Dan Pink’s Book, “To Sell is Human” Teaches CMO’s Valuable Lessons
Dan Pink’s book, “To Sell is Human” is a valuable read for everyone in the building products industry. His premise:
- “Whether you like it or not, everyone is in sales now.”
His idea is that all of us, whether we’re in marketing, HR or IT, we are also sales people. We are selling our ideas, our solutions and ourselves. And its not the traditional glad-handling personality that is winning, authenticity is what works. Here are some of his key takeaways:
Who’s Better at Sales?
Dan took a look at who is better at sales – extroverts or introverts? While a lot of people are inclined to say extroverts, its actually ambiverts (a combination of the two) that are most effective.A 2013 study in Psychological Science by Adam Grant found ambivert salespeople generated more revenue than extreme extroverts or introverts. Performance peaked at moderate levels of extraversion, not at the extremes. They have the ability to both listen and to speak up for themselves.
Servant Selling
Servant selling is the idea that your job is to be of service first and to sell second. We’ve moved from a “buyer beware world to a seller beware world”. Buyers are smarter than they have ever been and we have to change our mindset to reach these educated prospects.
The New ABCs: Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity
Pink frames modern sales around three qualities, attunement, buoyancy, and clarity. He calls them the new ABCs of moving others, defined as perspective taking, resilience through rejection, and helping buyers make good choices. These ideas sit at the core of his book.
Grandmother Test
What a great concept – the “Grandmother Test”. Treat your customer or prospect like your grandmother, BUT with 80,000 Twitter followers. Be respectful and be aware that what you say could be blasted out beyond what you originally intended.
Give People an Off-Ramp
This is paramount in our industry. We have to give people an easy way to act. Don’t make them guess their next step – always utilize strong call-to-actions.
The 3 Key Tenets
- Operate with integrity
- Do work that matters
- Take some risks
To learn more, or to buy “To Sell is Human”, visit Dan Pink’s website: http://www.danpink.com/books/to-sell-is-human/.
