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In this blog post, we are exploring one of the most powerful forces driving the global economy: WOMEN BUYERS.

Whether you sell B2B or B2C, high-end furniture, SAAS, life coaching, or books,

Chances are that WOMEN are often making the decision to buy from you or not.

Knowing how to connect with, build trust with, and most importantly RESPECT women buyers is really important if you want to sell to them.

And trust me. You want to know how to sell to them. To US.

That’s because women have a total projected global spending power of $18 Trillion dollars, according to research conducted by global consultancy EY.

That makes WOMEN the world’s second-biggest economy, right in between the US and China.

But before your eyes light up like dollar signs, understand…WE MAY HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT WE AREN’T necessarily EASY TO sell to.

“Women are smart. We are really smart and especially as consumers. You know, we can read between the lines, and I think that’s definitely something that I’ve learned throughout my experiences with beauty, even with Sephora.”

That’s Emaan Abbass. She’s the founder of Ketish Beauty.

KETISH is an intimate wellness brand – their products include body oils that soothe period pain and feminine wipes.

Emaan’s been covered in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, she’s even been on the cover of Cosmo.

You’re going to be hearing a lot from her in this article. And that’s because she has some powerful and practical ideas to help YOU create a brand and offers that women LOVE to buy and refer.

So if you are ready to grow your company by tapping into the $18 trillion female consumer opportunity.

OR the trillions more that women leaders control through B2B corporate spend…

Keep reading.

The Women Helping Women Economy

Two years ago, a client of mine, thought leadership advisor Eva Jannotta coined a term…

The Women Helping Women Economy.

What Eva saw – and I confirm – was the rising number of women who were starting businesses offering products and services that were made BY women FOR women.

Whether you are a part of the Women Helping Women economy or not, women are key influencers and decision-makers in your sales funnel.

So I’m going to share 3 strategies to help you connect with, build trust with, and ultimately SELL to women buyers and decision-makers.

But first, let’s take establish the massive opportunity that exists for you when you know how to sell to women.

How to Sell to Women: The Opportunity

According to global consultancy BCG, as early as next year, women will control roughly $90 trillion in private wealth – that’s more than a third of the world’s wealth btw.

“As early as next year, women will control roughly $90 trillion in private wealth.” – BCG

We control a huge amount of money, but we’re still underserved.

I asked my LinkedIn community why they thought so many women are starting companies that sell exclusively to other women. I thought this answer from Anna Dewar Gully – who founded a strategy firm called Tidal Equality said:

“So many products and services are not designed with women in mind, and certainly not with their equity in mind, and yet women are the world’s most powerful buyers.”

So let’s do the math…

Women buyers and leaders control $18 trillion worth of purchasing power and $90 trillion worth of private wealth…

And as a group, we feel massively underserved and misunderstood by the very companies trying to sell to us.

Ladies, that’s called one hell of a business opportunity. So let’s discuss how to capitalize…by serving women buyers better.

How to Sell to Women Strategy Number 1: Be Authentic and Transparent

Ok, ok, I get it. “Transparency” and “authentic” are basically the most overused words on the planet…

But, transparency and authenticity are really, really important to women buyers in particular.

Remember what Emaan said earlier?

“Women are smart. We are really smart and especially as consumers. You know, we can read between the lines, and I think that’s definitely something that I’ve learned throughout my experiences with beauty.”

So how do you demonstrate AUTHENTICITY and TRANSPARENCY to smart women buyers?

You start by showing them your genuine LOVE for what you do.

Emaan is a great example of this.

I don’t know about you, but I can spend a LOT of time browsing the aisles of my neighbourhood drugstore and loading up on creams and potions and scrubs. I love product. But Emaan, well, she takes the love of beauty products to the next level.

“Well, man, I mean, I think I’ve been a lifelong product junkie. I remember when I was young, my mom would take me to Target or to the drug stores, and I would just comb through the aisles, especially in the beauty skincare department. And I just always had a love and a fascination for product, especially when it came to ingredients. It’s just something that really fascinated me, and it’s something that started at a very young age as I got older, I started to fall, really fall in love with brands and products that came out of mission-based brands because usually, a mission-based brand had products that were going to tie into that mission. And so I would just say that I always had a deep and sincere passion for products, effective products, products that people could trust, and that’s something that fueled my interest.”

