‘The Secret’ is Out (of Stock)

In addition to being featured in nearly every major newspaper in the U.S. over the last few months, “The Secret” has been the subject of stories in People magazine and Newsweek, and has been showcased on “Larry King Live” and, of course, by Oprah Winfrey. Byrne and her book were even the subject of a recent “Saturday Night Live” skit.

“Oprah has absolutely helped, but if it hadn’t had a presence beforehand it wouldn’t have come to her view,” Curr says. “But she absolutely has helped.”

Despite her own positive outlook for the book since its acquisition, Curr admits she never imagined “The Secret” having this kind of impact. “But Rhonda did. She said there are three things that she wanted to have happen for her book when we were planning it: ‘Oprah,’ People magazine, and the cover of Time, but we ended up on the cover of Newsweek, so we’ll give her that.”

Brand Hijacking
So how did a DVD documentary become a best-selling hardcover in such an overcrowded self-help market? Brand hijacking, says Curr.

“Brand hijacking is where the public says, ‘Just move out of our way. We want this, and we’re going to buy it.’ All we did was put it in front of people,” Curr says. “The book itself and the idea itself were absolutely of the moment, and that’s why it’s selling so well. But that’s half the trick of it, in my opinion.”

As soon as she acquired the book last July, Curr made it a point to put the DVD into as many of her salespeople’s hands as possible. “I gave everyone a heads up that this was a really important acquisition,” she says. “What we did here was from the minute we bought that book, we got DVDs and encouraged everybody to watch it.”