If you're anything like me, you started your business because you had something great to offer. This thing you're great at and love to do, getting to do that for a living? Well, that's the dream right? So you jumped right in, and it probably didn't occur to you that you were going to have to sell this service to people. I mean sure, there are a lot of great, "If you build it they will come" type stories out that, but if that's not you, you're going to have to figure something else out. The problem I ran into, and a lot of my clients have as well, was that we didn't know how to approach the sales process without feeling gross in a used car salesman sort of way.

A friend recommended this book to me when I asked for help, and I've recommended it to others time and time again. It really helped me put things in perspective. What I offer has a lot of value, and I shouldn't be ashamed to charge what it's worth, just because I've never been great at self promotion. At the end of the day, what I do helps people and I'm proud of it, so I should conduct myself accordingly. If you've ever felt this way, I really recommend you give it a read. It will certainly challenge some of your limiting self beliefs, and help shift your perspective into one that supports the growth of your business.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than fifteen million people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase.

But dig deeper and a startling truth emerges:

Yes, one in nine Americans works in sales. But so do the other eight.

Whether we’re employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs enticing funders to invest, or parents and teachers cajoling children to study, we spend our days trying to move others. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.

To Sell Is Human offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. As he did in Drive and A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink draws on a rich trove of social science for his counterintuitive insights. He reveals the new ABCs of moving others (it’s no longer “Always Be Closing”), explains why extraverts don’t make the best salespeople, and shows how giving people an “off-ramp” for their actions can matter more than actually changing their minds.