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Joel Bauer
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M ark Levy
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W ILEY
JO H N W ILEY & SO N S, IN C .
M ore Praise for H ow to Persuade People W ht? D on't IAWJZ' to Be P ersuaded
''Joel Bauer and M ark Lev.sr draw back the curtain and 1et you see, hear, touch, and tfsc the most m ysterious mechanism s of success- -ir-fïtfewcc fpg.il ècrsuasion. lf you're thinking lightweight cunning or heavyw eight sociologs forget it. W e're talking about an ancient craft our ancestors knew that our generation forgot.
This book will teach you how to w ield your best ideas to influence others with the m ystical dexterit.sr ofa caveman who strikes a flintytfstso- and creates fire.''
.- hlick Corcodilos, founder of the N orth Bridge G roup, Inc.
and author of zlsk tlle H eadllunter ''J-J/tp ttl Ptrsuatk Pcc')!c T btl Don't Wkg.t ttl l?c Ptrsuatlc? is a gem . lts concepts are clear/ its exam ples are powerful/ and the writing in it provides readers w ith the energ.sr inherent in a great pitch. lfyou want to elevate your ideas and get them received as if they w ere m anna from heaven/ you must read this book.''
- l-eslie Yerkes, president of Catalyst Consulting G roup, Inc. and author of 301 W flps to H ave Fun at W tvk Fun W tf v ks and Beansf ''Joel Bauer and M ark Le'or teach you how to get into the mind of the decision
aker and convert 'no' into ' es '''
m y .
- leffrey Gitomer, author of Tlw Sales Bible and Tlle Patterson Principles of Selling
''l've watched Joel Bauer work with audiences for 1 2 years and now l under- stand w hy he's been the undisputed leader in persuasion. But How ttl Pcrsuatk Pcc')!c W'-l,tlDc'g.ï Wffwt ttl l?c Pcrsuatk? isn't just a stonr about Joel. lt's an unselfish recipe for personal and professional developm ent. This book is a gift.''
.- M att Hill, president, The H ill Group ''Joel Bauer and M ark Lev.srelevate the art of salesmanship to a level others only dream about and reveal persuasion strategies few professionals would be will- ing to share. Tl-uly/ this is a book on how to be a success.''
- l-arry Becker, form er creative partner of Becker-Kanter Advertising ''&1r. Bauer possesses amazing insight/ and offers inspired revelations into hum an behavior. This book is dangerous.''
- W illiam Bakoyni, president and CEO , Video Technologies ''N 0 hocus-pocus here. This book will awaken the negotiator within and en- able you to be more persuasive that you ever thought possible.''
.- M ax Cohen, cofounder and CEO , CashAdvance.com ''Bauer and Lev.srdon'tjust prove the power of persuasion in their new book/ they show you how to become an expert at this key life skill- quickly and easily''
- peter Economy, coauthor of M anagingfor Dummies
''Nvhile reading Joel Bauer's book you'll get an urge to rush out and test what you've learned. W hen you see your first 'victimk eyes light upJ you'll realize his
persuasion techniques really work. From that moment onJ you're hooked.''
- scott Goodm an, CEO , Sam son Technologies ''How ttl Pcrsuatk Pcc')!c T btlDon't Wkg.tttl l?c Ptrsuatlctl is candid/ insightful, educa- tional/ and fun. Read it and put som e magic into your business life.''
- leffrey J. Fox, author of How to M ake Big Azftlse.y in Ytlvr Own Sm all
Business and H ow to Becom e CEO
''Donald Trump's airl oj t/ Dcfp! and Joel Bauer's How ttl Ptrsuatk Pcc')!c Tbtl Dc'g.ï
Wffwtttl l?c Ptrsuatlc? are two essentials for those looking to succeed in business.''
.- llob Bedbury, director of Bttsiness D evelopment, G um as Advertising ''M aster Joel and M ark's influence strategies and you can become the business w orld's next pied pipen''
- stewart Levine, author of Tlle Book tl/zlgrccvscvzf'
and G etting to Resolution ''l found influence principles l could imm ediately apply to my business on a1- m ost evenr page.''
.- D avid G oldsmith, founder, M etaM atrix Consulting, Inc.
''Joel Bauer is such a rock star. He has shown up with his own brand of real m agic and it w ill rock your world. Read evenrw ord and read it again.''
- Angelica J. Holiday, 'TV producer, entedainment/advertising/marketing
& brand consultant ''A m ust read and a fun read for business people at any level. The book grabs you the moment you pick it up and is fu11 ofunderground practices/ which w ill
have you persuading like a professional pitchm an.''
