Soft Sell Isn’t About Political Correctness

The other day we attended a local seminar and noticed that the presenter, a young man in his late twenties we’ll call Andrew, was using a curious power point to demonstrate the buyers for his Internet marketing  program.The “buyers” were all male and all white.

So Judith raised her hand and said, “I’m curious. All the people you’ve got in your power point are males and white males. It’s hard to listen to your presentation when I’m not represented up there and neither are lots of other people in this room.”

Andrew looked stunned.

With other audience members nodding in agreement Judith went on, “Why didn’t you put in a few females and some people of color?”

We could see Andrew was getting edgy, eager to shut Judith up. But she wasn’t finished.

“My husband and I represent the Soft Sell Marketing Community and a growing movement that’s emerging around the globe. And we’re proving—without a doubt—that women want to succeed in business big time and will buy marketing products. And of course the same is true for people of color—so you’re missing the beat for lots of us.”  

To help soften this unexpected lesson in conscious commerce, Jim added, “We appreciate your work—and trust that you receive this with the friendly support that it comes with.”

No doubt no one had ever criticized his presentation, so it was touching when Andrew said, “Oh dear, they ARE all males, and ALL white. But it’s funny – I never even considered what you’re saying in my marketing. Okay, I’ll see what I can do to make my power point more politically correct.”

But that wasn’t the point.

So Jim tried again. “Look, Andrew, Internet marketing has been very male-dominated. But now millions of women and people of color are coming online as marketers and certainly as buyers. So we’re not talking about ‘political correctness.’ We’re talking about the need for all of us—everyone—to expand our awareness. To care about everyone who is buying and selling—whether online or offline.”

Judith added, “Andrew, we’re on a mission. We’re leading the movement of Soft Sell Marketing— marketing with heart, marketing with greater personal awareness about the real people we’re engaged with any time we’re selling.
It was difficult for Andrew to show his appreciation for being made aware of his blind spot, but when he shyly—and with some embarrassment—thanked us, everyone gave him a standing ovation.

Then one of the men turned to us and said, “I want to thank you for standing up for the need to respect each other in the sales process. I’ve never heard anyone ever say what you’re talking about. I feel like we all moved a little bit closer to what you described as selling as spiritual service. Wow! What a radically wonderful concept.” 

Yes, Soft Sell Marketing is a change of heart, not some false, superficial concept like “political correctness” which comes from the phoney posturing of angry, combat-oriented groups who lack the soul to actually embody real change.

For support and ongoing training in Soft Sell Marketing, make sure to join us as a member of the Soft Sell Marketers Association: http://www.softsellmarketersassociation.org    

Judith & Jim