Gambling and business. At first glance; two opposite sides of a pole. Unless you’re in the business of running a casino or betting for a living, that is. But barring a couple of exceptions, there aren’t very many ideas that immediately come to mind. But the topic warrants a closer look. And any business-minded individual who has ever been to a casino shouldn’t experience too much difficulty working out why, and especially when knowing what to look for. And what to look for is obvious – almost too obvious.

Imagine for a minute the following scenario playing itself out around the Craps table in downtown Las Vegas: the table is busy, and in the background the usual casino hustle and bustle can be heard. Slots are chiming, drinks are arriving, and all of the usual sounds are present. Pretty standard for a Friday night out around the game’s tables.

Now picture a guy doing his thing at the table. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden, having just thrown the dice, the guy hollers, sounds a ‘whoop-whoop’ and victoriously punches the air. What’s any onlooker’s natural inclination? In the majority of cases, whooping and punching along. And then – and the next bit is key – all eyes are instantly fixed on the man who had just punched the space above his head in a show of victory.

Accidental Control

This is where we’ll press pause for just a minute. With the crowd around the table’s full attention now fixed on the man with the dice, this perfectly ordinary, Vegas visiting Craps player, is able to if only for a minute or two, to influence those huddled around the table in any way he pleases. Whatever he does next and whichever way he decides to gamble next, those who were there ‘in that moment’ will naturally want to do the same.

Important to note too is that the man now completely ‘in control’ of what the crowd does next, is wholly oblivious to his power in that moment. He’s there to play Craps, after all, and is really only interested in throwing the dice and continuing his game.

But what just happened?

Everyone Wants A Piece

What happened is that success is contagious. The minute people witness others enjoying success, they naturally want some for themselves. Basic human nature is to want to feel good – nobody wants to feel bad. And so, when one person feels good, and people are able to determine what it is that made them feel good, they will instantly experience the need to mimic whatever it is that caused ‘feeling good’.

Now just imagine what a businessperson would be able to achieve in terms of getting a customer/client ‘on board’ if that person were to discover the secret behind contagious success. Imagine inspiring someone to feel so great about a service or product that this person begins talking about products and services excitedly and non-stop.

The result would be a sales force out of this world.

Gambling and business. They’re on the same team.