Daniel Pink [EXCLUSIVE] "To Sell is Human" keynote

Introduction

Brian welcomes the audience to the first Orange County event in 2013. He explains that the organization was founded in 2010 with a simple idea of connecting people and has grown to have 15,000 members. The monthly events are different every time but always feature world-class thought leaders and experts.

Connecting People

• Brian founded the organization with a simple idea of connecting the disconnected.

• The events are about connecting people with great information or ideas, investment dollars, buyers and sellers, or anything else.

• The goal is to bring people together for collaboration and move away from a me-first mentality.

Monthly Events

• The monthly events feature world-class thought leaders and experts who share their knowledge with attendees.

• Authors are common speakers because they're less interested in making money and more interested in making a point.

• Attendees can take what they learn back to their businesses and make a difference.

Dan Pink's Speech

Dan Pink talks about his new book "To Sell Is Human" which explores how everyone is involved in sales whether they realize it or not.

Entrepreneurialism & Togetherness

• Dan believes that combining entrepreneurialism with the concept of togetherness is where the magic happens.

"To Sell Is Human"

• Dan introduces his new book "To Sell Is Human" which explores how everyone is involved in sales whether they realize it or not.

• He jokes that he can't pick a favorite book just like he can't pick a favorite child.

Introduction to the Book

In this section, the speaker introduces his book on sales and explains why he decided to write it.

Why Write a Book About Sales?

• The speaker wrote a book called "Drive" that argued there's a certain type of motivator used in organizations.

• If-then motivators work well for simple routine tasks but not for more complicated or creative work.

• After receiving questions about sales commissions being if-then rewards, the speaker became interested in learning more about sales.

• Most books on sales are not very good, so the speaker decided to learn from MBA programs. However, most business schools don't teach sales.

Salespeople in America

This section discusses the prevalence of salespeople in America and how technology was predicted to make them obsolete.

Prevalence of Salespeople

• There are a lot of salespeople in America.

Technology and Salespeople

• The internet was predicted to disintermediate salespeople and make them obsolete.

• However, technology does obliterate certain kinds of jobs but not necessarily all jobs.

The Art of Non-Sales Selling

In this section, the speaker talks about his hunch that people who are not in sales are also involved in activities that are similar to sales. He conducted a survey to gather quantitative data to support his claim.

Conducting a Survey

• The speaker worked with a company called Qualtrics to conduct a survey of 7,000 adult full-time workers.

• One of the questions asked was what percentage of their work involves convincing or persuading people to give up something they value for something they can offer.

• The exchange doesn't have to be denominated in dollars; it could be attention, effort, or resources.

• The average response was 41% of their time is spent on non-sales selling.

Insights and Implications

• People spend a significant amount of time on non-sales selling activities.

• Teachers and parents are examples of people who engage in non-sales selling activities.

• There were 109 people in traditional sales and 89 people in non-sales selling among the surveyed population.

Overall, the speaker's hunch was supported by the survey results. People spend a considerable amount of time engaging in activities that involve convincing or persuading others without necessarily involving monetary transactions.

Negative Stigma Associated with Sales

In this section, the speaker discusses the negative stigma associated with sales and how people perceive it as a profession.

Perception of Sales

• People believe that those who can't cut it in other professions go into sales.

• Salespeople have to deal with rejection every day, which contributes to the negative perception of the profession.

Word Association Exercise

• A word association exercise was conducted with 7,000 adult full-time workers to determine their perception of sales.

• The top 25 adjectives were used to create a word cloud, which revealed that there is a four-to-one ratio of negative sentiment to positive sentiment towards sales.

• The most common adjectives used were pushy, dishonest, aggressive, and annoying.

Traditional View of Sales is Outdated

In this section, the speaker explains why the traditional view of sales is outdated and no longer applicable in today's world.

Information Asymmetry

• Most people's understanding of sales comes from a world where sellers had more information than buyers.

• This led to a "buyer beware" mentality where buyers had to be cautious about what they were purchasing.

Changing Landscape

• With advancements in technology and access to information, buyers now have more power than ever before.

