A reading club with a view to the future

041 Daniel Pink: To Sell is Human

Everyone is in sales and persuasion is part of our daily life. Learn how to sell effectively and ethically.

Daniel Pink: To Sell is Human

Summary

In "To Sell is Human," author Daniel H. Pink challenges the common belief that sales is a dirty profession, arguing that everyone is in sales and persuasion is part of our daily lives. He presents a new approach to selling, focusing on the importance of empathy, clarity, and purpose in sales. Pink argues that in today's world, where information is readily available and buyers are more informed, the traditional sales approach is no longer effective. He outlines practical strategies for effective selling and ethical persuasion, emphasizing the importance of understanding the needs of the customer and offering value that meets those needs.

About

Title: To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

Author: Daniel H. Pink

Publishing Year: 2012

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Length in Hours: 6 hours and 6 minutes

5 main ideas

  1. Everyone is in sales, even if they don't realize it.
  2. Empathy is key to effective selling.
  3. Clarity is crucial to effective communication.
  4. Purpose gives meaning and motivation to our work.
  5. Ethical persuasion is about understanding the needs of the customer and offering value that meets those needs.
Daniel Pink: To Sell is Human

5 funny quotes

  1. "Even if you're not in sales, you're in sales."
  2. "At its core, selling isn't a patchwork of cheesy closing techniques, annoying gimmicks, or manipulative tricks. It's a constellation of skills, habits, and attitudes that, when taken together, move people to exchange what they have for what we have."
  3. "The pitch is the Swiss Army knife of selling: It's an all-purpose tool that can do many things in many situations."
  4. "The oldest cliché in sales is that everyone loves to buy but no one wants to be sold."
  5. "We're all improvisers now."

5 thought-provoking quotes​

  1. "The purpose of a pitch isn't necessarily to move others immediately to adopt your idea. The purpose is to offer something so compelling that it begins a conversation, brings the other person in as a participant, and eventually arrives at an outcome that appeals to both of you."
  2. "The fundamental irony of selling is that we're better off focusing not on the sale itself but on the human relationship that leads to the sale."
  3. "To sell well is to convince someone else to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him better off in the end."
  4. "Optimism is important, but so is realism. Just because you believe something doesn't make it true."
  5. "With the advent of Google, omniscience—the encyclopedic recall of information—has become a commodity available to anyone with an Internet connection. As a result, the very nature of selling has changed: When information is scarce, sellers had the upper hand. When information is abundant, buyers do."

5 dilemmas

  1. How do you sell without being "salesy"?
  2. How do you maintain honesty and integrity in the sales process?
  3. How do you balance the need for persuasion with the risk of manipulation?
  4. How do you adapt to changing technology and information abundance in the sales process?
  5. How do you maintain a focus on human relationships while also achieving business goals?

5 examples

  1. How Pixar's Ed Catmull sold Steve Jobs on the idea of making the first feature-length computer-animated film.
  2. How entrepreneur and investor Adam Grant secured a meeting with Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman by offering to carry his luggage.
  3. How Daniel H. Pink himself pitched his book to his publisher, Riverhead Books.
  4. How entrepreneur and investor Jack Dorsey convinced investors to fund Twitter.
  5. How the founders of the travel website Kayak.com, Steve Hafner and Paul English, persuaded venture capitalists to invest in their startup.

Referenced books

  1. "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini
  2. "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by Dan Ariely
  3. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Share a quote

"The fundamental irony of selling is that we're better off focusing not on the sale itself but on the human relationship that leads to the sale."

Daniel Pink: To Sell is Human
Become a NextBook Insider

Join our community to access exclusive content, comment on stories, participate in giveaways, and more.