Daniel Pinks latest newsletter

Welcome to the latest edition of our (now slightly more regular but always irreverent) newsletter.

As I mentioned last week, each Monday this month I'll be sharing pieces of my new book, To Sell is Human.

But first an update for those of you who've pre-ordered a copy. (BTW, we've had so many pre-orders that the book, which won't be out for 2 weeks, is already in its third printing. Thank you!)

Tomorrow I'll be sending you the first round of thank-you gifts. You'll receive a 24-page PDF workbook, based on the ideas and research in the book, that will give you a 14-day plan to get better at selling your product, your ideas, and yourself. You'll also receive an audio download of a special edition of Office Hours, featuring two great interviews. One is with the rarely interviewed Robert Cialdini, author of the classic book, Influence. The other is with Adam Grant, a rising star at Wharton, some of whose research I write about in To Sell is Human.

Both of these giveaways are exclusively for people who pre-order the book.  They won't be available any other way.

Next week we'll send you the remaining giveaways:

-- A free customized Field Notes memo book -- my favorite notebook of all time, printed in a limited edition batch commemorating publication of the book;

-- A free, signed To Sell is Human bookplate to slap inside your book;

-- Registration information for our free New Year's Day webinar -- with an exclusive look at the ideas, people, and publications I'll be watching in 2013 along with a chance to ask me questions. (Some of you might recall that we did this for the launch of Johnny Bunko -- and it was one of the best received events I've ever done.)

If you haven't pre-ordered yet, you can do that right now via Amazon, BN.com, 8CR, ITunes, or Indie Bound.  For more information on our great package of freebies, look at this post on the PinkBlog.

Now . . . here are a few more pieces of To Sell is Human that I think you'll find interesting.



* * * * * 

THE NEW ABC'S OF SELLING

One of the epic scenes (NSFW) in the cinema of sales occurs early in the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross.  A young Alec Baldwin plays Blake, a cold-blooded predator in a finely-tailored suit, who visits the sad sack real estate salesmen of Mitch and Murray to school them on the realities of selling.

After berating the men and questioning their masculinity, Blake flips over a green chalkboard and points to where he's written the first three letters of the alphabet. "A-B-C," he bellows.  "A - always.  B - be. C - closing. Always be closing. Always be closing."

"Always be closing" is a cornerstone of the sales cathedral. Its simplicity makes it understandable; its alphabetically makes it memorable.  But these days this advice is outdated. When buyers have many options, lots of information, and the means to talk back, the steamroller approach is a relic.

That's why To Sell is Human introduces the new ABC's:

A -- Attunement

B -- Buoyancy

C -- Clarity

These three qualities are now essential whether you're trying to move a prospect to buy a computer system or your daughter to do her homework.

Attunement is the capacity to take another's perspective, to understand their interests, and to see the world from their point of view. Buoyancy is the capacity to stay afloat on what one salesman calls an "ocean of rejection." Clarity is the capacity to make sense of murky situations, to curate information rather than merely access it, and to move from solving existing problems to finding hidden ones.

To Sell is Human reviews the science of why these qualities are so effective. But it also includes an array of tools, tips, and exercise to help you hone your abilities.

On my website -- just for you, dear newsletter readers -- I've put three of my favorite exercises, one for each quality. (They're a bit too long to include in the body of the newsletter).

For Attunement, the exercise is "Pull Up a Chair" -- a simple strategy that Amazon honcho Jeff Bezos uses to stay attuned to his customers.

For Buoyancy, it's "Send Yourself a Rejection Letter" -- a fun way to prepare yourself for encounters in which you might get smacked with a big, fat "No way."

For Clarity, I chose "Find the 1 percent" -- featuring the single best lesson I learned in my years of law school.

All the exercises are here.  Take a look. Then give one a try this week.

* * * * * 

As always, thanks for reading.  Don't forget to order the book before December 30.  And feel free to share the 6-page Introduction and the 2-minute trailer with anyone (or everyone) on your holiday list.

Cheers, 

Daniel Pink

Web: http://www.danpink.com 

Twitter: @danielpink

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