When Being “Nice” in Sales Turns Into Self-Sabotage

Repeat after me - some money is NOT better than no money. 

In this Sales is NOT a Dirty Word episode, I walk through a real client situation that exposes how easy it is to agree too quickly, stay vague to preserve harmony, or assume clarity will come later. 

Those small boundary lapses rarely feel urgent in the moment, but over time they erode trust, damage mental health and compromise results.

What this conversation keeps returning to is a simple but often resisted truth: boundaries are not performative self-care. They are structural. They make responsibility, scope, and value explicit, which is what actually protects working relationships.

Inside this episode, you will learn:

• Why exceptions and special arrangements tend to fail without shared context
• How to articulate scope clearly without defensiveness or rigidity
• What to say when requests drift beyond what was originally agreed upon
• Why betting on future potential creates misalignment rather than goodwill
• The language and reframes to use to prevent difficult conversations later, rather than managing them after the fact

If you have ever felt uneasy about an agreement but moved forward anyway, or worried that naming your limits would damage the relationship, this offers a more grounded way forward.

If you want support developing clear, humane boundary language or navigating complex client dynamics without escalation, you can book a Sales Level-Up Call and we will work through it together in real time:  https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup

01:18 – The “special rate” client story that sparked this episode
02:40 – When assumptions backfire: budget complaints and blurred lines
04:05 – The danger of betting on potential instead of present reality
05:15 – Why clients can’t value what you don’t name
06:30 – Three ways to respond to out-of-scope requests
08:10 – How to frame boundaries with confidence and clarity
09:50 – Why no boundaries = lost clients and revenue
11:00 – The myth of “some money is better than no money”
12:10 – A powerful reframe: boundaries make you more referable

#SalesIsNotADirtyWord #SalesBoundaries #PeoplePleaserRecovery #ClientCommunication #HighIntegritySales #ServiceProviderLife #ScopeCreep #ClientExpectations #SalesWithoutPressure #BlackSheepSales #AleashaBahr #SalesMindsetShift #PricingWithConfidence #SalesCoaching #SalesStrategy #EmotionalIntelligenceInSales #ClientRedFlags #SalesPodcast #NoMoreDiscountDeals #BoundariesBuildTrust

Connect With Aleasha:
Website - https://aleashabahr.com/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleashabahr/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@aleashabahr