Amongst other things, one of my new year’s resolutions this year (yes, I do believe in them) was to read at least a book a month. Not too big of a deal since I know a lot of you out there finish 2 books a week – but, frankly, one a month works for me… So far, #10 is What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell. The book is mainly a compilation of stories that Gladwell put together from his articles in the New Yorker.

He starts off with an article about Ron Popeil from Ronco.com – you know, the guy who pioneered the satements: “Set it and forget it!” and also “But wait, there’s more!” on infomercials in the 50s. There were a lot of interesting points in the article, but, two of them really stuck with me.

1) At one point, he mentions that a true pitchman (I think that’s what he called them) does a show for an audience… suppose that 25 are interested in buying… he’ll sell it to 20 of them – and for the last 5, he’ll say – but wait, there’s more. Why? The last 5 can’t wait to buy and they’ll form the inner core of enthusiasts in the next audience that forms around the pitchman. This is a really interesting phenomenon in that crowds really do bring other crowds. No one will form around an empty table; however, if we see 5 people enthusiastically listening to someone who is presenting, we might join in to see what all the fuss is about.

2) A great product and marketing are tightly coupled. The product has to be so good that it could almost sell itself – this of course refers to the obsession that Ron Popeil had with ensuring that his products were the best. It’s refreshing to hear something like that when you’re constantly surrounded by people who think that the product is just another commodity and the marketing is what it’s all about.