Selling From The Heart: Why Honoring Yourself Is The Missing Piece In Your Small Business Sales Strategy

If you’re a freelancer, coach, small business owner, or anyone bravely selling services born from your own brain, you know exactly what it’s like for your heart to be all over your business. It’s stitched into every client conversation, every social post, every “Can we hop on a call?” But let’s address the sticky, uncomfortable truth: so many of us still cringe at the thought of selling, as if asking for money dishonors all the love we pour into our work.

I just listened to a gem-filled episode of the “Selling From The Heart” podcast—hosted by Larry Levine and Darrell Amy—featuring yours truly, Annie P. Ruggles, and it hit harder than a surprise invoice from your web designer. If you missed it, let’s break down the most teachable lesson from our unsparingly honest convo:

Lesson: You Don’t Have to Dishonor Yourself to Serve Others

It’s popular to think business—for the self-employed and creative folks especially—is about relentless, unending service. Give, give, give, never ask. I was once the president of “avoid-the-sale-at-all-costs.” In my words, as shared on the podcast:

“I am for all people except myself. Because it felt good to give and it felt nasty to receive. And it felt nasty to ask for myriad reasons, but I wasn't asking in the right way.”
– Annie P. Ruggles

Sound familiar? You might overdeliver until you’re a shell of yourself, convinced your clients’ admiration will somehow put food on the table. Spoiler: admiration doesn’t pay the bills. I had to learn to honor myself on both sides of the transaction.

“I thought in order to honor them, I had to dishonor me. And that could not have been further from the truth.”
– Annie P. Ruggles

How Do You Start Honoring Yourself in Sales?

Redefine Selling:
We’re taught that selling is manipulative, pushy, uncomfortable. What if you redefine it? As I laid out in the episode:

“My definition of selling just flat out is problem solving for money. That's it. I solve a problem, you have money, you want me to solve it, you give me money. That's selling.”
– Annie P. Ruggles

No drama. No self-sacrifice. Just a fair exchange.

Own Your Worth:
Stop projecting your discomfort about receiving onto your client. If you’re struggling to ask, that’s your emotion—not theirs. Let yourself be compensated for the impact you create.

“Business owner, way to be! And also if you're one of the people like the three of us who will never, ever, ever want to violate the client, then you're even better off. Rock on. Follow that energy.”
– Annie P. Ruggles

Remember—You’re Already Persuasive!

We’re all salespeople, but we often don’t call it that. If you’ve convinced a toddler to eat broccoli, renegotiated nanny rates, or made someone want carrot cake, you’re already selling. You just call it service, or “making memories.” And like Larry Levine put it:

“Salespeople out there sell memories and experiences. Think about that for a moment.”
– Larry Levine

Your Challenge

Before your next sales conversation, remind yourself: Honoring the other person doesn’t require you to dishonor yourself. Value flows both ways. Redefine sales as the beautiful exchange it is—helping, problem-solving, and yes, getting paid.

If you’re feeling sales reluctance, don’t panic. Connect with someone who gets it—from podcasts like “Selling From The Heart” to peers who’ll remind you: selling, done heart-first, is a noble profession.

Go make your ask with your whole heart. If you don’t ask, you won’t get.

This post was inspired by the episode featuring Annie P. Ruggles on the “Selling From The Heart” podcast, hosted by Larry Levine and Darrell Amy.

If this resonates, come find me on LinkedIn or Instagram (@anniepreneur)! Let’s turn your dread into delight, one heart-centered sale at a time.