Sitting in the audience at a recent sales event, I was appalled by the high-pressure and manipulative tactics being used by the presenter. He told stories that preyed on people's vulnerabilities and repeatedly used underhanded techniques to prime the audience to purchase his $40,000 program. After 45 minutes without any real content or value provided, I'd had enough and walked out.

The experience left a bad taste in my mouth, but also reminded me that there is still a strong need for ethical, authentic selling - especially when marketing to women. I want to share some of the key strategies I use to sell my business offerings with integrity.

The Problem with High-Pressure Sales Tactics

The sales event I attended was shocking in how blatantly the presenter used manipulative NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and "yes priming" to influence the audience. Fancy techniques aside, the core problem was the lack of respect for people's time and money.

For 45 minutes, he shared stories crafted to prey on people's hopes and vulnerabilities. Not once did he provide value or substantive information. It was just an elongated sales pitch disguised as education. This "bait and switch" approach shows a complete lack of integrity.

Unfortunately, high-pressure sales tactics are still all too common in certain industries and environments. Implying that unbelievable success is right around the corner if people just buy your product fails to set realistic expectations. This graveyard approach leaves many dreams shattered in its wake.

What Ethical Selling Looks Like

There are several key strategies I use to sell my business offerings ethically:

* Know your audience - Connect with them authentically by understanding their problems, goals and preferences. This helps craft offers that truly serve their needs.

* Provide value - Give away free content that solves real problems but holds back enough "how-to" details to retain value in paid programs.

* Set realistic expectations - Be fully transparent about what your product can and cannot deliver so buyers know what they are purchasing.

* Focus on win-win relationships - Structure pricing and deliverables so both parties walk away satisfied by the fair exchange of value.

* Interact meaningfully - Build real human connections instead of just going through the motions to complete sales.

The core of ethical selling boils down to having integrity. Be someone that audiences can trust because you're always looking out for their best interests.

Connecting with Your Audience Authentically

Building authentic connections with potential buyers is about adding value, not pressuring them. Provide free content that helps them, then intersperse occasional promotion of your paid offerings relevant to their needs.

DM automations through platforms like ManyChat are great for authentic audience connection when used properly. Make it easy for people to access valuable information from you, then engage them in personal follow up conversations.

Lead nurturing requires interacting like supportive humans, not sales robots. Don't just blast promotions or generically badger people to buy. Establish real relationships by caring about their goals and pain points with no strings attached.

Earn people's trust by consistently proving you want to help, not just make sales. Once they come to know, like and trust you, referrals and conversions happen naturally without needing pressure tactics.

The key is respecting your audience's humanity. Connect with them as real people with individual hopes, fears and preferences. Build each other up instead of attempting to capitalize on vulnerabilities. When done right, selling feels more like sharing and less like convincing.

Listen to the full episode of Her Empire Builder Show - How to sell without being gross here. Available to listen wherever you get your podcasts.