There's a sucker born every minute - Blog article written by Ted Prodromou


Years ago, Joe Vitale wrote There's a Customer Born Every Minute. 

The book is based on P.T. Barnum who turned a struggling circus into the most successful circus ever. 

P.T. Barnum is perhaps best known today for having said, "There's a sucker born every minute" but Barnum never said such a thing. 

He believed that there was a customer born every minute, and this belief―that everyone was a potential buyer―was just one of the many solid business principles that led him to a long and successful career. 

Vitale used Barnum's principles to become one of the most recognized marketing and personal development experts ever. 

Today, we could say "There's an expert born every minute." 

Overnight, thousands of AI experts appeared out of nowhere. 

Many are claiming they've been studying and using AI for at least five years. 

I've seen this phenomenon occurs many times over the years. 

Google ad experts in the 2010s. 

Facebook ad experts. 

LinkedIn experts. 

TikTok experts. 

I hired many of these "experts" over the years because their marketing message fooled me. 

On paper, they looked like the solution I needed. 

In reality, they knew a lot less than me, but they were willing to take my money. 

"Experts" come and go. 

Eventually, reality will catch up with these "experts". 

They'll shift gears and put out a new shingle claiming to be an "expert" in the next big thing. 

Today, there are 21,000 AI companies on LinkedIn. 

There are 3,430,000 people on LinkedIn who have AI in their profile. 

Do a LinkedIn search in a month and I bet these numbers double as more people jump on the AI bandwagon. 

How can you spot a fake "expert"? 

Look at their LinkedIn profile and check the Experience section. 

What were they doing a year ago? 

Five years ago? 

Pivoting to the next big thing is common these days so make sure you do your research before you open your wallet. 

Schedule a call with them and ask them some difficult questions. 

Within seconds you'll know if they know what they're talking about. 

If they use a lot of buzzwords and never answer your questions, watch out. 

Remember "There's a sucker born every minute" or should I say, "There's an 'expert' born every minute". 

Buyer beware! 

About the author 

Ted Prodromou

Would you like me to help you?

I'm the #1 best-selling author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business and Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Business. People call me America's Leading LinkedIn Coach.

I'm the founder of Search Marketing Simplified, LLC, a full service online marketing agency. The SMS team designs and implements advanced LinkedIn and social media lead-generation strategies for small to medium-sized businesses. SMS will set up and manage your marketing funnels using organic, social and paid traffic.

Did you know I've been working with the internet since 1991, long before Al Gore invented it?

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