- -l-homas J. W aletzki, president, Eizo Nanao Technologies
'H ow ttl Pcrsuatk Pcc')!c T btl Dc'g.ï Wffw t ttl l?c Pcrsuatk? w ill shake you out of your comfort zone and/ in the process, draw others to your ideas. A wonderfully unorthodox look at how to influence and get attention.''
.- lohn Izzo author of Second Innocence:Rediscovering Ioy
& W tlsflc'r and A w akening tlle Corporate Soul
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Joel Bauer
&
M ark Levy
+
W ILEY
JO H N W ILEY & SO N S, IN C .
This book is printed on acid.free paper. @
Copyright @ 2004 by Joel Bauer and lvlark Le'o,. A11 rights resenred.
Published by John W iley sc Sons/ lnc./ H oboken/ Newlersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
Thanks to Aigfc magazine publisher Stan Allen and editor.in.chief John lvloehring for permission to use interview material that was published in its April 2003 issue.
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I.ibrary ojcongress Cataloging-in-publication Data:
Bauer/Joel 1960-
How to persuade people who don't want to be persuaded : get what you want- every timeL /Joe1 Bauer/ lvlark I-e'o,.
p. cm .
lncludes bibliographicalreferences and index.
ISBN 0-471-64797-7 (hardcover)
1. Persuasion (Psycholomr) 1. l-evy/ lvlark/ 1962- ll. 'Tltle.
81:637.174832 2004
153.8 '52.--(1(222 2003027633
8
For m y m other, C arol, w ho never said, ''lt cannot be done/'' and m y wife, Cherie, who said, ''ls that a11?''
- J . B .
For m y m other, Rhoda, w ho read m e T'retgsgre Js/tggk, and m y wife, Stella, who can persuade with the best of them .
pe . 1
C O N T E N T S
ACKNOW LEDG M EN TS
D luw Ix TI-IE LlsvfExEk C I-IANGE TI-IE M OM ENT
THE TpakhlsyoltlvlzkTlox M ECI-IANISM THE BODY M ETAPI-IOR
THE PAPER M ETAPI-IOR
THE Qulclt PITCH OPENING THE Qulclt PITCH BODY
THE SLOGAN PITCI-I C otkvlxcE w l7'l-I SAMPLES THE Pow Ek oy FItEE 1 1 THE Pow Ek OF G IFTS 1 2 SOLID Pkooy
1 3 D YNAMIC C I-ARlTY BE D ls-rlxc'r
O vEkcolvlE REsls-r/txcE 16 THE LOOK
1 7 THE PLATFOR&1 PITCH
1 8 THE V ECHANISIVI EMERGENCY K IT IN DEX
A BO UT THE AUTHO ZS
1 1 3 22 40 53 66 78 90 1O1 112 125 133 15O 1 59 1 76 186 197 213
p -. . 1
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
'd like to thank m y w ife, C herie, w ho knew l had potential when it w as well hidden; m y am azing children, Chanelle, Briana, and Sterling, w ho every day teach m e w hat life is re- ally about; m y m other, C arol Bauer, and m y father, Stephen Shoyer; m y adoring grandfathers, Albert and D uf-fy; and m y clos- est friends, Bi11 Bakoyni, Larry Becker, D avid Borys, G ary Lam ers,
Eric M aurin, Dale Penn, Jason Randal, David Stahl, and Jon Stetson. W ithout their ongoing support, the journey toward get- ting what l've alw ays w anted w ould have been lonely. l'd like to
thank my life teachers, Jack Chanin, Paul Diamond, Joe DeLjon,
G ary H unter, H idy O chiai, Ron Praver, Benny Ray, and G regg W ebb; the Kenin C oin & Stam p Shop M agic Departm ent when l w as eleven; the staff of Carnival C ruise L nes w hen l w as thirteen;
and m y publicist, Phil Lobel, who has w orked brilliantly with the m edia to get the w ord out about m e.
l'd also like to thank my co-author, M ark Levy, who is a writ- ing god. W orking w ith M ark is the only way my techniques and philosophy could have ever been transferred so expertly to the page. H e clim bed inside m y w orld, and becam e a friend as well.
L fe has dealt m e a great hand, and the cards w ill rem ain in play until m y last breath.
- J . B .
