Sales Bites with Larry Levine: Selling from the Heart: The Heartbeat of Sales

Larry LaVine, author of "Selling from the Heart," discusses the importance of integrating authenticity and emotional connection into sales. He contrasts sales professionals, who hone their craft and build meaningful relationships, with sales reps who often lack this depth. Larry emphasizes that "soft skills" are now crucial for high performance and that true sales success comes from aligning one's purpose and talent with massive action and the right associations. Drawing from his personal experiences and professional journey, Larry advocates for a heartfelt approach to sales, challenging conventional, impersonal methods.

• Selling from the heart emphasizes authenticity, vulnerability, and emotional connection in sales.
• Traditionally, sales has been seen as a hard-nosed, numbers-driven field, but Larry LaVine argues that soft skills are increasingly vital.
• The book "Selling with Heart" challenges the notion that emotional approaches in sales are weak or ineffective.

"In order to sell from the heart, you got to connect to your heart."

• Emphasizes the need for personal connection and emotional engagement in sales.

"We all connect and relate based on emotions; we all want and crave that sense of belonging."

• Highlights the universal human need for emotional connection, which can be leveraged in sales.

• Many people initially view the concept of selling from the heart as "soft" or "fluffy."
• Larry faced ridicule and skepticism when he first introduced his ideas, but he persisted because he believed in their value.
• The book provides real case studies showing tangible results from using emotional and relational approaches in sales.

"Was I made fun of? Yes. Was I laughed at? Yes. Was I poked at? Yes. Were people talking behind my back? Yes."

• Illustrates the initial resistance and skepticism Larry faced.

"Some of the soft skills are becoming actually the most important skills for high-performance sales."

• Indicates the growing recognition of the importance of soft skills in achieving sales success.

• Larry's upbringing in a highly relational environment influenced his approach to sales.
• Raised by a nurturing mother and surrounded by female relatives, Larry developed a strong sense of emotional connection.
• This background made him comfortable with vulnerability and relational approaches, which he later applied to his sales career.

"My father was a rocket scientist for the United States Air Force and he traveled a lot... my mom was highly relational."

• Provides context for Larry's relational skills and comfort with emotional engagement.

"I kind of saw this connection at a heart level through a different set of lens than maybe most."

• Explains how Larry's unique upbringing shaped his perspective on emotional connection.

• The book "Selling with Heart" includes practical advice and real-world examples of how emotional and relational approaches can lead to sales success.
• Larry conducts deep reads of his book with sales teams, emphasizing self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-care in the first three chapters.
• These foundational skills are crucial for becoming a better salesperson, according to Larry.

"When I do deep team reads of my book with sales teams, I every single time... get somebody in sales who said, 'How does all of this help me become a better salesperson?'"

• Shows the practical application and common questions Larry encounters.

"The first three chapters are about self-reflection and self-awareness and self-care."

• Highlights the importance of personal development in becoming an effective salesperson.

• Larry distinguishes between sales professionals and sales reps, emphasizing that the former are more likely to embrace emotional and relational approaches.
• Sales professionals focus on long-term relationships and genuine connections, while sales reps may prioritize short-term gains and numbers.

"There's a difference between sales managers and sales leaders."

• Indicates the broader distinction Larry makes between different types of sales roles and approaches.

"Sales professionals today need to focus on self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-care."

• Reiterates the importance of personal development for modern sales professionals.

• Many sales teams focus on product and service-centric training rather than personal development.
• No sales manager emphasized the importance of understanding oneself to become a better sales professional.
• The concept of leading oneself is crucial in the absence of such guidance.

"I never had one sales manager in any team I was on say, 'Hey, guess what people, we're going to take a deep dive into who we are over the next two months and thus us doing this, you're going to become a better sales professional.'"

• Emphasizes the lack of personal development focus in traditional sales training.

