This is a summary review of To Sell is Human containing key details about the book.

What is To Sell is Human About?

To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink challenges the traditional notion of sales and shows that everyone is in the business of selling, whether they realize it or not, and how to do it effectively. (Full Summary…)

To Sell is Human Summary Review

“To Sell Is Human” by Daniel H. Pink offers an enlightening and thorough examination of the art of persuasion, reframing the concept of selling in the modern context. Known for his incisive and engaging works, such as “Drive” and “A Whole New Mind,” Pink extends his expertise to dissect the ubiquitous nature of selling in everyday life. This book is more than a guide to sales; it’s a deep dive into the psychology of influence and a toolkit for effective communication in various aspects of life.

Pink begins with a compelling argument: selling is not confined to the realm of commerce but is an integral part of our daily interactions. He extends the conventional definition of selling beyond mere commercial transactions to encompass the broader idea of moving others, whether it’s persuading a colleague, convincing a child to do their homework, or pitching an idea. This broader interpretation of selling includes professions and scenarios not typically associated with sales, underlining the book’s central thesis that we are all in sales, whether we acknowledge it or not.

The author’s integration of social science research into his narrative is both insightful and approachable. Pink adeptly translates complex psychological concepts into practical, actionable strategies. The book is structured to gradually build the reader’s understanding, covering various facets of persuasion, from redefining the archaic elevator pitch to mastering the art of listening and empathy.

A significant contribution of the book is the re-imagination of the traditional sales acronym ABC, from “Always Be Closing” to “Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity.” Attunement focuses on the skill of perspective-taking and aligning oneself with others. Buoyancy deals with how to remain resilient in the face of the inevitable rejections that come with any attempt to persuade. Clarity refers to the ability to distill complex information into clear, concise, and impactful messages. These principles represent a shift from aggressive selling tactics to a more empathetic, understanding, and human-centric approach.

Pink also challenges some long-standing myths about selling, such as the idea that extroverts are naturally better salespeople. He argues that success in sales and persuasion lies more in the ability to understand and adapt to the perspective of others, a skill not exclusive to any personality type.

The book’s practicality is one of its strengths, providing readers from various professional backgrounds with tools and insights that can be applied in their day-to-day lives. Whether one is an entrepreneur, an educator, or working in a corporate setting, Pink’s principles of selling have universal applicability.

While some readers may find the abundance of research studies overwhelming, these studies add a layer of credibility and depth to Pink’s arguments. They underscore the book’s grounding in empirical evidence, enhancing its appeal to a reader looking for a well-researched and intellectually rigorous approach to the subject of persuasion.

In conclusion, “To Sell Is Human” by Daniel H. Pink is a groundbreaking and insightful exploration of how selling and persuasion are woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Pink’s ability to blend research with practical advice makes this book an invaluable resource for anyone looking to improve their influence, whether in personal relationships, professional endeavors, or broader societal interactions. It stands not just as a book about sales, but as a guide to effective communication and understanding in the increasingly interconnected and persuasive world we navigate.

Who is the Author of To Sell is Human?

Daniel H. Pink is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books — including his latest, THE POWER OF REGRET: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His books have sold millions of copies around the world, been translated into forty-two languages, and have won multiple awards.

How long is To Sell is Human?

• Print length: 272 pages
• Audiobook: 6 hrs and 6 mins

What genre is To Sell is Human?

Business, Nonfiction, Psychology

What are good quotes from To Sell Is Human?

“Anytime you’re tempted to upsell someone else, stop what you’re doing and upserve instead.”

“This is what it means to serve: improving another’s life and, in turn, improving the world.”

“A few of us are extraverts. A few of us are introverts. But most of us are ambiverts, sitting near the middle, not the edges, happily attuned to those around us. In some sense, we are born to sell.”

“Extraverts, in other words, often stumble over themselves. They can talk too much and listen too little, which dulls their understanding of others’ perspectives. They can fail to strike the proper balance between asserting and holding back, which can be read as pushy and drive people away.”

“What an individual does day to day on the job now must stretch across functional boundaries. Designers analyze. Analysts design. Marketers create. Creators market.”

“We often understand something better when we see it in comparison with something else than when we see it in isolation.”

“Bezos includes one more chair that remains empty. It’s there to remind those assembled who’s really the most important person in the room: the customer.”

― Daniel H. Pink, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

What are the main summary points of To Sell Is Human?

Here are some key summary points from the book:

Lesson #1. The New Tenets of Sales are Honesty and Service

When people think of sales, they’re likely to think of a slick talking yet pushy used-car salesman. This negative image is down to many salespeople of the past getting away with almost anything because of caveat emptor which means “buyer beware” i.e. it was down to the buyer not to make a bad purchase decision. In the used car market, the buyer could make a mistake, paying too much for a poor car, because of an information asymmetry, the salesman knowing more about the product than the buyer.