ACKNOW LEDGM ENTS
'd like to thank m y w ife, Stella, whose love and support has kept m e going; my m om , Rhoda; my brother, Paul; m y sister,
Joyce; and, a11 my other amazing relatives, like Gi1, lrwin, and Joan. l thank my friends whose wisdom helped Joel and me
w rite this book: D ick ''The Guru'' Axelrod, Renee Babiewich,
Larry Becker (for introducing me to Joel), Steve ''There's a peculi- arity in my shoe'' Cohen, Patti Danos, Kevin Daum (for a two- hour conversation that made it a11 clear), Christopher Dilts and his hair, Jack Foster, Bob 'The H appy Skeptic'' Friedhoffer,
M ichael ''Leonardo'' G elb, N athan G old, D avid ''Ferris Buehler'' G oldsm ith, M ichelle H erm an, Paul H arris, Robert ''Short Sen-
tences'' Jacobs, M ac ''Vegas, babyl'' L ng, Paul Lemberg, Steve
''H ow did it w alk?'' Sanderson, Rich Schefren, Adam Snukal, Ken
Swezey (who was excited by our book concept before anyone
else,and w hose enthusiasm gavethe ''Pitchh/lind'' rocket a lift
into orbit), and Karl W eber. Also, thanks to our literary agent, M uriel Nellis, and her assistant, Jane Roberts, to everyone at
W iley, with a big shout out to M att ''T he N urturer'' H olt and Tam ara ''The Transylvanian'' H um m el, and to Claire H uism ann
and the killer staff at lmpressions Book and Journal Services. Also
also, l'd like to thank m y pets. W hen you're w riting eleven hours a day w ith no hum ans in sight, a bark, a m eow , or a tw eet can be
awfully comforting. Bless you Kum a, Jofu (''Fuzio''), X ger, and
Betsy.
Finally, l would like to thank the m an himself, Joel Bauer.Joel
is a m asterful businessperson, perform er, and friend. lf you ever get the chance to see him in action, take it!
M
p -. . 1 1
D R AW IN T H E LIST EN ER
hat you're about to read is a bit frightening. Som e- tim es sem inar attendees w alk out on m e as l de-
liver this material because the/re disturbed by
what they hear. These are sm art people w alking out. l don't blam e them for leaving. This is the stuff of nightm ares.
A s you continue reading, you're going to learn to persuade in a w ay you never im agined possible. N ot in a D ale C arnegie w ay.
N ot by sm iling and tossing in people's first nam es as you speak w ith them . This is about getting people to do what you w ant.
Particularly strangers. (W hen a J//fre;t reporter saw hundreds of
strangers follow m y com m ands in unison, he called the display ''a
feat of mass obedience that must be seen to be believed.'')
M y persuasion m odel is unusual, but deadly effective. l didn't read about it in a m agazine or develop it with a team of university scholars. lnstead, it com es from m y 37 years' experience in front of audiences and from m y study of those true m asters of influ- ence, show folk; m ostly show folk in the ''dark arts.''
Yes, a11 l know about persuasion l've learned from carnies, fakirs, hypnotists, m agicians, m entalists, spiritualists, and, partic-
a Dlt/tw Ix TI-IE Lls-fExElt
ularly, pitchm en. N aturally, l'm taking liberties here with w ho l call show folk, but let's not split hairs. T heir m ethods are the im - portant thing, not the taxonom y.
T hese m entors of m ine, w hom you'll learn about throughout the book, share several traits: lf they don't persuade, they starve;
their strategies m ay involve outright deception; and they use, for the m ost part, entertainm ent as a m eans of changing m inds. For w ant of a better term , let's call their w ays ''theatrical/'' and m y
model the ''Theatrical Persuasion M odel.'' (Things always seem more real when you name them; there's your first lesson.)
So if you're ready for an underground education in influence, read on. lf you're anxious to learn what m agicians dub ''the real w ork/'' this is the only place to find it. lt's a11 very doable, and you'll be able to use the m odel no m atter w hat your situation-
that is, if you don't 1et your fears get the best of you.
Reader, l just hit you with an influence technique: the Fright C hallenge. L ken it to the carnival barker's ballyhoo used to snare people strolling the m idw ay: ''Ladies and gentlem en, can you bear it? Sho-cking! H orr-i-fy-ing! A living, breathing nightm are! The m ost intelligent am ong you will w ant to keep w alkingl'' The m ore the carny protests, the larger the crowd grows.
lf l w as successful with m y pitch, you didn't notice you w ere being influenced. O r, if you realized it, you w ere at least intrigued enough to read this far. W hatever your reaction, l now have your attention, and l intend to keep it.
