To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by H. Pink

Discover The New Rules of Selling

The Everyday Salesman

Believe it or not, we're all salespeople. Our daily life is permeated with instances, knowingly or unknowingly, where we are selling ideas, time, or influencing others. This concept, coined as 'non-sales selling', captures the essence of our interactions.

Shifting Landscapes of Sale

The dynamics of selling have seen a massive transformation over the last decade. Those sweeping changes suggest that our age-old understanding and strategies of sales might not be applicable or effective anymore.

Selling with ABC: Attunement, Buoyancy and Clarity

What truly carries weight in the process of sell, according to Pink is the triumvirate of Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity. Attunement is the art of aligning oneself with others, buoyancy is the strength to remain optimistic in the face of rejection, and clarity is the skill of making sense of complex situations.

Navigating the Future of Sales

The future of successful selling relies heavily on two aspects - improvisation and service. Pink offers valuable insights, tips, and techniques that can catalyze our ability to effectively pitch ideas, improvise our game plan, and serve others in the most authentic way.

Navigating The Modern Sales Landscape

The Unseen Force of Sales

Through the lens of Norman Hall, the last Fuller Brush salesman, we gain an insightful peek into the fading era of traditional salespeople. Yet, despite the dwindling numbers, the influence of sales in the current economy shouldn't be underestimated. In fact, as many as one in nine American workers find themselves in sales.

A Silent Revolution

The landscape of sales is changing rapidly. When we think of selling, we often envisage a salesperson closing a deal. However, as we delve deeper, it's clear that non-sales selling features prominently in many professions. People are spending a significant 40% of their work time persuading, influencing, and convincing others, elements crucial to professional triumph.

Sales: A Shared Endeavor

Without fully realizing it, we've all become salespeople. The tools may have changed, the principles of persuasion remain vital. Through this understanding, we can better navigate the modern sales landscape, propelling our careers and personal growth forwards.

The Ubiquity of Sales Roles

We're All Salespeople Now

The world is morphing into a broad sales landscape. Rarity is the individual who doesn't engage in some form of sales. This transformation links with the rise of entrepreneurship and small businesses. In such settings, individuals frequently multi-task, undertaking roles, such as selling, typically assigned to specialists.

Technology and the Sales Transformation

Technology adds a twist to the sales dynamic. Tools like smartphones and the internet morph even the most tech-averse into potential sellers. Additionally, no longer do businesses solely rely on designated salespeople. Instead, the organization as a whole plays a part in sales, a concept known as 'elasticity' in sales.

Persuasion Transcends Sales

Persuasion, a critical component of sales, becomes increasingly important across sectors. Particularly in the education and healthcare sectors, the need to influence and persuade matches the demands of traditional sales. Therefore, individuals must grasp this 'non-sales selling' to effect changes in their respective professional fields.

Redefining Sales in Today's Information Age

Rethinking the Sales Stereotype

Common negative beliefs concerning sales and selling, such as the stereotype of salespeople being 'pushy' or 'aggressive', are explored. A prevalent mental image of a used car salesman further solidifies these opinions. However, with the diminishing information gap between buyers and sellers, these perspectives are becoming obsolete.

The Power Shift in Sales

With the declining dominance of information asymmetry, the balance of power in sales has been altered. This has made it easier for customers to make informed decisions, as the wealth of online resources, product reviews, and social media have brought them at par with sellers. Sellers need to guide customers through this information overload to be successful.

The Modern Tactics for Sales Success

The once successful practices of creating a false sense of familiarity or inflating one's popularity, used by Joe Girard, are now outdated. In the current information-rich age, honesty, transparency, and empathy take precedence. Companies like CarMax, that focus on transparency and empowering their customers, are successfully reinventing sales practices.

Navigating the New Sales Landscape

Decoding the New Age 'Sales Anthem'

Turning the age-old 'Always be closing' credo on its head, the 21st century praises the golden trio of Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity as the new mantra to influence others. Attunement, the art of resonating one's attitudes and actions with others and the environment, takes the center stage in this transformative approach. In this dynamic sales landscape, the old playbook is rewritten with a fresher perspective.

Power of Attunement Unveiled

Focused on empowering others than exerting influence, attunement fetches you the key to move people. Success lies in attuning more with your head than your heart, in reducing your power to increase it, and in mastering the art of strategic mimicry. The secret sauce to effective attunement hinges on perspective-taking, which interestingly shares an inverse relation with power.

