I'm mainly discussing products and not training, and from what I have seen the products I've recommended are the best for persuasion and general use for people who don't want to become NLP Practitioners.
As for Bandler, from my experiences with his products on persuasion not much is taught consciously and I prefer explict models. Unconscious installation is is fine but in addition to conscious instruction. IMO his newer materials (after "Time For a Change") are more useful for experienced practitioners. I won't go further into the "conscious vs unconscious learning" debate since that is an old issue in NLP and we won't resolve it here.
I recommended "NLP: The New Technology of Achievement" as an introductory course for general use as an alternative to Tony's products. From my experience they teach far more than Tony does. Of course Practitoner Training would be much more comprehensive but that is another topic.
I buy products from almost everyone in NLP, at least the big names, but I also realize that most people are not into this enough to go that far.
