Focus Magazine - Summer 2013 - 46

5 QUESTIONS
Kevin Kruse

5 Questions With…

Dan Pink

aniel H. Pink made an impact as chief
speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore,
but it’s his five provocative books that
have really given him a voice. His latest book,
To Sell is Human, has joined previous works
A Whole New Mind and DRIVE on all the right
bestseller lists.
I recently spoke with Dan Pink about the
brave new world for sales professionals.

Dan Pink, author
To Sell is Human

Kevin Kruse (KK): Most people think of
successful sales people as being extroverts.
Would you agree?
Dan Pink (DP): We have this notion that some
people are “born” salespeople and that
certain types of people do it best. That’s far
from the truth. Strong extraverts can talk
too much and listen too little and
overwhelm people with their forceful
personalities. “Ambiverts,” those who are
somewhat introverted and somewhat
extraverted, are the most attuned and
therefore make the best salespeople. Most
of us are ambiverts, reasonably wellpositioned to sell effectively.
KK: In DRIVE, you explore the idea that
financial incentives aren’t necessarily an
effective motivator. Does that apply to sales
professionals too?
DP: It can. As sales grows more sophisticated, I
think we have to call into question the idea
that sales commissions are the only way to
motivate a sales force. There are lots of
companies eliminating sales commissions
and getting great results. That said, it really
depends on the company and its goals.
KK: You’ve said, “We’re all in sales now.” Why
do you think that?

DP: One in nine American workers works in
sales – their job is to try to convince
someone to make a purchase. But the other
eight are also in sales. We have survey
research showing that American workers
are spending about 40 percent of their time
on the job – 24 minutes of every hour –
convincing, persuading and influencing
others. I call this “non-sales selling.” The
fastest-growing job category in the United
States is education and health services, or
what I call “Ed-Med.” Those jobs are all
about non-sales selling – getting students,
patients and others to change behavior.
KK: Old sales dogs joke about the ABC’s of
sales, “Always be closing.” What are the new
ABC’s?
DP: I harvested a rich trove of social science to
identify three foundational qualities, the
new ABCs: Attunement, buoyancy and
clarity. Attunement is the ability to shed the
anchor of your own position and
understand another’s perspective.
Buoyancy is how to stay afloat on “an ocean
of rejection.” And clarity is sorting through
a welter of information to distill the essence
and find meaningful patterns.
KK: Do you have any specific advice for
pharmaceutical sales reps whose world has
drastically changed?
DP: There’s a new premium on expertise. Salespeople must become experts in whatever
they’re selling and look to providing
insights, not merely trying to push a product. They have to move beyond problemsolving to problem-finding: Identify issues
prospects don’t realize they have. I

Kevin Kruse is the executive director of SPBT and co-author of the New York Times best-seller,
We: How to Increase Performance and Profits through Full Engagement. Email Kevin at kkruse@spbt.org.

FOCUS | SUMMER 2013 | www.spbt.org

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Focus Magazine - Summer 2013

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