Why did I read this book?

I once read a book called Drive by a guy called Dan Pink who did a TED Talk called The puzzle of motivation that was a real eye opener. So profound an impact the book had that I decided I had to read more material from the author. He’s written about 5 books in total but the title of one in particular really caught my attention: To Sell is Human.

I’ve never been any good at selling things, including myself, and here was a book suggesting that one of my weaknesses should come as naturally as walking or talking. It made sense to give this one a go (especially considering that the other books had slightly less inspiring titles like Free Agent Nation and something, something Johnny Bunko).

Now I’ve completed it and …?

To sell is human cemented my view of Dan Pink as an author. Here he effortlessly combines a wealth of social science research, expert opinion and personal experience to raise my awareness in an area that is totally necessary but to which I was mostly blind and/or incompetent.

Pink starts by describing the traditional sales man, a guy with hair full of gel, a face full of confidence and a mouth full of lies. In today’s world where information on any product is near ubiquitous and consumer feedback is public such a person is part of a dying breed. Consumers are becoming more and more savvy so the only way to keep them coming back is to add real value over and above that which they can already create for themselves. Today it is the seller that needs to be weary or the buyer. There is a need for a more modern type of selling.

Now, this is great advice for a salesperson currently missing targets but this hardly seems relevant to me. Actually Pink makes a very compelling argument that we are all salespeople. The job of sales is about convincing others to exchange a resource they have for something else of (hopefully) equivalent value. For a traditional salesperson that’s exchanging money for a product like a blender or lawnmower or whatever. If you’re a teacher that exchange would be time and attention for knowledge. If you’re a personal trainer that exchange could be effort and dedication for a healthy body. In general, if you’re trying to influence others or as Pink puts it “move others” then your objective is no different from the salesperson and  neither should your skills.

As humans we’re social creatures whose survival and progress as a species depends heavily on interacting with other humans. Combined with the sentiment above there is only one conclusion, to sell is human. The title practically wrote itself.

What are some sample quotes?

One smart, easy, and effective way to get inside people’s heads is to climb into their chairs

We’re more likely to be persuaded by those whom we like

Negativity and negative emotions are crucial for our survival

The potential to be good at something can be preferred over actually being good at that very same thing

For many of us, the opposite of talking isn’t listening. It’s waiting

The most effective tools for excavating people’s buried drives are questions

Contrast operates within, and often amplifies, every aspect of persuasion

Was it worth the money?

I found this book very useful in helping me identify the practices I had which were driving my “customers” away. On top of that it provided me with a new set of tools that I could use to more effectively deliver my message. I picked this up with the hope of learning to pitch to investors but put it down better equipped in my role as a mentor*. Trust me, anything that makes motivating 10 year olds easier is a great investment so at £6.45 this was a steal.

Verdict: Buy.

  

* Reach Out – Mentoring that works.