Selling During Uncertain Times Isn’t Inherently Unethical
Selling, even in the best of times, gives some people the heebie jeebies.
We might feel bad. We might feel greedy. We might feel sleazy, slimy, icky, all sorts of feelings.
But then something happens like a global pandemic, and those feelings can become a whole lot worse.
Selling in uncertain times, pandemic or otherwise, can be uncomfortable depending on how you approach it. But selling ethically in uncertain times is possible.
Let’s go over some important perspective shifts, the importance of serving sustainably to avoid burnout, and 4 real ways to show up and serve sensitively and ethically during uncertain times.
Side note: this blog post is based on a podcast episode I recorded in April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, so a lot of the language is focused on that particular Uncertain Time. But the principles can apply to any uncertain time.
At the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of people were out of work and things felt financially terrifying for so many people.
And all of a sudden, I started seeing a lot of entrepreneurs feeling like, if I'm making any sort of money right now, I'm probably a terrible, greedy, opportunistic person.
And sure, if you bought up a bunch of baby formula, and tried to resell it on Facebook Marketplace at a 300% markup, then yeah, that’s pretty opportunistic and terrible.
But I know that's not you. You’re just trying to keep your business running.
You can absolutely keep selling during uncertain times.
But before we talk about what, how, and the shifts you might want to make, there are two practical, mindset-related things I’d like you to consider:
Perspective Shift #1: When you have an abundance, you are able to do great things with that abundance.
If you grew up in America, you might feel like money equals greed, desiring money makes you a bad person, and having money implies you've done something horrible to get it.
Instead of this, I’d like you to think about all of the amazing, philanthropic people who are able to give generously and really bless others with their money; people like Oprah, Melinda Gates, Ellen, Brené Brown, Glennon Doyle, and so many more.
Even local to you, there are definitely wealthy people who give back generously to their own communities. They might not be famous on a national or global level, but they are making a difference for the people who live and work near them.
Maybe you can’t give on a grand scale, but know that when you are making money, and when you are spending it locally, you’re supporting your community. This can look like:
Spending with any local restaurants that are still open for to go orders
Donating to food banks
Venmo-ing to urgent care nurses who are working frantically right now
Perspective Shift #2: Someone is happy to spend their money on what you offer
Think about times where you’ve spent money with somebody for a product or service that made your life better, or that solved a problem for you.
This could be something as simple as the person who does your hair.
I love getting my hair done, and it's not inexpensive, but I love the person that I go to - she is so professional, fun to chat with, and I feel great afterwards. I’m genuinely happy to spend that money.
I think about the people who redid my branding, or were paid coaches of mine, or have done brand photoshoots. And while none of those things are necessary for me to live, they helped me solve a problem, and it felt like money well spent.
When we spend money on things like this, we go back again and again, or we recommend that person to as many people as possible because we just had such a great experience.
If you know that you’ve been helped by a product or a service that you are happy you spent money on, then it's possible to see that whatever it is that you’re selling also has value to somebody else.
Ethical Selling in Uncertain Times
Now that we have those two mindset shifts at the top of your mind, let’s talk about selling.
First, remember that your offers are actually helping people, so selling your offers is helping people solve very real problems that they’re facing during this pandemic.
Let's say you're a social media manager and you help people get found by their ideal clients on Instagram.
Right now, people who've been getting clients from in-person networking desperately need your help, but they don't have the time or the energy to research Instagram and hope that they get it right.
Or maybe you're a life coach for moms, and you help your clients navigate mindset and parenting issues.
Well, right now, working parents are being asked to work from home and homeschool their children. That's a lot. You can help them create new routines, communicate better with their families, and deal with their challenging feelings.
You have the solution for them, and it’s what you’re an expert in.
But you can’t do it all for free, because burnout is real.
As much as you might feel like the only ethical response is to offer free coaching or free support in whatever your expertise is, it’s not the answer.
I know from experience that if I am actively coaching clients, I max out at three hours in a day. I also have other things going on in my business that are needed to keep it moving forward, like marketing, so I can't sacrifice that time either.
I can't just open up my schedule to unlimited free coaching (right now or anytime), because it would take away from showing up as my best self for my paying clients.
I know that people are hurting, and maybe people who are in your ideal client pool are really struggling. You want to be showing up and serving in a way that’s sensitive to what’s happening right now, but you need to do it in a way that won’t burn you out.
4 Sustainable & Ethical Ways To Serve Your People During Uncertain Times
1. sHArE yOUr tALeNTs, YOuR kNOwLEdGE, aNd yOuR sKIlLS
Something you can do for free, and that maximizes your time, is teach, because instead of one to one, it's one to many.
Now, chances are you're already giving away a lot of great free content and help, so please don't discount that fact.
Use your social media, a blog, or a podcast - whether on your own or on other people's platforms - to show up and teach something useful with your expertise.
2. OFfEr fLExIBLe PAyMeNT oPTIOnS
Offering flexible payment plan options is a great way to be sensitive to people’s financial situations during an uncertain time without devaluing your offers.
Let's say for example that you have a three month coaching package. If you feel comfortable, you could spread out the payments for people who need it to four, five, or six months - whatever you see fit.
(Just make sure you have a really good contract in place.)
If you do one-on-one coaching, or another done-for-you service, and you don't want to spread out the payments, you can decrease the deliverables. You can create a smaller package that still honors your expertise and your time, but has fewer components.
And if you feel comfortable, you can offer “pay what you want” or “pay what you can” options - but do give people a suggested price range.
3. dONAtE TO a CaUsE
If you don't want to change anything about what you’re doing, but you still want to do something, you can divert a portion of your profits to a community resource that is in need of support right now.
For instance, if you have a $500 offer, then for every new person that books that offer, you’ll give $50 or $100 to the local food bank.
4. CrEATe A nEw OFfER
You can also create a one-off offer that can help people right now, and if they want ongoing help, then they can pay you for a regular package.
A life coach, for example, could offer a one-hour session, instead of their habitual minimum of three, to help their clients get unstuck.
Important note: If you are thinking about creating a new offer, I want you to pause and ask yourself, “Am I doing this out of scarcity or fear? Or am I doing this out of love and being of service?”
I’ll use myself as an example for this.
Because I love to strategize business for people, when it became clear that a lot of people needed to pivot to online offerings, I considered creating an offer to help them do that.
But I quickly realized that there was too much room for error, and I didn’t want to risk wasting anyone’s money or time when I can’t guarantee that I can help, say, a massage therapist create a virtual offer.
But I have been homeschooling my son for many years while running businesses.
One of the things I love to do with my clients when we create their strategic marketing plan is to help them figure out how the hell to get it all done in addition to the rest of their life.
This is baked into what I do, because I've had to figure out how to maximize a really limited schedule, so that’s a specific problem that people are facing now that I can help with.
It's not for everyone, but it is something that I can offer.
Here’s the thing: if you are showing up with good intentions, wanting to serve people, and you have something of value to offer, it does not make you unethical to charge for that in any way.
At the end of the day, you're running a business, and you are valuable, even if that’s hard for you to admit.
You have something that’s incredibly valuable to other people. It's been valuable to the people who've already worked with you, and it’ll be valuable to the people who have yet to work with you.
So charging for that, even in uncertain times, does not make you unethical or greedy or sleazy or any of that.
Just make sure that however you decide to show up and serve is coming from a place of integrity, is sensitive to what’s going on, and is sustainable for your own situation as well.
