Christine Schlonski [0:02]
Hey Gorgeous. This is episode number 174. Our guest today is Mr. Selling from the heart, Larry Levine.

Larry Levine [0:10]
Hi, this is Larry Levine. You’re listening to Heart Sells! Podcast with Christine Schlonski. Hope you enjoy.

Christine Schlonski [0:17]
I’m so over the moon that I have the opportunity to talk to Larry today who was actually introduced by John Chang, who is a podcast listener, to do our podcasts. And John’s thought, “Well, those two have to meet. Their messages are so aligned. They probably enjoy having a conversation.” And we did. And while we had the conversation, we thought, “Well, we really need to be each other’s guests and share the love for Selling From The Heart and Heart Sells!” So today I have Larry on talking about no empty suits, and he had an amazing career in the office technology space for over 28 years. In 2016 he started from scratch with his business, Selling From The Heart. In less than four years, he has developed into clients all over the US, Europe, Australia. And he made it to best selling author of selling from the heart. And he is the co-host of Selling From The Heart Podcast, which I highly recommend you give it a listen, and also get your hands on his book. In the world of Empty Suits, he’s leading a revolution of authenticity, integrity, and substance in the sales profession. So let’s tune in. Well, I am so super excited to welcome you, Larry, welcome to Heart Sells! Podcast.

Larry Levine [1:34]
This is long overdue. So I’m looking forward to this one.

Christine Schlonski [1:37]
This is so long overdue. And what I really, really love is when people love your stuff, they kind of start thinking for you and trying to connect the dots. That’s how we met. Somebody on LinkedIn, who enjoys both of our content said, “Oh my goodness, there’s this person talking about selling from the heart. And there’s this person talking about heart sells there must be a connection.” So that’s how we actually connected and I just love that because that’s how you get relationships that you would have never thought of. US – Germany, there’s quite some water in between. So it wouldn’t be natural to just meet. But I just, I love it.

Larry Levine [2:21]
No and it’s interesting when you talk about connecting the dots, because I said, in the world that we live in today, it’s so easy to connect. It’s never been easier to connect with people than it is right now. but it’s what you do with it once you connect. And I think, you know, it’s easy for me to say, “Hey, Christine, go ahead and connect with and bridge introduction to one of my friends”, and that’s easy. But it’s what you do with it afterward. I know that’s how our introduction was a bridge, was through a mutual follower, but it’s both of us reaching out almost at the same time that, you know, foster this, I mean multiple conversations which, you know, led me to be on your podcast. I appreciate it.

Christine Schlonski [3:08]
Yeah, I love having you. I mean, your message is so important. And so let’s talk about it. How did this all come about? That you decided, “Okay, something needs to change and I’m going to bring this to the world that no empty suits.”

Larry Levine [3:27]
I’ll start with the no empty suits. Just because that’s, it’s the last chapter, Selling From the Heart. When I decided to write Selling From the Heart, I said, “I wanted to write a book that wouldn’t sit on somebody’s shelf.” Because a lot of books, well, I mean, I’m guilty of it. I buy a book and I’ll read a couple of chapters and I get sidetracked and then I know what happens book just sits on the shelf and I never pick it up again. That’s my fault. I said, “I wanted to write something that was going to be. I was going to hit somebody between the eyes.” And we had already had the Selling From the Heart Podcast out. So it’s just another way to brand the message. But in the last chapter, I kind of bring everything together and I said, “The sales community, sales professionals can do so much better than what they’re doing.” And it’s all about bringing sincerity and selling from heart, we always talk about you have to bring sincerity, you have to bring substance, and you have to bring your heart to what you do. It’s to be mission-critical, it’s just it’s non-negotiable these days and in sales, and if you don’t do that, you’re nothing more than an empty suit. It’s not meant to disrespect people or, or point fingers at it just to get them to paint that picture in their head. I have to be sincere. I have to be genuine and I have to get to know who I am. I got to be comfortable in my own skin. I have to bring a substance. Which means I gotta bring the business goods to the business table. And if I can’t do all of that, and I can’t bring my heart to this, then what? I just kind of came up with the whole thing, then you’re just nothing more than an empty suit and kind of stuck. And it’s just, it’s just been a message that’s resonated all over the world in a short period of time.

Christine Schlonski [5:21]
Yeah. Well, I mean, nobody wants to be an empty suit. But I think people taking the time to think about themselves of who they are, or who they want to become. I mean, when I discovered self-development, it’s totally life-changing. When you really understand that there is a way you can work on yourself like permanently and other people have walked that path. You just kind of need to see what they’ve done. And then find your own version, obviously.

