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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Pink argues that the world has changed, and the traditional model of selling needs to go. Not only is it unethical, it's also inefficient and unfit for the times. The first third of the book explains this changing environment and argues also that most people actually work in sales — but Pink calls it "non-sales selling" (which sounds silly).
The rationale is that the way sales work these days is the way that all respectable human interactions of influence work (trying to get a friend to see a movie, the teacher convincing the pupils that the stuff is worth learning and so on). This new kind of selling is based on attunement (which means that the "seller" should really listen to what the other party is saying and what he or she needs), buyoancy (persistence), and clarity; the second third of the book details the psychology of these three qualities.
In the final third of the book, Pink offers methods that aid selling: pitching (how to concisely sell your ideas), improvisation (using techniques from the improvisational theatre, which need co-operation to work), and serving (he sees selling as something that should improve both participants' lives and make the world a better place).
Overall, the book is very clear and easy to read — the latter even to a fault. Especially the final third would've needed more substance, as it feels too much like an introduction in its present form. Nevertheless, the arguments Pink makes are convincing (and very comfortable for people who feel uncomfortable with traditional selling), even if at times his style drips of syrup or cotton candy.
The rationale is that the way sales work these days is the way that all respectable human interactions of influence work (trying to get a friend to see a movie, the teacher convincing the pupils that the stuff is worth learning and so on). This new kind of selling is based on attunement (which means that the "seller" should really listen to what the other party is saying and what he or she needs), buyoancy (persistence), and clarity; the second third of the book details the psychology of these three qualities.
In the final third of the book, Pink offers methods that aid selling: pitching (how to concisely sell your ideas), improvisation (using techniques from the improvisational theatre, which need co-operation to work), and serving (he sees selling as something that should improve both participants' lives and make the world a better place).
Overall, the book is very clear and easy to read — the latter even to a fault. Especially the final third would've needed more substance, as it feels too much like an introduction in its present form. Nevertheless, the arguments Pink makes are convincing (and very comfortable for people who feel uncomfortable with traditional selling), even if at times his style drips of syrup or cotton candy.
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Chapter 8: "...so little of us do listen well. For many of us the opposite of talking isn't listening, it's waiting. When others speak we typically divide our attention between what they are saying now and what we're going to say next, and end up doing a mediocre job at both."
I read this to review for our magazine, so it was kind of like a homework assignment, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. As someone who's always had an aversion to sales and the concept of "selling" in my job, this book was eye-opening. We ARE all salespeople every day of our lives. The social science aspects of this were fascinating to me (as social science usually is to this sociology minor...) and really helped drive the points home. It's a book I see everyone in my company getting use out of, as well as our CEO readers, and hell, even my family and friends who think they have nothing to do with sales. Non-sales selling is all about moving people, and who among us doesn't try to "move" someone every day?
I found the book to be a primer to the new science of "soft influence". The author prefers to call it "selling" but in the end it's influencing others to do something, in a non-sleazy, non-competitive way. Lot of insight, but short on practical advice for my taste.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink that argues we are all in the sales business. One of the things he talks about early on is that the change in information asymmetry between sellers and buyers is going away. People walk into car dealerships knowing what the invoice price is now. He also talks about how in some markets honest salespeople are driven out. Used car sellers have such a bad reputation that an honest person who has a used car to sell often accepts a lower price than the car is worth or decides not to sell the car because of the distrust of buyers in general. It occurs to me that this dynamic helps prevent honest players from going into the work from home market. An honest player who wants to be honest "if you only want to work making/selling, say, candles for five-ten hours/week you will make $50-100ish/week max" has to go up against the crooks who say "if you work hard to recruit and set up and downline, you can make six figures in 10 hours/week"
After reading the book I could not identify the surprising truth of moving others, because it does not say anything surprising anywhere, only the factors that we all know about a standard seller. The author wanted to start with examples and then the theory but his transitions were not interesting at any time, making the book really boring.