Influencing Leadership Through Sales Training

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Sally Kohn: Sales is maybe the dirtiest influence discipline, and so many of us don't want to have any part of it. And we think of salespeople as being slimy and smarmy because we have the archetype of a used car salesman. But people who are very successful in sales, we don't even think of those people because it doesn't feel like salesright? It feels like a conversation. It feelslike a relationship. The amount that we can learn from the discipline of sales to apply to all domains of life, but especially leadership, is vast. She says she's bringing these helpful influence concepts from sales to the broader domain of leadership and personal relationships.

What do you think of when you hear the word influence? Or the phrase, “be an influencer?” Maybe you think about the ability to affect another person, to have influence over them. Or, to persuade them to adopt an idea, point of view or opinion. Or, maybe take an action or commit to something, or buy something. Whether we’re comfortable with the notion of influence or persuasion or not, we’re all immersed in overlapping processes of subtle and not-so-subtle influence all day, every day. And to better understand how to both cultivate our own skills and tools, and also become more aware of the scripts that are running all around us, I’m so excited to be able to sit down with my friend, Dr. Zoe Chance.

Zoe is a writer, teacher, researcher, and climate philanthropist obsessed with the topic of interpersonal influence. She earned her doctorate in behavioral science from Harvard and now teaches “Mastering Influence and Persuasion,” the most popular course at Yale School of Management. And, her framework for behavior change is the foundation for Google’s global food policy that helps over 100,000 people make healthier choices every day. Before focusing on academic pursuits, she also managed a $200 million segment of the Barbie brand for Mattel.

Zoe teaches smart, kind people to raise money for charity, get elected to political office, fund startups, start movements, save lives, find love, negotiate great deals and job offers, and even get along better with their kids. In other words, she helps people to use their superpower of influence as a force for good. And, by the way, if you love today’s conversation, you’ll also love her book, Influence is Your Superpower.

You can find Zoe at: Website | Twitter

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