Hubbard had a lot of his special wisdom to impart about the skills of selling.
Scientology objects to the idea that it should be characterized as a business. Not because they are not proud of Hubbard’s “administrative technology” which is the ONLY way for any business to succeed (somehow Amazon, Apple and Walmart have muddle their way to success), but because being a business is not compatible with being “religious” and thus the label threatens their tax exempt status.
Scientology “administrative technology” is full of Hubbard talking about “prospects,” “sales,” “commissions” and “discounts.” It is the language of a business, not a religion.
WISE even offers a course composed of Hubbard’s scientology writings that they call “Successful Selling.”
This “WISE technology” is Hubbard scientology policy “secularized” by removing the headings and deleting any reference to religion or church that may be contained in it. Otherwise it is identical (to alter Hubbard writings is a High Crime in scientology). Of course, the quote they include above about interesting “the prospect” is just as he puts it in his “church” policy. The whole “WISE tech” thing is a ruse to pretend that the “business tech” or “sales tech” is anything other than “scientology tech” or “religious tech.” When understood, it becomes even MORE incredible that scientology is deemed to qualify for IRS religious tax exemption. One organization basing its operations on this “technology” is a business, and yet another organization using identical technology can be a religion.
Just to make the point even more clearly. Here is the official scientology definition of a prospect, taken from the SCIENTOLOGY “Admin Dictionary.” Find me any other “religion” that talks in terms of buyers and customers:
I don’t think Hubbard sold, as much as he cashed in on social trends like the baby boomer counter-culture movement, that provided his and others’ groups huge numbers of “seekers” to profit off of and exploit – though I don’t think he understood how much that sort of phenomenon was really driving things. But when that started to wane, he was left with resorting to using an outsider adept at high-pressure car sales type techniques, to try to keep things going through a new bit of customer “tech” (though it also appears he often relied on largely unattributed insiders for much of the rest of the “tech”).
Conman Cardone published a book on how to sell. In it he lauded the late SO IAS Registrar, Charmaigne ( I might have misspelled her name). She had top stats and was very “crush sell” and was like a bulldog who wouldn’t let go of your leg. So Cardone in his book says we need to be like her and demand the money hard sell etc. So if the IRS got ahold of his book and his mention of a Scn SO registrar etc, the IRS would see that Scn is a business and not a church. And maybe they would take away the tax exempt status for churches because Scn is a business and not a church.
“Conman Cardone”. Good one, Cindy 🙂
I’ve got two Big League Sales Closing Techniques” by Les Dane books for sale if anyone wants one.C
I met Les Dane around 1983 at Flag. I was in FSO Tec Services and I had to go over to the Sandcastle to get him for session. I do not believe that he was doing any OT Levels. I imagine it was lower level stuff to make him a Scientologist but I do not really know.
It might have been free ARCX sessions. He as not a Scn. Around 83 he lost his wife when she died and he w as really upset about it (understandably) andhe was offered free auditing to handle the loss of his wife. I went to his last seminar that he gave around that time period. He stopped doing them after that.
I am sure that you are correct.
The last time I checked (about 15 years ago) used copies of BLS were selling on the internet for over $200. I’m not sure it is true but I heard that Scientology now owns the rights to BLS. Every religion should own the rights to their “bible”.
The original title was “Surefire Sales Prospecting Techniques” by Les Dane. On subsequent printings, they change the title to, “Big League Sales Closing Techniques.” Both are the same book content.
I i hear the were selling for $200 to $300 as they are out of print and are very valued in the Scn world. But I am a declared “Special Person” and no one would buy from me if they checked me out before buying. Still Id love to sell them.
Just list them. They will absolutely sell. People aren’t going to search your name and not buy the books because you are labeled SP. I sold every ring, pin, LRH X mas card, etc I had and made a couple thousand dollars and it was all bought by Scientologists.
Mat, nice to hear. Should I sell them on Ebay or something else?
E Bay should work fine.
Cindy, check ebay. When I checked a few years ago they were selling around 300$
At least you’ll get something for them. They are out of print.
