10X Growth Strategies ποΈ E113: The Art of seducing your customers
In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Saradha Sriram sits down with John Boccuzzi β author of The Art of Seducing Your Customers and President of Research at ISG β to unpack why the best businesses donβt sell harder, they build emotional connection, trust, and clarity. Drawing from decades of research and real-world experience, John reframes sales and customer experience through an unconventional but powerful lens: seduction over manipulation. From the origins of his TEDx talk to stories spanning Uber, Kodak, UPS, and Zappos, he explains how storytelling, friction reduction, and employee empowerment quietly separate companies that retain customers for decades from those that lose them overnight. A sharp, experience-backed conversation on why sales is a job of rejection, why cost-cutting often destroys customer experience, and how leaders can immediately diagnose friction inside their own organizations.
βΈ»
β±οΈ Chapters 00:00 β 00:45 β’ Intro
00:45 β 01:30 β’ Saradha introduces John Boccuzzi & his work
01:30 β 02:40 β’ Why βSeductionβ β The TEDx origin behind the bookβs title
02:40 β 04:30 β’ The Frame Store Story β Confidence, storytelling & 27 years of loyalty
04:30 β 05:50 β’ Seduction vs Manipulation β Emotional appeal, trust & value creation
05:50 β 08:35 β’ Sales Is Dating β Listening, timing & relationship-building
08:35 β 10:40 β’ The Seduction Framework β Empowering employees & retention-first design
10:40 β 12:25 β’ Friction Hunting β How Uber exposed broken customer experiences
12:25 β 13:45 β’ Operational Insight β UPS, right-hand turns & invisible efficiency 13:45 β 14:45 β’ Kodakβs Failure β Fear, disruption & missed opportunity
14:45 β 16:15 β’ Hiring the Wrong Way β Jobs vs careers & the EQ gap
16:15 β 17:25 β’ The Cost-Cutting Trap β Why CX isnβt a savings exercise
17:25 β 18:55 β’ Handling Rejection β Knowing when to walk away
18:55 β 20:00 β’ Storytelling That Endures β The Budweiser Super Bowl lesson 20:00 β 21:40 β’ B2B vs B2C β Why customer principles donβt change
21:40 β 23:45 β’ Losing $300M Deals β The 500-page contract mistake
23:45 β 25:40 β’ Immediate Action β Running a friction audit
25:40 β 26:55 β’ The Missing Chapter β AI & the future of customer experience 26:55 β 28:45 β’ Whatβs Next β Keynotes, research & closing thoughts