Sales

Where the experience comes from

Mike has spent more than 20 years selling. The turning point was building lead-generation software he couldn't sell: months of paid advertising produced less than his first live sales presentation, which generated $16,000 in recurring revenue.

Everything since has been a variation on that lesson. The product rarely changes. The explanation does.

How Mike thinks about selling

• →People pay more for a faster route to their outcome, a higher chance of success, and less effort on their part.
• →Stories are remembered under pressure. Frameworks are not.
• →Objections are information about what your pitch failed to cover.
• →If nobody buys, the conversation should still have been worth their time.
• →Win-win is a commercial strategy, not a nicety — bad-fit customers cost more than they pay.

Story selling

Story selling is the reason The Sales Parables exists. A parable does the persuading quietly: the listener draws the conclusion themselves, which means they own it.

In a presentation, a story is also the safest place to put your credibility. Nobody resents a story. Plenty of people resent a slide of logos.

Selling software, services and products

Selling software is selling a change in someone's working week. Selling a service is selling trust in a person. Selling a product is selling the outcome it produces.

The framework stays the same; the proof you need changes. Software needs a demonstration, services need evidence, products need specificity.