The first and foremost lesson I learned from this course is that it is vital to adopt ethical practices while dealing with others. The stereotypical ‘pushy sales guy’ notion has been discarded and in order to establish a rapport with clients, giving them space is imperative. Moreover, individuals are increasingly aware of technological advancements thanks to social media. Being transparent with clients, adopting honesty in financial practices and seeing the world from others’ perspectives is what one ought to do.

Another learning aspect pertinent to mention is the importance of stirring people’s emotions in ensuring the success of persuasion. People are more likely to buy your idea if they feel personally attached to it. An example illustrated is that of radiologists taking more time to examine x-rays of patients whose pictures have been attached to their reports. Therefore, in whatever idea pitched to clients, it would be crucial to involve the ‘human’ aspect in it, transcending numbers and technology.

Daniel Pink makes use of Discussion maps that are important in meetings where you would want to gauge the attention of the person in charge of decision making. By carefully observing, you can note the person doing most of the talking and the one being talked to the most. Hence, you would ideally divert your effort in convincing the right person and also not fret about the talkative ones who have little influence in decision making. The emphasis laid upon by Pink on ensuring successful persuasion is focusing more on going to the root cause of the problem rather than directly offering solutions. Deep and careful insight into clients' problems would give them a good direction to act. While not coming out as pushy, you can ask meaningful questions if the client is not interested. Having said that, it is important to keep the less is more principle in mind. Bombarding the client with multiple arguments will only complicate their decision-making, and it is important to be concise and logical. Thus, to “curate” information is what you ought to do.

The psychological aspects covered in this course are quite thought-provoking. People’s reasons to act are strong if they act on their own rather than via external influence. While you convince them, the message should be framed in such a manner that they feel they are acting on their own. Moreover, people are more likely to act if they are made aware of the loss they will incur by not availing the opportunity, rather than the gains. We can further motivate them by expounding on the wholesome experiences that will follow as a result. A beautiful example illustrated by Daniel Pink is that of television is a good opportunity for family and friends reunions. As for body language, the three 3 W’s idea comes in handy; Watch, wait, and wane. In a meeting, watching the other person’s body language and movements, waiting, and then imitating their actions subtly will make them feel heard. 

The sales pitch is crucial because it's likely to be a prospect's first in-person interaction with your company. It is a great opportunity to expand their understanding of the company beyond what they might already know. An ideal pitch consists of a rhetorical question, is rhyming yet simple, and indicates what we want the client to know, feel and do. Email subject lines should also stir the reader’s curiosity and not be vague. ‘Follow-up’ subject line does not convey the message as effectively as ‘B2B sales meeting reminder’ for instance.

The second part of the course is based on self-development. Rejection is a reality that we will face at all points of our lives, especially in the sales sector. Not getting demotivated by rejection and working to cover your deficiencies is a key takeaway from this lesson. This is achieved by interrogative self-talk where I ask pragmatic questions. Is this rejection solely due to my personal shortcomings? Is the rejection pervasive? Will the impact of this rejection be permanent? The answer to all these questions is probably no. As much as it is important to be compassionate towards others, self-compassion should also exist. Taking small breaks when feeling overwhelmed and setting small goals and deadlines would prevent me from getting overburdened.

Personality also plays an important role in sales. While society generally views extroverts as being successful salespersons, science says so otherwise. They are more likely to be talking rather than lending an ear. Whereas introverts will not be able to get their message across. Moderation is the key and ‘ambiversion’ is where you should aspire to be. Being a good listener will help offer meaningful solutions to clients. 

This course also mentions the right time of approaching clients. Most people are likely to say no, and the goal should be to change that no to yes, while maintaining courtesy. They are more likely to lend a listening ear early in the morning, or immediately after the break and that is a suitable time for making calls. Lastly, the three phases in carrying out any plan are the beginning, middle, and ending. The beginning should involve careful planning and ways to rectify past mistakes. The middle part of the plan should make us realize that we’re still behind, whereas the ending should be such that it sums up the entire client customer experience beautifully. The ending also encourages us to let go of complacency due to time shortage.

Daniel Pink Teaches Sales and Persuasion - MasterClass