What a misstep on a remote farm in Myanmar taught me about leadership, listening, and last-mile sales The Morning That Felt Different It was the kind of morning I’ve come to know well in rural Myanmar’s dry zone—quiet, golden, and already heavy with heat. The overnight bus from Yangon had dropped me in Magway at 4 a.m. The streets were still asleep, save for the occasional trishaw gliding past. I rented a small motorbike, found a local tea shop that was just beginning to stir, and waited for the first light with a cup of sweet, thick Burmese tea. I’d done this countless times—early field visits that began in silence and dust, long before any office opened. But this visit felt different. I wasn’t here to just observe or support. I was here to quietly assess one of our most promising team leads. Meet “Spiky Head” Everyone on the team called him Spiky Head —a nickname earned as much for his wild, uncombed hair as for his sharp, unfiltered energy. He had outsold everyone in the regi...
Social enterprises are businesses that have a social mission at their core. They often serve low-income communities, and as a result, they face unique challenges in sales. These challenges include limited financial resources, trust and credibility, accessibility and distribution, cultural sensitivity, and education and awareness.
Despite these challenges, there are a number of practical strategies and tactics that social enterprises can use to overcome them and achieve sales success in low-income markets. These strategies include
Understanding the customer
I personally work with several social enterprises that serve low-income communities. One of the organizations that I was in has a deep understanding of the needs, aspirations, and pain points of the target audience. They invest a lot in market research, surveys, and focus groups with key customers. While the rest of the seasonal organization have difficulties in overcoming Covid Lockdown and Political instability challenges, they just don't survive, they thrive.
Providing value and solutions
They also focus on providing value and solutions to their customers, rather than simply selling products or services. This means understanding the challenges that their customers face and offering products or services that can help them overcome those challenges.
Building trust and credibility
Trust is essential in any sales relationship, but it is especially important in low-income markets. Low-income customers may have been exploited or disappointed by businesses in the past. As a result, they may be more cautious and skeptical when approached by sales representatives. Social enterprises need to build trust and credibility with their customers by being transparent, honest, and reliable. I came across one of the sales meetings where an existing customer sold the product to another customer in under 1 min which our sales expert took months to close the first sales. When a customer in low-income market trust and happy with our product “ they become better than our top sales person “
Offering affordable pricing and flexible payment options
Low-income customers often have limited financial resources. As a result, it is important to offer affordable pricing and flexible payment options. This will make your products and services more accessible to these customers. Another way is modifying the product/ services that they offer to make it accessible. One of the companies that I work with created a 1 KG fertilizer bag instead of a 40KG standard bag to sell to the low income market.
Simplifying the sales process
The sales process should be as simple, efficient, and easy to understand as possible for low-income customers. This means minimizing paperwork and bureaucratic procedures. The sales process should be clear and straightforward, so that customers know what to expect. Sometimes if you are serving customers from villages that are too far away from your office, your sales rep is the only person that handles all customer success journeys from Marketing through Customer services.
Investing in education and awareness
Social enterprises need to invest in educating and raising awareness about their products or services among low-income communities. This can be done through marketing, public relations, and community outreach. This is important for both potential customers and your sales Reps. Better sales reps mean happier customers and happier customers mean more referral sales.
Leveraging technology
Technology can be a powerful tool for social enterprises to reach and engage with low-income customers. Social enterprises can use social media, mobile apps, and other technology to reach customers where they are. By leveraging technology, social enterprises can build relationships with customers and promote their products and services.By following these strategies, social enterprises can overcome the challenges of selling in low-income markets and achieve sales success
If you are a social enterprise that serves low-income markets, I encourage you to implement these strategies in your sales process. By doing so, you can make a positive impact on the lives of low-income families and achieve your business goals
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