to any more posts of that nature.
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To UnhappyFranchisee:
Thanks, you do active listening well. I also appreciated the apology. I probably have come off with quite rough edge myself when discussing on here. It is an easy thing to do. I offer my apologies to the group as a whole for any attacks I have made and/or you felt that I made against your person.
"That being said, I think you glossed over some excellent points made by the commenters after me, such as:
The issue is if ActionCoach do follow the recruitment system that they themselves teach clients, they would be able to gauge quite accurately most of the time, at the point of due dilligence, who is unlikely to make it as a coach and reject them. This is especially true for MLs who started off as coaches. However, the fact is almost NONE of them will turn away anyone with the money to invest in a license."
I actually did see that quote and didn't mean to gloss over it : ). The amount of volume on this thread is a bit overwhelming. I meant to comment on it but forgot after dealing with so many other things that have been said.
I would tend to agree with the point that is being made. Why don't we use our own recruitment system? I think there are several reasons, perhaps some valid.
The first reason is that I don't think ActionCOACH is looking to hire, they are selling franchises not offering employment. That was my "valid" reason : )... Beyond that I don't know. I honestly think it would work wonderfully, as long as people knew at the front end that they were getting into business ownership, not a salaried position.
The one major issue with the hiring system, especially for more highly specialized fields (doctors, lawyers, etc.), is attracting a large enough "pool" to deselect from. But if you could figure out a way to do it I think it would be a phenomenal way to attract get the best coaches that would fit the necessary personality profile for the job.
I think that is the kind of thinking that needs to come out of this type of discussion. How COULD we use our hiring systems to populate the franchise with great coaches. I think that something of this nature would have saved what seems like quite a few folks a great deal of heartache. ( i mean that seriously)
"I guess the matter of failure rate is a subjective thing. You feel a 35% failure rate is acceptable. Most everyone in the industry that I know would judge that entirely unacceptable. The FTC says that whatever it is it needs to be disclosed to prospective franchisees in the FDD so they can apply their own standard and decide whether they accept that risk. There's some question as to whether that's being done."
If you are basing it off of Subway numbers actually you would have meant 65% failure rate : )... I mixed my numbers up earlier too. It is subjective based on what you are talking about. If we are talking about ActionCOACH, I think it is absolutely atrocious. I would rather run off 65% of people (hence the hiring/recruiting system than have 65% of people fail.)
I appreciate the point and it was something that I ran across earlier that I felt made sense. Thanks for bringing it to the forefront again.
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
The problem with Action is they are not truthful when it comes to disclosing how many franchises have left the system. Many are resold so Action does not consider them as franchises that left the system, or paid off to go away. The problem with Action is that companies do not want to use an Actioncoach because once they google the company and get the low down on Brad Sugars and his company they are turned off. A lot of Actions tactics border on being illegal like the phony plants blogging how great the company is when it is just franchisee's or Action staff posing as legitimate businesses that claim they have used the system. I look at this way, if a repeated child molester opened a business and trained a bunch of people would you want to hire them? Absolutely not, and this is a perfect example of a person with no ethics training and running a company built on this foundation which is exactly why Brad Sugars was ran out of Australia. I think coaching is great but with a company built on a foundation of ethics not tearing peoples lives apart all so they can brag all over the web how much money they have. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
The problem is that there are roughly 820 odd coaches (and this includes MLs). Some offices have more than one coach, but no coaches have more than one office, yet they claim that they have over a 1000+ offices. How can this be if there are only 820 odd coaches. I believe there are only about 60 MLs which are included in that, which would put the true number of real franchises at around 760. That means they are FRAUDULENTLY misrepresenting their numbers to prospects. Anyone can log onto actionmembers and see the number of franchisees. The total number of everyone within actionmembers is only around a thousand – and that number includes every single employee for every coach & ML in the world. How can you justify this blatant disregard for fact and the law in order to sell franchises?