The 'Ambivert' Advantage

The spotlight swings from extroverts and introverts to ambiverts, individuals straddling the middle ground in the personality spectrum as they outshine in the art of attuning. So, if you find yourself oscillating between the dichotomy of extroversion and introversion, congratulations, you are an adept mover. Time to leverage your inbuilt attuning prowess!

Mastering the Art of Influence

Unlocking Attunement and Influence

The heart of having persuasive and effective conversations is attunement - aligning oneself to others. This requires building rapport, starting healthy conversations with intriguing, open-ended questions, and putting oneself in the shoes of others. Some effortless ways include a well-timed query like 'Where are you from?' that opens a gateway to acquaintanceship and understanding.

Embrace the Power of Ambiversion

One interesting revelation is the idea of ambiversion. With our world constantly polarizing individuals as either introverts or extroverts, combining the strengths of both can make one more adaptive and influential in varying social situations. So remember, be an ambivert - harness the qualities of an extrovert's assertiveness, along with an introvert's scrutiny for the win.

Exercises for Better Attunement

H. Pink suggests some engaging exercises to enhance attunement skills. 'Time travelling' conversations or discussions and mood mapping can offer a fresh perspective on communication. And let's not forget the game of 'Mirror, mirror' to improve one's observation skills. A little practice can go a long way!

A Tip from the Pros: Asserting the Customer's Perspective

A fascinating technique, inspired no less by Jeff Bezos, is placing an empty chair in meetings. This empty chair serves as a reminder that at the core of every decision-making process should be the customer. By empathising with the customer's needs, we step closer to becoming effective communicators.

Establishing Connections: The Key to Influence

What seals the deal in the end is finding commonalities that bind us to others. Establishing this common ground fosters connections and paves the way for us to influence others more effectively. So, step up, find that common ground and influence away!

Mastering Buoyancy: Norman Hall's Exercise in Persistence and Positivity

Staying Buoyant amidst Rejection

Take a lesson from Norman Hall, a man in the sales industry who meets rejection daily. His secret weapon? A quality termed 'buoyancy'. This characteristic enables him to stay motivated, despite the frequency of being turned down. His continually optimistic demeanor is a part of this unflagging buoyancy.

Power of Interrogative Self-talk

A strategy Hall uses to cultivate buoyancy is to engage in interrogative self-talk. Firing questions at himself, rather than repetitive affirming statements, boosts his motivation levels significantly. It works because it encourages him to think about strategies and solutions.

Balance of Positivity and Negativity

Another essential component of buoyancy is positivity, in both demeanor and self-belief. However, it's worth noting that balance is the key here. Swinging too far in the direction of either positivity or negativity can hinder productivity. A delicate blend of the two leads to the best outcomes.

Embracing an Optimistic Explanatory Style

Finally, he utilizes an optimistic explanatory style. This technique trains the mind to perceive negative events as temporary, specific, and external factors. With this perspective in place, persistence becomes natural even amidst disappointments. It reveals that perception matters as much as reality in handling rejection.

Harnessing Persuasion: Surprising Strategies to Move Others

The Power of Interrogative Self-talk

Rehearsing positive affirmations can be a common technique before a persuasive speech. But how about trying interrogative self-talk instead? Imagine asking yourself, 'Can I move these people?' then list five reasons why you can. This tactic offers a grounded and practical strategy for persuasion, making you feel prepared on a substantive level.

Embrace Rejection and Learn from It

Rejection can be daunting and often disheartening, yet it's an integral part of our growth. Consider keeping a tally of all the times you hear 'no' in a week. Now, think of this as evidence of your resilience. Each 'no' signifies an opportunity for learning and highlights that, despite rejection, you still persist. Take inspiration from folks like Jay Goldberg who've turned rejection into motivation by displaying their rejection letters.

Writing a Rejection Letter: A Strategy for Success

Try an unconventional approach - write yourself a rejection letter before any actual one comes in. Address all potential weaknesses and write out reasons that could possibly lead to a rejection. This exercise not only reduces the sting of an actual rejection but also helps identify areas that need enhancement. The more we understand our shortcomings, the better equipped we are to turn them into strengths.

