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"From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes an exploration of the power of selling, which each of us does every day--whether we know it or not. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. More than fifteen million people earn their keep by convincing someone else to make a purchase. But dig deeper and a startling truth emerges: Yes, one in nine Americans works in sales--but so do the other eight out of nine. Whether we're entrepreneurs persuading funders, employees pitching colleagues, or parents and teachers cajoling kids, we spend our days trying to move others. Today, like it or not, we're all in sales. Or as Daniel H. Pink puts it, everyone is in the "moving business." In this provocative book, Pink offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. He shows that sales, whether pushing a product or peddling an idea, isn't what it used to be. Because of powerful economic changes, the glad-handing, truth-bending form of sales is a relic. In its place is a new approach to moving people that involves three very human qualities and four surprising skills. As he did in Drive and A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out the science for his counterintuitive insights, offers vivid examples and stories, and provides readers with tools to put the ideas into action. Smart yet accessible, bold yet well argued, this is the first book on sales for people who've never read a book about sales. It will change how you see your world and transform what you do at work, at school, and at home"-- "In the tradition of his bestselling book Drive, a revolutionary look at the art of selling. This is a book about sales for people who don't know they're in sales"--… (more)
User reviews
Forget the ‘Always Be Closing’ mantra of sales persons, learn the new ABC: attunement (take different perspectives, think outside in), buoyancy ( the combination of ‘a gritty spirit and a sunny outlook’. How to float on the ocean of rejection) and Clarity (get from problem solving to problem finding). Increase your effectiveness by reducing your feelings of power. Realize, that there’s no correlation between extraverts and sales performance. Most of us are ambiverts (sometimes introvert, at other times extravert). Be yourself, authenticity rules today. Think of the power of social influence with specific addressed messages or tips. Give people an ‘off-ramp’ for an easy way to act.
Leave the ‘I can do this’ self-help mantra behind. Instead, get into interrogative self-talk. ‘Can you do this?’ will trigger you to answer. Think of Bob the Builder‘s ’Can we fix it?’ -> ‘Yes, we can!’. Make it personal. The elevator pitch isn’t that relevant anymore. You can meet people just everywhere, but beware of possible distractions. Six new ways to pitch are: the one-word pitch, the question pitch, the rhyming pitch, the 140-character Twitter pitch, the subject line pitch (which promises useful content or elicits curiosity), or the Pixar pitch (a six-sentence narrative structure supposedly used in all Pixar movies).
If these techniques don’t work, practice your improvisation skills: listening, saying ‘yes, and’ and make sure the buyer looks good. Don’t argue to settle a win-lose. And: serve first, sell next. Welcome, fellow sales people!
Daniel Pink offers his own “surprising truth about moving others” in this eminently readable book. In the modern world, where anyone can read up the history of a car before buying, and purchasers often know more stats about the fridge than the salesman does, selling isn’t so much trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes as trying to develop a relationship. The seller asks what the buyer wants and tries to match their needs to what can be offered. They attune their senses to the buyer. They support. And they serve.
So… can I serve by selling the books I write? In the second half of this book, the author offers very clear advice on different ways to pitch the results of our creative efforts. From the one-word pitch to whole paragraphs; from email headers to tweets. The advice is sound, simple, and informative – even if you don’t use his suggestions, he’s done a great job selling them and they’ll stay in your mind, informing how you later try to sell, influence, move or otherwise persuade your neighbor.
I enjoyed this book, and I think I really will make an effort to follow its advice.
Disclosure: The book was recommended by a member of our writers’ group, and a friend loaned me a copy.