To Sell Is Human
by Daniel H. Pink · first published 2012
77% recommend23% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Reframes sales as everyday persuasion, showing that most people sell without realizing it. Suits engineers, freelancers, and anyone uneasy about sales who wants a perspective shift more than a tactics manual.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I am reading a good book by Daniel Pink called "To Sell Is Human" at the moment, which makes the point that many people who do not think they are working in "sales" actually are. It sounds trite, but he does go into a lot of useful detail and advice from there - and…
on “Startup founders vs entrepreneurs” ↗Hi HN. Been working on a new portfolio[0]. I'm trying to break into freelance web development. I've changed a lot of things recently, using techniques learned in Daniel Pink's "To sell is human" I'd love to hear about anything & everything you have to say, good or bad. I want to make sure that my portfolio turns a "maybe" into a sale. All source is on github[1], so feel free to critique the…
on “Ask HN: Feedback for personal portfolio site?” ↗…Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. Ignore the cheesy-sounding title; this book was written in the 1930s and has been in print continuously ever since, which speaks to its effectiveness. I also recommend To Sell Is Human, by Daniel Pink (and all of Daniel Pink's other books, as well).
on “Undervalued Engineering Skills: Writing Well” ↗In addition to the great recommendations before these... To Sell is Human The little red book of selling Challenger Customer (now that they know about the Challenger sale) Fanatical Prospecting Something like "major account sales"
on “Ask HN: What are some good books/resources about sales?” ↗Apart from the book by Voss you can also read these two they are good books but in the end it all comes to presence of mind and practice. To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink Getting To Yes by Roger Fisher & William Ury.
on “Ask HN: How Do You Negotiate?” ↗Also worth mentioning in this context is To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink.
on “Books on Entrepreneurship” ↗I am reading a good book by Daniel Pink called "To Sell Is Human" at the moment, Hey, I'm reading that same book! It is very fascinating so far, and I recommend it to, um, pretty much everybody. makes the point that many people who do not think they are working…
on “Startup founders vs entrepreneurs” ↗…to figure out what your customers really want, because it is almost certainly not what they are asking for. "How to Make Sense of Any Mess" by Abby Covert. How to organize and present information. "To Sell is Human" by Dan Pink. This is how you should look at sales and marketing. Assuming you are going to be building software: "Seductive Interaction Design" by Stephen P. Anderson. "Planning Extreme Programming"…
on “Ask HN: Books you would recommended for starting out in product management?” ↗It's one thing to read material around sales and another to practice it. That being said, one book I'd recommend is Daniel Pink's "To Sell Is Human" In general, sales is something you need to practice every day. Like Sam mentions, it's about being able to convince other people of what you believe and you have an opportunity to do this in your every…
on “Ask HN: How to Get Good at Sales?” ↗The Challenger Sale To Sell is human The little red book of selling They ask, you answer Nudge
on “Ask HN: Sales books for people who don’t like sales tactics and gimmicks” ↗…questions. Then stop talking or else you'll talk your customer right out of the sale. Above all, be human and be open with others. They aren't buying your product or service, they're buying YOU. Book: To sell is human. Daniel Pink
on “Ask HN: How to learn sales?” ↗The Challenger Sale To Sell is Human The Little Red Book of Selling Crossing the Chasm
on “Ask HN: Can you recommend a book for founders on how to do founder-led sales?” ↗There's an interesting book that discusses this, "To Sell is Human" by Daniel Pink that I think is worth a read.
on “Use Pixar's story formula to win over investors” ↗"To Sell is Human" - Daniel Pink "Selling" is a part of almost every aspect of our lives when you generalize the term and concept away from purely monetary transactions.
on “Ask HN: Learning How to Market Yourself” ↗Used car salesmen is all about information imbalances. Daniel Pink describes this in detail in to "Sell is Human" Here's a short summary. https://fourminutebooks.com/to-sell-is-human-summary/
on “Clickbait is unreasonably effective [video]” ↗