Teachers, Like the Rest of Us, Must Be Salesmen Now
by Gabriel Sanchez Zinny
Daniel H. Pink’s latest book, To Sell is Human, provides an excellent overview of how the internet revolution has impacted nearly all types of jobs across all manner of industries — and in particular, sales. Contrary to the predictions of many other analysts that salespeople, like other middlemen, would eventually disappear as the internet “disintermediates” the economy, Pink argues the contrary — that a knowledge society makes it necessary for more of us to act like salesmen, more of the time. One of the most interesting implications of this shift is the way in which it will impact education, one of the modern economy’s fastest growing sectors.
While more of us are salesmen than ever, technology has disrupted the selling profession as a whole. In many ways, it has made sales more difficult, since there is now much greater competition — consumers have many more options, and incomparable ease in comparing quality and price. In other ways, however, it has streamlined things by allowing sales across multiple platforms and at the click of a mouse. But the deepest change, which Pink’s analysis delves into, is the way in which, in the 21st century, we are all salesmen.
This happens, in the first place, because in a hyper-connected and constantly communicating world, skills such as persuasion and personal influence are increasingly central to any career track. In addition, the proportion of “non-traditional” employment is