Selling the Invisible
by Harry Beckwith · first published 1997
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide to marketing services that are hard to see before purchase. Covers building a complete value proposition and creating a perception of value. Suits consultants
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
SELLING THE INVISIBLE is a succinct and often entertaining look at the unique characteristics of services and their prospects, and how any service, from a home-based consultancy to a multinational brokerage, can turn more prospects into clients and keep them. SELLING THE INVISIBLE covers service marketing from start to finish. Filled with wonderful insights and written in a roll-up-your-sleeves, jargon-free, accessible style, such as:Greatness May Get You Nowhere Focus Groups Don'ts The More You Say, the Less People Hear &Seeing the Forest Around the Falling Trees.
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Just got done with this pretty good book on marketing called "Selling the Invisible" by Beckwith. Most important thing I got out of it was the points you need to cover to have a complete value proposition to any potential customer; you usually need to cover all points to get people…
on “Figure this out and you may have a business.” ↗…wrong approach. I enjoy trying to find referrals for other people I meet, and I think that's come back to me a few times (unexpectedly, but not that surprising, perhaps). Couple other random thoughts: "Selling the Invisible" (beckwith?) - useful to read. Not specifically tech-oriented, but will get you in the right frame of mind. "Million Dollar Consulting" (weiss?) - may give you a different perspective on freelance consulting.…
on “Ask HN: How do you find clients?” ↗Our selections from The 100 Best Business Books of All Time were: -Selling The Invisible by Harry Beckwith (great look at selling services) -Secrets of Closing The Sale by Zig Ziglar (gets you prepared for objections) -How to Become A Rainmaker by Jeffrey Fox (shortcuts to better sales techniques) -The…
on “Ask HN: Best books or videos to get better at sales?” ↗…this relationship. We shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us or the interface sets the terms of the engagement or the medium is the message. It's been stated a myriad of ways. I kinda hated "Selling the invisible" by Harry Beckwith but out of the 100 or so marketing and product development books I've read, I think, for you in particular, a weekend paging through that book might really help you here. You have to…
on “I don't want streaming music, I just want to stream my music” ↗The best books I found when I was doing exactly this were the books by Harry Beckwith, starting with "Selling the Invisible". He focuses on services sales, and how you create a perception of value for your service.
on “I'm an engineer that needs to sell my services. Any good books on sales?” ↗Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith from the list is a good one.
on “Ask HN: Sales book recommendation?” ↗…how to specialize and seek out the clients that need what you're selling are probably what you're looking for. They are just as applicable to software consulting as they are to design work. Another is "Selling the Invisible" by Harry Beckwith, which is all about marketing services (which are usually intangible) rather than products.
on “Ask HN: How can I charge more and find more interesting work as an IC?” ↗"Selling the Invisible" http://www.jfdperfsolutions.com/modules/news/sales_~2F_growt...
on “Best Sales Books/Resources?” ↗> Their trust relationship is with other companies, not with codebases they don't have time to build or audit anyway. Sums up the book, Selling the Invisible. (a pretty good summary: https://penniesintofortunes.com/2016/09/20/selling-the-invis...)
on “Improving Tailscale via Apple’s open source” ↗