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)

Another Winner From Daniel Pink

What made the experience of listening to To Sell Is Human the most enjoyable?

The material was presented in a very straight-forward way.

Have you listened to any of Daniel H. Pink’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I'm a big fan of his book Drive.

Any additional comments?

There is a lot of common sense material in this book regarding sales but it does a great job illustrating how each and everyone of us are salespeople, regardless of our career.

Change my vision about selling

Worth hearing audiobook with well documented scientific papers and fine stories to explain the author's point.

Phenomenal sales book

This is unlike most other sales books - in such a good way. It’s very authentic and perfectly describes a dance we as people all do - we are always selling something (even an idea) every day of our lives.

Great actionable advice here. This is a must read to counterbalance anyone reading sleazy sales books. Sales can be ethical and there’s a great case for it here.

Very average, very gimmicky, read the classics.

I didn't like it, although I rated it a 3 because someone could probably find something useful from it. Strikes as a quick book for sales people that don't like reading l, if you like reading you'd have heard most of this before and came to the conclusion that attention spans are gone for yourself because of apps like tic tok

Just okay

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I felt the book for me was slow and somewhat boring in the way the information or studies and facts were presented. I found myself zoning out a lot and didn’t get much help from it. I do feel that if you’re more of a salesperson this book could be more useful to you. It just wasn’t for me.

Lenghty book with a few solid tips on persuation

I had very high expectations for Daniel Pink, maybe that's the problem.

The first section of the book is all bout why we are all in sales. It could have been done in 2 minutes. Big waste of time. People who don't value sales and the need for persuation would not buy this book in the first place. You can skip those chapters.

The second part is more interesting. The whole premise is centered in ABC selling: atunement, buoyancy and connection. Good concepts. Daniel could have said: listening, optiimsm/passion and connection. Much simpler.

Some discussions are lenghty: you could listen to a whole chapter to get one nugget of knowledge of varying levels of usefulness. Still, it's a good book, but not at the top of my list.

The narration is clear, although after a while it feels a bit too stron (like the author is yelling at you), but it's not a major concern. If you can find a 5 page summary of this book, you would probably get 90% of its value.

Service first

Old-school salesman beware, this is the true service to sales mentality. As the manager of the sales team, I am implementing the principles found in this book. We are seeing results following the notion that we should leave every client better off than when we found them. It's a simple strategy, but it pays off in spades.

Daniel Pink made me Think

When listening to this book you will broaden and expand your ability to look past what your normal sales practices have been doing for your prospects and clients. Pink's perspectives will cause you to pivot and move in a direction that will enable you to be a server as opposed to s seller. Your sales effectiveness will improve.

I will listen to this again and again

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

Absolutely. This is a book for anyone who wants to accomplish something that takes guts and a new perspective. If you're in a position where you have to interact with other human beings, this book with have something for you to take away from it.

What did you like best about this story?

It is a non-fiction book that is written/told in a personable, story-like fashion.

Which scene was your favorite?

NA - non-fiction

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at all. You want to listen to this, stop and absorb. Maybe even go back and re-listen to sections and chapters. My only regret is that I can't highlight things while using an audiobook.

I think this is a book you're going to want to Whispersync.

Any additional comments?

WhisperSync this shit. It's so good.

Very enlightening

I've applied these ideals to my own career. The approach I have with everyday encounters has drastically improved.