Larry Levine [5:55]
Well, yeah, it’s interesting that you bring up the whole self-development because it goes back into why I decided to write selling from the heart. And the way I wrote it was, I’ve been on. I spent 28, almost 29 years in the office technology channel. So I would say it’s, one of the most laggard, backward, dysfunctional sales channels that ever existed, but it’s just my play on things. It’s a great sales channel, I learned a lot. But along the way, I was on a lot of dysfunctional sales teams, and I was on a lot of functional sales teams, probably more dysfunctional than anything. But one of the things that I really noticed along the way was there wasn’t a vice president of sales, there wasn’t a sales leader. There wasn’t a sales manager when they were conducting their meetings and you know, our sales meetings, whether that be weekly, monthly, quarterly sales kickoff, that they never ever, ever help salespeople become the best versions of themselves. Because unfortunately, most are focused on Product Solutions, company offerings, in that kind of thing, which is, you know, I’m not discrediting it because it’s important. Yeah, but nobody helps salespeople become the best version of themselves. And I’m seeing it right now today, Christine has reared its ugly head because there’s not a day that goes by, a week that goes by that I’m not talking to a sales leader or salesperson, a sales individual that’s really insecure in deep down inside, they just mask it, is because they’re unsure about, you know how to position themselves. They can’t articulate value, they have a hard time defining themselves, but yet they have to go out there and effectively sell and exceed their benchmarks on a monthly basis. And it’s hard to do that when you’ve not aligned yourself.

Christine Schlonski [7:40]
Huh? Yeah, totally. I mean, that’s my language. Yeah, you know, and in life, before I do what I do now, I used to be a sales director for high ticket event sales over the phone. And it really took a while to discover you know, obviously, I learned the sales process, I learned about the product, I learned how to approach the decision-makers, but a really, only when I became a coach, like I made a coach training on the side, so to speak. And when I became a coach, I only then was able to put those pieces together. I always knew something was missing, something felt off. And that is when because I did not allow my heart to be in the conversation. I asked a high ticket so people told me why I can buy your brand new car for what you asking for 2 days the event. So it was always like in my head, like what are the best arguments? How can I show them the value? How can I help them to buy because you had to bring in revenue. It was always like this little kind of taste to it that I couldn’t figure out how to change. But then when I discovered personal development and decided to become a coach when those words came together, that made all the difference.

Larry Levine [9:02]
Yeah, you know, it’s interesting because I remember if I can share a quick story, I mean, I could make this, I can draw this one out. But I’m going to keep this one really short. But I remember this probably goes back 20 something years ago, I kind of got schooled and I got schooled by Chief Financial Officer. And I think this is when I kind of had my, “Aha!”, moment. And I think anybody in sales, whether you’ve been in sales, six months, or whether you’ve been in sales, five years, or 10 years, 20 years, it doesn’t really matter. At a certain point in time, you’re going to get a light bulb moment that’s going to rock your world. And I was sitting there, I had my first, out by us and I grew up in Southern California, my whole sales career. We call these first in meetings, that initial meeting with somebody. And there I am sitting in front of a Chief Financial Officer of a large manufacturing company, and about 10 or 15 minutes into the meeting. I get, “Hey, timeout, hold on. Stop.” Going, “Okay, well, what the heck’s going on?” mentally I’m saying that to myself. And I said, “Hey, you know, did I, when I say, you know, help me understand, you know where we going with this, you called basically called timeout.” The CFO says, “Hey, listen, you’re the third salesperson I’ve spoken to in the last week.” So this guy was he was talking to two salespeople and looking for a company to help solve his issues as relates to office technology. I go, “Where are you going?” He goes, “Hey, listen, you’re the third person I’ve spoken to in the last week. You’ve said the same thing. The same set of questions delivered in a slightly different manner, and I just can’t take it anymore.” And you just happen to be the victim at this point. And he’s being totally polite. He wasn’t being arrogant. He wasn’t being Mr. meanie and things like that. And I go, mentally I go, “Okay, this is not going well.” And I closed my book and I had about one butt cheek up off my chair I was sitting on. But then something said, “Hey, Larry, you know what, you can really turn this into a learning moment. You’re just gonna have to swallow it and take it right.” So I sat back down, I opened up my book, I flipped over a page. I sincerely apologize to him. I said, “Hey, listen, you know what? Game Over, I’m totally sorry. But I am just curious. You know what led you to say this and why did you say it?” Christine, for 45 minutes I never said a frickin word. This CFO gave me the best life lesson that I’ve ever gotten in sales. And he said, “You know what? You’ve come in here. You’re in a nice suit, right?” Because we were in a suit and tie. “You’ve asked some, you know, questions and all that, but unfortunately, they’re pre-canned. I’ve heard him before, nothing wowed me. It’s all about you. It’s all about how great your company was in the first five or six minutes. That’s what you lead in with. I can’t take it anymore. That’s why it goes, how about if you flipped it and really showed sincerity and meant it? And you asked questions about me and the issues I was having, the challenges I was having, the goals I wanted to accomplish.” And he goes, “You kind of get where I’m going with this?” And I said, “Yes” Long story short, the guy became a client. And it’s because of that moment, we’re still friends to this day we laugh about it. I use this as an example, is how many times in our sales career, and the people that are listening to your podcast, are in those situations where the first five to six minutes, all they’re doing is talking about themselves, their company, their product and all that as opposed to really looking that person in the eye and being sincere, showing that you care while you’re there to help? Amazing things happen. But I think we all have those light bulb moments. That’s what I wanted to come across with selling from the heart.

