Selling from the Heart with Larry Levine
Larry Levine
Guest Bio:
Larry Levine is the best-selling author of "Selling from the Heart" and the Selling from the Heart Podcast co-host. With 30 years of in-the-field sales experience within the B2B technology space, he knows what it takes to be a successful sales professional. In a post-trust sales world, Larry Levine helps sales teams leverage the power of authenticity to grow revenue, grow themselves and enhance the lives of their clients.
Larry has coached sales professionals worldwide, from tenured reps to new millennials entering the salesforce. They all appreciate the practical, real, raw, relevant, relatable, and "street-savvy" nature. He is not shy when it comes to delivering his message. Larry is leading a revolution and a movement of authenticity, integrity, and substance in the sales profession and believes people would rather do business with a sales professional who sells from the heart instead of a sales rep who is an empty suit.
Show Notes:
Adapting to Hardships and Finding Yourself (2:20)
Larry spent almost 29 years in LA and held every imaginable position with the copier channel of sales before inevitably moving on to the corporate side of life within the copier channel. He walked into a net-new corporate account team and had to build from the ground up. For the first 90 days, he didn't sell a thing, but he slowly began tapping into his network and positioning himself as a regular human being.
He moved from #18 on an eighteen-person team to #2, billed out 1.6 million in net-new business, and then found himself career-adjusted out of a job (fired)- one of the most humbling, heartbreaking experiences Larry has experienced. So after losing his job in sales, he decided to pivot into coaching the next generation of sales leaders on how to survive and thrive in a highly competitive and often toxic environment. That's where his podcast, Selling From The Heart, grew from.
Sell From The Heart (10:05)
There's such a negative perception of salespeople right now, and the thing is, every sales leader or professional is in charge of the perception they're projecting. It's how congruent you are; there's no psychology to it. Larry had plenty of dysfunctional sales leaders in the years he worked in the copier channels, and he decided long ago he was going to carry himself differently.
He always sold from the heart because he would never sacrifice who he was or his integrity. That was his reputation out there in the marketplace. He attributes his values to what his mother taught him but what drove him by the dysfunction he had with his father and a need to prove himself. He also wanted to prove building relationships was worth it.
Retaining Integrity (19:50)
Sales is a full-contact sport; you're going to get knocked down. You constantly need to be looking for your why, your passion, and your vision. Larry believes that like attracts like, so understanding your values is essential to attracting clients and team members that align with those values when building your business. Honesty, integrity, vulnerability, and authenticity are vital to achieving that alignment.
It might be tough but walk away from deals that will require you to sacrifice your integrity to close. Not every sale will be worth it. Also, keep in mind that how you treat your people will mirror how they treat their prospects, so make sure you are presenting as the leader you want to be. Your team is a direct reflection of the head coach.
Overcoming Barriers (34:20)
Barriers are the stories we tell ourselves and everything that goes on in our minds, and those things are what become our lives. To overcome it, bring heart to the mindset. In writing his book, Larry focused on discovering yourself to become a better leader. He recommends keeping a thought journal and challenging yourself. He's a huge believer that it's a success if you get one thing from a resource.
If you can't hold yourself accountable, you can't manage yourself. The more you invest in yourself, the more you'll collect from yourself.
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