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rsr143's review
3.0
Read this book in a day. All told, it took me 3 hours. The book is excellent, and if you are in the mood to learn how to sell and influence others in your work, it will be an easy and enjoyable read for you as well. There are some practical tips that you can employ immediately to get your point across more clearly and convincingly while taking the slime out of sales! There is plenty of scientific references and study excerpts to tease even the biggest psychology and social science nerds out there. If you already agree with the authors premise that selling is important, regardless if your job title includes "sales" anywhere in it, then you can skim/skip the first 25% of the book where he essentially makes the well-justified point that everyone is a salesperson, at least, some of the time.
dern7663's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.25
Good information and makes you look at the bigger picture of selling in everyday life.
jurgenappelo's review
3.0
Three sections, each with three chapters, each with three points, illustrated with about three stories. Less inspiring than his previous work, therefore three stars.
sedgewren's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Great book on how everyone is in the business of sales: moving and persuading others to give up their resources for your suggestion. Fantastic reframing of what sales is, and how to get good at it (really listen to the customer and try to solve their problems).
tomrrandall's review
3.0
Not well-written and full of cliches, but there are enough interesting points to make it worth reading if the subject matter looks compelling.
anitaashland's review
3.0
I finished this book a few weeks ago and have noticed that every day since then I've had opportunity to recall his point about how we should be problem-finders instead of problem-solvers.
So much emphasis is placed on problem-solving in our society, but simply solving the problem doesn't often address the underlying issue. He gives the example of buying a new vacuum cleaner to replace a broken one. This solves a problem but it would be better to find the problem instead. That is, what causes the dirt that needs to be vacuumed? By merely solving the problem you are simply reacting and not getting to the heart of what is causing the problem in the first place. This approach is especially useful in a workplace setting.
He also says problem-finders are far more creative than problem-solvers. He cites research that shows that artists are "“significantly more successful — by the standards of the artistic community — than their peers.”
He also says: "It is in fact the discovery and creation of problems rather than any superior knowledge, technical skill, or craftsmanship that often sets the creative person apart from others in his field."
So much emphasis is placed on problem-solving in our society, but simply solving the problem doesn't often address the underlying issue. He gives the example of buying a new vacuum cleaner to replace a broken one. This solves a problem but it would be better to find the problem instead. That is, what causes the dirt that needs to be vacuumed? By merely solving the problem you are simply reacting and not getting to the heart of what is causing the problem in the first place. This approach is especially useful in a workplace setting.
He also says problem-finders are far more creative than problem-solvers. He cites research that shows that artists are "“significantly more successful — by the standards of the artistic community — than their peers.”
He also says: "It is in fact the discovery and creation of problems rather than any superior knowledge, technical skill, or craftsmanship that often sets the creative person apart from others in his field."
mango123's review
2.0
I picked up this book because I loved When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing when I read this a few years ago. To Sell is Human was fine, but I had a hard time being interested in listening to it. I'll give it some credit because I think I picked up a few interesting tidbits on selling from it--nothing revolutionary, and nothing I haven't heard before, but interesting nonetheless.