Christine Schlonski [13:03]
Yeah, I love it. And I mean, depending on how you do the call, I mean if you have calls or if you have met in-person meetings, but like connecting first is so important, like really being genuine about the other person and wanting to create a relationship before you even think of selling something. And I think that’s, that’s also the difficulty people have in sales if they are working in a company, so if they are like a professional salesperson, they have a quota they need to meet. If they are an entrepreneur, they probably have some pressure to get some numbers so they can pay their bills. And then in these moments, it’s kind of we dropped out of the heart and we go into the hat. And from there just it’s a different conversation.

Larry Levine [13:50]
Yeah, you know, and it’s interesting. I’m a believer in this, you don’t necessarily have to have a relationship with somebody to buy something. It just depends on, if you’re in the b2c world and things like that it may not matter. But in the world that I came from, which was corporate sales, high-end b2b, and so forth the tech space, you best believe that relationships do matter. What I always share with people is this, if you want to have a healthy ever-flowing sales funnel, you have to have a healthy ever-flowing relationship funnel. I want people to really, you know, take a step back and think through that is the thing that concerns me the most, and there’s a lot but I think the things that concern me the most with the sales profession as it sits today, is the relationship-building skills. Leave a lot to be desired inside the sales world, because you know, the pressure from the top to hit numbers on a monthly basis and a quarterly basis and so forth. That we forget when this is all said and done. It’s one human having another conversation with another human. And that if you’re in corporate sales, why the heck would a high-level executive turn over their hard-earned corporate dollars to you and your company? If you fail to truly get to know them at what makes their company tech, then I say, “Shame on you. Right?”

Christine Schlonski [15:28]
Yeah, yeah. And I think that’s, that’s true for like all the different industries. It doesn’t matter if you are maybe a coach or a healer or creative, you kind of have to come with that attitude to create that relationship and by creating a relationship that can be in a one-hour conversation or in 10 minutes. But just by showing that you are interested that you care and it’s not all about you, it’s about them. Like as you said, like flipping it around. First of all, it makes your life so much easier because you will obtain knowledge that they wouldn’t have shared if you wouldn’t have asked the right questions. I’m just going down that path is like when you don’t know what to ask, or when you don’t make the right offer, obviously, there will not be a sale, if they feel misunderstood, or not even heard.

Larry Levine [16:26]
Yeah. So let’s just think about that for a second. Because I’m sure you see it and I see it all the time, is salespeople are always in what I call sales conversation mode all the time. Yeah, that’s how their brains are wired. “I only want to talk to Christine and I’m going to have a conversation with Christine. When Christine’s ready to do what, buy something. But if Christine’s not ready to buy something, then why am I speaking with her?” Unfortunately, that’s just been, I always say salespeople are products of their environment. Well, if that’s how they’re raised, and that’s the team culture, then it’s hard to say. Can you imagine a salesperson coming back to their office? They’re sitting down in their debriefing with their sales manager, whoever they roll up to, and the person is all excited, “Hey, you know, I just had this really great conversation with Christine, here’s what happened, here’s what I learned and all that.” And then that person goes, “Well, that’s all great. But where’s that fit into this where are we at with the deal?”

Christine Schlonski [17:38]
Totally. I mean, I have had those questions like Where’s the deal? Or when you had something prepared? When is it coming back? Like, you know, but so much pressure and it’s so unnecessary? Because I believe that it’s not good energy. And I know exactly like if I talked about it. We kind of overtalk it, so wasting my time and the managers’ time. At the end of the day, often, it didn’t happen. While when I didn’t say anything I just made it happen and then brought the deal in. That’s where the magic was created. So it’s really interesting the way that some companies look at the way of deal-making.