• This shift has changed the way sales are conducted and has made the traditional view of sales outdated.

The Importance of Building Relationships in Sales

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of building relationships in sales and how it can lead to long-term success.

Relationship Building

• Building relationships with customers is crucial for long-term success in sales.

• It's important to understand the customer's needs and provide them with solutions that meet those needs.

• By building trust and rapport with customers, salespeople can create a loyal customer base that will continue to do business with them.

Customer-Centric Approach

• A customer-centric approach focuses on providing value to the customer rather than just making a sale.

• This approach requires salespeople to listen actively to their customers' needs and provide personalized solutions.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing the key points discussed throughout the presentation.

Key Takeaways

• Sales has a negative stigma associated with it due to outdated perceptions.

• The traditional view of sales is no longer applicable in today's world where buyers have more power than ever before.

• Building relationships with customers is crucial for long-term success in sales.

• A customer-centric approach focuses on providing value to the customer rather than just making a sale.

Final Thoughts

• The speaker encourages salespeople to embrace these new approaches and shift their mindset towards building relationships and providing value to customers.

The World of Information Asymmetry vs. Information Parity

In this section, the speaker discusses how the world has moved from a state of information asymmetry to information parity, where buyers have access to more information than ever before. This shift has forced sellers to take the high road and be more transparent in their dealings.

From Buyer Beware to Seller Beware

• In the past, buyers had inadequate information and limited choices when making purchases.

• Today, buyers have access to huge amounts of information and can make informed decisions about what they want to buy.

• This shift has put sellers on notice and forced them to be more transparent in their dealings with customers.

The Low Road vs. The High Road

• While some may still try to take advantage of customers, taking the low road is not sustainable in a world where buyers have access to so much information.

• Taking the high road requires different capabilities and skills than traditional sales tactics.

Social Science Can Help Us Improve Sales

• To improve sales in a world of information parity, we need to look at social science for clues on how to do better.

The New ABCs of Selling

In this section, the speaker talks about the movie Glengarry Glen Ross and how it relates to sales. He introduces the concept of "Always Be Closing" (ABC) and explains that there are new ABCs in today's world.

The Old ABCs

• Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross represents the old ABCs of selling.

• The old ABCs were "Always Be Closing" and bulldozing customers into signing on the line.

• This strategy is no longer effective in today's world.

The New ABCs

• The new ABCs are attunement, buoyancy, and clarity.

• Attunement means taking someone else's perspective.

• Buoyancy is staying afloat in an ocean of rejection by preparing beforehand and having a positive explanatory style afterwards.

• Clarity involves curating information and distilling it down to what is important.

Attunement

In this section, the speaker explains what attunement is and why it is important in sales.

What Is Attunement?

• Attunement means taking someone else's perspective.

• It involves seeing the world through their eyes.

Why Is Attunement Important?

• Attunement is a powerful skill that can help build relationships with customers.

• It allows you to understand their needs and tailor your approach accordingly.

Buoyancy

In this section, the speaker discusses buoyancy and how it can help salespeople stay afloat in an ocean of rejection.

What Is Buoyancy?

• Buoyancy is staying afloat in an ocean of rejection.

• It involves preparing beforehand and having a positive explanatory style afterwards.

How Can You Be Buoyant?

• Prepare beforehand by reminding yourself of your successes and focusing on the task at hand.

• Have a positive explanatory style afterwards by explaining setbacks as temporary, specific, and external.

Clarity

In this section, the speaker talks about clarity and how it can help salespeople be more effective.

What Is Clarity?

• Clarity involves curating information and distilling it down to what is important.

• It means taking your expertise and saying "this is what you need to pay attention to."

Why Is Clarity Important?

• Accessing information isn't that valuable; curating it is.

• Being able to distill information down to what is important can help you be more effective in sales.

Problem Finding

In this section, the speaker discusses how the premium has shifted from problem-solving to problem-finding in today's workforce.

The Premium Has Shifted

• The premium has shifted from skill of problem-solving to skill of problem-finding.

• Identifying new problems and anticipating them is where the action is.

Why Is This Important?

• Buyers are more likely to find solutions on their own if they know precisely what their problem is.

