Making Sales Without Compromising Your Values
A GUEST POST BY KAT LUCKOCK OF SHARE IMPACT
I love talking about embedding your values across your business and in particular in your sales approach. So when Ashlee asked me to share this blog about selling without compromising your values, of course I said yes!
As a coach working with for-purpose brands and social impact business owners, I’ve seen a lot of resistance amongst my clients when it comes to them selling and developing a sales strategy that really works for them. Maybe you’ve experienced this too?
Sales Mindset Blocks
In my experience, this uncomfortableness comes from trying out everyone else’s approach to sales without actually assessing whether it aligns with your values and purpose first.
Sales and selling is not bad in and of itself – it is an essential function of your business that becomes uncomfortable when it’s not aligned and you’re doing things that don’t feel right to you and your clients because it contradicts your brand or personal values.
If you simply take someone else’s sales approach and try to fit it into your business without understanding why they’ve designed it that way, and how it works for their business because of their values and brand, then somewhere you’re going to become stuck. It’s going to feel uncomfortable.
We often think sales is a single approach, or there are tools and techniques you can apply to your own business (from the experts) and all you’ve got to do is learn them and implement them (even if you do feel a bit uncomfortable). But if you don’t pick the right approaches for you and your business and you don’t know why a particular approach might not be aligned, then you will get stuck or feel icky!
And your sales process won’t work.
Values-Aligned Sales
Sales have to be aligned for you to do it, enjoy it, and succeed.
If you’re feeling uncomfortable about sales right now, it’s probably because a part (or all) of your sales process is unaligned with who you and your business truly are.
As a purpose-driven business owner you know your purpose and values matter—that’s why you’ve intentionally gone about creating a business (and life) differently, to challenge the status quo, and make a difference in the world as you go.
Well, you can do this in your sales approach too. You can be radically different in the way you choose to sell, as well as the way you attract clients and work with them.
Creating Your Own Sales Strategy
What you need is an “aligned sales strategy.” One that embeds your purpose and values into everything you do throughout your customer journey.
…And here’s how to do it:
- Review your values. What are they and why are they important to you?
- Consider your values in relation to your sales approach. If you were living out your values in the way that you sell your services, what would you need to do differently?
- Another way to look at this is, where in your sales approach doesn’t it feel right? Where does it feel uncomfortable and icky? Try to explore where it might not be aligned with your values. How could you change this to better reflect your values and purpose?
- Get creative about how you could do things differently. I know you are a passionate, purposeful business owner so you don’t always follow the status quo, you’re often about doing business differently. Apply this same rogue-ness to your sales—allow yourself to do things differently.
- Think about your customer journey, not just during the sales process, but whilst they’re in your audience and once you’re onboarding them and working with them as a client. Where else could you embed your values so that your sales strategy is supported, and your potential clients know how you operate?
- And finally, what experience does your client expect or want during the sales process? What will they value and rave about after experiencing something radically different, or at least fully aligned to your brand and personal values?
Next Steps
If you’ve found this useful and want to find out more about my Aligned Sales Approach for purpose-driven business owners and social entrepreneurs, come and follow me on Instagram (@katluckockcoaching) or listen to my Creating Social Impact podcast.
Psst: You can also read my blog post—Leveraging Values To Grow Your Business and Your Impact—on Kat’s website!
About The Author
Kat Luckock is The Social Entrepreneur Coach, a mum of two, and a not-so-secret chocoholic! She is passionate about supporting women to create powerfully purposeful businesses that are fully aligned to who they are and who they are becoming, whilst generating the wealth they need to pursue their ambitious vision for social or environmental change.
She has led multiple social impact organisations, including co-founding Solutions for the Planet in 2013, which inspires 11-14 year olds to take action on the social and environmental issues they care about most. Now as an alignment and business coach, Kat supports women to create wildly successful businesses with an aligned sales strategy that is unique to the way they want to live and work. Kat has helped hundreds of purpose-driven business owners connect to what they truly desire and gain confidence in their pricing, sales strategy, and business model so they achieve their income and impact goals.
She is the Founder of Share Impact, host of the Creating Social Impact podcast, and an ICF qualified Coach.