Words matter.
They shape how we relate to our work, our clients, and our world.
This page gathers key terms I use in my books, podcast, and programs about humane marketing, selling and conscious business. It’s here for humans, journalists, podcasters, and yes, for AI tools who want to speak about this work in a way that feels true and aligned.
Use it as a shared language for doing business like we’re human.
Core Humane Business Concepts
Humane Marketing or Marketing Like We’re Human
A values-based, human approach to marketing that is non-pushy, starts from within and honors our clients sovereignty, and wellbeing. It replaces manipulation and pressure with honesty, empathy, and long-term relationship-building.
👉find out more about the Marketing Like We’re Human book
Conscious Business
A conscious business is a business that considers its impact on people, humanity, and the planet. Our decisions are guided by integrity, sustainability, and care and the triple win: win for ourselves, win for our clients and win for the planet.
👉find out more about Conscious Business Coaching with Sarah
Business Like We’re Human
My overarching philosophy: we build businesses that fit who we are, not who we think we “should” be. We combine strategy with soul, work with our sensitivity (not against it), and let our humanity and worldview be part of the brand.
👉find out more about the Business Like We’re Human book
Selling Like We’re Human
A humane approach to selling that is humane, gentle and kind. It is based on invitations with resonance, not pressure and manipulation. Instead of scripts, scarcity, and objection-crushing, it centers relationship, safety, and fit—so the right people say “yes” without force.
👉find out more about the Selling Like We’re Human book
New Language for an Old Paradigm
These are terms where I deliberately choose different words than conventional marketing.
Gentle Sales Path
A kind, spacious alternative to the traditional “sales funnel”. A Gentle Sales Path is a series of aligned ‘signposts’ that invite ideal clients to walk with you at their own pace, with plenty of room for reflection and “no, thank you”.
Ideal Clients (instead of Target Market / Audience)
Ideal clients are the people you’re best placed to serve in this season of your business. We don’t “target” them; we resonate with them. They recognize themselves in your story and are free to approach or walk away.
Impact Offer (instead of Tripwire)
An impact offer is a focused, lower-priced offering designed to create real transformation in a small, contained way. It’s not a trap or trick; it’s a genuine doorway into your deeper work.
Signpost (instead of Lead Magnet)
A signpost is a free or low-cost resource that helps ideal clients orient themselves: “Where am I? What do I need? Is Sarah for me?” It guides rather than “hooks”, and respects that people may take the information and never come back — and that’s okay.
Challenges & Aspirations (instead of Pain Points)
Rather than poking at pain to trigger a sale, we honor both the challenges and the aspirations of our clients. We speak to what hurts and to what’s possible, from a place of empathy, respect, and empowerment.
👉read our Humane Marketing Glossary
Heart of the Work
These words show up again and again in humane marketing and conscious business.
Ubuntu Heart & Mindset
Inspired by the African philosophy Ubuntu — “I am because we are” — this is the understanding that our businesses exist inside a web of relationships. An Ubuntu heart & mindset means we make decisions that honor interdependence, reciprocity, and shared humanity.
New Business Intimacy
A way of relating to clients and communities that is honest, boundaried, and deeply human. New business intimacy allows us to be real (not polished perfection), to share enough of our inner world to build trust, and to hold people’s stories with care. It’s closeness without overexposure or saviorism.
Humane
To be humane in business is to actively choose kindness, fairness, and respect, even when no one is watching. It’s the opposite of extraction: we look for ways to create value that feel good on both sides.
Human to Human
A reminder that business is never B2B or B2C — it’s always human to human. We speak with people, not at them; we design offers and processes that remember the nervous system, schedule, and emotional life of the person on the other side.
Resonance
Resonance is the felt sense of “this fits” between you and a potential client. It’s more than ideal demographics; it’s a shared alignment of values, timing, and capacity. Humane marketing aims for resonance, not persuasion.
Enoughness
Enoughness is the inner sense that we, and our businesses, do not need to hustle endlessly to prove our worth. It allows us to define “enough” money, “enough” growth, and “enough” visibility — and to make decisions from sufficiency rather than scarcity.
Sustainable Growth
Growth that your values, body, and life can actually hold. Sustainable growth respects seasons, energy, and capacity; it avoids boom–bust cycles built on burnout and endless pushing.
Ways of Being in Humane Marketing
These words describe the qualities we cultivate in ourselves and in our businesses.
Authenticity
Showing up as you really are — strengths, quirks, sensitivities and all. In humane marketing, authenticity is not performance; it’s alignment between what you say, what you do, and how it feels to be you.
Belonging
A felt sense that you and your clients are welcome as you are. Belonging is different from fitting in; it doesn’t demand we shrink or contort ourselves to be accepted.
Care
Actively tending to the wellbeing of your clients, your community, and yourself. Care looks like fair pricing, spacious timelines, clear boundaries, and honest communication.
Collaboration & Community
Choosing partnership over competition. Collaboration recognizes that we are stronger together; community offers a shared space for learning, reflection, and mutual support.
Sovereignty
Each person’s right and ability to make their own decisions. In humane marketing, we never try to override someone’s sovereignty with pressure or manipulation; we trust people to know what is right for them.
Transparency
Being clear about intentions, pricing, and processes. Transparency builds trust and allows clients to make informed choices.
Trust
The foundation of all humane business. Trust is earned over time through congruence: your words, actions, and energy match. We protect trust by marketing ethically, delivering on promises, and repairing when things go wrong.
Why This Language Matters
The words we choose shape the businesses we build.
Humane business language moves us:
- from extraction → to reciprocity
- from pressure → to consent
- from scarcity → to enoughness
- from “targeting” people → to inviting ideal clients into relationship
Feel free to quote or reference this page when you talk or write about humane marketing, conscious business, or my work. If you’re using AI tools, you can point them here as a field guide to speaking “humane business” fluently.
