--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not good at selling laptops. I'm good…" description: "\"I'm not good at selling laptops. I'm good at selling ideas.\" — Nicholas Negroponte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4d/nicholas-negroponte-7911_good_i-m-not-good-at-selling-laptops-i-m-good_2383265.png" --- # I'm not good at selling laptops. I'm good at selling ideas. ![“I'm not good at selling laptops. I'm good at selling ideas.” quote by Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4d/nicholas-negroponte-7911_good_i-m-not-good-at-selling-laptops-i-m-good_2383265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4d/nicholas-negroponte-7911_good_i-m-not-good-at-selling-laptops-i-m-good_2383265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4d/nicholas-negroponte-7911_good_i-m-not-good-at-selling-laptops-i-m-good_2383265.png) > “I'm not good at selling laptops. I'm good at selling ideas.” [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker values idea‑selling over product‑selling, emphasizing creativity and vision as the core of influence. **In simple terms:** Ideas sell better than gadgets. Key Takeaway Focus on compelling concepts. Themes innovation communication leadership Mood inspirational pragmatic Type business philosophical When to use this quote - pitch decks - brainstorming sessions - marketing meetings Key Concepts ideation persuasion entrepreneurship Questions to Reflect On - How can you make abstract ideas concrete? - When is product detail more persuasive than vision? A Different Perspective Ideas may lack tangible proof, making them harder to sell. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Laptops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laptops/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) ## Related quotes > [My goal is not selling laptops. OLPC is not in the laptop business. It's in the education business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/my-goal-is-not-selling-laptops-olpc-is-not-in-the-laptop-business-it/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [We are all salesmen every day of our lives. We are selling our ideas, our plans, our enthusiasms to those with whom we come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-schwab/we-are-all-salesmen-every-day-of-our-lives-we-are-selling-our-ideas/) [Charles R. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-schwab/) > [I have too much product, and I'm trying to rein it in and sell more of my main collection. I wish you didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-have-too-much-product-and-i-m-trying-to-rein-it-in-and-sell-more-of/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [Yup, I'm not good at selling myself, my PR skills are atrocious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshaye-khanna/yup-i-m-not-good-at-selling-myself-my-pr-skills-are-atrocious/) [Akshaye Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshaye-khanna/) > [Examples of selling of ideas are portrayed in consulting or paid advice, as the pricing of intellectual property is market driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-martin/examples-of-selling-of-ideas-are-portrayed-in-consulting-or-paid/) [Chuck Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-martin/) > [Companies should be selling ideas more than benefits. Sell ideas. Not stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-ross/companies-should-be-selling-ideas-more-than-benefits-sell-ideas-not/) [Aaron Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-ross/) > [“When we are selling our ideas, the audience must first buy us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coughter/when-we-are-selling-our-ideas-the-audience-must-first-buy-us/) [Peter Coughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coughter/) > [The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling - their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-corporate-revolution-will-collapse-if-we-refuse-to-buy-what-they/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I used to have an eBay addiction. I was really good at selling stuff. My sister needed to get to a funeral in Ireland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blunt/i-used-to-have-an-ebay-addiction-i-was-really-good-at-selling-stuff/) [James Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blunt/) > [If you have a good selling idea, your secretary can write your ad for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-hite/if-you-have-a-good-selling-idea-your-secretary-can-write-your-ad-for/) [Morris Hite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-hite/) > [Richard Branson once said: 'Tony's very good at selling bands and he's very good at making television programmes. But he'll never be great at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wilson/richard-branson-once-said-tony-s-very-good-at-selling-bands-and-he-s/) [Tony Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wilson/) > [I'm a real guy. I'm not money-laundering. I make money off music, and music is my source of income. It feels good. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/i-m-a-real-guy-i-m-not-money-laundering-i-make-money-off-music-and/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [Advertising. I'd definitely like to try that. In fact, it was a genuine second choice career-wise. I'd be good at selling stuff - I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blackburn/advertising-i-d-definitely-like-to-try-that-in-fact-it-was-a-genuine/) [Tony Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blackburn/) > [ “You should do commercials, \[…\] You’re really good at selling the whole parenting thing. I’m pretty sure I went sterile after you started talking… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liliana-hart/you-should-do-commercials-you-re-really-good-at-selling-the-whole/) [Liliana Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liliana-hart/) > [I've never been good at selling myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-pasdar/i-ve-never-been-good-at-selling-myself/) [Adrian Pasdar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-pasdar/) ## More by Nicholas Negroponte > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [The computer provides the only way to give students a real foundation in 21st-century skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/the-computer-provides-the-only-way-to-give-students-a-real-foundation/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [The process of debugging, going an correcting the program and then looking at the behavior, and then correcting it again, and finally iteratively getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/the-process-of-debugging-going-an-correcting-the-program-and-then/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [I think life's turning into an omelet and people will just have to live with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/i-think-life-s-turning-into-an-omelet-and-people-will-just-have-to/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Linux is its own worst enemy: it's splintered, it has different distributions, it's too complex to run for most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/linux-is-its-own-worst-enemy-it-s-splintered-it-has-different/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [But just as elevators have changed the shape of buildings and cars have changed the shape of cities, bits will change the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/but-just-as-elevators-have-changed-the-shape-of-buildings-and-cars/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Good education has got to be good entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/good-education-has-got-to-be-good-entertainment/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Even in the developing parts of the world, kids take to computers like fish to water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/even-in-the-developing-parts-of-the-world-kids-take-to-computers-like/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Key is the question of where do new ideas come from. Historically, four places: government labs, big corporations, startup companies, and research universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/key-is-the-question-of-where-do-new-ideas-come-from-historically-four/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Everybody agrees that whatever the solutions are to the big problems, they ... can never be without some element of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/everybody-agrees-that-whatever-the-solutions-are-to-the-big-problems/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [A Wired reader told me once, Get a life, which I read from the back of a yacht in the Aegean, while eating fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/a-wired-reader-told-me-once-get-a-life-which-i-read-from-the-back-of/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Give One, Get One generated about 100,000 zero-dollar laptops. Somebody else paid for them, but from the recipient's point of view, that's zero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/give-one-get-one-generated-about-100-000-zero-dollar-laptops-somebody/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Rote learning is a killer for most of us and for some people, it really excludes them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/rote-learning-is-a-killer-for-most-of-us-and-for-some-people-it/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [It's hard to propose a $100 laptop for a world community of kids and then not say in the same breath that you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/it-s-hard-to-propose-a-100-laptop-for-a-world-community-of-kids-and/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [This is just the beginning, the beginning of understanding that cyberspace has no limits, no boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/this-is-just-the-beginning-the-beginning-of-understanding-that/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) [Explore all 86 Nicholas Negroponte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) ## More Good quotes > [When I came to Chelsea, it was clear that, like many other players, I would first be loaned out. 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