Authentic Selling: How to Sell B2B …without the ‘ick’
If you’ve recently started your own business and found yourself thinking “I didn’t sign up to be a salesperson” - you’re not alone.
For many new founders, B2B selling comes with a strong dose of discomfort. Cold outreach feels awkward. Talking about your offer feels self-promotional. And somewhere along the way, selling picked up a reputation for being pushy, manipulative, or just… a bit icky.
Here’s the good news: good B2B selling doesn’t feel like that at all.
Authentic selling is about having real conversations with the right people, solving real problems, and building trust — without pressure tactics, fake urgency, or pretending to be someone you’re not.
Let’s break down how to sell B2B without the ick.
Why B2B selling can feel uncomfortable for founders
Most founders didn’t come from a traditional sales background. You likely started your business because you:
Are good at what you do
Saw a problem worth solving
Wanted more freedom or impact.
Selling was a means to an end - not the reason you started.
On top of that, many of us learned about sales from the worst examples:
Aggressive cold calls
Over-hyped promises
Scripts that feel robotic
“Closing techniques” that feel more like pressure than help
So it’s no surprise that when it’s your product, your reputation, and your business on the line, those approaches feel deeply uncomfortable.
The mistake isn’t that you’re bad at sales. The mistake is thinking that’s what B2B sales is supposed to look like.
Reframing sales: selling is helping someone make a good decision
At its core, B2B sales is not about convincing someone to buy something they don’t need.
It’s about:
Understanding a business problem
Exploring whether you can genuinely help
Making it easier for the buyer to decide
When selling is done well, it feels like a structured conversation, not a performance.
If you’ve ever:
Given advice
Helped a client think through a decision
Recommended a tool, supplier, or approach
Congratulations — you're already selling.
Effective, authentic selling simply adds clarity, intention, and consistency to those conversations.
Start with clarity, not confidence
New founders often think they need more confidence to sell.
In reality, what they need is clarity.
Confidence grows naturally when you are clear on:
Who you help
What problem you solve
Why it matters to the buyer
If you can clearly explain:
“I help this type of business solve this specific problem so they can achieve this outcome”
…selling becomes much easier — because you’re not trying to sell to everyone.
Clarity also makes it easier for buyers to recognise themselves in your message. When people feel understood, trust builds quickly.
Focus on conversations, not pitches
One of the fastest ways to create “ick” in B2B sales is to jump straight into pitching.
Authentic selling prioritises curiosity over persuasion.
Great sales conversations are built around:
Asking thoughtful questions
Listening more than you talk
Exploring the buyer’s context
Instead of:
“Let me tell you about my product”
Try:
“Can you walk me through how you’re currently handling this?”
Your job isn’t to prove how clever your solution is. Your job is to understand whether a real problem exists — and whether it’s worth solving now.
Sometimes, the most authentic outcome of a sales conversation is deciding not to move forward. That honesty builds long-term credibility.
Ditch the scripts, keep the structure
Authentic selling doesn’t mean “winging it”.
Structure matters — especially in B2B where deals are higher value and decisions involve more stakeholders.
The key is to use structure without sounding scripted.
A simple, effective sales conversation often covers:
Context — what’s happening in their business
Impact — why the problem matters
Options — what they’ve tried or considered
Fit — whether your approach makes sense
This keeps the conversation focused while still feeling natural and human.
Buyers don’t want to be “closed”. They want to feel confident they’re making a smart decision.
Build trust before you ask for commitment
Trust is the real currency of B2B sales.
Founders often rush the process because they need revenue — which is understandable — but pressure erodes trust faster than almost anything else.
When people feel safe, they engage more honestly — and better decisions follow.
Sales that feel good are sustainable sales
The biggest advantage of authentic selling isn’t just that it feels better.
It’s that it’s sustainable.
When your sales approach:
Aligns with your values
Sounds like you
Doesn’t rely on pressure or gimmicks
You’re far more likely to:
Show up consistently
Enjoy the process
Build long-term client relationships
And for founders, consistency beats intensity every time.
You don’t need to change your personality
You don’t need a new personality to sell B2B. You don’t need to be louder, slicker, or more aggressive. You don’t need to feel uncomfortable to be effective.
You just need a clear message, a genuine interest in your buyers, and a simple structure to guide the conversation.
That’s authentic selling — and it works.
If selling currently feels uncomfortable, take that as a signal to change how you sell — not a sign that you shouldn’t be selling at all.
You started your business to help people. That's what selling is all about.
Join me for a free Webinar: 12th Feb
If any part of this article made you think “ok… that actually sounds doable”, I’d love you to join me live.
In the webinar Authentic Selling: How to sell B2B without the ick, I’ll walk through exactly how to approach B2B sales in a way that feels natural, confident, and aligned with your values as a founder.
