The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
When I was growing up my brother and I loved to play a four-part computer game series called Monkey Island. It was a comedy-adventure game where you controlled a character named Guybrush Threepwood. Threepwood’s dream was to become “a mighty pirate” but there were usually a variety of characters and puzzles standing in his way. Well, one of those characters you encounter in the game is a salesman named Stan Stanman. You encounter Stan in each of the Monkey Island games, and he’s always trying to sell you something different: used boats, coffins, life insurance, or time-shares (if I remember correctly). He is one of the most obnoxious characters in video game history, and we loved him for it.
What word comes to your mind when you think of selling? Sleazy? Slimy? Pushy? Do you picture a man in an outdated polyester coat on a used car lot? Do you think of Stan Stanman? According to a survey done by Daniel Pink, you probably do.
But, what if the way we think about sales isn’t accurate? What if the world has changed and, in the process we’ve all become salesmen of a different type? That’s the premise of Daniel Pink’s book, To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. While about 1/9 people in the US work in traditional sales Pink suggests that the rest of us must engage in what he calls “non-sales selling.” What is non-sales selling? I’m glad you asked.
Non-sales selling isn’t a matter of convincing someone to make a purchase as is often the case in traditional selling. Rather, non-sales selling is about moving others. Maybe you’re a teacher trying to get your students to engage in the classroom. Maybe you’re a mother trying to convince her child to eat vegetables. Or, maybe you’re an employee pitching a new idea to your supervisor. Regardless of our individual situations, we’re all trying to move others to action every day, whether we realize it or not.
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This goal of moving others also doesn’t necessarily have the same negative connotations that we tend to associate with traditional selling. Of course, anyone could use the tools necessary for moving others to manipulative ends, just as some salesmen are pushy and others are quite helpful. But, as with each of the examples above, often when we’re trying to move others we have more altruistic aims. We’re trying to help. We’re trying to serve. We’re trying to connect. We’re trying to make the world a better place for everyone in it.
That’s why I loved this book! (It’s joined my stack of “frequent reference” books on my desk at home.) Pink make his case in a succinct and convincing way. But, he goes beyond that to provide practical suggestions on how to be successful at both traditional sales and non-sales selling.
This practical how-to is divided up into two main sections “How to Be” and “How to Do.” The first focuses on the internal factors that make for a successful salesman. It addresses the ways of thinking and of feeling that most lend themselves to connecting with others and moving them effectively. The second section focuses more on skills that are helpful in moving others. These skills aren’t specific to a particular field. Nor are they limited to either sales or non-sales selling. They are principles that apply more broadly to moving others, and to connecting with people in general.
To Sell is Human is the first book I’ve read from my reading list so far this year (but not actually the first book I’ve read overall!). And I’m very glad I read it. Whether in my job or parenting my son. In writing these blog posts or even in getting myself to succeed at my goals! The skills from this book will help me to be more successful at moving others, which ultimately amounts to serving them well.
If you’d like to get a copy of To Sell is Human for yourself and learn more about moving others you can get it by clicking its title anywhere in this post or on the links that follow this paragraph. All the links on my website that go to amazon are affiliate links. This means that whenever you purchase anything through the link Amazon sends me a small commission at no additional cost to you. If you enjoy the blog, making purchases through these links is a great way to help support it! Here are some short links to various formats: Hardcopy Kindle Audiobook
What is your experience with moving others? Do you find that it’s a part of your everyday life? Let me know in the comments!