• Salespeople are valuable when they can identify new problems or surface things that people don't realize are problems.

Problem-Solving and Three Key Abilities

In this section, the speaker discusses problem-solving and the three key abilities that matter most in business: pitch, improvise, and serve.

Problem-Solving

• Business executives rank problem identification as their number one problem.

• The ability to identify problems people don't realize they have is powerful.

Three Key Abilities

• Attunement, buoyancy, and clarity are the three qualities needed to be successful.

• The three key abilities that matter most in business are pitch, improvise, and serve.

Pitch

• Pitching should be done with questions rather than declarative statements.

• Research shows that pitches that rhyme have greater power.

• Every email is a pitch; certain types of emails get opened more often.

Improvise

• Traditional sales training teaches how to overcome objections through memorization of scripts.

• Improvisation skills are more valuable due to better-informed prospects and companies.

• Principles of improvisation from improvisational theater are effective in persuasion settings.

Serve

• Making someone's life a little bit better is the point of any exercise in business.

• If you're not making someone's life better or making the world a little bit better, you're doing it wrong.

Perspective Taking and Power

In this section, the speaker discusses perspective-taking and power. He uses a test to measure perspective-taking and explains how context can affect one's capacity to take someone else's perspective. The speaker also talks about some experiments that show the relationship between power and perspective-taking.

Relationship between Power and Perspective-Taking

• High-power participants were almost three times as likely as low-power participants to draw self-oriented E.

• Power leads individuals to anchor too heavily on their own vantage point, insufficiently adjusting to other people's perspectives.

• A certain arrogant breed of salespeople don't get deals because they think they know it all and don't take someone else's perspective.

Key Takeaways

• Context can have a big effect on your capacity or instinct to take someone else's perspective.

• The more power you have, the less likely you are to be good at taking people's perspectives.

• Arrogance can lead to not taking someone else's perspective, which can result in missed opportunities.

The Importance of Perspective-Taking

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of perspective-taking in any kind of persuasive technique or effort of sales. He explains how reducing one's power can increase their effectiveness in persuading others.

Power and Perspective-Taking

• People who are good at taking other people's perspectives tend to be more successful because they understand what those in charge are thinking.

• Persuasion is not about manipulating people but helping them understand things better so that they come up with their own reasons for doing something.

• One way to become better at persuasion is by reducing your power, which can help sharpen your perspective-taking skills.

Attunement and Mimicry

• Attunement is a cognitive skill that involves understanding another person's interests and thoughts.

• Human beings are natural mimickers, and mimicry plays an important role in attunement.

• Being conscious of mimicry can be powerful in negotiations, as shown by a study involving negotiation over the sale of a gas station.

The Importance of Asking Questions

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of asking questions as a means of gaining information and building relationships.

The Benefits of Asking Questions

• Asking questions helps you gain information and build relationships.

• Good questions can help you uncover hidden needs or problems that need solving.

• Asking questions shows that you're interested in the other person and can help build trust.

Types of Questions to Ask

• Open-ended questions are useful for gaining information and encouraging conversation.

• Follow-up questions can help clarify information and show that you're listening.

• Probing questions can help uncover hidden needs or problems.

The Importance of Listening

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of active listening in building relationships and resolving conflicts.

Active Listening Techniques

• Active listening involves paying attention to what the other person is saying and showing that you understand.

• Paraphrasing what the other person has said can help demonstrate that you're listening and clarify any misunderstandings.

• Asking open-ended questions can encourage the other person to share more information.

Benefits of Active Listening

• Active listening helps build trust and rapport with others.

• It can also help resolve conflicts by allowing both parties to feel heard and understood.

Mimicry in Negotiation

The success of negotiators is linked to their ability to mimic the mannerisms of their negotiation partner. This technique should be subtle enough that the other person does not notice what you were doing, otherwise this technique completely backfires.

Subtle Mimicking

• Successful negotiators recommend mimicking the mannerisms of your negotiation partner to get a better deal.

• It is important that you mimic subtly enough that the other person does not notice what you were doing.

