Why Mission-Driven Founders Miss Sales, According to Sara Simmonds

In a recent LinkedIn post, Sara Simmonds, Impact Growth Mentor and CEO of Impact Innovator, shares a pivotal moment from her past that led her to pivot her career. She recounts a meeting where she was poised to make a seven-figure order for a sustainable textile brand, only to realize she couldn’t proceed due to unsustainable pricing. This experience, she explains, highlighted a common pitfall among mission-driven founders: a disconnect between their product’s value and their sales strategy.

The Crucial Gap: Buyer Psychology for Mission-Driven Ventures

Simmonds begins by detailing the scenario that crystallized her mission. While impressed by a founder’s innovation, transparency, and product quality, the unsustainable pricing was a non-starter. This led her to conclude that many mission-driven entrepreneurs, despite building admirable businesses, often fail to connect with the right customers because they haven’t been adequately taught buyer psychology. As Sara Simmonds notes:

“I am a huge believer in charging premium pricing for the premium value of what you sell. But as a mission driven founder you have to find the customer who is right for YOU. Not try to sell to everyone.”

This misstep, according to Simmonds, involves trying to appeal to a broad market rather than identifying and targeting the specific customer who truly aligns with the brand’s value proposition and pricing structure. She emphasizes that understanding the ‘buyer’s chair’ is essential for success.

Targeting the Right Buyer for Sustainable Growth

Simmonds argues that founders need to shift their perspective from a product-centric to a buyer-centric approach. By understanding who their ideal customer is and why that customer would choose their product, founders can achieve greater clarity and authority in their sales efforts. This targeted approach, she suggests, is the key to moving beyond rejection and achieving consistent scaling.

The Authority of Clarity

According to Sara Simmonds, when founders learn to think from the buyer’s perspective, they gain the ability to precisely target the right audience. This leads to a more confident and effective market presence. She states:

“When you learn how to think about your innovation from the buyers chair: You learn to target the EXACT right buyer for you. Then you can walk into any room with that same authority, positioning, and clarity.”

Simmonds highlights that this strategic alignment ensures that both the buyer and the seller are the ‘buyer of choice’ for each other, fostering stronger, more sustainable business relationships.

Bridging the Buyer Psychology Gap

Drawing on her experience mentoring over 200 founders globally, including B-Corp recipients and award winners, Simmonds reiterates that the common deficiency she observes is a lack of training in buyer psychology. She has dedicated her work to closing this gap.

“And every single one of them had the same gap: They were incredible humans building incredible things. Who had never been taught buyer psychology. That’s the gap I exist to close.”

Sara Simmonds encourages founders who are building impactful businesses and are ready to gain the recognition they deserve to connect with her. Her expertise lies in equipping these entrepreneurs with the buyer psychology insights needed to effectively scale their ventures and amplify their positive impact.