In today’s live Webcast, Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of “To Sell is Human,” shares the latest social science research to reveal why we need a new ABC’s of selling to drive more opportunities, larger deals, shorter sales cycles, and higher win rates.

 

Here is a list of my favorite sales resources from Daniel. All of these are free, no registration required, and they're incredibly effective for sales professionals of all levels.

1. Take the positivity self test

Studies have shown that people need a 3:1 positivity ratio (3 positive emotions for every 1 negative emotion) or better to function at their optimal level.  Sadly, only about 20% of people achieve this ratio. Take Barbara Fredrickson’s “Positivity Self Test” a twenty-question assessment you can complete in two or three minutes that will yield your current positivity ratio.

2. Master the art of content curation

The goal of content curation is to offer your prospects and customers the most pertinent information they’re looking for and answer their questions. Content curation can help you become the go-to authority in your industry and capture attention in today’s information cluttered world. Beth Kanter— an expert in nonprofits, technology, and social media—created a three-step process for content curation newbies.

3. Practice your six pitches

Different situations will call for a different type of sales pitch. And - there are three ways to learn and perfect your perfect pitch: Practice, practice, practice. Here’s a great place to begin.

4. Avoid death by PowerPoint

 Experiment with Pecha Kucha – the Japanese term for “chit chat” – designed to radically improve the dreaded PowerPoint experience. In order to prevent speakers from droning on and on, the Pecha Kucha format contains twenty slides, each of which appears on the screen for twenty seconds. Since its introduction in 2003, Pecha Kucha has been used by countless companies around the world and metamorphosed into an international movement. Visit one to see how it’s done. Then try it yourself.

5. Get in touch with your inner ambivert

 Wharton’s Adam Grant has discovered that the most effective salespeople are ambiverts, those who fall somewhere in the middle of the introvert-extravert scale. Are you one of them? Take this five-minute assessment and find out!