• Find a happy medium of consistent but subtle mimicking that does not disrupt your focus.

The Power of Mimicry

In this section, we learn about how powerful mimicry can be in various situations such as technical sales and tipping at restaurants.

Tipping at Restaurants

• Servers who repeat back the exact same words receive 70% higher tips.

• Reflecting back customers and prospects' exact language shows them that you are listening and understand where they are coming from.

Technical Sales

• Technical salespeople selling complex products and services should use language that reflects their customer's perspective.

• Even just reflecting back customers and prospects' exact language allows you to see the world from their perspective.

Attunement through Mimicry

In this section, we learn about how repeating someone else's words is a form of attunement through mimicry.

Repeating Orders at Restaurants

• Research has shown that servers who repeat orders back using the exact same words receive 70% higher tips.

• Repeating someone else's words is a form of attunement through mimicry which allows you to see the world from their perspective.

Takeaways

In this section, we learn about two small tactical things to get better at mimicry and how the book has all kinds of tools, tips, and exercises on this topic.

Small Tactical Things

• Mimic subtly enough that the other person does not notice what you were doing.

• Reflect back customers and prospects' exact language to show them that you are listening and understand where they are coming from.

Book Resources

• The book has all kinds of tools, tips, and exercises on mimicry.

Enhancing Attunement

In this section, the speaker talks about two exercises that can help enhance attunement in meetings and social settings.

Jeff Bezos' Empty Chair Exercise

• Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com has an exercise called "Pull up a chair" where he keeps an empty chair at the table during meetings to represent the customer's perspective.

• This exercise encourages everyone in the meeting to think about how the customer would perceive their conversation and ideas.

Discussion Map Exercise

• The speaker introduces an exercise called "Discussion Map" which involves drawing a map of a meeting or discussion to identify who is talking and who they are directing their comments towards.

• This exercise helps individuals become better at social cartography, which is essentially having a GPS in your head to understand what is going on in social settings.

• By identifying who is talking and who they are directing their comments towards, individuals can better understand power dynamics and decision-makers in a group setting.

Social Cartography

In this section, the speaker talks about social cartography and how it can be used to understand power dynamics in a group. The speaker also discusses the role of introverts and extroverts in sales.

Understanding Power Dynamics

• SL (the person with the most power) may not always be the most visible or active member of a group.

• Social cartography can help us understand who has power in a group by mapping out relationships and interactions.

• It's important to pay attention to who is participating actively in a group, as well as who is being excluded or marginalized.

Introverts vs Extroverts in Sales

• Extroverts are more likely to enter sales jobs, get hired for them, and get promoted within them than introverts.

• However, there is no correlation between extraversion and sales performance - how often the cash register rings.

• Ambiverts - those who are neither extremely introverted nor extremely extroverted - tend to perform best in sales according to research conducted by Adam Grant.

• Strong extroverts may not perform as well because they can come across as overpowering or too focused on being liked.

The Power of Ambiverts

In this section, the speaker talks about how people who are neither strong introverts nor strong extroverts tend to be the best at adapting their communication style. They know when to speak up and when to hold back, making them effective communicators.

The Middle Ground is Best

• People who score in the middle between introversion and extroversion tend to be the most effective communicators.

• These people have a more sophisticated repertoire and know when to adapt their communication style.

• Most people fall in the middle ground between introversion and extroversion, which suggests that most of us are well-equipped for selling or persuading others.

You Can Improve Your Communication Style

• Introversion/extroversion is a stable personality characteristic, but it can be nudged slightly.

• Even if you're not an extreme extrovert, you can learn how to improve your communication skills by one or two points on the scale.

• While you may never become a life of the party type person, improving your communication skills even slightly can make a big difference.

Cultural Differences in Communication Styles

In this section, the speaker discusses whether cultural differences impact communication styles. He notes that while certain cultures may have practices that make them better listeners or more attuned to others' needs, overall these traits cut across cultures.

Perspective Taking Cuts Across Cultures

• Perspective taking is a trait that cuts across cultures.

• Certain cultures may be better at listening than others, but attunement is a trait that is universal.

