Marketing exists to create movement — from disinterest to curiosity, from curiosity to confidence, and from confidence to action, then hopefully, evangelism. Leverage is the ability to create that movement. I first started thinking about leverage through a graduate school negotiation case study taught by Prof. Ned Wellman. In the case study, a man named Bill hears that his city plans to spend $450,000 demolishing a beautiful 125-year-old building downtown. Bill asks a simple question: “What if we could save the building for less than that?” He convinces the city not to demolish the building, secures incentives, and lines up a commercial buyer. At the end of the deal, he saves the building and pockets six figures. The story proves it doesn’t “take money to make money.” It takes leverage. For marketers, leverage changes everything. No amount of ad spend, content production, brand awareness, or funny one-liners can compensate for a lack of leverage. Believe me. I’ve tried.…