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)

Interesting Perspective

Overall, this book provided only a handful of fresh insights that aren't expounded in much greater detail in other popular sales books like those of Jeff Gitomer. The first part added little value and spent a great deal of time getting to a punchline that could have been reached in a paragraph or two. Part 2 was slightly more engaging, but only Part 3 actually achieved the practicality level needed for salesmen who require pointed, actionable, and insightful advice. If you don't mind hearing several hours of studies and background prior to these insights then listen to the whole thing. Otherwise, skip to part 3 and listen to it 3 times instead so you can actually own the important concepts.

Fresh views about selling!

If you could sum up To Sell Is Human in three words, what would they be?

Novel selling guide!

What did you like best about this story?

Fresh views, good stories, it works very well as audio book! Fascinating stories!

What about Daniel H. Pink’s performance did you like?

Pink's voice is very good for audio book.

I was given this book and I hate selling

This book is changing my mindset.

With actionable ways of changing how I think and believe about selling, this book will be read and re-read.

Thank you, Daniel H. Pink, for writing this book and sending it to the world.

OUTSTANDING... Filled with No-Fail strategies

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

Success has many parents and this #1 NY Times bestseller has earned its place as father of the year! To Sell Is Human audiobook lets you listen over and over for tips you'll want to implement throughout your career as well as in your personal life. I love the PechaKucha 20x20 six minute presentation concept, Twitter tips and strategic mimicking. Also, the fact that his findings are backed by research. Interesting that the author is so influential that his name is larger than the book's title. That's one of the perks of selling millions of books. I'll read this timeless gem for years to come.

Desactualizado...

Lamentablemente algunas partes del libro me parecieron desactualizadas... en general le doy un 6 debido a la falta de actualización...

Moving people to move themselves

Would you consider the audio edition of To Sell Is Human to be better than the print version?

Dan Pink's narration is extraordinary (listen to a sample), making it well worth the price of owning both versions. He does offer many useful references that are difficult to catch and bookmark.

What was one of the most memorable moments of To Sell Is Human?

In the section about improvisation, Pink mentions that people are constantly making offers—and that even a rejection usually includes an offer. An attuned listener may notice that people seldom say only "no"—and the rest of their rejection (not now, not that, etc.) can be an open door to better seeing the customer's perspective and meeting their needs.

Any additional comments?

This is not a "rah-rah" sales book meant to get your fired up to try harder. Instead, it offers fresh ideas backed up by science. If you want to understand how sales works and are prepared to rethink what you do, this book may be for you. But some of these ideas may fly in the face of what you think you know about sales, so approach with an open mind. In particular, To Sell is Human may feel insulting to listeners who have a lot invested in the "always be closing" school of thought and way of life.

Dan Pink is a master curator, and this book is a marvelous exhibit of the best that behavioral science has to offer on the subject of sales. But while he works hard to make complex ideas accessible, Pink is a bit cerebral. This book feels tailored to the TED Talks crowd. That may be a turn-off for some who just want to know what to do and don't want all the stats and theory behind it. Pink lays out six main ideas: attunement, buoyancy, and clarity (the new ABCs of sales); and pitching, improvisation, and service (crucial sales skills).

Great book on the evolution of sales.

Would you listen to To Sell Is Human again? Why?

Yes, the subject matter is important in the way that people buy armed with more information today. It informs the seller on how to approach the buyer that has done their homework on the internet.

Great content- better if you're taking notes

This book has a lot of practical, practice-able things, supported by research, which the author shares amply. There are a lot of bulleted and numbered lists of ideas, so if you're a person like me and some of those things run together in the audio but would make more sense in the visual, I might recommend getting this one in print rather than audio.

We are all sales people

Nobody wants to be in sales, everybody is in sales. Early chapters are slow and focus on showing you how everyone is a sales person. Latter chapters have lots of useful marketing and sales tips. Overall an enjoyable book.

great listen

this book presents great information on the study of sales based on human social science. he seems to always be able to do do it in a way that is captivating