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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
We are all sellers. Or salespeople? Maybe servers or servants? This was okay, but I can't say I'd hear anything that would have been a huge revelation. This kept me company while driving, so it served it's purpose.
Short, concise, research backed. Following his tips we can become nicer humans, empathetic in our dealings, and enjoy ourselves more. You could even interpret this book as the modern day How to Win Friends and Influence People.
What Pink calls ‘selling’, I would simply call ‘convincing’. Read from that perspective, this book gives many practical tips. I must add that at the end of the book I was quite fed up with the many, many examples.
I had to read this book for a class in business. It was a book that beat it's ideas like a dead horse and just kept goin at it with no main objective. The author just talked about whatever he felt was accurate and offered little research or evidence on how "selling is human". The writing style was also very watered-down. It read at a 5th grade reading level and I didn't feel challenged at all. The information could of been summed up in a quick article. I could tell you everything you would learn from this book in one sentence "No matter your job, you are still selling something, whether that be yourself or an idea." That's it. That's literally it. I did enjoy some of the story telling in the book though. But that wasn't enough for me.
There are some good parts to this one. I like The New Strategic Selling better, but this one makes some excellent points about how you can view many non-sales activities through a sales lens.
My expectations from this book were not met.
1. The ABCs for selling mentioned seemed very sound as principles but lacked clarity as to how these should be implemented in practical lives. There's too much background research but not enough takeaways for the reader.
2. Pink bases the introduction on the importance and evidence of non-sales selling in our lives. But throughout the book, majority of his major examples relate to sales.
3. The sample cases were ineffective to say the least. Again, these lacked clarity and specificity. One of the cases in this 250 page book actually just gives you a list of five books (at least 1000 pages I'm guessing) to read! And the author could not SELL why I should be reading those books.
4. The only chapter of the book I found non-trash was the chapter of pitches. Even that chapter lacked enough examples of each kind of pitch.
The most ironic thing is that after having read the whole book, I simply did not have a reason to buy into the methods mentioned in 'To Sell is Human.'
1. The ABCs for selling mentioned seemed very sound as principles but lacked clarity as to how these should be implemented in practical lives. There's too much background research but not enough takeaways for the reader.
2. Pink bases the introduction on the importance and evidence of non-sales selling in our lives. But throughout the book, majority of his major examples relate to sales.
3. The sample cases were ineffective to say the least. Again, these lacked clarity and specificity. One of the cases in this 250 page book actually just gives you a list of five books (at least 1000 pages I'm guessing) to read! And the author could not SELL why I should be reading those books.
4. The only chapter of the book I found non-trash was the chapter of pitches. Even that chapter lacked enough examples of each kind of pitch.
The most ironic thing is that after having read the whole book, I simply did not have a reason to buy into the methods mentioned in 'To Sell is Human.'
I enjoyed the practical tangible steps he provided at the end of every chapter. Nothing ground breaking or new in the book but a good reminder of our day to day sales interactions.
Authors like to tell people that they write books.
What do you do?
I'm a writer. Yep, that's me, sitting behind a computer all day, hammering away at the keyboard.
Except it's really not true. We write books, and we sell books, even if we don't look much like a bookstore or have copies of our books in our bags waiting to pounce on unsuspecting potential readers. The fact of the matter is that a large amount of time is spent inspiring people to go forth and purchase aforementioned book. I would also argue that a part of a writer's job is simply to sell people on the idea of reading in the first place, but that is a discussion for a whole separate post...
With the publication of The Chicken Thief looming on the horizon, I thought it would be timely to read Daniel Pink's new book, To Sell is Human. I'm a big fan of Dan Pink including his previous books Drive, Johnny Bunko and A Whole New Mind. His books consistently offer fresh ways to look at the world. While predominantly market at a business audience, his work on motivation, the left/right brain debate, and now sales, has great relevance to everyone.
The starting premise of Pink's latest book is that whereas the responsibility for sales used to reside in the sales department, many businesses no longer work that way. According to Pink, the percentage of companies with fewer than ten employees is growing rapidly and more and more people now work for themselves. (*raise hand and point to self*) And with that transition has come the expectation that everyone in the company will be required to sell in some fashion. He also makes the point that selling is not simply about getting people to buy a product. We sell our skills when we apply for a grant or a job. Teachers are selling when they are working to engage students in acquiring knowledge and doctors and nurses are selling when they are working to convince patients to adopt a particular health management strategy. And parents, yes parents spend most of their time selling their kids on the merits of homework and sleep and vegetables...
Pink argues that how we sell has changed dramatically. Where once the seller had all the power, now it is the customer who is arriving with a bundle of market research - if they arrive at all, for many buyers are avoiding personal contact altogether and simply purchasing online.
What does this mean for those of us learning to be sellers and those needing to refine their techniques? Pink's approach is personal, practical and pragmatic. He offers compelling research to back up his approach and also offers clear advice on how to translate theory into practise. I worked through many of Pink's exercises while reading through the book and felt very self righteous when I was asked unexpectedly to provide some sales copy and was able to hand it over on the spot! And felt even better when told it was exactly what they needed!
I'm always encouraging people to read outside their normal patterns. It expands your horizons and opens you up to new ideas and approaches. If you're going to explore one book outside your comfort zone this year, I suggest that To Sell is Human is the one. Trust me, it's worth it.
Sold?
What do you do?
I'm a writer. Yep, that's me, sitting behind a computer all day, hammering away at the keyboard.
Except it's really not true. We write books, and we sell books, even if we don't look much like a bookstore or have copies of our books in our bags waiting to pounce on unsuspecting potential readers. The fact of the matter is that a large amount of time is spent inspiring people to go forth and purchase aforementioned book. I would also argue that a part of a writer's job is simply to sell people on the idea of reading in the first place, but that is a discussion for a whole separate post...
With the publication of The Chicken Thief looming on the horizon, I thought it would be timely to read Daniel Pink's new book, To Sell is Human. I'm a big fan of Dan Pink including his previous books Drive, Johnny Bunko and A Whole New Mind. His books consistently offer fresh ways to look at the world. While predominantly market at a business audience, his work on motivation, the left/right brain debate, and now sales, has great relevance to everyone.
The starting premise of Pink's latest book is that whereas the responsibility for sales used to reside in the sales department, many businesses no longer work that way. According to Pink, the percentage of companies with fewer than ten employees is growing rapidly and more and more people now work for themselves. (*raise hand and point to self*) And with that transition has come the expectation that everyone in the company will be required to sell in some fashion. He also makes the point that selling is not simply about getting people to buy a product. We sell our skills when we apply for a grant or a job. Teachers are selling when they are working to engage students in acquiring knowledge and doctors and nurses are selling when they are working to convince patients to adopt a particular health management strategy. And parents, yes parents spend most of their time selling their kids on the merits of homework and sleep and vegetables...
Pink argues that how we sell has changed dramatically. Where once the seller had all the power, now it is the customer who is arriving with a bundle of market research - if they arrive at all, for many buyers are avoiding personal contact altogether and simply purchasing online.
What does this mean for those of us learning to be sellers and those needing to refine their techniques? Pink's approach is personal, practical and pragmatic. He offers compelling research to back up his approach and also offers clear advice on how to translate theory into practise. I worked through many of Pink's exercises while reading through the book and felt very self righteous when I was asked unexpectedly to provide some sales copy and was able to hand it over on the spot! And felt even better when told it was exactly what they needed!
I'm always encouraging people to read outside their normal patterns. It expands your horizons and opens you up to new ideas and approaches. If you're going to explore one book outside your comfort zone this year, I suggest that To Sell is Human is the one. Trust me, it's worth it.
Sold?