To Sell Is Human explores the ways in which we can all improve our sales acumen. Recognising that everyone is now a salesperson of something, Daniel H Pink looks at the role of persuasion, influence and emotional resonance in the new sales environment.
To Sell Is Human Summary
Most people hate salesmen. But far from it’s pushy, hard-selling past, the world is now completely reshaped making sales a vital skill for all of us. Exploring unusual findings from behavioral economics and psychology, Daniel H Pink takes us to task on how we can improve our own sales pitch with Attunement, Buoyancy and Clarity.
Below are some of the key insights from the book.
Key Insights
-
- Sales have never been more popular. Approximately 1 in 10 people are employed in a sales function of some description.
- When surveyed, most people have net-negative views of sales (pushy, sleazy, cheap) and salespeople (suit, aggressive, shark)
- However, the internet has removed the traditional information asymmetry that favoured a hard sales approach at the expense of the customer (Akerloff)
- Caveat Emptor has become Caveat Venditor.
- Extroversion doesn’t correlate to good salesmanship but ambiversion does.
- Always Be Closing has become Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity.
- Positive mood changes once you exceed a 3-to-1 positivity ratio.
- Attunement means empathy, mirroring, commonality finding and deep listening.
- Buoyancy means resilience, learned optimism and interrogative self talk (Can we fix it? Yes we can)
- Clarity means finding problems not solving them, choosing the right framing effects using techniques like 0-10, five whys and Chip & Heath SUCCESS Stickiness.
- A good pitch is the first word but rarely the last word. An effective sales process must invite the prospect in.
- It’s important to construct all of (a) one word pitch (b) question pitch (c) rhyming pitch (d) subject line pitch (e) status update pitch (f) pixar pitch.
- Drama Improvisation techniques like “Yes and” can boost creativity and help you look at new perspectives for the sale.
- To upsell or cross-sell is really to up-serve or cross-serve.
- To sell is human. The modern approach to sales involves authentic humanity rather than quick fix single selling.