You can rely upon the Fright Challenge w hatever your audi- ence's size and intellectual m akeup. Everyone- and l m ean every- one- responds to this sim ple tactic.
l used a lengthy challenge to open this chapter because you can build slow ly on paper. Readers like to feel the tim bre of a writer's voice and see how he or she goes about developing an argum ent. ln
person, though, it's a different story; if you take too long setting the challenge, you cross the line from provocateur to m enace.
W hen the people l'm trying to influence are standing before m e and w ant to know how l earn a living, m y Fright Challenge is to
ovEltv lEw
the point: ''Are you sure you w ant to know ? lt's a little frightening.
M ost people can't handle it.'' W hen they say yes, and they always do, l conspiratorially add: ''M ove in closer. l don't w ant everyone hearing this.'' Suddenly, l have their attention in a w ay that m akes
them hungry for my words.The/re mine for the moment.
Reading J-foa? to Persgtgke Peoble J///?0 D 0g1 J//tggt to Be Persgtgtle;t w ill be an experience for you. M uch of w hat you're about to learn
is available now here else.
Ladies and gentlem en, can you bear it? lt's overview tim e!
O VERV IEW
W ho Should Read This Book?
l wrote it predom inantly for businesspeople. M y techniques w ill help executives, m anagers, entrepreneurs, salespeople, m arketers, advertising staff, human resources personnel, presenters, job seekers, andjust about anybody looking for a way to make people
receptive to suggestions.
O f course, you don't have to be in business to profit from this book. Anyone who wants to influence others to his or her w ay of thinking w ill w ant to read it. That audience includes activists, counselors, negotiators, perform ers, physicians, politicians, pub- 1ic speakers, and teachers.
A n audience that deserves special m ention is singles. M y per- suasion strategies are naturals w hen it com es to m eeting and im - pressing people. lf you're a C asanova- or vam p-in-training, youke com e to the right place.
W hat Is the Book's H igh C oncept?
Before l answer, 1et m e explain w hat a high concept is. The prin- ciple is critical if you w ant to be a pow erful persuader. The term bèb cogcel)t is most often used in the TV and film industries, par- ticularly during pitch m eetings, in w hich writers throw con- densed ideas at a studio executive, hoping that the executive w ill buy one of them and turn it into a series or a m ovie.
Dlu w Ix TI-IE LISTENEP-
T hose condensed ideas are high concepts. They take a com - plex plot and reduce it to its m ost com pelling point. The resulting sentence or phrase is w hat the w riter fires at the executive.
W hat's the m ost fam ous high concept ever pitched? Accord- ing to ''Perfect Pitch/'' a TV docum entary, it w as delivered by Aaron Spelling to sell his proposed series A lbtinyales. Spelling pitched the series as ''nurses in w et t-shirts.'' The studio bought it im m ediately.
So W hat Is This Book's High Concept?
Jtsllofz?syou /90f,17 to bersuaijeby gsf'lg t/?etecllgftyesoj brojessionalIlftcllmea.
T hat concept m ay not be as sexy as Spellingk, but it's accurate.
T his book brings the secrets of show folk to the boardroom . lt teaches you how to use entertainm ent to influence.
T hink these prem ises sound odd? Then l suggest you switch on your television. lf the success of television has taught us any- thing, it's this: People w ill open them selves up to a com m ercial m essage f
-fyou entertain them. Take away the entertainment, and
the view er surfs off to another station while the sponsor's m essage goes unheard.
Product sales rise and fall based upon the entertainm ent value of their m essages. A m essage that tickles the public can be w orth billions. At tim es, an entertaining m essage m ay be the only thing separating one product from another.
Bottled water is a good example. lt's a $35 billion a year in- dustry. That's $35 billion for a product not substantially different
from w hat you can get out of your faucet.
O bviously, the people in that industry are bright. They not only created a m arket, but they work hard at m aking each brand seem different from its competitor. O ne w ater is from a stream . O ne is from the m ountains. O ne is from France. O ne has added vitam ins.
O ne com es in a squirt bottle for people on the go. The list goes on.
l would argue that very little separates one w ater from the other. lf you w ere to conduct a taste test am ong the top three brands, l don't think you'd find an obvious w inner.
ovEltv lEw
T he thing that really separates these products is their com pa- nies' positioning strategies and the entertainm ent principles each uses in its m arketing m essage. l've seen brands advertised by m odels in flow ing robes, by glam orous m ovie stars, and by beau- tiful, sw eating athletes.
