"Hate to market or sell what you do... or feel like this goes against your personal values?"

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Marketing & Communicating with Spirit

Do you have a product or service to sell... a passion you'd like to turn into a livelihood... or an idea you want to share with others – but there's something about sales and marketing that scares you, turns you off or goes against your values?

The “old” way of marketing is trying to convince others to buy or do what we want them to. The "new" way - which might be called a conscious or spiritual approach - is different. It's about sharing what we love & value, and finding others who love & value it too. It's giving from the heart, serving/meeting real needs, and creating mutual benefits.

If that speaks to you, this workshop explores inspiring and practical ways to market and communicate what matters to you.

Here are some topics we'll cover:
- Are you marketing and communicating from your 'small self' or 'whole self'... your 'ego' or 'spirit'?
- Writing, speaking, print materials, media, the Web, ads, social media... how do we choose?
- What's blocking you from marketing your products/services?
- Treating others the way you want to be treated
- Quality, caring service: Are people telling others about you?
- How to communicate an “unusual” product/service
- When to use “spiritual” language
- How to integrate spirituality and working in the “real world”

Bring your challenges and the issues you want to work on. Share stories about what's worked for you, and what hasn't. And discover ways to communicate – that feel right for you, from the inside out.
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Eric Hellman has been communicating projects, products and services for close to 40 years, including the first Blue Box recycling program, a peace event at a World’'s Fair, speaking & consulting in Australia, an office services company, as well as books, speakers, meetings and events.

A communications coach and consultant, Eric is also an energy/touch practitioner and Director of the Centre for Spirituality at Work (www.spiritualityatwork.org). He is the co-author of the bestselling book, Leadership from Within, and author of Signs of Progress, Signs of Caution (a manual for assessing Healthy Communities) and Coming Out of the Spiritual Closet, a personal memoir about his challenges with spirituality.

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More about this Workshop

Marketing and selling can be done from our small/limited self (the ego) or our whole self (the Spirit or Higher Self). The first is about getting what we think we want, without regard to the real needs or interests of others. The second is about communicating something we love/value, and finding others who will love/value it too, thereby creating mutual benefit, satisfaction and joy.

The Ego
When we use our limited or small self (ego), we experience ourselves as lacking – for example, in money, customers/clients, time, opportunities, well being and value. We believe that what we need comes from outside of us, from others.

Seeing life as a place of insufficiency, we think that one person has to lose (or sacrifice) for another to gain. For example, others must give up what they value (money), or do what they don’t really want to, so we can benefit. Or, we must give up what we value (our integrity, honesty or well being) to convince others to "buy" from us.

That's why we've come to dislike marketing/selling so much. When done with the ego, it results in selling products or services we don’t really believe in, or 'manipulating' people to buy. It’s essentially about how to “get” rather than how to give and receive.

The Spirit
When we use our higher or whole self (Spirit), our good comes from within. We see ourselves as being of value, and having something of value to give to others.

“Marketing” then becomes the way we communicate this to the world. It’s telling others about who we are and what we love to do, so as to find people who would enjoy and benefit from what we offer. Our desire is to help them "buy" what is in their best interests, because that is what serves us most too.

The goal is mutual satisfaction. When someone gets what they really need, they feel good. By having given what we feel good about, we experience both our joy and theirs. The more we communicate and sell this way, the better we feel, the better others feel and the more they enjoy telling other people about us.
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10 Steps to Marketing with Spirit

1) First, start with Intention. For example:

        - that through my work, everyone wins, or the highest will is done for all

        - that the right work/customers/clients come to me; and

        - that my work serves three interests –

   mine, the other person's, and Spirit/the Whole.

2) Ask within:

         - what would I like/love to offer as a service?

         - what does Spirit/Life want me to do?

3) Listen:

         - quiet the mind, & listen for what feels right (head, heart & intuition)

         - what sings inside you or feels healing?

         - is this a way for you to express "love" in the world?

4) Check:

         - Do I feel this is what Spirit/Life wants me to do?

         - Is this serving the ‘three interests’ (mine, others, the Whole)?