Is selling a skill, or an innate human characteristic?
In his latest book, To Sell is Human, bestselling author Daniel H. Pink introduces his hypothesis on this question with a story of his cataloguing how he spent the last two weeks of his professional life. His conclusion? “I am a salesman.”
He cites examples such as trying to get an editor to abandon a story idea and requesting a seat change from a flight attendant as evidence of his sales cred. He extends that notion to his audience, saying they’re all “pitching colleagues, persuading funders, cajoling kids. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.”
Where's the sales module?
Now? I thought to myself. Was there a time when people didn’t pitch or when parents didn’t convince their children to do what they’re told? Isn’t this just the art of How to Win Friends and Influence People redux?
Now, Pink’s motive is overall a good one. He’s trying to convince people who aren’t “in sales” to abandon their preconceived notions of sales as something bad or slippery or a necessary evil:
“The capacity to sell isn’t some unnatural adaptation to the merciless world of commerce. It is part of who we are… selling is fundamentally human.”
I appreciated the sentiment, so I read on. While his first chapter begins with a fascinating profile of the last Fuller Brush door-to-door salesman, he then delves into a study he undertook to illuminate his hypothesis by asking people what they do at work. While a majority of his respondents said they spent more time “processing information” than they did “selling a product or service,” he noted that they all admitted to these “three activities at the heart of non-sales selling”:
- teaching, coaching, or instructing others
- serving clients or customers
- persuading or convincing others
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
Chances are good in today’s economic environment that you’re working harder for less. Companies have cut back on jobs and unemployment remains high.
According to author and Africa-native Stefan Swanepoel, surviving these tough times requires us to rely on our innate skills. He urges workers in all fields, including real estate, to develop our individual natural talents while also surrounding ourselves with people whose skills complement our own.
In his new book, SURVIVING YOUR SERENGETI: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life (Wiley; March 1, 2011), Swanepoel brings together his firsthand knowledge of life in the Serengeti plains of East Africa and the world of business, drawing parallels that bring insight for those trying to survive in today’s difficult economy.
The book is a business fable in which Swanepoel offers a tale of life in the Serengeti and what lessons it holds for today’s beleaguered workforce.
Surviving Your Serengeti follows the story of corporate executive Sean Spencer as he embarks on a three-day visit to Africa. Without cell phone coverage or any other form of technology to keep him wired in, Sean is forced to disconnect from the worries of his troubled business thousands of miles away, and instead, he becomes engrossed in the animals that rule this untamed land and the wisdom the Serengeti has to offer.
For 1.5 million wildebeest of Africa, their Serengeti is a 1,000-mile-long migration, filled with hunger, thirst, predators, and exhaustion. The journey is impressive, dangerous and so incomparably massive that it is often considered the number one natural wonder of the world. The migration offers us a unique window to the very essence of life itself, wherein we observe the seven primal skills necessary to survive the grueling migration – the same skills we instinctively turn to in order cope with and survive challenges in business and in life.
Watch and listen as Swanepoel talks about the inspiration for his book, and how these seven animals’ skill sets can help you hone your own entrepreneurial powers.
“While the challenges faced by those that live and die on the Serengeti plains are certainly in a different realm than ours,” writes Swanepoel. “The seven skills that the animals use to overcome their harsh conditions can help us rise above our own adversities and live a better life.” Continue reading »
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