Never been much of an Elvis fan, even though I am listening to his music now as I begin to write this blog.
Was only seven when Elvis died, and completely missed his living era of glory and greatness. There is however, a memorable piece of Elvis history that I will often acknowledge serves as a huge point of cultural fascination in my own life.
In 2001, while researching the history of the magazine industry (during my tenure in the magazine industry), I first learned about the infamous September 7th, 1977 issue of "
The National Enquirer", featuring a controversial cover picture of
Elvis Presley, lying dead, in his coffin. This one special
National Enquirer tabloid issue went on to sell upwards of 6 to 7 million copies, becoming the biggest selling single tabloid issue in American history.
In the Summer of 2003, always ready to talk up the history of the
The National Enquirer, I found myself at dinner with three executives, who worked with the publisher of not just
The National Enquirer, but
Star Magazine, and other national tabloid brand names. My knowledge about the 1977 Elvis issue must have shined that night, because a few days later, I received via mail, an original copy of the September 7th, 1977 Elvis issue. To this day, even though it may not be worth much on Ebay, it is still a prized possession.
Flash forward to 2 weekends ago. While visiting the Book Expo America in New York City, I happened on a book signing at the
Barricade Books booth, where
Paul David Pope, son of
Generoso Pope, Jr, (who was the owner and publisher of
The National Enquirer from 1954 to 1988), was signing his new book "
Unreasonable Men", the story of how both his father, and grandfather ruthlessly found success (and failure) in America. After standing in line and briefly meeting Mr. Pope, I gladly accepted my signed complimentary copy of his book, and began reading it shortly after the Book Expo event. Last night, I finished the book.
I decided to name this blog post "Unreasonable Selling", while reading "
Unreasonable Men", as I zeroed in on the history of
Gene Pope, Jr., an unlikely cultural icon, who built his tabloid into an American publishing empire at a whatever it cost, "anything is possible" attitude.
In the late 1960's into the 70's,
Gene Pope Jr. had a dream, and it was to drive sales of
The National Enquirer to huge numbers, capitalizing on checkout fixture pocket placement in thousands of grocery stores across the U.S. Gene Pope Jr., manifested his relentless desire for success using high paid power brokers, soldiers and and lieutenants who knew how to open the right doors, schmooze influential buyers, leaders, and politicians to get what he wanted. It was through this approach, that Pope's National Enquirer could sell those 6 to 7 million copies of the September 6th, 1977 Elvis issue, by way of the vast checkout placement his tabloid soldiers had secured.
Gene Pope Jr. died in 1988. Call
Gene Pope's era of publishing (1954 to 1988) "
The National Enquirer" sleazy, entertaining, mafia connected, immoral, or whatever, but "Unreasonable Men" tells an American story about obtaining success at any cost. I am not endorsing, or criticizing Gene Pope's rise to tabloid success, but instead acknowledging that while reading his son's book, I quickly identified with a universal sales law that to some extent, I have lived, time and again, minus all the dark crime and corruption stuff he writes about.
To drive sales in this business world, working with the "anything is possible" attitude is not only required, but is key to realizing broad success. Therefore... If reasonable selling is to sell on merit, price and having a good product or service, "unreasonable selling" is about selling to overcome the impossible.
140 Character Book Review: Unreasonable Men is a compelling, dark and honest read about two men (father and his son) who very well did change America. I loved it!
NOTE: Today's
"The National Enquirer" is owned by
American Media, Inc.
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