Prompt Playbook: Selling without Selling PART 1

Last year, I watched a brilliant developer friend launch his fourth "almost ready" product.

Smart guy. Much smarter than me.

He'd spent six months building it. Beautiful code. Elegant features. The UI was gorgeous. The documentation? Immaculate.

Launch day came. He posted once on Twitter. Sent one email to his tiny list. Then... went straight back to coding "improvements."

Three months later? Seven customers. SEVEN.

And he knew the majority of them before he launched.

Not because the product was bad - it was exceptional. But because he treated sales like something “dirty” he had to wash his hands of quickly.

Every time someone showed interest, instead of closing them, he'd say "Oh, I'm actually adding this new feature next week that might help you even more..."

Meanwhile, his competitor - with an objectively worse product - was doing gangbusters. Why? Because they spent 80% of their time selling and 20% building, while my friend did the opposite.

Here's the truth that took me (and my friend!) way too long to learn: You're not a builder who happens to have a business. You're a business owner who happens to build. And business owners sell. You’ve got to.

If that makes you uncomfortable, good. We're going to fix that this week.

Let's get started

The Comfortable Lie We Tell Ourselves

"If I make it better, they'll find it."

"I just need to add this one more feature."

"I'm not ready to sell yet - the product isn't perfect."

"I don't want to be pushy."

Sound familiar? These aren't reasons. They're excuses. And they're killing your business before it even starts.

It’s the “Build it and they will come"" fallacy. The internet is WAY too busy for that to be true. Quality will not rise to the surface by itself.

Right now, while you're "perfecting" your product, your potential customers are

• Paying your competitors for inferior solutions

• Wasting hours on manual workarounds

• Suffering with the problem you've already solved

It actually behooves (love that word) us to tell people about what we’ve built.

But sure, spend another month tweaking that button colour!

Why We Really Avoid Sales

It's not about being "pushy." It's deeper than that.

Most solopreneurs avoid sales because of one of these core blocks

Fear of Rejection: "What if they say no?" (Spoiler: They will. Often. It's fine! Part of it really)

Imposter Syndrome: "Who am I to charge for this?" (Someone who built a solution, that's who.)

Money Shame: "I feel guilty asking for money." (Your landlord doesn't.)

Perfectionism: "It's not ready yet." (It never will be.)

People-Pleasing: "I don't want them to think badly of me." (They're not thinking about you at all.)

Sometimes a mixture of the above. Or all of them and more! The brain is a funny thing sometimes. Our worst own enemy!

The thing is, these blocks feel real. They create actual physical sensations - that pit in your stomach, the tightness in your chest. I feel ya. But they're not facts. They're fears. And fears can be worked with.

Your Sales Psychology Session

Time to uncover what's really stopping you. This isn't about learning techniques - you can Google those. This is about understanding why you won't use them.

I've built a tool that will help you identify and work through your specific sales blocks: https://aiwithkyle.com/tools/sales-blocks

Use that tool or the prompt below. Ideally use this prompt in an AI like ChatGPT that has extended memory. Because it may be able to add even more nuance to the discussion!

Do not overthink the work in this prompt.

You are an experienced business coach specialising in helping solopreneurs overcome sales resistance. Have a coaching conversation with me to uncover and address my blocks around selling.

Start by asking me these questions one at a time (wait for my response before moving on):

1. "When you think about reaching out to sell your product/service, what specific feeling comes up? Describe the physical sensation."

2. "Complete this sentence: 'I can't charge [your price] because...'"

3. "What's the worst thing you imagine happening if you actively try to sell?"

4. "Tell me about a time someone tried to sell you something and you hated it. What specifically bothered you?"

5. "What would you need to believe about yourself to feel confident selling?"

After I answer all five questions, help me:

- Identify my primary sales block (fear of rejection, imposter syndrome, money shame, perfectionism, or people-pleasing)
- Understand where this likely comes from
- Reframe selling in a way that aligns with my values
- Give me ONE specific action to take today that pushes through this block gently
- Create a personal mantra for when the resistance comes up

Be direct but supportive. Don't let me hide behind "I just need to improve the product first" or other avoidance tactics. Call out any BS, but do it with compassion.

End by reminding me that my customers need what I've built, and by NOT selling, I'm actually doing them a disservice.

Be honest. AI doesn’t judge. It’s one of the wonderful things about it. Just give unfiltered truth even if (especially!) its uncomfortable. Ideally use voice mode: it stops you self editing! When we type it’s too easy to edit.

The tool I’ve built or the prompt will flag up what your particular blocks are. The tool is also built to give you a handful of action points - some potential fixes.

The Reframe That Changes Everything

Here's what clicked for me after years of sales resistance…

Sales isn't about convincing people to buy something they don't need. That's manipulation.

Sales is about helping people who have a problem find the solution you've built for that exact problem. That's service.

When you don't sell, you're not being noble. Quite the opposite: you're being selfish. You're prioritising your comfort over their solution.

If what you have built is genuinely useful then you not trying your damnednest to get it into people’s hands is a disservice.

Think about the last time you bought something that genuinely solved a problem for you. Were you angry at the person who sold it to you? Or were you grateful they helped you find it? Even though you paid for it? Your customers want to buy solutions. They're actively looking. They have credit cards in hand. But you're hiding because you feel weird about money.

After running the coaching prompt and using the sales blocks tool, you need to make a commitment. Not to be perfect at sales. Not to love sales. Just to DO sales.

We’ll be working on this all this week. But unless you (sorry!) get over yourself all of the following steps won’t mean anything. We’ve got to start the work with ourselves.

Your Deliverable Today

1. Run the coaching prompt and answer all questions honestly

2. Use the sales blocks tool: https://aiwithkyle.com/tools/sales-blocks

3. Identify your primary sales block

Remember: Your customers are struggling with a problem right now. You've built the solution. The only thing standing between their problem and your solution is your unwillingness to sell.

Fix that, and everything else falls into place.

Build in Public Component

Share your commitment

"Day 41 of AI Summer Camp: Facing my sales resistance head-on.

Identified my main block: [share yours]

Here are some step I’ll be taking to work with this: [steps]”

What's Next?

Tomorrow we dive into customer psychology - specifically Russell Brunson's three beliefs/Dominos framework. You'll learn exactly what beliefs your customers need to have before they'll buy, and how to address each one systematically.

But none of that matters if you don't actually sell. So today, we “fix” you first! Or, you know, at least get started on the process!

Keep Prompting,

Kyle