Come on, Nathan. Log in to Actionmembers and look for your self. Then look at how many of the 720 odd coaches are banking bronze level. Then you'll see the real problem with Actioncoach.
– Speaking of this fraud, surely someone here can post screens from actionmembers and file some criminal charges. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
With a failure rate of 70 - 85%, more coaches exit the system every month than what come in. They claim to be the fastest growing franchise in the world? Maybe if they're counting backward. Or maybe they're counting every license that is resold as a new startup. Is that manipulative? Is that fraudulent?
Let me ask you a question. Would you be happy if you bought a new car on the basis that it is marketed as the best selling car only to find out that they came up with this claim on the basis that 80% of every car sold had to be replaced.... that they were taking that 80% that were replaced and counting them as new cars sold? Would that be ok? They knew they sold you a lemon.
If not, why is that ok in franchising?
And why are you defending this practice... you should be pissed.
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
The first reason is that I don't think ActionCOACH is looking to hire, they are selling franchises not offering employment. That was my "valid" reason : )... Beyond that I don't know. I honestly think it would work wonderfully, as long as people knew at the front end that they were getting into business ownership, not a salaried position.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and take it that as a BDM and not a coach, you are viewing the recruitment system from a very shallow angle. It has got nothing to do with whether it is salaried or business ownership. The entire process is built around being upfront about exactly what is required in a new recruit, whether staff or franchisee and letting the candidate de-select himself in the process... there's no need for suggestions on how to make it work for franchising, all it needs is to be practised with integrity.
First, they lie about the number of successful franchisees. They script questions for due dilligence (read many posts above.). They give franchisee list but try to subtly(and sometimes not so subtle) point prospects to certain franchisees only. They NEVER told anyone in the process the amount of activity level required to succeed, instead they say "the market is ready to explode" or "if you can follow the system, you are guaranteed success" but the system of how to get clients is confidential at the moment of purchase, even during due dilligence. How convenient. In some territories, coaches who told prospects they have to work their butts off in order to be successful were given 'friendly warning' by their MLs.
Once you are in the franchise, in your initial few months, some coaches also discovered their MLs are sharks. They ask new coaches to bring their initial contacts to a seminar room so that the ML team can 'support' and 'help' the new coaches close them... instead the coaches discover the MLs and Coaches' Coach work those prospects for themselves!
But let's go back to the recruitment system and use an analogy you can understand. You are a BDM, I assume you work on getting prospects for your dad.
Now if you are an honest BDM and not a hustler, you will realize that not every business owner can be coached even if they can easily afford the fees. You will also know some of these business owners, though not coachable, can be sold if you really work on them... and you can collect fees for 1-3 months until they quit, that kind of churn rate is quite profitable for the coach.
So here's the million dollar question: at that point when you realize it, what do you do? Do you hustle them and take the money? Do you back off gracefully and let them know you do not believe coaching is for them at that point in time, maybe in the future? Do you take them in and justify to yourself "everyone deserve a chance" or "we should not be so judmental" or "we are in the business to help people, we must help" or "we have a system that can help anybody" or any of the other rhetorics which, if honest enough, you will know are just rhetorics?
The MLs are confronted by this question all the time, judging by the failure rate, what do you think drives them? It is not about a recruitment system that is not working and needed fixing, it is the people running the system running it without integrity, it goes back to the head. Just like how your dad should be coaching businesses that have extremely high turnover rates, regardless of whether they are staff, partners or franchisees. There is no difference.
Instead of asking "what else we can do to fix the system", unhappyfranchisee already nailed it in his first reply to you... the answer is in the hands of those above you, they know what to do if they choose to want to do it. The fact that they don't and instead choose to spam sites like this, put fake postings (please read "franchise attorney", "bloglatest" and "my coach ask me to post" posts for examples.) and use Coaches' marketing fund to set up microsites to defend Brad Sugars. Keyword here is Brad Sugars, NOT ActionCoach. If your dad is honest with himself, being an insider, even he can tell you some of the scripted replies to online postings put up on askbradsugars.com are stretching the truth at best.
