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Have you heard of the concept called “disrupt-then-reframe”? The theory is that you introduce a non-sequitur or unexpected element into your pitch and then immediately inject a call-to-action. The disruption theoretically neutralizes critical thinking and makes a person more susceptible to agree.

This concept is the result of a study by Barbara Davis and Prof. Eric Knowles in which they sold note cards door-to-door for a charity. When they told people that the cards were eight for $3.00, they had a 40% success rate. When they told people that the price was eight for three-hundred pennies and then said, “which is a bargain,” 80% of the people bought cards.

Give it a shot and let me know if the concept works for you. I suspect that venture capitalists will be very susceptible because they have attention deficits anyway. Here’s how it would work. Suppose that you’re negotiating an investment; just say: “Our pre-money valuation is 500,000,000 pennies which is a bargain for a Web 2.0 company.”

PS, did I tell you that you can read the Truemors web site for zero pennies which is a bargain? Just click here. :-)