Dan Pink's TO SELL IS HUMAN should be added to the list of "Books that Teachers Need to Show to Their Students"

This post is fueled by a crack in one of my core beliefs.  The crack was created by reading Dan Pink's book.

Core Belief:  Selling is for people who are tough skinned.  

I'm not tough-skinned.

I don't need to learn how to sell.

SUMMARY

Pink begins the book by defining "sales" in the traditional way, that 1 in 9 of us makes a living by pushing products and services.

It has always been clear to me that ABC (always be closing) is the ideal and that I could never sustain the effort to pursue a client so passionately and so persistently.   Now I see that I'm part of the 8/9 that is not the "obvious" sales person, but rather I'm in the "persuader class" -- so we teachers are all persuaders and we are always trying to find new ways to ask people to part with resources (time, attention and effort) to achieve something else.   

If you want to see details, then read on.  Otherwise, just buy Pink's book.   It's worth $20 to get a lesson plan for our students.

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From JohnnyBunko.com

The idea of a global community connected on the web is clearly a "haves and have nots" situation.  The hotel wants to charge $28 U.S. for a 24-hour use and there's an outside contractor that offers in-hotel machines at $9.60 for an hour.

IMBALANCE between sellers and buyers...

Dan Pink's book  TO SELL IS HUMAN is becoming more and more relevant for my teaching aims.   I can see that my students need Pink's viewpoint to help them navigate the older attitude toward sales (which is largely described by "the used car salesman.")   "Caveat emptor" attitude reigns here in Australia.   Pink describes the new environment of "caveat venditor"  seller beware... because the buyer has access to just as much info as the seller.

I recommend Pink's description of the imbalance that "always be closing" generates and he offers three new ABCs:  A_______(attunement),    Buoyancy and Clarity.   

attune students to the buyer (listen, don't constantly close)

be upbeat and positive (buoyant) in the ocean of rejection

be clear about what is important and balance the positivity with data about how they are actually performing in the market

You can find a good summary of TO SELL IS HUMAN on the Internet and Pink offers the first chapter.   Perhaps in four or five years it will be generally recognized that this book is REQUIRED READING FOR EDUCATORS.  

I thought that Pink had gone corporate, wanting to turn us all into marketing agents for brand X, but I misinterpreted the author's intent.  He has been writing a series of connected books.

Free Agent Nation:  Pink described in 2001 the rise of the independent contractor.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko:  The last career guide that you'll ever need (a manga comic book).  (2008)
Here's the publisher's description:  Meet Johnny Bunko. He's probably a lot like you. He did what everybody - parents, teachers, careers advisors - told him to do. But now, stuck in a dead-end job, he's begun to suspect that what he thought he knew is just plain wrong. One bizarre night, Johnny meets Diana, the unlikeliest career advisor he's ever seen. She reveals to Johnny the six essential lessons for thriving in the world of work. Packed with smart, counter-intuitive and potentially life-changing advice, it's the first and last career guide you'll ever need.

A Whole New Mind:  Pink described the capacity that we all (especially independent contractors) need to develop in ourselves to compete with Asia.   (2005)

He described the work (the niche) that automation and abundance offer us to grow into.

Drive:  "How to motivate ourselves and others" is what we independent contractors need to understand...  Dick Clark claims that Pink is overgeneralizing about "what motivates others" beyond money, but I like the idea that we can move people by appealing to Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.  Published in 2009

To Sell is Human:  It is clear that we independent contractors can create business for our skills.  (2013) We need to prepare people to persuade others to part with time, attention and effort to do something else  (which is the heart of selling).  

In other words, these five books are part of a curriculum.  Dennis Yuzenas gets it.  His focus on "building skills" at Oxbridge Academy has resulted in dozens of students who are focused on the Tony Wagner list of skills.

I have a friend who told me, "I read the Atlantic Monthly and Harper's because smart people will tell me what is important."  That's how I look at Dan Pink's oeuvre.  He has set up a curriculum that we all can guide our students to reach for.

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I'm writing this message in the lobby of a hotel in Sydney.  Import duties cause books to cost $40 when the hard cover might be $25 in the USA.  Fewer people will have access to Pink's ideas and that's why I'm leaving my copy of the book over on this side of the Equator.  I recommend that people in the USA  make a friend in the Southern Hemisphere and send a copy of TSIH to a teacher there.

I also need to send a copy of TSIH to Enrique's school Highland Park High School to go with the growing shelf of "cool books from Florida" (my name for the collection of books that I left in the school to attract the students who might be curious).

This somewhat disjointed email documents how disruptive Dan Pink's writing is.  I have resisted reading his new book since Dec. 10. That's 70 days of resistance since I first read the free chapter in December.

It has always been clear to me that ABC (always be closing) is the ideal and that I could never sustain the effort to read so long and so persistently.   Now I see that I'm part of the 8/9 that is not the "obvious" sales person, but rather I'm in the "persuader class" -- "non-selling" selling -- so we teachers are all persuaders and we are always trying to find new ways to ask people to part with resources (time, attention and effort) to achieve something else.

Attention, Effort and Time is another triplet composed by Pink, to go with
Asia, Automation and Abundance
Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose

Buy the book:   LINK TO AMAZON.