One of the books that had the biggest influence on me was “ To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others” by Daniel H. Obviously, the best choice was to explore the books that give advice to professionals in other customer-facing roles - sales, account management, customer support, etc. After reading seminal books on the topic, like “Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue” by Nick Mehta and Dan Steinman, and “Subscribed: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company’s Future - and What to Do About It” by Tien Tzuo, I started doing my research and asking professionals where I should go next. The problem with the role of a customer success manager is that it is relatively new and only a few books have been written on the topic. Despite the breezy writing (even Bob the Builder turns up at one point) and anecdotes butting up against social science, there's a commitment to teaching here: Pink even provides sample cases to work through.It is a well-known fact that reading professional literature is one of the best ways to grow in your role. Then Pink proposes 'how to be' in this brave new sales-focused world – attuned to the 'customer' and clear with your information, honest, direct and transparent. It first explains how sales have irrevocably changed thanks to the internet: buyers are now armed with information and are no longer at the mercy of the pushy man in a shiny suit. And if that sounds like a rather too neat way of underlining his point that 'we are all in sales now', To Sell Is Human does actually convince in its structure.

It's something we all do every day – when we try and cajole our children to go to bed, we are 'moving' them to get what we want, in exactly the same way as we might persuade someone to purchase some artisan bread.

Pink's mantra is that selling is not limited to call centres, shops or garage forecourts. Now he turns his attention to sales, and though he does speak to the famous cold-calling, record-breaking car salesman Joe Girard, this is less a book about the conniving tricks of this slippery trade, and more of a human guide to how sales might work and be successful in the 21st century. O nce a scriptwriter for Al Gore, Daniel Pink has carved a niche for himself as something of a workplace guru, his books investigating the importance of empathy in business ( A Whole New Mind) and motivation ( Drive) enjoying bestseller status.

To sell is human by daniel h pink