Selling Without Being a Salesperson
People who are good at the work and find selling it distasteful, dishonest or frightening — freelancers, technical founders, and the first commercial hire in a small company.
What you will be able to do
- Run a discovery conversation that qualifies out as readily as it qualifies in.
- Write a proposal that follows from what the buyer said rather than from a template.
- Follow up without pestering, and know the point to stop.
- Handle a price objection without immediately discounting.
- Learn from a lost deal, in writing.
How this is assessed
A discovery conversation, the proposal that followed, and one honest loss reviewSubmit three things about real work with a real prospect. Notes or a consented transcript from a discovery conversation. The proposal you sent, annotated so each element can be traced to something the buyer said. And a written review of one deal you lost, naming what you would do differently and what was outside your control. Qualifying the prospect out counts as a completed conversation and should be explained. If you have never lost a deal, review a deal you did not pursue and say why. Record only with the other person's consent, and anonymise the buyer and their company. A practitioner reads it against the rubric below and returns a written mark. If it does not pass, you get the reasons and one resubmission.
| Grade | What earns it |
|---|---|
| Pass | A real discovery conversation, a proposal derived from it, and a written loss review of a real outcome. |
| Merit | The proposal demonstrably follows the buyer's own words and constraints rather than a template, and says what is out of scope. |
| Distinction | The loss review is genuinely self-critical, separates what you controlled from what you did not, and identifies the point earlier in the process where the outcome was decided. |
Before you submit
- The conversation was with a real prospect, not a role-play.
- You asked what they do now, what it costs, who decides, and what happens if they do nothing.
- Quotes are verbatim rather than paraphrased.
- Each element of the proposal is annotated with the thing the buyer said that produced it.
- The proposal states what you are not doing, and what you need from them.
- The loss review was written within a week and separates what you controlled from what you did not.
- For merit: the proposal demonstrably follows the buyer rather than a template.
- For distinction: the review is genuinely self-critical and names the earlier point where it went wrong.
Handing it in
Marked by a salesperson, agency owner, consultant or founder who has closed and lost real deals and can assess the reasoning rather than the outcome. You will need an account to submit, so that the mark has somewhere to land. Sign in or create one. The modules are open either way.
Modules
7 modules, self-paced. Nothing is timed and nothing is scored.
- 1Why selling feels dishonestAnd the version that isn't.
- 2Qualifying outThe most under-used move in the discipline.
- 3The discovery conversation, structuredTheir situation first, your offer last.
- 4Proposals that quote the buyer back to themselvesEvery element traceable to something they said.
- 5Follow-upThe sequence, and where it ends.
- 6Objections about price, timing and authorityWhat each one usually means, and what not to do.
- 7The loss reviewWhat actually happened, written down within a week.
This course stacks
Can find the people who want the thing, say honestly whether it fits them, and know what each of those customers cost to reach.
A credential is issued when all of its artifacts have passed. It records the courses, the bands and the dates, nothing else, and no score.