The Hidden Agenda

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY MAR 12, 2012

Allen, an advertising vet with a track record that includes MasterCard's "Priceless" campaign, offers concrete and easy-to-implement advice to satisfy the "hidden agenda" inherent in every interaction. Allen uses this term to describe the unspoken emotional motivator behind every decision. Since people make active decisions based on what resonates with this motivator, it's critical that businesspeople at all levels understand and address the factors which stand between themselves and success. To that end, Allen shows how to understand your audience and provides practical strategies for uncovering the needs, wants, and values that drive them. He shows how to find assets you can leverage that help connect using your "core" (the special abilities at the core of your being) and your "credo" (the belief system you and your audience share). He also explores the importance of developing a win strategy once a connection is made and how to utilize the power of storytelling. Using examples from his professional life, Allen demonstrates how he put these principles into action, providing useful context for readers. He also helpfully distills the most important takeaways in a "Remember This" box at the end of each chapter. A modern day Don Draper, Allen shows that he knows how to sell because he knows what his audience will buy.