Hubbard said that a book called “Big League Sales” (BLS), written by a car salesman named Les Dane, was THE tech on sales. When Les was still alive he would be paid to visit Flag in Clearwater and train the registrars. Every Flag registrar has their own personal copy of BLS. The old timers have signed copies with hand written notes in them from Les. That sales book is followed EXACTLY. LRH ordered that every time a registrar failed to get a close/sale that they were to be sent to the Qualification Division for correction based on what part of BLS they failed to apply. Every sales interview is listened to via a hidden microphone (in person or on the phone) and all failed closes are written up for the use of correction. The veteran registrars have basically memorized the book they have been corrected on it so many times. It is the true “bible” of Scientology. Every public is labeled as to what their “buyer type” is before they even arrive at Flag for the first time. The registrar that will be assigned to that public is based on who is most likely to get the most money from that public based on BLS. Every twist, turn and trick used to get money from that public will be based exactly on the BLS book.
Mat, this is Astounding information. It’s worthy of its own individual blog post.
Just wow. It also makes me feel better.
I’d go to Flag with a plan and a budget. Get some services then bam, routed to a particular reg. Then I’d cave and buy more. I felt like I had no backbone. Now i know better. I was worked like a mark at a carnival
That is the tiniest tip of the iceberg. I once wrote up in detail the entirety of the whole money grabbing operation. How intel is gathered on the financial and personal data on a public before they arrive. The weekly meeting to assign a registrar to the upcoming new arrivals. How the persons Technical Estimate is overseen, if not completely written by the reg based on the persons ability to pay. How the Auditors feed confidential session information, to the registrars, that they think will help to get more money from the person. In exchange for the information the registrars give awards to the auditors. It is called a Bird Dog Award. Maybe a special meal, protein shake, etc. Even maids, drivers, etc can earn an award if they come up with valuable intel. Public are sent to befriend a person at the direction of the reg. Maybe they sit together in the waiting area or sit together at a meal so as to help “direct” a person toward doing a specific service like their L’s. Registrars from the various units exchange and trade information to help each other get more money out of a person. Tips on their buttons and things that have helped get them to pay in the past. The whole thing is very involved and way more intricate and sophisticated then one would imagine. When my wife gets home in a couple of days I will ask her help on finding the write up. If we locate it I’ll repost it in the near future. When I was the Dissem Sec FSO, on an average, every New Major Service Arrival to Flag paid an additional $50,000 before they left.
Mat, I am late to reply, but wow what you have written means a whole lot to me. I would love to see the full write-up published. The part you’ve already shared caused chills in my body.
I discovered years after I joined the cult that a ‘friend’ of mine in the cult had been assigned to be my ‘Buddy.’ Only because I was so indoctrinated to behave and help, and to always apply the ‘Greatest Good for the Greatest Number of Dynamics to benefit scientology,’ bullshit did I manage to climb over the steaming pile of cognitive dissonance this reveal caused. They knew I was upset and I became an ‘Ethics Particle.’ To get off the Ethics hamster wheel I was manipulated into be a new person’s Buddy.
The fact that some of my FLAG ‘friends’ could have been planted by the Reg is all too real. None of those ‘friends’ stayed in touch.
I keep finding out more dirty, underhanded, and disgusting actions taken by the cult to get me to charge more on credit cards for their underwhelming ‘services.’
Thank you for this. I look forward to more freeing truths. And maybe a book?
It’s also worth observing that elron wasn’t about the kind of sale that produces a win-win. Namely where you help a customer select something that they genuinely need and offer it to them at a price and/or quality/service level that sets you apart from the competition. Being the scammer that he was, he was all about the high-pressure sale. The kind where the salesperson has to pounce on the customer and get them to do things that they will often regret in short order but will be unable to reverse by then.
“Pressure, not PR is the essence of salesmanship!” LRH
How many times did we Chinese school that?
Amusing side note:
There is even a drill written by LRH on how to accept money. It goes something like this:
1. Put out your hand, palm up.
2. Put your thumb over the money that is placed in your hand.
3. Withdraw your hand with the money.
This was actually drilled.
Wow. This is a religion?