Saving for Tomorrow: Future-Oriented Thinking and Influence

Visualizing a Future Worth Saving For

The power of imagined future selves plays a pivotal role in persuading us to save for retirement. It appears our brains find the concept of retirement a distant abstraction, often leading to a lack of adequate savings. However, an experiment conducted by social psychologist Hal Hershfield and his team seems to offer a solution. Surprisingly, individuals were prone to saving more after glimpsing visual representations of their aged selves, suggesting a visual catalyst can sometimes bridge the temporal divide between our present and retirement years.

Unearthing Problems: The Art of Influence

Perhaps an overlooked element of influence lies in the art of problem discovery, which, intriguingly, may have an edge over problem-solving. Professionals who display heightened problem-finding abilities tend to enjoy success in their respective fields. This insight suggests that cultivating skills to identify unnoticed hurdles can be a game-changer in encouraging others to make desired moves. A touch of creative exploration to uncover hidden challenges may well set the stage for innovative solutions.

Effective Framing: The Power of Sales Persuasion

In the realm of sales, the art of framing holds significant sway. Different framing strategies - the less frame, the experience frame, the label frame, the blemished frame, and the potential frame - can subtly highlight the unique value of a product or service, making it irresistible to customers. Framing, if done right, can serve as a compelling narrative that plays to the tune of the customer's needs and dreams, encouraging them to make the desired purchase.

Mastering the Art of Influencing Others

Unlocking Change with Questions

Unleashing transformation in resistant individuals lies in the heart of questioning. Interestingly, 'irrational' questions have a more profound effect on catalyzing behavioral shift than their rational counterparts. For instance, on a scale of 1- 10, followed by explanations, can unmask one's genuine motivations.

Embracing New Experiences for Clarity

Stepping into unfamiliar territories offers crystal clear insights into your thoughts and viewpoints. Levels of 'jolts,' ranging from minor routine alterations to adventuring in foreign lands, have different effects. The element of novelty helps to sharpen the focus.

The Power of Information Curation

Discerning and making sense of the best information sources does not just expand knowledge but helps in conveying valuable insights to others effectively. A good example is Beth Kanter's three-pronged curation strategy of seeking, interpreting, and sharing resources for a broader understanding.

Ask Right, Not Just Answer Right

Influencing maneuvers are not all about having the exact answers but asking the pertinent questions. A technique provided by The Right Question Institute equips individuals with improved question-framing skills in their bid to foster change.

Digging Deeper with 'Five Whys'

'Five Whys,' a technique popularized by IDEO, creates a pathway to unravelling underlying issues. By repetitively asking 'why' as a response to an answer, you're able to delve further into complex reasons behind attitudes or behaviors.

Focusing on the Crucial One Percent

Focusing on the vital 'one percent' is a strategy that cannot be overemphasized in effective communication and understanding the situation at hand. It’s about zoning in on the nitty-gritty details that may consequently influence a larger understanding.

Mastering the Art of Influential Pitching

Unveiling the Power of Stellar Pitches

Within the spectrum of persuasive communication lives the often underestimated power of pitching. From bridging the gap in sales negotiations to intriguing someone in a minute-long elevator ride, mastering pitching techniques can help effectively articulate ideas and sway perspectives.

Presented in the text are compelling examples of various pitching methods, from the elevator pitch birthed by Elisha Otis during his 1853 elevator invention demonstration to the one-word pitches crafted for today's short attention span era.

Conquering Short Attention Spans

Pitching strategies have since taken various forms, including question pitches that spur the receiver to think, rhyming pitches aiding memorability and, subject lines for emails that pique curiosity. As our communication channels evolve, so have our pitching techniques. Consider the Twitter pitch, a method leveraging limited characters to deliver a punchy and concise message.

Harnessing Hollywood's Pitching Strategy

Even Hollywood offers a wealth of insights on pitching, with the relationship between the pitcher and catcher playing a massive role in the pitch's success. At the core, a pitch aims to ignite an intriguing conversation—springboarding a mutually beneficial outcome. Interestingly, Pixar unfolds a story in a structured six-sentence narrative, another pitching strategy worth noting for its engagement and clear summarization.

Leveraging Effective Pitching Strategies

Real-world examples attest to the efficacy of these strategies. For instance, the impact of Elisha Otis' demo underscores a gripping pitch's ability to shift perceptions and elicit action. Research underscores the influential might of question pitches, which encourage the recipient's engagement, thought, and response. Moreover, the Twitter Pitch Contest at the University of Iowa stands testament to the success of a brief yet magnetic message. Indeed, these formidable pitching methods can be powerful tools in many contexts, from business to personal spheres.

