I was really looking forward to writing this one! June is known as Pride Month, a time when we celebrate the LGBT Pride and the progress made in achieving equal rights. It is a month of joy, celebration, and advocacy for the LGBT community. As a Sales Manager, it’s essential to ensure that your team are in an environment that’s conducive to them being their best selves.

Enabling your team to sell in an authentic manner, you need to know your audience, listen actively, and communicate effectively. In this blog post, we’ll share tips on how to create an inclusive sales environment for your team.

The Importance of Authenticity In The Way That You See Sales

Sales have come a long way from the boiler room setting of 30 years ago. Today, people are not just buying products or services; they are also buying into the people and the values behind them. This is where authenticity comes into play. Being authentic means being true to yourself and your values, and this is especially important when running a Sales Operation during LGBT Pride Month.

Authenticity in sales is crucial because people can tell when someone is not being genuine. Customers want to feel a connection with the person they are buying from, and if they sense that the salesperson is only pretending to care about them or their cause, they will quickly lose interest.

This is why it’s important to let your authentic self shine through when selling, especially during LGBT Pride Month. Your customers are not just looking for a product or service; they want to support a brand that shares their values and supports their community.

Creating Inclusive Sales Process Design

When you show your authentic self and genuine support for the LGBTQ+ community, you not only connect with your customers on a personal level, but you also create a sense of trust. Customers want to do business with brands that they trust, and authenticity is key to building that trust.

How to incorporate pride into your sales strategy without tokenizing the LGBTQ+ community
This isn’t about sticking up some rainbow flags around your desk. It’s important to celebrate and show support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. But it’s more important to do so in a way that doesn’t tokenize or exploit the community for sales.

Here are some tips for incorporating pride into your sales strategy with authenticity:

1. Educate yourself: Before you start incorporating pride into your sales strategy, take the time to educate yourself on the history and significance of Pride Month. Learn about the struggles and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community and how your business can be a genuine ally.
2. Show support year-round: Don’t just show support during Pride Month. Make sure you’re actively supporting the LGBTQ+ community all year long. This could include making donations to LGBTQ+ organizations or supporting LGBTQ+ causes through your business practices.
3. Collaborate with LGBTQ+ voices: Instead of speaking on behalf of the community, collaborate with members of the LGBTQ+ community to create your sales strategy. This could include working with LGBTQ+ influencers, partnering with LGBTQ+ organizations, or consulting with LGBTQ+ employees.
4. Avoid stereotypes: Avoid using stereotypical phrasing or imagery in your marketing materials. Instead, focus on highlighting the diversity and individuality of the LGBTQ+ community.
5. Be transparent: Be honest about your intentions and the steps you’re taking to support the LGBTQ+ community. If you’re donating a portion of your profits to an LGBTQ+ organization, make sure it’s clear how much you’re donating and where the money is going.
   By incorporating pride into your sales strategy in an authentic way, you can show your support for the LGBTQ+ community while also building trust and loyalty with your customers.

Tips for showing genuine support for the LGBTQ+ community in a Sales Team

Create an inclusive workplace: Your workplace should be a safe and welcoming environment for everyone. Ensure that all team members are trained on diversity and inclusion. Use gender-neutral language, provide gender-neutral restrooms, and use preferred pronouns. You can also create LGBTQ+ affinity groups to provide a space for employees to connect and share their experiences.

Partner with LGBTQ+ organizations: Show your support for the LGBTQ+ community by partnering with local organizations. You can sponsor events, donate to causes, and volunteer your time. This will demonstrate that you care about the community beyond making a profit.

Use inclusive marketing: When creating marketing materials, use inclusive language and images that represent a variety of genders, races, and orientations. Avoid stereotypes and tokenizing LGBTQ+ individuals. Your marketing should aim to create an inclusive environment for all customers.

How Inclusive is your workplace toward LGBTQ+ talent?

Diversify your team by actively looking at how you can encourage more LGBTQ+ candidates. This will bring diverse perspectives and experiences to your workplace and demonstrate your commitment to creating an inclusive workplace. Joyann Boyce is a wonderful font of expertise on ways to create a narrative that is true to your organisation, but also inclusive.

Park Row Marketing was designed from the ground up as a meritocracy. As a remote working agency, we have very specific touch points and KPIs, where everyone is judged against in a fair way. We have 6 essential things which all team members have to do. Everything else, we’re flexible on:

1. Show up for your agreed shift pattern
2. Get the results: Put simply, hit targets and KPI’s agreed
3. Have fun with it: Be friendly and charming on the phone!
4. Chat with us and get involved: Please actively contribute your suggestions
5. Use the systems properly
6. Stick to the Code of conduct

We’re genuinely flexible on everything else. Now we’re not saying this would specifically work for you. Incorporate an approach to help you demonstrate genuine support for the LGBTQ+ community while selling in a way that’s commercially viable.

It’s essential to approach sales authentically, creating meaningful relationships with your customers that go beyond profit. By doing so, you’ll not only make more sales but also build a reputation as an ally and a leader in diversity and inclusion.

Love You All XoXo