Inclusive Selling

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WHAT IS INCLUSIVE SELLING?

Customers come in all shapes and sizes. They can come from different cultural backgrounds, ethnicity, generations, and gender orientations with different beliefs and values. ***All these characteristics affect how they do business. ***

So we need to be diversity-friendly. We, sales folks, need to navigate the ever-changing sales landscape and be more diversity-friendly or inclusive in order to stay relevant.

Truth be told, it's easier said than done. There are many things that can make inclusive sales a challenge for us. Our biases, beliefs, even our training can create "blind spots" and prevent us from truly embrace diversity. In the next lesson, we will explore these common blind spots so that we can be more aware of our weaknesses as sales people. More importantly, we will learn some tips on how to sell across different gender, race, culture, and beliefs.

SELLING ACROSS DIFFERENCES

Overconfidence We sometimes become complacent when we get too familiar or comfortable with our market. This can lead to decisions we make by default but might not be applicable anymore.

Need for Approval Needing to be liked can make it difficult to discuss tough questions that need to be discussed.

Emotional Bias Our emotions can make us focus on what we want to get from the sales relationship instead of finding out what the customer needs.

Experience Gap The wisdom of a seasoned salesperson is of course different from that of a beginner. Those who lack experience often have a fixed mindset, instead of an flexible one.

Supportive Buy Cycle Our own buying behavior and preferences can impact how we react to a customer's buying cycle.

Know your Blind Spots. Knowing your blind spots can reveal your weaknesses and your beliefs that limit you from exploring other markets. These weaknesses can prevent you from connecting with a diverse market on a more fundamental level. Now that you are aware of what your blind spots are, let’s go ahead and expand your visibility by learning about selling through differences.

Selling across cultural differences To sell to your customer, you need to connect to them. And to connect to them, you need to understand them and the aspects of their culture that affect their business decisions.

Important! Although we have general observations of what men and women prefer, avoid stereotyping or putting your customers in boxes. Use this information only as your guide and always have the flexibility to adjust to who is in front of you. ** You are not selling to a profile.** You are selling to a person who may have interests and needs that are different from what you expect. For example, sports products are not only for men or skincare products are not only for women. More importantly, a person’s gender identity is not determined by their physical appearance. ASK. The best approach is to ask customers first what they need, instead of assuming what they are.

LASTLY, Selling across different beliefs How can we sell if our political or religious beliefs are not aligned?

Find a common ground. You might have a different set of beliefs to your customer, but you might find some things that are common to both of you as individuals.

Show genuine curiosity. You could be sharing the same interests. You both might have a passion for poetry. You could be supporting the same charitable organization. You will only know if you do not let your own beliefs shut off your enthusiasm to get to know the other person who seems radically different to you.

Respect. When our customers see how we can put our beliefs aside in order to make way for good business relations, we gain their respect, and possibly a long-standing relationship, in return.