“In a word-of-mouth and word-of-mouse led world, the process of researching and buying is decidedly non-linear... (p. 8) What if we've got it all wrong? Take the marketing and sales funnels, for example. These tools were designed to sift through an inordinate number of suspects and prospects to extract the gold nuggets (customers) from the dirt (everyone else) by gently guiding (or sometimes forcing) them through a linear progression from awareness through action. But what if, instead of ending with the purchase action by the converted customer, we began with this action and, in doing so, focused on achieving three distinct goals: 1. Building solid, ongoing, and authentic bonds or relationships with our customers (customer service and experience); 2. Transforming customers into returning clients and ultimately advocates (customer relationship management); 3. Harnessing the unstoppable power of referrals, recommendations, and word of mouth for outreach to other potential customers (social networking or even a new kind of affiliate marketing). What if, by following these rules, we were able to essentially flip the funnel and reverse engineer future growth from a platform or foundtion of current growth? From the few come the many: That's the mantra of the flipped funnel.”