Mastering the Art of Pitching

Understanding the Power of Pitches

Wow, did you know the way you pitch ideas can significantly influence their acceptance? A powerful tool, pitching can make or break your great idea. The mastery of presenting ideas with an impactful pitch is an art with different methods, each effective in its own specialized scenario.

Types and Techniques of Pitches

There are six main types of pitches, each varying in form but similar in purpose - persuading your audience. Whether it's a one-word pitch or a Pixar-style pitch, the effectiveness of your presentation lies in its commitment to three elements: information, emotion, and action. Seriously, the next time you structure your pitch, think about what you want your listeners to know, feel, and do.

Methods to Perfect Pitching

Here's another thing: practicing and perfecting your pitches is essential. You can start by simplifying your idea from fifty words to six, or even jotting down pitches from others. This helps you identify the essence of your idea and allows you to deliver it in the most concise and compelling manner. Isn't it fascinating to think about all these elements that subtly shape the success of your ideas?

Presentations and Perceptions

But wait, there's more! Different formats can enhance delivered pitches too. Did you ever think about utilizing the famous Pecha Kucha format? It challenges you to present 20 slides, each for exactly 20 seconds, creating a sense of urgency and making sure you articulate the most significant aspects of your idea. How about asking others to define your pitch in just three words? This provides valuable insight into the audience's perception. Start your journey to persuasive pitching today!

Accessible Theater Tactics Boost Sales

Unveiling the Drama in Sales

In 'To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others', H. Pink enlightens us on the intriguing connection between the theatrical world and the realm of sales. He draws from his experiences at a workshop led by Cathy Salit, an improv theater coach training professionals to be more impactful at work. The comparison between theater and sales is stunning, presenting both as a stage demanding courage, facing rejection, and undergoing transformations.

Theater strategies can indeed potentiate sales and other related pursuits, with key principles like 'listening', extending the classic 'Yes and', and 'making your partner shine'.

Dispelling Sales Script Reliance

Rigid sales scripts, once the cornerstone of sales strategy, are shown to be outdated in a fluctuating, unpredictable market environment. Pink draws attention to the pioneering work of Viola Spolin and Keith Johnstone that challenged the dependency on scripts in theater and, by extension, sales. This marked a shift towards gameplay and interactive engagement.

Such interactive techniques foster a greater sense of empathy and active listening, as demonstrated by Pink's 'mirror exercise' with Salit. The discomfort of echoing a stranger's movements evolved into an understanding of the power of attunement and receptiveness.

Dialogues Over Arguments

Pink retraces his steps through the 'I’m Curious' exercise where opposing views engage in a conversation composed solely of questions. The objective isn’t to score points but to nurture a learning attitude, furthering the exercise of positivity, curiosity, and ultimately, making the opposing party shine in the discourse.

Navigating these interactive dialogues sheds light on the power and potential of improv theater techniques in enhancing our professional and personal endeavors, propelling us to be more effective in our 'sales' approaches.

Mastering Communication through Improvisation

Tapping into Improvisation Techniques

Improvisation in communication leads to a fresh perspective of the dialogue. Slowing down, hearing the rhythm of conversation, and absorbing the essence before contributing ensures enhanced listening skills. Now, imagine the power of the phrase 'Yes, and' in a talk. It transforms the conversation, promoting a sense of collaboration and creating space to build on shared ideas.

Improvisation Games: A New Way to Think

Remember the thrill of playing 'Word-at-a-Time'? Such improvisation games prove to be a fun way to brush up on quick-thinking and listening skills. Adding a word to a narrative requires you to listen intently and feed your immediate thought into the story, not just a way to keep the conversation going, but to give it a new flavour.

Value of Questioning

If you've been preferring statements to asking questions, it's time for a shift. Asking questions keeps the other party engaged, inviting them to explore their perspective and deepen the talk's depth. Just as how a game of 'I'm curious' works, taking a stance and provoking the opposite side with only questions, both the conversation and connection grow stronger.

Enriching Your Knowledge

If this approach intrigues you, delve deeper into improvisation. Works such as 'Impro' by Keith Johnstone, 'Improvisation for the Theatre' by Viola Spolin, 'Improv Wisdom' by Patricia Ryan Madson, and 'The Second City Almanac of Improvisation' are among the recommended reads. These books not only educate you on improvisation but also illustrate its application in everyday conversation and life.

