Digital Storefronts Review – 13 Things to Know Before You Buy Cory Long’s Lead Generation Course

1. THE COURSE: What is the Digital Storefronts Course About?

So what's with the "storefronts" concept?

Here's how it works...

The course is basically an online video series, that aims to teach users how to build a local lead generation business.

It covers the process of generating local service leads online, by building little websites (or digital storefronts) and then sending these leads to business owners that are looking for more customers.

On top of covering how to generate these leads, the course also aims to teach you how to get these business owners to agree to pay you for the leads you send them (not always an easy task).

So that's the hype...Let's find out if it delivers on what it promises.

2. COURSE CREATOR: Who is Cory Long?

Cory Long is a pastor and online entrepreneur.

He created Digital Storefronts in 2019 after he had to be kicked out of the local lead generation training program by Dan Klein because he wasn't following their rules.

He was secretly selling his own services to other students in the group, which was not allowed. 

He was hitting up pretty much any student in the group that he could get in contact with, to pitch them his own product and service.

I mean, if you're the owner of the group and you’ve spent millions to gain customers (Dan Klein did), you wouldn’t want someone else coming in and stealing them, would you?

After he got kicked out of this group, Cory then broke away and started his own lead generation course, which is the Digital Storefronts course.

Cory claims to have over 20 years of internet marketing experience, as well as having extensive experience working in Fortune 500 companies.

He makes it well known that he funds his ministerial lifestyle with the profits he makes from applying the skills he learned from Dan Klein in the local lead generation training.

So, while there's nothing wrong with him starting his own lead generation coaching, the way he did it is kinda shady.

Especially for someone that claims to be a man of God!

I don't know about you, but this was a red flag for me, and I personally think that Cory fails the character test big time here.

3. THE BUSINESS MODEL: How Does Local Lead Generation Work?

So we already know that the Digital Storefronts course is based on the local lead generation business model. 

Let's get clear on how this business model actually works. 

In a nutshell, it's basically the process of generating leads for business owners that are looking for more customers.

Now there are many ways to generate leads for businesses, but the course focuses on using Google to drive traffic through organic rankings and map listings to a website.

Here’s a high level overview of the process.

First up, you’re gonna build a small local service website for a town or area.

This could be any local service like carpet cleaning, plumbing, tree service etc.

Next, you’ll drop a call tracking number on the website, which you’ll redirect to a local business owner that needs more leads.

Once your website ranks in Google, people will hopefully find it and start calling the number on it.

When they do, they’ll be redirected to the local business owner that is looking for more customers.

When this happens, the local business owner will pay you for the leads you send them.

This could be a commission on any closed business they get from you (maybe 10%), it could be a fee per lead (say $20 each), or a flat monthly fee (say $750 a month).

That's pretty much it. 

The local lead generation model is super simple, and works really well because of the immense value that you are adding to the customers you're serving (local business owners).

Of course, there is a skill set to learn to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, but once you have it down, it's just a case of rinse and repeat.

4. COURSE OVERVIEW: What Does the Course Cover?

The course aims to take you through the entire lead generation process from start to finish.

Once you sign up and pay, you’ll immediately get access to an online portal that contains 7 different modules, each containing a number of training videos.

Here’s a high level breakdown of the course:

All in all, the course does an OK job in covering the entire local lead generation process, although I thought that it could have been a little more thorough in some parts. 

For example, the website build modules are all focused around building sites in WordPress.

In my experience, WordPress is a lot of work, and maintaining the plugins and updates on just one site can be time consuming on its own. 

Now imagine if you had 50+ sites like I do.

Good luck keeping track of all the updates needed for those!

5. PRICE: How Much Does Digital Storefronts Cost?

You’re probably wondering how much the Digital Storefronts course is gonna set you back.

All in, you’re looking at $5K to get you through the door.

This will give you access to the training platform, as well as the private Facebook group.

Now let’s be clear…

I don’t have a problem dropping $5K on a course. 