Did you notice how Emaan describes her relationship with what she sells? She called it a “deep and sincere passion for products people could trust”.

Through our entire interview, Emaan emphasized and reemphasized her legit love for trustworthy feminine products that are safe and nourishing for women to use on their bodies.

It was…inspiring, quite frankly. And Emaan’s passion also contains a really powerful lesson about how to be AUTHENTIC as a company, a brand, and a leader.

And that lesson is to remember to LOVE what you do….and share that love wherever you can.

My question for YOU is, do YOU have a deep and sincere passion for what you sell?

• And are you sharing that love for what you do everyday
• On social media
• In your team meetings
• In your sales calls
• In your marketing collateral
• In media opportunities

Now, this might seem obvious like an obvious tip, but I talk to HUNDREDS of entrepreneurs each year, and very few – maybe 1 in 5 – really demonstrate the kind of deep and sincere passion Emaan is showing here.

It’s not that they don’t have it…it’s that they’re tired or overwhelmed and that interferes with

1. a) the ability to connect with the LOVE that had you start your business…and
2. b) the ability to SHARE that sincere enthusiasm with the world.

And this brings me to my second practical tip for demonstrating authenticity and transparency to women buyers.

Show us your deeper WHY

In addition to sharing your genuine LOVE, you need to show us your deeper WHY.

Women buyers want to know WHY what you sell matters. And we don’t want a lecture, we want to connect with your story.

Here’s Emaan sharing the story of why she started Ketish.

I feel like when people ask me this question, in retrospect, I feel like I’ve been working on Ketish my entire life. There are so many experiences that I have gone through as a woman, as an Egyptian woman, and a Middle Eastern woman that have led me to this point of creating Ketish.

 

And for those that don’t know, Ketish is a feminine and intimate wellness brand. And when I was growing up, in our culture, the Middle Eastern culture, we didn’t necessarily talk about feminine health and our bodies. The topic was quite taboo, and I always had a curiosity, I think because it was a forbidden fruit, I always had a curiosity about my body and pleasure and intimacy, and obviously that curiosity, it really changed at a certain point in my life.

 

I was twenty-one and I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. And that curiosity really transformed. It no longer was this passion out of curiosity, but it was more so like this, like, this is my life, and I have to learn about my body and what’s going on. And in that experience, I realized that there weren’t a ton of products that were on the market that were trustworthy and credible. 

 

I remember going to the drugstore after a treatment that I had, and I remember picking up a bottle of feminine wash and I didn’t understand any of the ingredients. And it really shocked me. It just made me feel like we were doing a disservice to women, along with the ingredient list. I just remember feeling embarrassed and ashamed with even taking this product to the register.

 

I wanted to create a brand that provided products that were not only credible and trustworthy, but also bold and empowering and something special, something that women felt good purchasing. And so that’s ultimately what led me to create Ketish, and I really wanted to create a brand with products that I wish I had when I was going through my feminine health journey. That’s what led me to create it.”

Don’t you just love her by the way? Her origin story is unique, powerful, AND universal.

I don’t know about you, but I could totally relate to growing up and feeling like my body and my sexuality were taboo.

I haven’t had a cervical cancer diagnosis, but I can 100% relate to the way Emaan’s health crisis galvanized to action.

Emaan is willing to be transparent and share her story and that vulnerability opens up the space for us to connect with her and her brand.

The actionable takeaway for YOU is this:

Look for opportunities to share the personal WHY behind your business.

Brainstorm one or two personal experiences that planted the seed for the business you have today.

We call those origin stories, and they are powerful anchors that connect you to your audience.

Learning how to tell your story in a clear, compeling, and concise way can really help you connect with women buyers. To build your storytelling skills, download our free guide, Selling with Story.

Now before we wrap up Strategy #1 – Be transparent and authentic….I want to share a powerful insight to really drive the teachings from this section home.

