I'm Daniel Rock. For over twenty years I've believed the same unfashionable thing: the best salespeople aren't the slickest talkers. They're the most curious and the most honest people in the room.
How to Be Human When Selling in the Age of AI
Get interested. Be honest. Help.
The best salespeople aren't the slickest talkers. They're the most curious and the most honest people in the room. That was always true. Now that AI can do the pitching, the admin, and the busywork for free, it's the only thing left that matters.
Curiosity is a calm, practical guide to selling like a human when the machines can do everything except the part that actually matters. It walks the whole arc of a deal, from the first conversation through discovery, the demo, objections, the close, and the inevitable loss, and shows you how to get genuinely interested in someone's problem, tell them the truth, and help them decide well.
I came to sales the wrong way round, out of IT, because I preferred fixing the business problem to the technical one.
I'm a Chief Revenue Officer, and I've led revenue and sales teams for over twenty years, across IT and telco, recruitment, tax, and SaaS, and across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and the United States. English by birth, I spent twenty-three years in New Zealand before moving to Birmingham, Alabama.
I've been writing about the craft of selling since 2011, and my core belief hasn't shifted in all that time: get genuinely interested in people, tell them the truth, and help them decide well. Do that, and the selling mostly takes care of itself.
Keynotes and hands-on sessions for sales kick-offs, leadership offsites, and conferences. Calm, practical, and free of hype, with plenty for the room to actually use on Monday.
What the machines change, what they can't, and why the human craft just became the only advantage left.
Why the most curious, most honest person in the room wins the deal, and how to build that instinct.
Selling to people who arrive already researched and already briefed by an AI, and why understanding now compounds.
Hiring for what you can't teach, coaching in the moment, and leading sellers who are honest by default.
For founders, boards, and investors who want a seasoned revenue voice in the room. I work as an advisor and board advisor, giving leadership teams the outside perspective, judgement, and honest counsel to get their go-to-market right.
Speaking, advisory or board work, or a question about the book, drop me a line and I'll get back to you.
Based in Birmingham, Alabama. Working with teams across the US, UK, and ANZ.