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)

Great for all facets of professional life

Excellently written and in my case narrated. Dan does a great job connecting research with stories, and then summarizing how you can apply. Relates ideas to multiple areas and does a nice job pulling other people's contributions into the narrative.

very impressed

I did not expect this book to take the turn it did. I really enjoyed it and recommend to friends and colleagues.

excellent!

I've been selling for 35 years and this is one of the best sales books I've read, ever!

Maybe a better book than audlible?

Lots of great information, but I felt like the book really didn't get to the practical direction until the last third of the book.
Book version would be my preference, mostly because there's a lot of examples and statisical information I want to refer back to. Perhaps I just need a better way of earmarking interesting content so I can easily find it after I'm done?
hmmm...

Pink does it again!

Purposeful, insightful, and practical. Filled with strategies and steps that will help you move others forward. Must read for all change agents.

Transformative print

The audio was clear and concise. The content of the book is important to your business. I recommend it as well as I recommend you take notes. It gives you different strategies to improve your sales

Great book.

The book presents selling in a very interesting perspective. I really recommend this book. Nice support data and practical exercises.

Helpful

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it puts the idea of selling in perspective. As a small business owner the principles outlined in this book were very beneficial.

Only the last 1/3 is valuable to understand.

the first 2/3rds of the book is pure drivel. Do you breathe? Then you're in sales. Bah! The last 1/3 does a good job of quoting ideas from other (better) authors.

Great insights into how sales roles have evolved

I really appreciated the perspective on how sales roles and selling culture have shifted over time. There are often negative associations with professional salespeople, but this book makes it clear that influence skills are critical and we are all in the business of swaying decision-makers. I particularly liked Pink's focus on the shift from salespeople holding superior information to them needing to curate available data and recommend solutions for their clients. I see my sales team work through this daily, as our clients have the same or sometimes more data at their fingertips than we do.