The Power of Personal and Purposeful Interactions

Impact of Direct Engagement

Transforming interactions into a personal and purposeful experience can have a profound impact. Radiologists, for instance, increase their vigilance when patient photos are added to CT scans, leading to a more thorough and accurate diagnosis.

Pursuing Purpose Over Personal Gain

In health institutions, adopting a patient-centric approach to hygiene practices has substantially improved compliance. The attention shifts from personal consequences to the impact on patients, thereby emphasizing the noble purpose of healthcare professionals.

Servant Selling: Serving Before Selling

The text introduces the remarkable concept of servant selling. It's an approach that prioritizes improving the customer's life above everything else, even selling. In this way, the sales and non-sales selling process becomes an instrument of making the world a better place.

Redefining Sales: A Customer-Centric Approach

Upserving Over Upselling

The crux of modern sales tactics hinge on the concept of 'upserving.' Simply put, it’s all about outdoing customer expectations, providing them with more than they bargain for, thereby etching a memorable engagement. This approach flips the traditional concept of 'upselling' on its head, exchanging company profit for customer satisfaction.

Rethinking Remuneration Structure

Further shaking up traditional sales approaches, new compensation methods are being explored. The goal is to motivate sales teams differently, focusing on fostering collaborative efforts and customer-oriented services. For instance, one company tweaked their remuneration structure, shifting from a 60/40 salary and commission breakdown to a 90/10 base salary and growth-based variable compensation model. The results were promising: higher sales, lower attrition, and stable profits.

Favor Perception and Emotional Intelligence

Another shift in the sales world is the need to recalibrate our interpretation of favor dynamics. Salespeople are encouraged to operate under the paradigm that the customer is doing them a favor. Additionally, sales tactics are becoming smarter and more sensitive through the use of emotionally intelligent signage, connecting with customers at a deeper, more human level.

Social Approach to Better Service

A novel concept in providing superior service is treating everyone as we would our own grandmothers. This idea removes anonymity and fosters a meaningful personal connection. This approach encourages better, more genuine service and establishes mutual benefits for both parties, keeping in mind the broad impact these engagements might have in a world driven by social media.

Unraveling the Intricacies of Modern Sales

Sales Skills - More Ubiquitous Than Perceived

The realm of sales has dramatically expanded, extending beyond the traditional salesperson. According to H. Pink in 'To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others,' it's estimated that roughly one in every nine American workers is engaged in some form of sales. Dispensed across an array of activities, sales skills are exercised whenever persuasion and action are required.

The Importance of 'Attunement' and Adaptability in Sales

Vital to the effective salesperson is attunement – the capacity to understand and connect with others efficiently. Likewise, the ability to improvise, to adapt and respond to ever-changing scenarios, is integral to sales success. This book stresses the criticality of these elements.

Clarity, Service, and Effective Communication in Sales

Underscores in Pink's work are the essential roles that clarity, service, and effective communication play in sales. Clarity aids in expressing your message and proposition value aptly, while service, focused on the customer's needs, yields better outcomes. Overall, the book isolates these factors as cornerstones to attaining success in contemporary sales.

Unveiling the Unexpected Art of Persuasion

Embracing the ABCs of Persuasion

Let's delve into the nifty ABCs of moving others - these essential elements are attunement, buoyancy, and clarity. Exhibit the right blend of extroversion and introversion, achieving a balance known as ambiversion, and you'll be more impactful in your pursuit to persuade.

Power in Positivity and Empathy

Did you know buoyancy is equally decisive in sales? Keeping a positive demeanor, even amid challenges, ensures you stay afloat. Empathizing with your customer's standpoint does not just earn you their trust but presents a clear pathway to meet their needs effectively.

Seize Success with Appropriate Sales Techniques

What if we told you reducing power in sales conversations might result in better outcomes? Or that successful entrepreneurs from various industries have leveraged this? Exciting, isn't it? Remarkable case studies, such as Amazon.com's strategic approach to disrupt traditional sales models, offer invaluable insights.

Technological Influence and Upskilling in Sales

Playing a significant role in sales, technology has indeed shifted the conventional sales job paradigm. It's also fascinating to observe how effective listening and precise questioning can drastically augment your sales skills. Humility and a service-driven mindset - the underrated heroes of the sales journey!

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