Selling
What changes for them if they say yes?
Selling is the dream in dream engineering. You sell the vision before you build the system. And the first and most important person you need to sell is yourself — picture the outcome until conviction becomes inevitable. Then transfer it.
To sell is to be human — two biological beings connecting through belief transfer. AI personalises outreach, qualifies leads, generates scripts at scale. What it cannot do is look someone in the eye and transfer conviction from one consciousness to another. We will connect with AI. But it will never be two biological beings reading each other, adjusting in real time, building trust through presence. That's what selling IS — and it's why it remains a human capability, not a skill to be automated.
| Without Selling Skill | With Selling Skill |
|---|---|
| Push products | Solve felt problems |
| Talk at people | Listen, then respond |
| Features and specs | Outcomes and stories |
| "Buy this" | "Here's what changes" |
Learn how to sell, learn how to build, and you become unstoppable.
The Sales Diagnostic
Before any pitch, answer these:
| Question | If You Can't Answer |
|---|---|
| What's their job to be done? | You're guessing, not selling |
| What's their hidden objection? | You'll get a polite "no" with no reason |
| Who else are they comparing you to? | You can't position without knowing the alternatives |
| What risk do they fear? | Logic won't overcome emotional resistance |
| What would make them a hero internally? | You're selling to them, not through them |
Tight Five Set
Everyone needs a tight five — even if just convincing themselves. In stand-up comedy, a "tight five" is a comedian's best five minutes — their set. Refined through hundreds of performances until every word lands, every pause earns its place, nothing can be removed without the set falling apart. That's what "tight" means. Not short. Incompressible.
Marketing is all about values, but the best delivery mechanism wraps truth with humour. See Memes, Marketing and Money. Comedians know this — they deliver hard truths that audiences would resist as lectures but embrace as laughter. The best salespeople do the same thing.
Same principle in rugby — the tight five are bound together under pressure, doing the unglamorous work that lets the backs play the game. Same principle in the framework — five bound elements, remove one and the system fails. Three meanings. One word. Tight = bound + polished + incompressible.
Prompt Deck
A tight five pitch is five minutes where every beat serves the audience.
| Beat | What It Does | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Grabber | Pattern interrupt — why should they listen? | 30 sec |
| Personalise | Prove you know their specific situation | 60 sec |
| Pain questions | Let them articulate their own problem | 90 sec |
| Unique value | Your point of difference in their words | 60 sec |
| Natural CTA | The obvious next step, frictionless | 30 sec |
Comedians don't read their set. Chris Rock performs forty to fifty times at small clubs before filming a special — refining on yellow legal pads, cutting everything that doesn't land, trying hundreds of ideas until only a handful survive. The performance looks effortless because the preparation was relentless. Same with selling — if your pitch sounds scripted, it's not ready. Rehearse until it's conversational. Rehearse until it's tight.
Attunement Protocol
See from their perspective before speaking:
| Signal | What It Means | How to Respond |
|---|---|---|
| Arms crossed, leaning back | Resistance or skepticism | Ask a question, don't push harder |
| Asking about price early | They're interested but worried about budget | Establish value before discussing cost |
| "Let me think about it" | Hidden objection they won't say | "What specifically do you want to think about?" |
| Asking implementation questions | They're mentally buying | Mirror their language, move toward close |
| Silence after your pitch | Processing, not rejecting | Wait. Don't fill the silence. |
The best salespeople listen 80% and talk 20%.
Objection Handling
Every objection is information:
| Objection | What It Really Means | Response Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| "Too expensive" | Value not established, or genuinely can't afford | "Compared to what? What's the cost of not solving this?" |
| "Not the right time" | Not painful enough yet, or genuinely busy | "What would make it the right time?" |
| "Need to check with..." | Not the decision maker, or needs social proof | "What would they need to know?" |
| "We already have something" | Switching cost seems high | "What's the gap between what you have and what you need?" |
Never argue with an objection. Explore it.
Follow-Up Discipline
| Rule | Why |
|---|---|
| Follow up within 24 hours | Memory decays. Momentum dies. |
| Add value in every follow-up | Don't just "check in" — share something useful |
| 5-7 touches before most sales close | One email is not a follow-up strategy |
| Know when to stop | Persistence ≠ pestering. Read the signals. |
The Shadow
Manipulation. Selling solutions to non-problems. Optimising for the close instead of the relationship. Mistaking persuasion for pressure. Selling what you don't believe in.
By Archetype
| Archetype | Selling Style |
|---|---|
| Dreamer | Sells the vision of what's possible |
| Realist | Grounds the pitch in evidence and outcomes |
| Coach | Sells by asking questions until they sell themselves |
Context
- Pictures — Sell with pictures before words
- Tight Five — The framework behind the set
- Listening — Foundation of effective selling
- Persuasion — The psychology behind influence
- JTBD Interviews — Qualifying demand through questions
- Storytelling — Wrapping value in narrative
- Trust — The currency of selling