In his new book, To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink quotes the statistic that 1 out of 9 people in the U.S. make their living selling something – and goes on to say that the other 8 people are also in sales whether they know it or not. We all spend a good portion of our days trying to persuade and influence others. If you don’t think so, start a piece of writing with the words, “I am trying to sell my [pick one – boss, employee, friend, teenage child, elderly parent, neighbor] on the idea that...” and see where you go. To learn more about your own reaction to being on the receiving end of sales pitches, write about how you feel and what you say and do when you walk into a sales-oriented emporium – Apple store, clothes department, camera shop, you name it. There’s a reason that online sales are booming!