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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2017
Many people, says the author Daniel Pink, “think of sales as the white-collar equivalent of cleaning toilets – necessary perhaps, but unpleasant and even a bit unclean”
The book has an unusual thesis. Selling is not only for salespeople. In fact, there are more people in dire need of selling skills who are not salespeople than who are salespeople. Irrespective of what you do for a living, from training to managing, from consulting to plumbing, you are selling in a broader sense. You are selling others on why they should implement your training, follow your directions, take your advice, or install the solar heated geyser rather than the similarly priced conventional one.
Despite the increase in internet shopping, the total number of sales positions increased in the Unites States and the ratio sales people to the general workforce remains at 1 in 9. If you are in sales in the conventional sense, read on, Mr Pink does have some interesting insights.
According to Pink’s research, and that of Gallup Research, people spend about 40% of their time at work involved in non-sales selling. (Non-sales is Pink’s term for selling your ideas, opinions or perspectives.) You only need to reflect on how much of your own time at work is spent convincing or persuading people to give up something that they value for something you have.
This means that not only do 1 in 9 spend a large chunk of their time selling, so do the other 8 in 9.
Welcome to the new world where almost everyone is in sales! How did this come about?
In the OECD countries, a club of wealthier and more developed countries, 90% of businesses have fewer than 10 employees. In such situations almost everyone is either closely connected to the selling process or selling. If you are in a larger organization, you will know that you don’t get what you deserve; you get what you ‘sell.’
In 1967 George Akerlof wrote a paper titled “The Market for ‘Lemons’” that earned him a Nobel Prize for economics in 2001. Second hand cars for sale fall into two categories – the good and the bad (Americans call the latter ‘lemons’.) If buyers don’t know which is good and which is bad, the value of all second hand cars drops, among other effects identified by Akerlof.
The cause of the problem is the asymmetry of information – the seller knows if the car is a ‘lemon,’ but the buyer does not. In such a situation the guiding principle is ‘caveat emptor’ – buyer beware! Consider what would pertain if there is symmetry of information, where the buyer knows exactly what the seller knows.
What if the buyer could ascertain the current selling price of the model adjusted for mileage using trade publications? What if the buyer could do an online search to determine whether the car has been in an accident or has had major repairs using the Vehicle Identification Number? The buyer may never know as exactly much as the seller, but they are not at the mercy of the seller either.
In such an environment, if a seller is dishonest, that could go viral in about as much time as it takes to put his name on your Facebook or LinkedIn page or as long as it takes to type 140 characters into your phone. Today the caution is no longer, ‘caveat emptor,’ buyer beware, but ‘caveat venditor,’ seller beware!
If you had taken a sales course in the 20th century, you would probably have been taught the ABC of selling – “Always Be Closing.” Sales people were taught that from the call to make the sales meeting through the meeting itself, closing the deal should be foremost in their mind.
The changed conditions of commerce today makes this approach as antiquated as the traveller with his display suitcase. The ABC of sales today, which includes ‘non-sale’ selling, is “Attunement, Buoyancy and Clarity.”
Being attuned is the ability to see the situation from the perspective of the other person, not from yours. This has a number of unusual aspects to it. Being in a position of power is an impediment to seeing the situation from the perspective of the other person, so if you are in the power position, start the interaction assuming you are not.
One can be attuned cognitively (perspective-taking,) or emotionally (empathising.) This entails being aware of how the other understands the situation or being aware of how the other feels about the situation. In a 2008 experiment involving a negotiation, the subjects were divided into three groups – a control group who were given bland instructions, a group told to imagine what the other side was feeling and a group told to imaging what the other side was thinking. Those empathizing did better than the control group, but the perspective-takers managed to conclude deals that satisfied both parties 76% of the time.
Buoyancy is the ability to stay afloat through the turbulence of rejection and criticism. Whether you are selling concepts to colleagues or cottages to clients, there is a strong chance that you will be rejected more often that you will close the ‘sale.’ Buoyancy is required in both circumstances.
The third aspect of the ABC, clarity, is the need to get to the heart of matters. If you are unclear or your thinking is cluttered, the ‘sale’ is less likely. IDEO, the award-winning innovation and design consultancy uses the “Five Whys,” as one of their primary tools. When faced with any situation or problem ask “why is the situation like this?” or “why is this problem occurring?” When you have the answer ask why again, and when you have an answer, ask why is that so. Do this five times and you will probably be at the heart of the problem.
The book also covers the practicalities of selling – how to pitch your product or idea, how to improvise during the sales process, and the role of service.
Aside from the insights into the changed world of selling, there is little new in this book. Of course, if you never realised you were selling this may well be your first sales book in which case the read will be worth the effort.
