To Sell Is Human

The Surprising Truth about Moving Others

By: Daniel H. Pink

Narrated by: Daniel H. Pink

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising - and surprisingly useful - new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than 15 million people earn their keep by persuading 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.

Whether we’re employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs enticing funders to invest, or parents and teachers cajoling children to study, we spend our days trying to move others. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.

To Sell Is Human offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. As he did in Drive and A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink draws on a rich trove of social science for his counterintuitive insights. He reveals the new ABCs of moving others (it's no longer "Always Be Closing"), explains why extroverts don't make the best salespeople, and shows how giving people an "off-ramp" for their actions can matter more than actually changing their minds.

Along the way, Pink describes the six successors to the elevator pitch, the three rules for understanding another's perspective, the five frames that can make your message clearer and more persuasive, and much more. The result is a perceptive and practical book - one that will change how you see the world and transform what you do at work, at school, and at home.

©2012 Daniel H. Pink (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Full of aha! moments...timely, original, thoroughly engaging, deeply humane." (strategy + business)

"A fresh look at the art and science of sales using a mix of social science, survey research and stories." (Dan Schawbel, Forbes.com)

"Artfully blend(s) anecdotes, insights, and studies from the social sciences into a frothy blend of utility and entertainment." (Bloomberg)

Excellent!

Excellent just like all of his other books
Learned quite a bit about moving others
Love the message about service

Incredible

I really enjoyed this book. Daniel Pink is a storyteller and the way he outlined the thinking and purpose behind sales makes a big difference.

Perhaps not for everyone

I've seen some very negative reviews on this book which ha surprised. Me. The book is great! What people don't realize is you don't need more sales techniques, selling isn't what you say, it's about who you are (that's the super simple explanation). If you are in sales or are thinking of doing your own thing get this. Knowledge and info abounds.

Thought-provoking Perspective on Selling

I’ve heard Daniel Pink several times on NPR’s Hidden Brain. He has an excellent resonant voice. As someone who is allergic to sales this book gave me a new perspective on the topic. It fell just a bit short in holding my attention, though. Once again, I think a hard copy book on which I can write notes would probably be the better medium, but I’m glad I listened to it.

Well researched and compelling

This is a very persuasive book about the value and art of selling. The research behind the claims is presented thoughtfully and credibly. 

Very useful

You won't understand or follow the end with out hearing the end. Or rather it will make more sense to you if you hear it all. It's a good book that is worth reading a few times. l like it. Good read.

This is not a book about selling

This is not a book about selling, it is a book about being human and how to do that better.

so so - useful, but difficult to follow on audio

I liked the author's talks on motivation and have lots of respect, and was really excited to listen to this book, but honestly was disappointed.
Concepts seem to be useful, but they are given unnecessarily fancy sounding names, which could easily be renamed to smth simpler and more memorable.
Poor structure of book - jumping back and forth to loosely related and poorly named concepts usually without good connected progression, which ultimately can create a "soup" in listeners / readers head.
Difficult to follow, especially on audio when author constantly gives numbered lists (which I actually like), but you only know its a numbered list when he says 3 or 4 (it was not clear some list is upcoming) - if you are taking notes it gets very confusing and you waste time relistening..
I like scientific books, but this one has too much emphasis on proceas / methodology where in many cases what reader wants to know is the key result / findings.

Improve your teams sales and lives !

Nothing better! The message of Servant Leadership coupled with Servant Selling is powerful and positive.

Incredible book on sales

This book was extremely easy to listen to. I learned many new ways of how it to sell and things that I need to work on to become a better salesman both personally and professionally. I love the fact that Daniel Pink sites other authors and gives them credit for ideas he has learned from them..