Selling From The Heart Podcast

Are you a millennial and wondering if the sales profession was the right career choice for you? Yes! Sales is a great place for people who want to be authentic and make a living while making a difference in the world. This week Larry Levine and Darrell Amy explore the topic of how selling from the heart can make sales a great career for millennials.In this episode, we refer to the Selling From the Heart Manifesto! You can download it here and learn more on a previous podcast episode.

For most sales reps, prospecting represents an area where they need to steel their hearts against rejection. As a result, most prospecting is not authentic. What if we brought our heart to prospecting? In this episode, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy explore the power and pleasure of authentic prospecting.We'd like to extend a special thank you to each of you that have helped us spread the word about Selling From the Heart. If you're enjoying the book, would you do us a favor. Go to Amazon and leave us a review. You can find the book page HERE. Many thanks!

This week we're joined by Kelly Riggs, founder of of the Business Locker Room and author of several books including Counter Mentor Leadership. You'll enjoy this discussion about the three types of sales professionals. You'll learn how true sales professionals can become professional business people that can add consultative value.Every week we feature a Selling From the Heart Champion. This week we're giving a shout out to Jay Jensen, lead coach for Car Motivators. Check him out on LinkedIn.

We've all heard the saying, "Your network is your net worth." However, building a network takes more than clicking a "connect" button on LinkedIn. It requires consistent active engagement. Darrell Amy talks to Larry Levine about how he built his network and the incredible power of genuine engagement with other human beings to drive sales success.

To celebrate the launch of the Selling From the Heart book on Wednesday, September 19, we're joined by Keenan, a true Selling From the Heart Champion. This week we explore what it takes to stoke the fire of passion that drives you to do the hard work to be a true one-percenter. Listen in and get fired up! Keenan is the founder of A Sales Guy and author of Not Taught: What It Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century that Nobody’s Teaching You.

Every sales professional goes through seasons of frustration and even despair. There is an aspect of sales that is very emotional. Let the negative emotions fester and they can drag you down, shipwrecking your career. In this episode, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy get gut-level honest about sales funks, brainstorming practical ways to get back on track. If you're in a funk, you need to listen to this episode. If you're not in a funk, take these ideas to heart--you may need them someday!

Inspired by two recent trips in first class, Darrell's blog article, First Class is a Seat, Not an Experience, we explore why sales professionals should go the extra mile to create a first class experience for their prospects and clients. Larry shares some stories from his field experience and challenges all of us to step up our client experience. Enjoy!Download Now

Forget the Wheaties, oatmeal, or All American Grand Slam. Selling From the Heart Champions eat feedback for breakfast. In this episode you'll be challenged to go to your middle-of-the-road clients and ask for feedback. The goal is to double your list of raving fans by the end of the year. Listen in to learn more.

One of the biggest buzzwords in sales these days is "sales enablement." While we all appreciate that new platforms and content that our companies provide, the problem is that if we focus on getting visible without working on increasing our value, we'll get vetted out of the deal. In this episode, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy take an honest look at what it takes to become more valuable, a process called "self enablement."

This week we're joined by our good friend, Deb Calvert, author of Stop Selling and Start Leading. We discuss how true sales professionals can build competitive advantage, improve win rates, maximize profit, and enhance enjoyment of their job. How? Created value--individual value that comes from you as a sales professional. Larry, Darrell, and Deb discuss ways sales professionals can create value in the sales process.

We all talk about improving our closing skills. What about our opening skills? The way we open up new conversations has a direct bearing on the close. Of course, if we don't open up new conversations, we won't close any new business. Beyond that, the real question is, "How are you opening conversations?" This week Larry and Darrell explore the different ways to start a conversation to set up a successful close.

This week Larry Levine and Darrell Amy discuss what they have learned from working with sales teams this year: most sales reps cannot clearly articulate their value proposition. Get this right and you put yourself ahead of the majority of your competition. In this episode we discuss the importance of understanding the value you bring from three perspectives: your company, yourself, and your clients.

This week we're joined by Jeff Bajorek of The Why and the Buy podcast and author of The Five Forgotten Fundamentals of Prospecting. Every sales professional needs to prospect. This week we explore ways you can keep yourself or your sales team energized for growth.

Prospects are people. If you want a full sales funnel, you need a full relationship funnel. What if prospecting was about more than finding a deal in the 30 day window? What if it included building relationships and driving conversations to build a foundation for a healthy sales funnel? In this episode, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy explore the power of prospecting to fill the relationship funnel.

Sales professionals constantly face the temptation to give into discouragement. Bad news and rejection are inevitable in sales. What's important is how you handle it. In this episode, Darrell Amy and Larry Levine offer strategies to proactively handle discouragement in sales.

How are you doing year-to-date? The middle of the year provides time to pause and see how you are doing year-to-date with your personal goals. Larry Levine and Darrell Amy offer inspiration to help you take advantage of this mid-year opportunity to set yourself up for a highly successful second half. You'll be challenged to recalibrate your goals, reconnect with your clients, and recharge your funnel.

What will set you apart in a market of sameness? In this episode, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy explore how you can understand and communicate your personal values in the sales process to drive competitive advantage. You'll be challenged to interview your top clients to discover how your values are coming through and which ones they appreciate the most. 

One of the most powerful things sales professionals can do is listen. However, most sales people listen to sell and then immediately jump into sales pitch mode the moment they uncover a pain point. This week Larry Levine and Darrell Amy pose the question, "What would it look like if we simply listened to learn about our prospect's business?" We believe this drives trust while also allowing you to discover the full scope of the client's goals, dreams, challenges, and drivers.In the episode we refer to a Curiosity Assessment published by the Harvard Business Review. You can find a link here.Interested in updates on Larry's book as it gets ready to launch? Learn more here.

Do you have any deals that have been stuck in your sales funnel for far too long? In this episode, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy explore two key reasons deals get stuck in the funnel and how you can get more of your deals moving forward to close. As we mention at the beginning of the episode, check out our friends at Something New!

James Muir, author of the best seller, The Perfect Close, joins us this week to discuss how sales professionals and their managers can transform their results by turning the focus inward. You'll learn about the power of knowing who you are, what you value, and your story. At the end you'll love the practical ideas that James brings to the table. Enjoy and check out James' book on Amazon.