Veronica stopped by my desk with this book in her hands. "I know you're busy, but you're going to want to read chapter four, it explains why paying for referrals doesn't work--the altruistic part of the brain and the work part of the brain are in two different areas. And you might want to look at just this part in chapter 7 . . ."
She had me at read.
We are in the middle of a massive project right now, so the book traveled in my extra bag---back and forth from the loft to the office--then down to Florida and back--and then one day when I couldn't make it to the gym I hopped on the Airdyne and brought Sway (and a diving magazine, and a pen catalog) along for the ride.
She was right, I wanted to read it.
Starting with page 47 I got empirical support for the script I use to close InfoMinute Seminar.
You might want to read Sway
- for validation that it is the fear of loss that makes us give a list (not the reality of profit) check out page 28. (And stop listing.)
- to remind yourself not to share what didn't happen (only what could have) look at page 104. (And start smiling more.)
- to justify the effort and time, and the hard work of thinking, that you put into preparing and perfecting every word of every marketing message, look at page 72. (I had typed 84, and 119, and 72, before I remembered the rule about the list.)
- to give yourself hope and motivation in the pursuit of referrals, check out page 171.(Stay the course. It's worth it.)
- for leadership tips, page 28. (Get the exact results you want.)
The video Masters of Persuasion illustrates the power. I'm eager to hear your thoughts.
Every review I've read compares Sway to Predictably Irrational, Blink and Nudge. If you like those, along with Wisdom of Crowds, SuperCrunchers, and Freakonomics, you want to read this, too.