Unclear if Introversion/Extroversion Distribution Varies by Culture

• It's unclear whether the distribution of introverts and extroverts varies by culture.

• The speaker speculates that Japan may skew more introverted than extroverted, but he doesn't know for sure.

The Value of Humility and Confidence in Japan and the US

In this section, the speaker discusses the value of humility and confidence in Japan and the US. He shares his observations from a fellowship he did in Japan where he interviewed amateur manga artists who were incredibly talented but lacked confidence. He also talks about owning a domain called "Huemility" which combines Japanese humility with American confidence.

Observations on Humility and Confidence

• The speaker shares his observations from a fellowship he did in Japan where he interviewed amateur manga artists who were incredibly talented but lacked confidence.

• He notes that in the US, even people who are not skilled tend to have high levels of confidence while in Japan, highly skilled individuals may lack confidence.

• The speaker suggests that there is a sweet spot between Japanese humility and American confidence which he calls "Huemility".

Emotional Intelligence and Perspective Taking

In this section, the speaker discusses emotional intelligence and perspective taking. He explains how emotional content can give people information that makes them effective but for perspective taking, it's more important to use your head as much as your heart.

Emotional Intelligence vs Perspective Taking

• The speaker explains that emotional intelligence is valuable but not entirely necessary for perspective taking.

• He cites research on perspective taking which shows that focusing on what the other side is thinking rather than their emotions leads to better negotiation outcomes.

• However, emotional content can still provide valuable information for effective communication.

Harnessing Attunement and Clarity in Pitching Ideas

In this section, the speaker discusses how to pitch ideas effectively by harnessing the principles of attunement and clarity.

Principles of Attunement and Clarity

• The speaker suggests that effective pitching requires attunement to the problem you're trying to solve and clarity in your solution.

• He notes that it's important to focus on what the other person is thinking rather than their emotions when pitching an idea.

Focused on Emotions or Thinking?

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of being focused when pitching an idea. He explains that going in focused on emotions is better than not being focused at all. However, going in focused on thinking is even better.

Importance of Being Focused

• Going in focused on emotions is better than not being focused at all.

• Going in focused on thinking is even better.

Identifying the Problem

• When pitching an idea, it's important to identify the problem you're trying to solve.

• It's also important to determine if you're bringing something new to the market that people don't know they need yet.

Principle of Liking

• The principle of liking states that having a personal connection with the person you're pitching to can make your message more persuasive.

• Doing some research ahead of time and finding common ground with the person can help build that personal connection.

Selling Yourself vs Hiring a Salesperson

In this section, the speaker discusses whether one should sell themselves or hire a salesperson. He advises against hiring a "slimeball" and encourages negotiating your own deals.

Representing Yourself

• If you're selling your own professional services, it's best to represent yourself rather than hiring someone else.

• Finding someone who adequately represents your interests and reflects well on you is fine as long as they get you a better deal than their percentage.

Hiring a Salesperson

• If you do decide to hire a salesperson, it's important to find someone with the highest integrity who represents you brilliantly.

• It's also important to make sure that their percentage is worth the better deal they can get for you.

Fees

• To make a case about fees, it's helpful to give a sense of what other clients have paid or what the going rate is for similar services.

Hiring Good People

In this section, the speaker discusses how to hire good people and avoid hiring bad ones. He suggests doing due diligence by talking to people who have worked with the candidate before.

Tips for Hiring Good People

• Do your due diligence by talking to people who have worked with the candidate before.

• Look out for certain warning signs when interviewing candidates.

Women and Empathy

In this section, the speaker talks about research that shows women test better on empathy and are generally better listeners than men.

Women and Empathy

• Research shows that women test better on empathy, which is a fraternal twin of perspective taking.

• Women tend to be more ambivert than men.

Attunement in Communication

In this section, the speaker discusses attunement in communication and how it can be achieved through mimicry in face-to-face interactions or using similar language in online communication.

Attunement in Communication

• Mimicry can be used as a way of attuning oneself to others during face-to-face interactions. This can also be done through using similar language in online communication.

• Email subject lines are pitches that say "pay attention to me" and should be crafted accordingly.