At least I notice you've finally "low investment attracting lower calibre people" from your latest post.
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
Nathan,
I do admire your efforts here but I am just curious... what do you think you can achieve with the information you gathered?
Even coaches that express concern to Brad Sugars about the number of dropouts in less than 1 year in their respective batches were told to 'zip it' and focus on their own activities, their posts on actionmembers were removed immediately. Since you are an insider, why not post your questions on actionmembers and find out for yourself?
Brad Sugars ran some internal surveys 1-2 years ago while I was still a coach. No one ever saw the results of those surveys but interestingly, what Brad published as the summary was exactly what Brad wanted to do in the first place! For example, NO ONE in my territory agree to the pressure for conference attendances, we made calls to other territories and found out that almost universally the feedback was the same. Yet, when the survey results were published, the summary said majority of coaches agree conference attendance were compulsory and a minority objected so he decided to go with the majority and will impose an incentive/penalty scheme to get as many to attend as possible. The results for the 'crm survey' was similar, everyone who's a coach at that time knew the amount of objections. Yet curiously, the survey results concluded the problem was coaches who complain did not have "business class" internet connections(!?) and therefore the objections to the online crm were not valid.
Integrity? Manipulation? Or simply out of touch with reality?
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
...Out of touch with reality. –for all the employees and most of the coaches and their team.
...Manipulation for the exec team. Someone way up posted that "the stink always starts at the top." And someone else said they "smell something amiss."
They say "those who fail only have to blame themselves", and to "look at Brad's life to see how to become successful"... They say it all. But I always say, "the grass is always greener where the dogs are shitting." Don't get roped in by the delusions of grandeur Brad Sugars and ActionCoach offers. The grass is greener because Brad Sugars is full of BS. -
anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
"The MLs are confronted by this question all the time, judging by the failure rate, what do you think drives them? It is not about a recruitment system that is not working and needed fixing, it is the people running the system running it without integrity, it goes back to the head."
I have to say I agree 100% with this statement. In most territories, the number of coaches are small and they more likely than not receive due dilligence calls from almost every franchise prospect. So on top of the recruitment system, the MLs also get to tap the honest opinions of coaches already in the system who know what it take to be successful. In some territories, even prospects who get 100% consistent weak reviews from existing coaches were still sold the franchise.
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anonymous said on Sep 14, 2009....
As poster noted above, at least Nathan toned down the cheap-franchise-attracting-cheap-people-but-luckily-my-dad-is-cheap-but-smarter angle. -
anonymous said on Sep 15, 2009....
"The first reason is that I don't think ActionCOACH is looking to hire, they are selling franchises not offering employment. That was my "valid" reason : )... Beyond that I don't know. I honestly think it would work wonderfully, as long as people knew at the front end that they were getting into business ownership, not a salaried position.
The one major issue with the hiring system, especially for more highly specialized fields (doctors, lawyers, etc.), is attracting a large enough "pool" to deselect from. But if you could figure out a way to do it I think it would be a phenomenal way to attract get the best coaches that would fit the necessary personality profile for the job. I think that is the kind of thinking that needs to come out of this type of discussion. How COULD we use our hiring systems to populate the franchise with great coaches."
Nathan: perhaps you should ask your dad for his copy of "Business Academy" video and watch the teambuilding part and thoroughly understand the premise of the recruitment system before you suggest the recruitment system is 'invalid' for Actioncoach's own use. Greed, lack of integrity or lack of understanding on the part of recruiters are the most likely causes of recruiters selling to anyone who can put up the money. That kind of culture is built from the top... not at your level.
As for whether coaches have gotten results with clients. Yes, good and even great results but you will not find any supporters here. This is the reason:
In a franchise, the franchisor deal with the franchisee and the franchisee deal with their clients. Notice that there are two levels here, franchisors do not deal with franchisees' clients in most cases.
