I recommend everyone read for an improvement in their everyday interactions. Even if you don't have to persuade people to do your job, you certainly have to sell yourself when you are looking for a job. We’re all trying to move others to listen to us, buy from us, or do things for us. — Harvard Business Review Blog “Pink has penned a modern day How to Win Friends and Influence People... To Sell Is Human is chock full of stories, social science, and surprises…All leaders—at least those who want to ‘move’ people—should own this book.” — Training and Development magazine He writes, "In the most successful pitches, the pitcher didn't push her idea on the catcher until she extracted a yes. And influence is subtlest of all and can persist for decades.
Really excellent book, which I came to read after a conversation with a colleague. I had to read this book for a class in business. He hasn’t sold a car since 1977. It's part of who we are - and therefore something we can do better by being more human. I did enjoy some of the story telling in the book though. By “sales,” Pink means traditional salespeople (1 in 9 Americans) and those involved in “non-sales selling”: persuading, convincing, and influencing (everyone). I discovered that I love spending my days on the phone, talking to people interested in a product I passionately believe in.
I don't consider myself a salesperson in the traditional sense but this book provides ideas for others like me - people trying to sell ideas to co-workers. For example, he debunks the common misconception in sales that it’s best to always tell oneself that “you can do it, you’re the best”, which is bandied by basically all sales books. He writes, "In the most successful pitches, the pitcher didn't push her idea on the catcher until she extracted a yes. Now they are explaining why they want to do it. Don’t say “yes, but…”, which is a major rapport breaker. Now he turns his attention to sales, and though he does speak to the famous cold-calling, record-breaking car salesman Joe Girard, this is less a book about the conniving tricks of this slippery trade, and more of a human guide to how sales might work and be successful in the 21st century. There were a few instances in which I felt that the words “research says” were used to give a semblance of certitude where there cannot be any certitude. The book is an easy to read, understand and apply guidebook for people that sell anything (and we are all selling something). He recites research and tips for selling, negotiating, influencing, persuading, and co.