To Sell Is Human

The Surprising Truth about Persuading, Convincing and Influencing Others

By: Daniel H. Pink

Narrated by: Daniel H. Pink

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A ground-breaking new business book from the New York Times number-one best seller. We're all in sales now. Each day millions of people earn their keep by convincing someone else to make a purchase. They sell planes to airlines, oil shares to sheiks, cars to drivers. They sell consulting agreements, magazine subscriptions, and time-shares, double glazing, broadband, fitted kitchens, car insurance, life insurance, pet insurance! Some work in fancy offices with glorious views, others in dreary cubicles, but most look exactly like you. In fact, each and every one of us spends time trying to persuade others to part with resources - money, time, attention - though most of the time we don't realise we're doing it.

Parents sell their kids on going to bed. Spouses sell their partners on mowing the lawn or putting the cat out. We sell our bosses on giving us more money and more time off. And in astonishing numbers we go online to sell ourselves on Facebook, Twitter, and in Match.com profiles.

In this new book from the best-selling author of Drive, Dan Pink explores the ways in which we can all improve our sales skills in every area of our lives and identifies the three personal qualities and four essential skills necessary to move people. Relying on science rather than platitudes and analysis instead of exhortation, Dan builds on his own sales experience and on the profiles of some of the world's best salespeople - and makes us look again at our own sales skills.

©2012 Daniel Pink (P)2013 Canongate Books Ltd

Good intro for beginners

A good intro into some of the principles of marketing, as a novice I found it very useful

The best sales book ever

I’ve listened to this twice and Pink has really knocked it out of the park.

The key to this book: it’s not some sleazy sales tactic but how to be a decent human being and providing value.

A must read!

I'm Sold!

Pink delivers another excellent book - well researched and full of data that makes his points so compelling.

The best of Pink's work thus far

I have listen to Daniel Pink's books and find that they usually don't convince me of their arguments however this book is good. Not that he totally convinced me that it is human nature to sell, perhaps to trade, convince and work for each others benefits, but to sell, well to sell is to scam and this book didn't convince me other than that idea. To say that, not all sales people are scammers but lets face it, no trade is perfect, somebody pays.

Really? A Best Seller?

It may just be me, but it appears that everything is a New York Times bestseller these days. Most should not be.

Dans book has a few helpful insights, and some of the research is interesting. However, it is in no way groundbreaking, and failed to impress me.

I found the writing to be average, and the material to be only one step up from a series of blog posts.

Basically, I was disappointed. It has been a long time since I have read a book that really blew my mind. And I read four to five of these type books every month.