Yep. Every staff member at Flag would be put through that “drill”. Every staff member was expected to help on the income lines any way they could. God help any staff member that did anything to cut across or endanger an “income cycle”. The entire base was driven by ONE common purpose and that was to MAKE MONEY. If someone had a “Big Win” as a result of their training or auditing, great, it creates more opportunity to get more money from them. Money! Money! There are lots of LRH quotes regarding make money, use the money to make more money, squeeze every Quarter until the eagle screams, the answer to your problem kiddies is to make more money,….
If internally official Scientology “leaders” (of which there are none), they ought use the Hubbard College as SMI (Scientology Missions International).
The WISE (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises) ought to vanish, wholesale eliminate that sector. Reason, it is irreligious, and it does not pass the traditional world understanding of the large traditional religions. WISE sector ought be eliminated. And repurpose the Hubbard College totally to “Mission” training. The training also could all be done online, and eliminate most of the travel to the Hubbard College even, except for maybe yearly hob nobbing of missions worldwide who wish to come.
Miscavige has eliminated “top management” so just keep that eliminated. It’s too big of a runway to remake “top management” and can’t be built as Hubbard has written it should be built. (For instance, the top two councils of “top management” of official Scientology, Watchdog Committee and Exec Strata were to have Staff Status 7/8 personnel, which means Class 12 training, OEC/FEBC/PR/SeaOrgHistory full training, which not a single “top management’ person has achieved from the 1980s to present time, showing it is an impossible runway of training to attain Staff Status 7/8s for the two councils members).
Just keep it so, when reforming Scientology, eliminate it all, just keep CST and make CST a sort of pilgrimage destination, like the hadj to Mecca, a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Archives/CST, and open up a copies of all LRH full corpus to a special on site library, for Scientologists who wish to see the “LRH originals.”
Maybe make the Int Base buildings, the hadj and library (of copies of the LRH originals full corpus to Scientologists and to scholars to read the full Hubbard corpus).
Eliminate continental management entirely, and maybe make of the PAC Complex just a “Mission” that delivers the whole bridge.
Flag can do the same, and give all to LA “PAC” all that exists at Flag.
Make essentially “Flags” at all the world regional centers. Let the whole “bridge” (syllabus) be taught and delivered at any of the regional levels of Scientology, which are sustainable.
Keep the freewinds, if it is just used as a destination for Scientology tourists only, and move OT 8 quackery training and delivery to the “Flags”.
The “Flags” really ought to just be like the Hubbard College of the future, and just train people to “Mission” level participation, or train people to whatever Class, meaning to Class 6, to Class 8, Class 12, that any Scientologist wishes.
Make as many Trey Lotz’s as there is a demand for Trey Lotz’s.
And eliminate ALL irreligious regulations and Hubbard orders, from all levels.
Strip the movement down, so it’s like Max Hauri level, a “Mission” that delivers ALL of the quackery.
If people wish to “squirrel” just do it on their own, out in their own “Missions” or “Field Auditor” practices.
The word “religion” and what traditional religions do to have a positive public reputation and understanding, is the guiding principle which to downsize official Scientology.
Cut out the irreligious, top to bottom.
Dear Chuck:
I have been audted by Trey Lotz. He is certainly in the top 3 auditors I have had.
Personally, if someone is to ask for experienced grounded opinions, Trey ought be on the short list.
If studying Scientology today were a paid job, then visiting Trey and visiting Ron’s Org run by Max, and the Dror center, and then Advanced Org Greater Plains, would be my four interview stops.
There also might be a handful of Apollo vets still auditing, I think they are in their late 70s and 80s now, but their opinions about what they think is the answer to the question: “What Is Scientology” would be some of the best hindsight views, and if not, their views ought be noted anyways.
Yes. Chuck.
Trey did his internships on the Apollo in 71 when LRH was there. And there is no IAS or any other robbers there. If the auditing did not do you much good than you simply do not come back. There is no Call-In or MAAs to fuck with you.
Sounds right.
If Hubbard was a successful… Do I have to say it? Do I have to tell the glass cleaning story again?
John Ryan was a friend mid 2000s.. He’d been married to Diane Hubbard so I suppose OSA was ‘watching over him’.
He was a record producer and apparently having financial troubles.
His handler at the church sent him to the WISE college down Vermont Street to do the Financial Course with works of LRH by Kevin Burk or his associate.
