From: alexhormozi
Legitimate online education platforms, such as Harvard, distinguish themselves from scam businesses by leveraging data and metrics rather than sensationalized income promises [00:15:00]. This approach builds trust and credibility, ensuring long-term brand integrity.
Shifting from Income Promises to Data-Driven Reporting
Unlike “make ten thousand dollar a month in 30 days” scams [00:00:00], legitimate educational institutions like Harvard do not offer income expectations [01:29:00]. They do not promise immediate financial gains like “become a Harvard graduate, make money tomorrow” [01:32:00]. Instead, they acknowledge a significant delay between starting and graduating, and the true value sold is often the brand endorsement itself [01:37:00].
Rather than featuring testimonials from students on income, such as “I graduated Harvard and I got my first job at $185,000 at Goldman Sachs,” legitimate institutions publish data [01:48:00].
“If you do not track your customer success metrics meaning when someone buys what percent of them succeed at 30 60 90 12 months what are the averages for whatever the thing that you educate them on if you track the data then you don’t add any sensationalism to what you’re reporting” [02:01:00]
Key Data Points to Track and Publish
To establish credibility, online courses should focus on tracking and transparently publishing customer success metrics [02:05:00]. This includes:
- The percentage of customers who succeed at various intervals (30, 60, 90, 12 months) [02:07:00].
- Average outcomes for the specific area of education [02:12:00].
- Publishing statistics such as the top 20%, average, and median outcomes [02:22:00].
- Reporting on the industries or fields graduates enter [02:28:00].
By tracking this data, businesses avoid sensationalism and set realistic expectations [02:17:00]. For example, instead of promising quick results, they state what graduates achieved years after beginning their program [02:38:00]. The focus shifts from income to the experience, network, relationships, and character development gained [02:48:00].
Building a Reputable Brand Through Data and Standards
Adopting a data-driven approach, coupled with rigorous qualification and high standards, helps develop a strong brand [03:04:00].
- Qualify Customers: Only admit individuals who are most likely to succeed in the program [01:06:00].
- Set Expectations Based on Data: Clearly communicate outcomes based only on tracked data [05:18:00].
- Focus on Experience: Testimonials and stories should highlight the experiences of people who completed the system or program, rather than just income [05:20:00].
- Maintain Exclusivity: Like Harvard, which doesn’t graduate everyone, having people fail out or not receive endorsement maintains the integrity of the brand [04:11:00], [05:00:00].
By establishing high standards and demonstrating success through verifiable data, a sales school, for example, could command high prices because it has data to support that it doesn’t accept everyone and that its graduates are top performers [06:46:00]. This approach ensures the business is not a scam and provides genuine value [06:53:00].