• Sales is described as a challenging profession with significant emotional highs and lows.
• Understanding and connecting with one's heart is essential for authentic salesmanship.
• The podcast's signature moment involves asking guests what it means to sell from the heart.

"Sales is a brutally tough business to be in and the highs are highs and the lows are lows."

• Highlights the emotional volatility in the sales profession.

"It's hard to sell from the heart if your heart's broken."

• Indicates that personal emotional health impacts sales effectiveness.

"It's hard to sell from your heart if you don't know what's in your heart."

• Emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in sales.

• Traditional advice often separates personal feelings from business decisions.
• The speaker argues that business is inherently personal and should involve sincerity and heart.
• Personalizing business interactions can lead to better outcomes.

"The more personal you make business, the more heart, the more sincerity, the more business substance you bring to the forefront, the better off you will be."

• Advocates for integrating personal sincerity into business practices.

"We've heard this expression, 'I'm going to use your name Abby if that's okay, you know, sometimes we've been let down on the wrong side of a deal like this. Hey Abby, hey, I just want to let you know you did great work in this, you know, we do our due diligence but, you know, I don't want you to take this personal, we decided to take our business or we chose to do business with someone else. Don't take this personal, it was only a business decision.' Well guess what, business is personal."

• Critiques the common notion that business decisions should not be taken personally.

• The idea that every salesperson has the "secret sauce" within them.
• Success in sales involves discovering and harnessing one's unique qualities.
• A business coach advised to act contrary to typical salesperson behaviors for success.

"Everybody has the secret sauce; it's already inside of us. Depends on do you want to go down that road to find it or not."

• Suggests that personal success comes from self-discovery.

"My very first business coach at 40... he goes, 'You want to know the key to success as being a salesperson?' I said, 'I don't, lay it on me, I'm paying you so just lay it on me.' He goes, 'Stop acting like a salesperson.'"

• Recommends authenticity and breaking away from stereotypical salesperson behaviors.

• The importance of building deep, meaningful relationships with clients.
• Bringing heart into sales differentiates one from other salespeople.
• Authentic relationships are built on sincerity and personal connection.

"If you want to build deep meaningful relationships... if you ask many in sales, 'Do their clients matter? Do the relationships with their clients matter?' Of course, everyone's going to say yes. Then what are you doing to build deep meaningful relationships with your customers?"

• Questions the genuine effort put into building client relationships.

"The only way to do this is you got to bring heart into the equation and if you don't bring heart into the equation, you're just like every other salesperson out there."

• Argues that heart and sincerity are essential for standing out in sales.

• Sales as a Profession: Sales should be regarded as a profession similar to doctors, lawyers, and college professors who continuously hone their craft.
• Continuous Improvement: Sales professionals engage in continuous education, planning, preparation, and practice.
• Higher Standards: Sales professionals hold themselves to higher standards and are accountable for their actions.
• Discipline and No Excuses: Like professional athletes, sales professionals exhibit discipline and a no-excuse mentality.
• Self-Leadership: Sales professionals lead themselves and hold themselves accountable.

"It's called a profession for a reason. If you look at all the professions that are out there, right, love them or hate them, I'm just going to name a couple of them, right? Doctors, lawyers, maybe college professors, things like that, people who have high esteemed careers and job titles, they're constantly honing in on their craft."

• Sales is a profession requiring continuous improvement, similar to other esteemed professions.

"Sales professionals do the things that sales reps find excuses for."

• Sales professionals go beyond what sales reps are willing to do, emphasizing discipline and commitment.

"Professional athletes hire coaches, they practice, they plan, they prepare, they're diligent about what they do, they have discipline, they're no excuse mentality. Why can't this be brought into sales?"

• The discipline and preparation seen in professional athletes should be applied to sales.

"You got to plan every day, you got to prepare every day, you got to practice every day, you got to hone in on your craft, you got to constantly be learning, you got to hold yourself to a higher degree of standard than everybody else, you got to be willing to lead yourself and hold yourself accountable."