I had no clue what was really going on – had John simply not been able to donate?
Anyway, the first afternoon on that course
I got violently ill and removed myself from all further obligation after speaking to Peggy? the ‘Professor’ running the ‘college’.
All because my KSW programming was so inbed I got sick seeing an LRH alteration.
John Ryan still had one of Dianes’ pianos in his storage he asked me if I knew how to get ahold of her or what to do with it
I didn’t know where Int Base was back then. That’d be something if he dropped it off 😀
I’m looking forward to the day scientology is again declared a business because that is at least a start.
More I look forward to all the acronyms that go prior to business 😀
scientology fits all lrhs’ definitions of 1.1 and suppressive. Surprised he didn’t write more about coercive control but then that may have too quickly pinned him.
Whatever $cientology may claim about being a religion, in a ruling that has never been overturned, Hernandez v. Commissioner, 490 U.S. 680 (1989), SCOTUS decalred $cientology to be a quid pro quo business.
A ruling the IRS completely ignored when giving $cientology 401(c)3 tax exempt status. A status that included things, like being able to set ‘fixed donations’, no other 401(c)3 tax exempt organization is allowed to do.
From my decades working in our government I can tell you it has no respect for the laws of our land. It works for itself and the notion of public service is long dead. It does only what’s best for itself.
I also worked many years in Scn and witnessed violations of our nation’s laws. They were committed in total non compliance with Hubbard’s policy. A policy that ordered the church to fully comply with our laws and not seek complex and dishonest ways to avoid them.
In my years in the government, I can proudly say I thwarted some of their illegal acts. Sadly I had no success attempting the same while in the cult.
I am no longer involved in either of these despicable entities. Because I KNOW with CERTAINTY exactly what they are.
If our government will not ever stand up and get it’s shit together the hope they’ll rescind Scn’s tax exemption is just a pipe dream.
I think rescinding $cientology’s tax exemption is probably a pipe dream at this time. What I believe is possible, especially if supported by other 401(c)3 organizations looking for a level playing field, is eliminating $cientology’s ability to set “fixed donations”. All other 501(c)3’s have to take what they get when asking for donations. If they want to set a fixed amount it has to be handled through a nonexempt related entity, e.g., a book store, that has to pay taxes on it’s sales.
I believe eliminating $cientologies ‘fixed donation’ abilitty would bring it to it’s knees.
Sure, it seems that that would have an effect but I wish the US government would grow a pair of balls and do something that would truly be effective. But, knowing all I know I am not “holding my breath” for that.
Example, all the immigration fraud the cult has committed over the last 60 years hasn’t ever brought a single enforcement action. Is our government just too chicken shit or too lazy? I think both and it truly sickens me! And I know the ONLY reason none of the cult’s members who’ve participated in that fraud will come forward is because they will be found guilty of participating in it an any residency or citizenship status they’ve been granted will be rescinded.
All that said, I truly think if any of them did come forward despite fear of personal suffering the government would still back off. Why? For the same reason they haven’t rescinded the cult’s tax exempt status. They are little pussies who are more (or only) worried about their own survival. Hear me! My decades in government have utterly convinced it is not operating with a public service motive. No it is only interested in serving itself.
They, much like the cult, cannot be counted on to do right.
Such self service motivation has come from the very top of the US government. Richard Nixon’s work against John Lennon and Yoko Ono is a stellar example. He secretly ordered the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to institute deportation proceedings against the couple the moment their temporary US visitor status expired. They had come to America as tourists but Nixon worried, as it was an election year, they (or John alone) would have a damaging impact on his bid to stay in office. I know this from direct contact with the couple’s attorneys as well as FOI requested documents obtained years later.
So, my friend. I appreciate your hope and objectivity but hear me; don’t waste your time or energy. Governments are “self serving” and we should not count on them for anything whatsoever.
Now, to try to end this on a positive note. It is up to us Citizens to demand and get what is right. We cannot rely on anyone or anything else. We should never waste our time or energy trying to get the government to do anything. It, like even the Russian government is truly and only self serving. Another fact I can attest to personally. And a story (facts) for some other time.