Think You’re in HR? You’re Actually in Sales

We’re all salespeople, whether our title says sales or not, says business guru Dan Pink, and that’s probably more true of HR people than most others. Fortunately, he adds, sales isn’t what it used to be.

Pink’s best-selling titles include Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. Pink’s remarks came at SHRM’s Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Chicago.

Pink says that one in nine workers in the United States actually works in sales. That’s about 15,000,000 Americans selling everything from Winnebagos to seafood, Pink says. It’s a robust function on its own, but in truth, most every manager could be added in as a salesperson.

What is sales? Sales involves convincing people to give up something they value for something you can offer. Pink’s research suggests that on average we spend about 41 percent of our work time doing just that. That’s all white collar workers, all managers of any kind, he says, and it’s probably a higher percentage than that for HR people.

Truth #1:
Like it or not, we’re all in sales.

Not everyone wants to admit that he or she is in sales, says Pink, because sales has a rather negative reputation. When people associate words with sales, they usually choose words like sleazy, pushy, yuck, and difficult. In Pink’s experience, 20 of 25 comments about sales are negative. That’s a barrier, but it’s fundamentally flawed, Pink says.

Truth #2:
In today’s world, it’s “Seller beware.”

That negative view of sales is from a bygone era when sellers had all the information and the buyer had few choices, little information, and no way to talk back. When the seller has more information, the seller can rip you off, says Pink.

Today, however, this “information asymmetry” is less and less. In fact, we’re close to information parity.

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So now, it’s seller beware. For example, while recruiting a new employee, the company says, “Come and work for us, we have a wonderful, supportive, collaborative environment and we pay way more than everyone else.”

The applicant replies: “Well, I’ve been up on glassdoor.com, and you guys all hate each other. And I’ve been up on salary.com, and your salaries are below median.”

Or, says Pink, think about buying an automobile, one of the most common major transactions for most people. Today, we are armed with detailed pricing information, offers from many dealers, and loads of other information.

How Can You Be a Better Salesperson?

The old school of sales was ABC: Always Be Closing. That’s terrible, Pink says, so he’s come up with new ABCs: Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity.

• Attunement has to do with perspective taking, Pink says. Get out of your own head and see things from the buyer’s perspective
• Buoyancy is how you stay afloat. Pink quoted the last Fuller Brush Company salesman, who said the hardest part of sales is staying afloat in an ocean of rejection.
• Clarity has two aspects, Pink says. First, everyone has information, but the key is in the curating and distilling of information. Second is understanding the overstated importance of the skill of problem solving. If the buyer knows what the problem is, that hurts your chances. The better skill is problem finding, says Pink.

5 Pink Takeaways

Pink offered five practical takeaways for making yourself more effective in “sales” situations.

#1. Reduce Power Before “Sales” Meeting

Pink offers this “simple and free” advice. Before you go into a situation in which you are trying to convince some else to do something, take a few minutes to reduce your power so you can appreciate the other person’s perspective.

For example, maybe admit to yourself that at some level, you need what the other person offers  more than they need what you offer.

This doesn’t mean that you have to be a pushover, however, says Pink.

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#2. Don’t Try to Be an Extrovert

Although the traditional view of the successful salesperson is the glad-handing extrovert, Pink says, there is zero correlation between being an extrovert and high sales performance.

Actually, he says, it’s the “ambivert”—the person that can be either extroverted or introverted as needed—who makes the most sales. As his chart shows, sales performance is poorer as you reach either end of the extrovert/introvert scale.

In view of this, Pink’s best advice is—be yourself.

In tomorrow’s Advisor, more of Pink’s takeaways, plus an introduction to the all-HR-in-one-place website, HR.BLR.com®.