But one of the favourite marketing tactics of franchises are to quote testimonials of happy clients and blur the line between the two levels. They equate happy clients with happy franchisees and hope no one will notice the sleight-of-hand.
For example, plenty of Subway patrons love their food, no doubt about that. What has that got to do with whether the franchisor is professional with their franchisees? Or whether the franchisees are actually making money and getting support? Or whether the franchisees were mislead when they bought the franchise?
Similarly, what has happy coaching clients to do with any of the issues Actioncoach franchisees are facing with HQ? But in all their marketing materials, they hoodwink their prospects by saying instead of listening to the 'few losers', listen and talk to our many happy clients... clients as in coaching clients, not coaches but what they are selling are coaching licenses, isn't that interesting?
So like others said, congratulations for your success if you and your dad have 100+ happy clients and a solid reputation in your community. However, that information is not quite useful for prospective coaches doing their due dilligence in evaluating whether the ML or HQ is worth dealing with.
For more on a typical ML mindset in Action, read this thread, especially the follow-up comments...
http://www.bizzia.com/franchisepick/actioncoach-ml-says-detractors-are-%e2%80%9closers%e2%80%9d/
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anonymous said on Sep 15, 2009....
Nathan said: I think that something of this nature would have saved what seems like quite a few folks a great deal of heartache.
I like the analogy given by someone above and I agree with the rest of the commentors here. I do not want to sound like I am making a personal attack against someone kind enough to post with his real name... but I think Nathan is either naive or very well shielded from the actual stuff going on at corporate level so that he could concentrate on his job... most good managers do that and his dad probably did.
Any system is only as good as the people executing it. A bunch of greedy money grabbers who don't care about high dropout due to the frontloaded nature of ActionCoach franchise will continue to take in anyone who can afford to pay for the franchise, nevermind dropout rates. Each franchise sale is worth close to 2 years admin fees for the ML & HQ... do you think such a structure encourages sales of franchises or retention of franchisees?
Isn't it interesting that they coach businesses to start from the top for permanent change but internally, practise something completely opposite?
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anonymous said on Sep 15, 2009....
Nathan, (and anyone else curious about business coaching) about your question about the nature of coaching; having tried and failed at the Action coach “system”, I don’t believe that buying a franchise for coaching is the best route for going into coaching. A governing body does not accredit Action Coach and the fees are considering the value. I’m not sure of other systems. I would check out other schools of thought and look for courses offered by an accredited body through a university or college. The ICF is a self-governing body for all coaches, including life and business coaches. This route is far less expensive and offers more flexibility in how you operate and what you charge. The franchise purchase results in vaporware.
The key to coaching as my personal opinion is to use it as a function of another core discipline of business. Action sells a “pay to keep you accountable” model to a client based around the woefully simplistic idea of “Be the Coach” It’s difficult to sell and it’s difficult to sustain. Coaching is inside your head and not everyone gets it.
I heard many manipulative coaches laugh at the stupidity of their clients saying, “They pay me $1500 a month to beat them up over the phone every week.” These Action coaches are the ones regarded as successful. It may be true that business owners are their own worst enemy and are in need of some serious butt kicking, but it doesn’t last long when that’s all you offer via the Action system. You have to offer more than that and that is what you bring to your practice.
If you choose to get into coaching, build you practice on a discipline; marketing, accounting, law, management experience, or other core service and use the coaching model to differentiate yourself. Coaching is how you deliver the service but it’s a difficult “stand alone” business model. Action would have you believe otherwise because that’s what they’re selling. That’s the crux of the deception here. The earnings claims, the support, and the methodology are all vaporware. Action believes that if you put a high price tag on something; you add value to it. It’s only a matter of time before clients and coaches learn that they are deceived.
I thought it would work with the promises and brand recognition that Action “offered” but after a while, the promises were hollow, the system was vaporware, and the brand was non-existent. You’ll be on your own stuck in a contract that’s one sided against you wondering why your paying all this money for something you’re doing on your own.
I’d like to say, “buyer beware” but there’s more to it than that. Ther