Complaint Review: Institute For Independent Business - Watford Nationwide
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- Author Confirmed
- Institute For Independent Business Bridle Path, Watord, England Nationwide United Kingdom
- Phone:
- Web:
- Category: Business Consultants
Institute For Independent Business Training and Affiliation was disappointing and statistics misleading Watford Nationwide
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Associates are coming out en-mass to rebut the criticisms of the IIB.
*UPDATE Employee: As with all business networks, the IIB is what you make of it
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Many good IIB associates, but the IIB itself has problems.
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Many have already written of their disappointments.
Bottom line is that people are free to find all they can and to then voluntarily pay for the IIB accreditation. However, I would not encourage a consultant to spend the time or money on this organization.
The "sell" sugests a rigourous selection process, which was not easily verified by attendees at the "Residential Business School" and appeared unlikely to be factual, unless one accepts that a need to spend equivalent of over $20000 counts as self selection. A claim was made that the mean closing of the 10 appointments included in the package was 20% (2). Real facts appear to be closely guarded in Waford but sample statistical evidence suggests this is unlikely to be true and a much lower figure is likely to be the case. The School strongly ststes and repeats that the appointment seters raise few or no expectations. If this is factual, then a very large quantity of the appointment "clients" are dishonest, since there are scores, possibly hundreds, of reports of clents with very specific expectations, allegedly given to them by the appointment setters.
The School presses the case that failure can only be blamed on oneself, even though samples suggest that "failure", if measured by failure to make a middle class income, is the result for an estimated 80-90%. Clearly some succeed, but most appear to be unable to make the 1990s style script work for them, partly because many find the script in itself less than fully truthful. The school is almost exclusively devoted to a single sales method. Self assessment forms and other detailed answers are filled out, but no-one in my school group was able to work out the purpose of these.
A minimum invoicing "guarantee" is offered as enticement to pay and be accreditred. I have met several who took this up. Some were very process-driven types who paid great attention to detail in general. However, I met no-one who was able to stay on this track since, they said, a single missed box or line on a single report resulted in disqualifiation with no chance to recover.
The selling script, which associates are urged to memorize, pushes a line of implication that there is a vibrant network of over 5000 associates, even though it has now been established that the number of active associates is around half that.
After the big cost of accreditation, ongoing costs are equivalent to less than $300 annually, so many associates stay affiliated, since the marginal cost to be in contact with a generally good group of people is quite low.
The alleged IP of the organization is closely guarded and groups are prohibited from using open forums for discussions for fear of potential clients seeing the sales script or hearing of the methods and approaches. Some of the so-called IP is likely to be very debatable in terms of how much it can be protected. A significant number of asociates regard the IP protection as being partly motivated by a fear of word getting out regarding the "failure rate" of associates' businesses, or the unflattering remarks made at the school regarding alternative consulting organizations.
Generally criticism and open debate do not appear to be happily tolerated by the officers of the organization. Associates have been urged in a mass email from the Principal to post rebuttals on this site to protect "their Institute" and (presmaly) their incomes. The undertanding is that failure to do so will possibly result in a failure to continue IIB operations in North America. It is not clear to me why this would be limited to North America and not apply equally here in Europe.
Tigersfan
Leicester
United Kingdom
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 03/04/2009 02:47 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/institute-for-independent-business/nationwide/institute-for-independent-business-training-and-affiliation-was-disappointing-and-statisti-430782. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#3 UPDATE EX-employee responds
Associates are coming out en-mass to rebut the criticisms of the IIB.
AUTHOR: Persephone - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, March 08, 2009
There's no doubt that there are plenty of successful associates who started with the IIB, and there is a core of competent people in the IIB network. I personally have built a successful consulting practice and probably got some useful experience from the IIB. What's up for discussion is the value of the $20K IIB accreditation.
First, there is no value to the accreditation for potential clients - they've never heard of the IIB.
Second, there is no value to the accreditation for other associates - the IIB selects people on very lax criteria, mainly the ability and willingness to stump up $20K. The mass email system generates a lot of spam, and you cannot use IIB membership as a criteria for integrity or competence, so you have to build up your own network anyway.
The current associates should use this mini crisis of confidence to force change within the IIB. The IIB invests nothing in updating its website, training and consulting model. The materials are amateurish and the recommended sales pitch is totally lacking in integrity, as is their approach to potential associates.
Don't be fooled by the non-profit claims. The IIB is about recruiting people to fill the training course. They do enough to sustain the network (which is mostly done by the associates) and pocket the profits.
The sad thing is that there is huge potential in the IIB, but it is being run by cynical old men just milking it for every penny they can.
#2 UPDATE Employee
As with all business networks, the IIB is what you make of it
AUTHOR: Consultant-london - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, March 08, 2009
I have read a variety of reports in this site with interest. Two years ago, I completed a survey of existing IIB members to see what they thought of the Institute and to ascertain if it was working for them.
The consensus was that the IIB is what you make of it but it will not do everything for you (realistically can you really expect this of anything?). There are some very successful individuals who have identified their USP and have been able to leverage the powerful network of other Associates to grow their business. There are others who are unsuccessful since they do not have a USP.
It is true with any business network, and no different with the IIB, you cannot just sit there and wait for the phone to ring - it won't. You need to market yourself, get in front of decision makers and build up your own networks to add scalability to your provision - the IIB can provide tools and contacts to expediate this process if you use it in the right way. If you want to have business spoon fed to you, the IIB is not for you and neither is any other network - it is not the way business works.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the survey, mentioned above, email me.
#1 UPDATE EX-employee responds
Many good IIB associates, but the IIB itself has problems.
AUTHOR: Persephone - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, March 07, 2009
I think Tigersfan has it about right. There are good, successful IIB consultants serving small businesses, but the IIB itself doesn't add any value.
The IIB's business model (not that of the IIB associates) is to fill its monthly training sessions (Residential Business School) with anyone willing to pay the $20K. Tired instructors trot out a dubious sales script filled with very misleading statements and push a business model that doesn't work. The training materials are poor quality and haven't been updated for years. Associates who would have been successful anyway as advisers build a business, but no thanks to the IIB.
The IIB threatens associates who challenge its methods with expulsion for bringing the IIB into disrepute.
For anyone thinking of doing business with an IIB associate, like anything, there are good and bad ones - evaluate them as you would any potential service provider. But I think the IIB is on its way out. Don't waste your money if you are a prospective associate. My LinkedIn network is larger and higher quality than the IIB.
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