Sharing your sincere passion for what you do…and the personal why behind your company is especially important when you sell to women.

That’s because when you share your passion and your story, you are equipping women buyers with the detailed fuel we need to spread the word about your brand.

Women tend to talk about what they buy, where they buy it, and whether or not they got a good deal. Typically, women discuss this topic with their female friends more so than men do with their male friends.

Women drive word-of-mouth advertising and referrals. When you combine a great product with a great story…well, that’s fuel on the fire of word-of-mouth advertising from women buyers.

How to Sell to Women Strategy Number 2: Lead With Your Mission

Studies have shown that women entrepreneurs are more likely to be positively perceived, get funding and other forms of critical business support — if they emphasize their social mission.*

I have consulted, interviewed, and connected with thousands of female founders over the last 10 years and the vast majority have had a clear social mission….

They just didn’t always share it.

And that’s the takeaway here. Leading with your social mission is a powerful way to connect with women buyers. Here’s Emaan Abbass.

“You know, I think what I’ve learned in building this brand is that the world is changing, consumers are changing, they want to feel a connection to the products that they are purchasing. I remember years ago, you know, products like Nivea (not to call out anyone), I still use their products that have existed for years and years and years. You don’t know who’s making them and what ingredients are going into them. And I think the way we as consumers shop is different now. We want to feel a connection. We see money leaving our wallets and purchasing something, and we want to feel like what we are giving and what we are getting in exchange or in return is something of value.”

So practically speaking, how do you lead with mission?

Give it a third of your total air time.

The content on the Ketish website is AS devoted to tackling taboos and stereotypes about women’s bodies and sexuality is it is to product descriptions.

There’s a great lesson here. Review your marketing content and find places to share the mission BEHIND the products you offer.

As Emaan notes, women want to feel good about where our money is going. Give us the information we need to feel good about buying from you.

“Share the mission BEHIND the products you offer.”

How to Sell to Women Strategy Number 3: Co-create your offers with them.

Here’s a joke that some of you will hate me for. But you’ll have to admit it’s kind of true.

What do women LOVE to freely give?

OUR ADVICE!

I actually think this is the most powerful insight of all when it comes to creating a company that women love to buy from and offerings we want to buy…

Involve women in the product creation process.

One of the big challenges that companies face when scaling is that leadership is no longer customer-facing.

But that doesn’t just happen to big companies.

When we advise clients on things like marketing and growth strategy, our FIRST step is to consult with the company’s customers or clients.

And I’m surprised how often business owners forget to do this.

And that’s such a missed opportunity because when you involve your customers in your offer design, you give them the chance to get invested in its success.

Here’s a practical example of how Emaan Abbass has involved her customers in the creation of the brand and its products from Day 1.

“And when we were creating this brand, we knew that we were going to have to relate to women. Women were going to have to see themselves in this brand in order to connect to us and in order to connect to our products. And so in building it, we’ve had hundreds of conversations with women from all over the world, and we really wanted to get a better understanding, especially in this space. It’s quite untapped. We are based in the Middle East, so it’s to launch a taboo brand out of the Middle East. We knew that we were going to have to talk to the people in our community and understand, you know, what is their experience with feminine wellness and feminine hygiene? And what has their education looked like? What are their needs? What do they desire from a brand like this? And that’s helped to shape our mission. It’s helped to shape the way in which we speak to our community, as well as shape the way that we develop and create products for the brand. It’s all so intertwined. But what was really important to us was to be able to hear directly from the women that we would be speaking to and weave that in all throughout the brand.

 

So I love this point and would like to stay on it for a moment because so many brands and companies and founders will say, we’re talking to our customers. What does that look like practically so even for you as the founder? What does it mean for you to talk to customers? What is your interaction on a week-by-week basis with customers? This is a really important point that I want to dive into.