M odels, m ovie stars, and athletes have little to do w ith w ater.
T hey have a 1ot to do w ith telling an attention-grabbing dram atic story, fast. ln other w ords, they're there to entertain you. For no other reason.
Perhaps the entertainm ent com ponent in bottled w ater is sub- tle. After a11, m ost com panies in the industry take a dignified ap- proach to pitching their product. lt's not so with beer.
T he beer industry is a11 about associating its product w ith good tim es and wild entertainm ent. To push their product, brew - ers have used a w ide variety of entertaining m eans: Theyke flow n blim ps over sporting events; run contests with a billion-dollar prize; and aired com m ercials featuring wom en wrestling in m ud, a dog with hum an girlfriends, frogs croaking a beer's nam e, and a football gam e played between rival bottles of beer.
W ith exaggerated vehicles like those, it's easy to dism iss the brilliance of the beer industry. That is, until you realize one thing:
ln 2002, beer sales totaled $74.4 billion. Say what you like. En-
tertainm ent sells.
W ill M y Techniques Require You to Becom e an Entertainer?
You w ill not have to sing, dance, act, recite, get up in front of crow ds, or w restle in m ud, unless you w ant to. W hen l talk about entertainm ent as a persuader, l m ean that you w ill use com pelling, often whim sical strategies designed to put people in a receptive m ood for w hat you have to offer.
A nd keep in m ind, entertainm ent isn't necessarily light- hearted. A dram a is entertaining. So is a horror film . ln the w ork w e'll be doing together, you'll be using the full range of hum an
em otion to m ake your point forcefully.
DPAW IN TH E LISTENER
W hat Are Som e ol the Techniques?
Youke already experienced at least two techniques. The Fright C hallenge w as one, and contained within it w as a second tech- nique: stgrlll/fg-f?. lf you want to persuade people, you're going to have to figure out w ays of letting them sam ple your suggestion, idea, service, or product. O therwise, they'll doubt you, and that doubt m ay keep them from acting on your w ishes.
l opened with the Fright Challenge because it's an attention- grabber (gg;t it acted as a sam ple of what you're going to learn. lf you thought the challenge flim flam , then you instantly knew this book isn't for you. Conversely, if you thought the challenge in- triguing, then you're no doubt eager to tear through the rest of this book and m ake its strategies your strategies.
Sam pling helps people draw conclusions quickly and hon- estly. lt's an ethical w ay to win them over to your side. Later, you'll learn the best w ays to offer sam ples in situations profes-
sional and personal.
Besides the Fright Challenge and sam pling, you'll also learn how to persuade using dozens of other tactics. Am ong them : the
Body Metaphor, the Paper M etaphor, the Quick Pitch, and the
Platform Pitch. A11 are entertaining. A11 are effective. You and the people you're persuading w ill have fun while you get your way.
O f course, not every technique in this book functions solely to entertain. Your offerings should be flavored w ith entertain- m ent principles, not drowning in them . W hile you're learning to entertain, you'll also be learning good, solid business and influ- ence practices.
l don't w ant to leave this introductory chapter w ithout put- ting the spotlight on an influence technique particularly dear to m e: the Transform ation M echanism .
W hat Is a Translorm ation M echanism ?
lt is a dem onstration that gains your audience's attention, low ers their defenses, and serves as a m etaphor for your m essage. Jtk (g trfcê t/gtgt rltg/tes (g Ilofgt. A major point. O ne that might spell the dif-
ovEltv lEw 7
ference between som eone's taking your suggestion or dism issing it. Let m e give you an exam ple of a Transform ation M echanism l
used to make a $45,000 sale. lt involved a rubber band.
M y prospect w as the head of m arketing for a W est Coast soft- ware firm . Her company was renting m ajor 1700th space at an up- com ing convention, and she had contacted m e as a possible hire for the show. M y job? To act as the company's pitchman and draw people to her 1700th.
Because it w as she who had called the m eeting, l thought the sale w ould be easy. W as l ever wrong. W hen l asked her about her com pany's goals for the show, she w as vague. W hen l show ed her client testim onials and photographs of m e drawing overflow crow ds at previous show s, she glanced at them as if l had handed her yesterday's new spaper.
She thanked m e for com ing and said she'd get back to m e. But l w asn't leaving. The m eeting had cost m e tim e and m oney, and her get-back-to-m e speech w asn't giving m e false hope. lf l left, l w ould never hear from her again.
l rose from m y chair and pretended to pack up. As l shut m y laptop and repositioned im aginary item s in m y briefcase, l asked her the same questions l had just asked her, only l softened them . For instance, rather than asking about her com pany's goals for the upcom ing show, l asked about her best m om ents from previous show s, and how she planned on duplicating them . After a few moments, l smoked out her objection to my services.
H er com pany had alw ays relied on w inning over early adopters w ho w ould get the w ord out about the new softw are to their fellow hard-core users. This strategy had served her firm w ell. lt had doubled in size over the last three years by catering to
early adopters.
M y service didn't fit that early-adopter m odel at all- at least not in her m ind. W hat l'm a11 about is draw ing the largest trade- show crowds possible, and that's not w hat she thought she needed. ''The m asses aren't going to buy our product/'' she said,
''so l see no reason to attract and entertain them .'' She confessed
Dlu w Ix TI-IE LISTENEP-
that the only reason l had been called in w as because her firm 's C EO had seen m e draw crowds for a rival, and he thought it m ight be a good idea to hear w hat l had to say.
''Let m e m ake sure l understand/'' l said. ''You believe that l can draw a m ob to your 1700th, but you think that's overkill. You be- lieve that thousands of undifferentiated onlookers are a w asted ex- pense, a distraction. They m ay even keep aw ay the folks you really want: the early adopters.'' She agreed, that was her dilem m a.
l knew w hat l had to do. l had to transform the m om ent for her. l had to take her from where she w as and m ove her to a dif- ferent vantage point. W ords alone w eren't going to do it. Sbe
geer/e;t t/?e exberience ojseeiny /?ertlf/twlrltg (ggefz?.
l noticed a rubber band encircling her w rist and asked her to rem ove it.
''lm agine that your sm all rubber band is your sm all group of early adopters/'' l said. 'T hose are the people you really w ant at the show. They spell the difference between your com pany's suc- cess and failure. A greed?''
gree .
''H old one end of that rubber band at your left fingertips, the other end at your right fingertips, and press the band against your upper 1ip.'' The w om an looked at m e as if l w ere fresh from the asylum .
''D on't worlx '' l said ''you know l m ake m y living as a show - m an. l w ant to drive hom e a point, but l w ant to do it in a special w ay. Please put the band against your 1ip.'' She com plied.
''D oes the band feel hot or cold?'' l asked.
O ltl .
''Good. N ow im agine that besides that sm all band of adopters, hundreds of other people com e along and expand the crow d. To get a vivid im age of what l'm talking about, expand the band.
Stretch it between your fingers until it nearly snaps.'' She did.
''Your large rubber band now sym bolizes the m ob surrounding your 1700th if l w as pitching. Keep the band taut, and put it up to your lips again. W hat do you feel?''
OVERV IEW 9
''O h m y godl'' she said ''that's rem arkable. The band is hot.'' ''That's right/'' l said ''lt's hot not because of m agic, but be- cause of physics. W hen you stretched the rubber, you excited its electrons and heated up the band.
''The sam e kind of excitem ent-and-heat reaction is w hat hap- pens when you expand your trade-show audiences, too.
''W hen you have a big crowd, passersby realize som ething big is happening in the 1700th. The crow d's size creates an expecta- tion, an excitem ent, a heat. The people sauntering past stop and w onder, 'W hat are a11 these people looking at? W hat do they know that l don't'?' Then they run to join the crowd, making it bigger.
''N ow, some of these people running to join the crowd will be early adopters. Early adopters alw ays w ant to be on the inside. lf they spot a crowd and they don't know w hat it's about, they'll practically shove their w ay to the front. l've seen this happen over and over through the years.
''M y crowds will pull in m ore early adopters than youke ever had, precisely because my crowds are so big, so excited, so full of energy. A crow d draws a larger crow dl''
She sat silently for a few seconds, playing with the rubber band. Then she asked m e questions: about my fees, my m ethods, the logistics of m y perform ances. W hen l left her office, it w as w ith a signed contract.
Transform ation M echanism s help you m ake your point in a w ay m ore effective than straightforw ard logic. They work for the
same reason Detgt/g oja Stg/esrltgg forces us to reexamine our values
and Jtk (g J//ogtler-fg/ Lih lets us re-see our place in the world. Their
lessons come to us in a Trojan horse. They appeal to us because of story, color, and entertainm ent. They touch us in a w ay that bald inform ation m isses.
M ore than one-third of this book is devoted to the Transfor- m ation M echanism . You can use these m echanism s in any situa- tion you can im agine: to rouse a w orkforce, to close a sale, or to get children to clean their room .