Thankfully, the internet has changed this dynamic, consumers now able to do their due diligence before making a purchase as well as being able to expose dishonest salespeople. Rather than caveat emptor, we now have caveat venditor meaning seller beware! Due to this, sellers have had to become more honest and transparent in order to stay in business as well as more service-oriented.

Just like used-car buyers can now research the value of used cars and the dealerships they can purchase from quickly and easily from their smartphones, students and patients can also research the information they’re being given by non-sales selling teachers and doctors. This means that nowadays, both sales and non-sales people must provide value by curating and explaining information. The famous ABC of selling which always used to be “Always Be Closing” is now terribly outdated and must be replaced with the new saying “Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity.”

Lesson #2. The A of the New ABC; Attunement

Being attuned means seeing things from other people’s perspective and being able to act accordingly, this ability is vital if you’re to move others.

People think that a successful salesperson is an extrovert, able to use their talent with words to sell ice to Eskimo’s but in fact, research shows that being too extroverted can hurt sales since extroverted salespeople are usually unable to hear what their customers tell them, never mind understand things from their point of view. Therefore, the most successful salespeople are actually ambiverts meaning they’re right in the middle of extrovertism and introvertism. These people make the sale because they have an ability to listen to their customers and can acclimatize themselves to their customers’ perspectives. They’re able to get into the customer’s mindset and can understand what they are thinking but they don’t understand what they are feeling as, although empathy is valuable, it is not as important as cognitive perspective-taking.

You can become more attuned by adopting a low power position and closing the deal through the use of mimicry. Assuming that you have a position of power means you’re more likely to rigidly stick to your own views which lowers attunement whilst subtle mimicry such as repeating back word-for-word some points the person you’re speaking to has made, and slightly changing your way of speech to match theirs i.e friendly, bantering, formal, or if you’re face to face with the person, changing your posture to match theirs, can work wonders so long as you don’t over do it!

Lesson #3. The B of the New ABC; Buoyancy

Every salesperson has to face rejection whether with a firm but polite “no” or a slammed door or phone. To stay afloat and keep selling in the face of rejection, the salesperson requires buoyancy before, during, and after the sales call. Rather than salespeople giving themselves motivational talks saying “I am the greatest” or “I smash sales goals”, it’s better for them to turn to interrogative self-talk asking themselves “can I sell this product to this person?” and “what can I fix?” This helps the seller prepare for and deal with problems – by forcing them to think about the answer they can uncover potential sales strategies as well as their own motivation – do they just want to make the commission or do they also want to make someone’s life better at the same time as bettering their own?

Even when it seems like you won’t make the sale you need to remain positive because research shows that positivity widens your perspective allowing you to see the customer’s point of view and therefore able to better serve them by offering alternative solutions if the initial proposal is not accepted.

In the face of rejection, the salesperson who sees one bad day as temporary, external, and specific e.g I didn’t sell anything today because it’s the end of the month and no one has been paid yet will fare better than the salesperson who takes things personally and sees them as permanent and pervasive e.g. I’ve lost my touch, no one will buy anything from me ever again. If you catch yourself making negative speeches to yourself that are similar to the latter, try to poke holes in your explanations – have you really lost your touch or was the customer simply dealing with their own problem when you spoke to them?

Lesson #4. The C of the New ABC; Clarity

Since many salespeople and non-sales persuaders have lost their value as providers of information due to the internet, they must now provide clarity, helping people to see things in a new light, in order to move them.

Rather than helping to solve problems as they once would, salespeople now have to help people find problems. You see, just because people have answers at their fingertips, it doesn’t mean they’ve identified the correct problem meaning they could be asking the wrong question in the first place.

Salespeople must know which questions to ask the customer to help them identify the true problem. This way they can help customers sort out the minefield of, often conflicting, information they’ve uncovered to select the correct answer for their situation.

Salespeople must be careful how they frame the solution so that it is perceived the way they want. Research has shown that it’s best to show a comparison as people understand things better when they are presented with contrasting information rather than isolated information. Saying that, you don’t want to overwhelm them with comparisons and choices, research showing that limiting customer’s options actually leads to increased sales. You can also frame purchases as buying an experience rather than material possessions as people get greater pleasure from buying an experience. Whichever way you present your sale, be sure to keep it clear with detailed instructions on how you’ll solve this person’s problem.

Lesson #5. Pitches Need To Be Short & Engaging

In today’s fast paced world customers are bombarded with information and distractions, their attention spans so short that pitches must be short and snappy, sometimes limited to just 280 characters if wanting to catch their attention on Twitter. Barrack Obama knew the importance of short but engaging pitches which is why his 2012 campaign slogan was just 1 word.