 

And it’s honestly for me, and I feel very fortunate that we’re still quite small and we’re building and that I still have the time, but even as we grow, I want to make time for this. I connect directly with our community every day. So if someone DMs or writes a caption on our social, it’s me responding. And it was really important for me to take that role as the founder, especially in these beginning stages. I feel like it’s so important to connect directly to your community and to hear what they’re saying and to hear what they’re asking for and for them to feel like they have a connection with the brand and brand founder. It really just helps to heighten that experience and helps solidify the connection that a potential consumer or a person in our community has with the brand. So for me, I have direct contact through our social media. I also do something behind the scenes. User interviews, that we tend to do whenever we’re creating something for the brand. So whether it be a new product or if we’re looking to change something on the website or to test something with social, we have these user interviews where we actually pull people in that fit our community. It’s women from all over the globe. We have one on one conversations with them where we show them our product or our website, or whatever it is that we want to test and we have a real conversation with them and we get their honest feedback. I love it because it’s a way for me to learn from women that are going to be the end-user or the people that we are speaking to. I get to have their input and they get to see their input change things, which is, I think, really exciting. So there’s a lot of different ways that we try to communicate. But for me, as a founder, it’s really important to have that one on one interaction with my community.”

All those customer conversations with Emaan shaped not only the products they created but the way their market.

“Women tend to connect most with brands that are transparent and authentic, and with brands that they feel value the same things that they value at the core. And so for us, while we’ve been building this brand, it was really important for us to understand exactly what it is that women value, especially in this space, the feminine wellness space. It’s transforming and it’s really changing. Women have very different expectations of this space than what they used to have 5, 10, 20 years ago. So I think for us, it was really important to speak to our community and to understand exactly what it is that they wanted and they needed. What it is that was important to them, especially coming from not only product, but also how we speak to them, how we educate them and how we cover the overall topic of feminine health and feminine wellness. And so I think authenticity, transparency, relatability. Women being able to see themselves in a brand. When women come and see Ketish for the first time, it was important for me as a founder that women were able to see themselves even in the imagery. 

 

And what that meant to us was that we were going to have real women in our campaigns. We weren’t going to use a ton of models. We use models here and there. But a lot of the women that you see even in our brand imagery, are real women. There are people on our team, I’m there myself. It was really important that we didn’t airbrush or edit our photos and that what women got was one hundred percent real. And I think that’s been one of the best pieces of feedback that we’ve received is “wow, your brand is really raw and it’s unedited, it’s unfiltered”. And we try to do that in every aspect of the brand, not just our imagery, but also when it comes to our product or product education. We’re transparent, we’re real, we’re raw, and I think women are able to connect with that a lot.”

Now some of you are probably thinking – “I work 1:1 with my clients all day – I have tons of interaction with them”.

True, but I see a big distinction between working with clients delivering your service, and consulting with them so they can help you shape your marketing, your offerings and your processes.

I want to give you some practical examples of what “talking to customers” can look like

• Conduct 1:1 customer interviews
• Host small focus groups
• Assemble client intakes forms into a binder and read it regularly
• Hold completion calls when clients are finished their work with you
• Hold milestone debrief calls when clients reach specific milestones in their work with you
• Less ideal: surveys

The point here is that, if you want to build a company women love…make them active participants in what that company looks like.

So those are the top 3 strategies for selling to women!

How to Sell to Women recap

WOMEN BUYERS are one of the biggest drivers of economic growth on the planet.

Understanding how to connect with and build trust with women buyers and decision-makers is a powerful way to grow your sales and impact.

And you do this by

1. Demonstrating authenticity and transparency.
2. LEADing with your mission
3. Co-creating your offers, your marketing, and sales processes with the women you are selling to.

Here are 3 practical resources to help you put the learnings from this episode into action.

If you’re fangirling over Emaan Abbass (we get it!) we have a treat for you!

You can check out the exclusive extended interview with the Founder of Ketish at eleanorbeaton.com/ketish

What emerged in the research for this episode is just how important it is to get really clear on your mission, your message, and the big WHY of your offers. That’s all work we do inside The Power Presence Position Business Accelerator – this is an 8-week coaching program for female founders. Go to powerpresenceposition.com to learn more about the program and apply.

Thanks for reading.  If you know a female founder who would benefit from this post, please share it with them!

Would you rather listen to this story? Check out our top-ranked Podcast, Power + Presence + Position: