To Sell is Human: Daniel Pink

Caveat Emptor

buyer beware

Caveat Venditor

seller beware
-balance has shifted from a high amount of information for the seller to an almost equal amount of information for both buyer & seller

asymmetry in available information

buyers are suspicious of sellers, whether the product is a "lemon" or a "peach

old ABC's of selling

ALWAYS BE CLOSING
- waning influence with the wealth of information

new ABC's of selling

ATTUNEMENT, BUOYANCY, CLARITY
- idea is to bring one's actions and outlook into harmony with other people and with the context you're in

attunement

to bring one's actions and outlook into harmony with other people and with the context you're in

3 principles of attunement

1. increase your power by reducing it
2. use your head as much as your heart
3. mimic strategically

social cartography

interpreting the group dynamic and adjusting your style accordingly

buoyancy

continually getting rejected but still staying afloat

3 components of buoyancy

1. Before: Interrogative Self-Talk
2. During: Positivity Ratio
3. After: Explanatory Style

Interrogative Self-Talk (Before)

to question one's ability to do the task at hand
- better to ask yourself if you can than to tell yourself that you can
- makes our motivations intrinsic rather than extrinsic

Positivity Ratio (During)

- positive emotions broaden people's ideas about possible actions
- makes us more receptive & creative
- want 3:1 ratio of positive:negative emotions (the golden ratio)

Explanatory Style (After)

- person's habit of explaining negative events to themselves
- a positive explanatory style sells more than a negative style

clarity

- help others see their situations in fresh and more revealing ways & identify problems that they hadn't seen
- problem finding rather than problem solving
- curating information rather than accessing information
- asking questions rather than answering q

5 frames that provide clarity:

1. the less frame
2. the experience frame
3. the label frame
4. the blemished frame
5. the potential frame

the less frame

choices are good, but TOO MUCH of a good thing can turn into a bad thing

the experience frame

people get more satisfaction from purchasing experiences than purchasing goods
- frame a sale in experiential terms to get satisfied customers and repeat business

the label frame

how people label a product affects how that product is seen

the blemished frame

adding minor negative detail in otherwise positive description of target can create a more positive impact
ONLY under these 2 Conditions:
1. consumer in a low effort state
2. negative info must follow positive info

the potential frame

the potential to be good at something can be preferred over actually being good
- uncertainty makes us thing more about that product/person

pitch

ability to distill one's point to its persuasive essence

one-word pitch

-Maurice Saatchi
- "one word equity

question pitch

-questions outperform statements, makes us think & be more invested
- if arguments are weak, the question pitch actually hurts the presenter

rhyming pitch

boosts "processing fluency" which helps us remember things better

subject-line pitch

should either pique curiosity or have sense of utility
- also should be specific
- don't mix curiosity & utility

twitter pitch

160 characters, quick and to the point
- may provide info and links

pixar pitch

Emma Coats
- storytelling with 6 sequential sentences

improvisation

- sales and non-sales starting to favor improv bc of unpredictable and growing marketplace

3 rules of improvisational theater:

1. hear offers
2. say "yes, and."
3. make your (business) partner look good

2 underlying lessons for serving:

1. make it personal
2. make it purposeful