The most successful pitches encourage target customers to contribute their own ideas, the same idea works in sales pitches – have your customer share their ideas by formulating your pitch as a question. Asking a question forces someone to come up with their own reason for agreeing with you making it easier for you to move them.

If you can make your pitch rhyme as well you’re onto a winner as research shows the people subconsciously think rhyming statements are more accurate than those that don’t rhyme!

Lesson #6. Channel Your Inner Actor

If you have experience in improvisational theater you’re most likely a top salesperson as you’re able to ad-lib your way through a sales call. In the past, salespeople relied on prepared scripts for each and every sales call, so much so that when in a face-to-face meeting, even their body language was scripted but today’s customer is far too savvy to fall for a robotic sales pitch that’s repeated over and over again.

Today’s salesperson must be able to hear and understand what the customer is saying, letting them speak uninterruptedly rather than, as is common of doctors, summing up the ailment in the first 18 seconds and therefore interrupting the patient mid-speech. In improv theater this is known as ‘listening for offers’ and essentially means working with the information that the customer offers. You should also train yourself to use the phrase “yes, and…” rather than “yes, but…” or a straight “no” as you want to create an optimistic vibe and be able to move the conversation forward constructively rather than stop it dead in its tracks.

Another thing that actors do is make their colleagues look good – They don’t concentrate on making themselves look good alone as they know it’s in the interest of the audience to see the whole cast looking their best. In the sales world this is known as the win-win, don’t just push your own agenda, find solutions that suit both salesperson and customer.

Lesson #7. Be Personal and Purposeful

Sales and non-sales is about much more than just the exchange of resources. In order to successfully move people you need to be able to see the customer as a real person with feelings, thoughts, and needs rather than an abstract number such as patient 06352. This is so true that research has shown that if a radiologist sees a photo of the person whose x-ray they’re looking at, they’re able to read it better. Likewise, if a restaurant owner puts a photo of himself up on the wall along with his cellphone number with a message asking customers to call him if they have any complaints, they’re more likely to return safe in the knowledge that if they have any problems, they will be heard and taken seriously.

To be purposeful too, the salesperson must find the higher purpose in what they’re doing and convey it to their customers. Whether the doctor remembers that he’s ultimately there to save lives or the telephone sales operator remembers they’re at work to help make people’s lives easier, they should remember that to sell is human.

What are key takeaways from To Sell Is Human?

Takeaway #1: The art of selling is becoming an ever-increasing part of life whether selling services and products, negotiating with people, or pitching ideas. To sell well is to convince someone else to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him better off in the end.”

Takeaway #2: Nowadays, both sales and non-sales people must provide value by curating and explaining information. The famous ABC of selling which always used to be “Always Be Closing” is now terribly outdated and must be replaced with the new saying “Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity.”
– Attunement – Seeing things from other people’s perspective and being able to act accordingly.
– Buoyancy – Overcoming rejection and remaining positive.
– Clarity – Helping people to see things in a new light, in order to move them and provide clarity.

Takeaway #3: When you sell, think of your own motivation – do I just want to make the sale or commission or do I also want to make someone’s life better at the same time as bettering my own? If the person I’m selling to agrees to buy, will his or her life improve? When my interaction is over, will the world be a better place than when I began?

Takeaway #4: The old art of selling through pitching still applies today but must be combined with the new tenet of sales; honesty. The purpose of a pitch isn’t necessarily to move others immediately to adopt your idea. The purpose is to offer something so compelling that it begins a conversation, brings the other person in as a participant, and eventually arrives at an outcome that appeals to both of you.

Takeaway #5: To move people you must be personal and purposeful and your pitch short and engaging. The most successful pitches encourage others to contribute their own ideas, the same idea works in sales pitches – have your customer share their ideas by formulating your pitch as a question. Asking a question forces someone to come up with their own reason for agreeing with you making it easier for you to move them. In the new world of sales, being able to ask the right questions is more valuable than producing the right answers. (Our schools, however, usually have the opposite emphasis. They teach us how to answer, but not how to ask…)

Takeaway #6: Channel your inner actor. Why? Because sales and theater have much in common. Both take guts. Salespeople pick up the phone and call strangers; actors walk onto the stage in front of them. Both invite rejection—for salespeople, slammed doors, ignored calls, and a pile of nos; for actors, a failed audition, an unresponsive audience, a scathing review. And both have evolved along comparable trajectories.

Takeaway #7: To be purposeful, you must find the higher purpose in what you’re doing and convey it. Sales is about much more than just the exchange of resources. Ultimately, you’re here to elevate humanity and the world.

* Key sources: Amazon, Wikipedia