• Daily planning, preparation, practice, and self-accountability are essential for sales professionals.

• Superficial Engagement: Simply resharing company posts on LinkedIn without personal insights or genuine engagement is not true engagement.
• Authentic Interaction: Effective social selling involves sharing personal takeaways and genuine recommendations.
• Historical Context: Social selling is not a new concept; it has always been part of sales, with only the tools changing over time.

"A lot of the time they'll take a company post and just reshare it, and it’s kind of just got all the lingo and it doesn't have, 'Hey, this is what I enjoyed about it,' or 'These were the three things that I took away from it,' or 'You should speak to Larry because actually what I really like about his message is this.'"

• True engagement requires adding personal insights and recommendations, not just resharing content.

"Social selling is not new, it's not, it's really not. I was social selling back in the 80s, it was just called sales."

• Social selling has always been a part of sales; the concept is not new, only the tools have evolved.

"There's a social aspect that's been around forever, and today with sales, the only thing that's changed are the tools."

• The social aspect of selling has always existed; modern tools have just enhanced it.

• Variety of Communication Methods: Salespeople now have multiple tools to communicate, including phone, email, social media, text messages, and video.
• Inconsistency in Usage: Many salespeople use these tools inconsistently, leading to inconsistent results.
• Noise and Distractions: Salespeople often get distracted by various claims and noise online, which can detract from focusing on effective sales strategies.

"People communicate in a bunch of different ways: phone and email, right? Spotty use of social, inconsistent use of everything. You can never get consistent results if you're inconsistent."

• Inconsistent use of communication tools leads to inconsistent results in sales.

"You pay attention to all the social noise, right? You pay attention to everybody who claims to say, 'I've got the cure for all of your sales woes,' and you just get hypnotized and you fall right into all of the stuff that's online."

• Salespeople often get distracted by online claims and noise instead of focusing on effective strategies.

• Salespeople's Tendency to Misuse Tools: Todd Capone, a sales historian, highlights how salespeople tend to misuse every new tool that comes out, leading to inefficiencies.
• Need for Improvement: Despite the misuse, there is a significant potential for improvement in sales practices.

"Salespeople will find a way to screw up everything, right? Email came out, salespeople found a way to screw it up. Sales managers found a way to screw it up, right? LinkedIn and social came to be, salespeople found a way to screw it up."

• Salespeople and managers often misuse new tools, leading to inefficiencies in sales.

"We can do so much better than we're doing, but we pay attention to the noise as opposed to doing what we know is the right thing to do."

• There is a potential for significant improvement if salespeople focus on effective strategies rather than distractions.

• Actionable Advice: The speaker shares an equation learned from a mentor that encapsulates crucial elements for success in sales and personal development.
• Equation Breakdown: The equation is P + T (Purpose + Talent) times MA (Massive Action) times RA (Right Associations).

"I'm going to share an equation because I've seen this play out in my career. The equation is simple: it's P plus T times MA times RA."

• The equation provides a structured approach to achieving success.

"The P is purpose, the T is talent. I encourage everyone to uncover your purpose, double down on your talent, take Massive Action on it, and find the right associations."

• Identifying one's purpose and talent, taking massive action, and forming the right associations are key to success.

• Inspirational Backstory: Dave Sanderson, a successful sales rep and head of security for Tony Robbins, survived the Hudson crash and shares life-altering lessons.
• Mentorship and Guidance: Sanderson's experiences and mentorship have profoundly influenced the speaker's approach to life and career.

"Dave Sanderson has a very unique backstory. He was a highly successful Enterprise sales rep for Oracle and was involved in the crash at the Hudson that turned into the movie Sully."

• Dave Sanderson's survival story and career achievements provide a powerful example of resilience and success.

"He became the head of security for Tony Robbins and introduced me to a quote. This quote has played out in my career, and if it can help others, then hang on with me."

• Sanderson's mentorship and the shared quote have significantly impacted the speaker's career and can benefit others.