Book Review: Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation

Another one of my reading list down!

About two weeks ago, I completed Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, by Sally Hogshead. When my wife asked me what I was reading, she did a double take after I mentioned the title. After I explained the book, she just said another marketing read, I see. The research that went into this book is outstanding. She really took a hard look at what makes us fascinated.

Sally Hogshead  recognizes that for companies and their brands, it is simply not enough to offer quality, or even a unique product or service. If a brand is not fascinating to people, it will suffer low sales volume, and perhaps even complete business failure. No longer is a good idea or a good product enough. The company and its brands must be found fascinating and trigger at least one of the seven emotional triggers of fascination. Those seven triggers are:

• Lust – creates craving for sensory pleasure
• Mystique – lures with unanswered questions
• Alarm – threatens with negative consequences
• Power – commands and controls
• Vice – tempts with “forbidden fruits” causing us to rebel against norms
• Trust – comforts us with certainty and reliability
• Prestige- earns respect through symbols of achievement

For me, I enjoyed how Sally Hogshead combined her scientific research with real world examples to present her case. I am a sucker for the pairing of theory and practical ideas, for understanding the power of fascination in both our personal and professional lives. While reading I was visualizing how the concepts would work for both an individual and businesses. I would recommend this one highly!

Do you want to know your F-Score? Go ahead and check it out. I did and found out that my primary fascination is MYSTIQUE. My secondary trigger is POWER.