Readability Light -+--- Serious
Insights High ----+- Low
Practical High ---+- Low
Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy
The book has an unusual thesis. Selling is not only for salespeople. In fact, there are more people in dire need of selling skills who are not salespeople than who are salespeople. Irrespective of what you do for a living, from training to managing, from consulting to plumbing, you are selling in a broader sense. You are selling others on why they should implement your training, follow your directions, take your advice, or install the solar heated geyser rather than the similarly priced conventional one.
Despite the increase in internet shopping, the total number of sales positions increased in the Unites States and the ratio sales people to the general workforce remains at 1 in 9. If you are in sales in the conventional sense, read on, Mr Pink does have some interesting insights.
According to Pink’s research, and that of Gallup Research, people spend about 40% of their time at work involved in non-sales selling. (Non-sales is Pink’s term for selling your ideas, opinions or perspectives.) You only need to reflect on how much of your own time at work is spent convincing or persuading people to give up something that they value for something you have.
This means that not only do 1 in 9 spend a large chunk of their time selling, so do the other 8 in 9.
Welcome to the new world where almost everyone is in sales! How did this come about?
In the OECD countries, a club of wealthier and more developed countries, 90% of businesses have fewer than 10 employees. In such situations almost everyone is either closely connected to the selling process or selling. If you are in a larger organization, you will know that you don’t get what you deserve; you get what you ‘sell.’
In 1967 George Akerlof wrote a paper titled “The Market for ‘Lemons’” that earned him a Nobel Prize for economics in 2001. Second hand cars for sale fall into two categories – the good and the bad (Americans call the latter ‘lemons’.) If buyers don’t know which is good and which is bad, the value of all second hand cars drops, among other effects identified by Akerlof.
The cause of the problem is the asymmetry of information – the seller knows if the car is a ‘lemon,’ but the buyer does not. In such a situation the guiding principle is ‘caveat emptor’ – buyer beware! Consider what would pertain if there is symmetry of information, where the buyer knows exactly what the seller knows.
What if the buyer could ascertain the current selling price of the model adjusted for mileage using trade publications? What if the buyer could do an online search to determine whether the car has been in an accident or has had major repairs using the Vehicle Identification Number? The buyer may never know as exactly much as the seller, but they are not at the mercy of the seller either.
In such an environment, if a seller is dishonest, that could go viral in about as much time as it takes to put his name on your Facebook or LinkedIn page or as long as it takes to type 140 characters into your phone. Today the caution is no longer, ‘caveat emptor,’ buyer beware, but ‘caveat venditor,’ seller beware!
If you had taken a sales course in the 20th century, you would probably have been taught the ABC of selling – “Always Be Closing.” Sales people were taught that from the call to make the sales meeting through the meeting itself, closing the deal should be foremost in their mind.
The changed conditions of commerce today makes this approach as antiquated as the traveller with his display suitcase. The ABC of sales today, which includes ‘non-sale’ selling, is “Attunement, Buoyancy and Clarity.”
Being attuned is the ability to see the situation from the perspective of the other person, not from yours. This has a number of unusual aspects to it. Being in a position of power is an impediment to seeing the situation from the perspective of the other person, so if you are in the power position, start the interaction assuming you are not.
One can be attuned cognitively (perspective-taking,) or emotionally (empathising.) This entails being aware of how the other understands the situation or being aware of how the other feels about the situation. In a 2008 experiment involving a negotiation, the subjects were divided into three groups – a control group who were given bland instructions, a group told to imagine what the other side was feeling and a group told to imaging what the other side was thinking. Those empathizing did better than the control group, but the perspective-takers managed to conclude deals that satisfied both parties 76% of the time.
Buoyancy is the ability to stay afloat through the turbulence of rejection and criticism. Whether you are selling concepts to colleagues or cottages to clients, there is a strong chance that you will be rejected more often that you will close the ‘sale.’ Buoyancy is required in both circumstances.
The third aspect of the ABC, clarity, is the need to get to the heart of matters. If you are unclear or your thinking is cluttered, the ‘sale’ is less likely. IDEO, the award-winning innovation and design consultancy uses the “Five Whys,” as one of their primary tools. When faced with any situation or problem ask “why is the situation like this?” or “why is this problem occurring?” When you have the answer ask why again, and when you have an answer, ask why is that so. Do this five times and you will probably be at the heart of the problem.
The book also covers the practicalities of selling – how to pitch your product or idea, how to improvise during the sales process, and the role of service.
Aside from the insights into the changed world of selling, there is little new in this book. Of course, if you never realised you were selling this may well be your first sales book in which case the read will be worth the effort.
Readability Light -+--- Serious
Insights High ----+- Low
Practical High ---+- Low
Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy
