What’s the first word you think of when you hear the word “sales?”
That was one of the questions New York Times bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind, Dan Pink, asked more than 7,000 people when researching his new book, To Sell Is Human. Turns out 21 of the top 25 words were intensely negative. Words like “slimy” and “smarmy.”
Question is, does that image of sales still hold true in a world where parity of information and leverage has radically shifted and the seller is no longer in control of the process? According to Pink, the answer is a resounding no. And he’s got the data to back it up.
Sales, in fact, is in the midst of a massive shift. Especially when you realize that you, me and everyone else you know, we’re all in sales all day long, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.
We’re selling ideas, images, possibilities and more. We may not think about it as sales, but just swap money for attention, energy or any other valued “resource,” to use Pink’s words, and we’re all selling a good chunk of our time.
Which begs the bigger question – how does your ability to sell AND feel really good about it play into your ability to live a good life?
According to Pink, it’s mission-critical.
In this week’s episode we dive into why…and how. Gone are the slimy old ABCs (always be closing), replaced by Pink’s radical new ABCs (which he shares in the convo) that turn the selling experience and formula on its head.
We also take a step back and explore Dan’s fascinating path from Yale Law to writing speeches for then Vice President, Al Gore, immersing himself in the bizarre universe that is Washington politics and then making a bold leap into writing books, or the “thing he was doing until midnight without getting paid” because he loved it that much.
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With gratitude,
Jonathan