In-fact I’d go as far as to say that the courses I’ve dropped $5K+ on (there have been a few), have been the courses that have added the most value to my online skillset.

I’m a big believer that the one thing successful people do is model other successful people. 

In other words, they find someone that has already achieved what they want to achieve, and then find a way to study their process.

In my case, this has been by paying to learn the skill or process I want to acquire, which is essentially what I’ve done when I’ve paid for these courses.

So I would never let a $5K price tag put me off, especially if I’m going to learn a skill that could earn me 100X that in return.

Does that mean you should spend $5K on Cory’s Digital Storefronts course?

... Keep reading to find out.

PROS OF DIGITAL STOREFRONTS

6. EASY TO USE: The Course Layout is Clean and Clear

One of the cool things about the Digital Storefronts course is that the platform is simple and easy to navigate. 

Sure it looks pretty plain and bland, but that didn’t really bother me.

Each module is well laid out with one video per page, and I found that it was dead simple to navigate around the interface.

From the introduction video, you get a clear overview of what lies before you, and it’s really easy to skip forward and go back to videos as you need to for a recap. 

There is also a built-in progress tracker which tracks how much of the course you’ve completed.

This was useful for remembering where I’d left off when it was time to start viewing the next module again.

7. THE BUSINESS MODEL: Local Lead Generation is the Real Deal

Hands down one of the biggest pros about the Digital Storefronts course is the business model that it’s based on.

As someone that’s been involved in numerous online business models over the last few years, local lead generation is by far the best model I’ve found.

Not only has it allowed me to build a business that is now making me $30K a month, but it's allowed me to live life on my own terms.

So what makes this business model work better than others?

In my opinion the key to succeeding in online business, or any business for that matter, is to focus on adding value to the customer that you’re serving. 

With local lead generation, you’re adding massive value by sending local business owners more leads.

At the end of the day, who doesn’t want more customers!

As a result, these local business owners are happy to pay you month after month, because of the insane value you’re adding to their business.

For me, this makes it one of the best business models on the planet, and a model that will be around for a very long time to come.

CONS OF DIGITAL STOREFRONTS

8. PROOF: Limited to No Proof of Earnings or Success

It's one thing to outline the theory of a business model like lead generation, but it's another to actually execute it and build a successful business around it.

One of the big things that was lacking in this course for me was any proof of earnings or success by Cory.

The course covers the theory of building websites, ranking them and then getting business owners to pay you for the leads they generate.

What it doesn't do though is show you any proof that this has actually been achieved.

When this happens, I'm always curious as to whether the course creator is making most of their money from the skills they teach in the course, or are they making most of their money by selling the course?

On the sales page there is one case study, and a handful of reviews, but we're talking like 3 in total here. 

For me, that's not really enough to build any social proof, and for all I know these people could have been paid to leave a 3 minute video.

Cory may well run a successful lead generation business (I know I do), but where's the proof?

9. IN-HOUSE SERVICE: It’s a Little Pricey

If you’re short on time, Cory offers a ‘Built For You’ service in which his team will go ahead and build websites for you (digital storefronts).

While I appreciate the service, I was a little disappointed with the price.

Coming in at $500 a pop, this service ain't cheap.

As someone that has built hundreds of sites myself over the last few years, I found this price tag a little steep for my liking.

Put it this way...for that price, you’re not gonna get too many sites up and running unless you’ve got deep pockets.

After being in the lead gen game for a while, I’ve now got a team of Virtual Assistants that build my sites for me, and I can tell you that it doesn't cost me anywhere near $500 per site to do this.

So you can be sure that Cory’s making a pretty decent profit on each of these builds...just something to be aware of.

10. FACEBOOK GROUP: It’s Pretty Average

With most online courses these days, you’re gonna find that you will usually get access to a private Facebook group.

In a lot of the courses I’ve paid for, this has been one of the biggest plus factors for me.

Usually the value of being in a group of like minded people is worth more than the actual course that I’ve paid for.

In the case of Digital Storefronts, I found this wasn’t the case.

First up, there were less than 500 people in the group, which means the engagement was pretty low on a day to day basis. 

In the lead generation group I cut my teeth in, there are now almost 7,000 users in the Facebook group.

This means that the value bombs being dropped in there are insane, as many of the users in the group are doing $100K+ a month.

What’s also cool in that group is that every week the course leader does 2 live calls where some of the successful students join him to discuss various lead generation tactics and strategies. 

It’s literally the equivalent of Masterminding with people that are already succeeding at what you want to do, which is priceless if you ask me.

This is by far the #1 reason why I’ve managed to build my own successful lead generation business in only a few years.

...Cory does live calls every week as well...

...but in my opinion the value just isn’t there, and I found them pretty lackluster.

He tries hard, but maybe I'm just used to the high quality I get in the group I learnt in. 

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

11. LEGIT OR A SCAM: Is Digital Storefronts the Real Deal?

Let’s get to the point.

The real reason that you’re reading a review like this is to find out if Cory’s course is the real deal, or if it’s a scam. 

In this day and age, it’s easy for anyone to throw up a few videos and brand it as a course, right?

The real question though is does the content stack up, and do students actually make money from using the knowledge that is taught in it?

The short answer is Yes...kind of.

Cory’s local lead generation course does indeed work, and I do believe that students actually make money by applying the knowledge that is taught in it.

Does that mean you should go ahead and buy it?

...read on and I’ll let you know.

12. REFUND POLICY: Can You Get Your Money Back?

I don’t know about you, but when I drop my cash on a course like this, I like to know if I’m covered by a money back guarantee. 

It’s not that I’m buying the course with a “refund” mentality, but it’s good to know that I’ve got options if I'm not happy with my purchase.

In this case, the refund policy was a little vague. 

The official wording was:

“We issue refunds for Contracts within 90 days of the original purchase of the Contract.”

So on the surface it looks like you’re covered with a 90 day guarantee, but the wording seems a little unclear. 

I mean, what do they define as a “contract”?

Why don’t they just mention the name of the course?

I didn’t feel the need to request a refund, but from past experience with other online courses I’ve purchased, I know that course creators like to keep the refund policy as obscure as possible.

This ensures that they have a little wiggle room when the time comes to issue any refunds.

I also noticed that there is no mention of the refund policy in the FAQ section of the sales page.

I had to go digging for it in the Terms and Conditions section.

I guess you’ll just have to make up your mind yourself, but personally I wouldn’t hold my breath and assume you’ll get a hassle free, no questions asked refund should you feel the need to request it.

13. CONCLUSION: Should You Buy Cory Long’s Digital Storefronts Course?

So now that I’ve dived into the course and dropped a few truth bombs about Cory, let's cut to the chase.

I guess the question you may be wondering is whether or not I recommend that you buy the Digital Storefronts course, right?

So should you?….probably not!

Here’s why...

Sure the Digital Storefronts course is a decent course that covers the local lead generation business model in enough detail to get started, but is that enough?

If I was going to invest in a course like this, I'd be inclined to rather buy the course that Cory learnt his skills from (the same one I did).

At the end of the day, Cory's course is nothing more than a rehashed version of the one he went through, and the one that he learnt everything from.

Only thing is, Cory doesn't have the same experience that the crew from the other course do, and he doesn't get anywhere near the same results that they do.

This means that in my opinion, the information he shares in his course is pretty limited.

In other words...it lacks the killer in-depth content and the experience that Dan's course offers through its weekly knowledge sharing.

On top of that, the way he was approaching fellow students in this other group to try and sell them his own services and products is kinda shady if you ask me...

My advice...check out the course I went through when I was learning lead generation.

This is the same course that Cory did, and the same course that now has me making $30K+ a month, and growing each and every month.

Here's more lead generation info for you to sink your teeth into...