Larry Levine [18:23]
Yeah. Well, I’ll use the kind of a National Football League analogy, you know, American football over here is a lot of people, they want the ball right, which will quake to the deal. They want that ball when the ball is on about the two-yard line or the deals 95% already done. It’s like so many salespeople love swimming in the red ocean. But when that balls getting ready to cross the goal line or that deals getting ready to go down, you can’t start talking about value. It’s hard to build a relationship you’re going to get whacked with the price. We all know it. So why not? That’s why I always go back to every single day I challenge salespeople and I challenge their leaders, your sales, people must open multiple new relationships every day, they must have multiple new connections every day, they must build more meaningful, incredible relationships with your clients. Because if they don’t, then somebody else will. But all too often, I look back on my career, some of the best sales deals I ever bought into the companies I worked for. Because the ones I created when there was nothing there, that I built that relationship, I understood what was going on. What I want people to really realize is that executive or those mid-level decision makers, whoever you’re calling on, they’re going to be more open and receptive to ideas when they’re not in the market to do anything because there’s no pressure to do anything.

Christine Schlonski [19:56]
Yeah. If you really approach it, this, your service, well, depending on what you sell, some services you can create that need for all the time, because it just delivers value, but the person might not even think about it. So the question is, how can you show up creating that relationship that you are always top of mind? So when the need comes, you are the one they remember and call up.

Larry Levine [20:22]
Yeah, and I think, what you said just right now is so mission-critical, especially in this world that we live in today. That, you know, we’re digitally driven, we’re socially connected. We’re mobile empowered. Even if you don’t think it’s going to happen, I mean, you and I, you know, we bridge socially right? before we ever even spoke. Now the same can translate into anybody’s marketplace all across the world, is, you know, believe it or not, is the way you’re going to stay top of mind is we got to marry what we do face to face and we have to bridge that gap online. Because how do you build relationships? And how do you build credibility with somebody? When a.) they may not even know who you are, or b.) you get connected, and then they’re going to form opinions of you is how do you smash all this together? When we all go, hey, first impressions matter. So, you know, if we didn’t have a great first impression, guess what? I’m not on your podcast and you won’t be on my podcast. That’s just how it goes.

Christine Schlonski [21:30]
Totally.

Larry Levine [21:30]
That’s just the world that we live in today.

Christine Schlonski [21:33]
Yeah, yeah, there’s so much choice and variety. It’s like often you don’t need that one person. But when you connect, and you understand, that’s where the magic happens. It’s like the development of something. It’s when you go to your first date, you don’t usually, not in Germany, I guess, the person to marry you. You have to give it time.

Larry Levine [21:59]
Yeah. And so this playoff that for a second because I’ve used that analogy before is, this is where I think being genuine and being authentic and being real because hopefully, we’re like that in our personal lives. Whether you’re in a serious relationship, or you’re dating or even, you know, husband, wife, or whatever it is, you’re going to bring the best version of yourself. And you’re going to build those strong relationships. Because if you don’t, then what? Nothing worse than dating and so forth, which I consider, prospecting and all that to be business dating because, in essence, you are. I mean, there are no differences. I mean, if we just peel it all the way back, there’s no difference, but nothing worse than entering into a personal relationship, and then getting married and then three or four years down the road. That person going, “What the heck’s going on? It’s not what I signed up for. I’m just finding this out now. Things change.” Well, that equates to the business world, it’s the same, to me, the same principles and the same concepts apply. So if you’re putting on a front and a facade in your empty suit, and you’re in sales, and then for some reason, you know, you get that deal. And then you change your mannerisms, and you change the way you approach things. And then you get called out on the carpet on it. Well, then you deserve everything that’s going to happen to you.

Christine Schlonski [23:31]
Yeah, totally, totally get that. So what does heart sells mean to you?

Larry Levine [23:37]
Duhh, you’re gonna flip this one on me that this is cool. This is cool because we always ask our guests, what’s it mean to sell from the heart? So it’s just kind of flipped on me right now. So that’s awesome. So what’s it mean to me? I think first and foremost, and we talked about at the beginning of this, I think it’s understanding and bringing the best version of yourself to the business. This table, placing their interest up onto a silver business platter. That means having their best interests at heart. And I’m going to take this thing even deeper because somebody had thrown this out to me when I was writing my book is it means not deceiving anybody. It means having true intent, being sincere with what you have to say. And if it’s not the right fit, you’re looking somebody in the eye and saying, “I appreciate the time we spent together I appreciate allowing me to get to know you. I don’t think I have something that may help but I know somebody else who may be able to.” And that’s it and that’s a tough one. And I bring up the whole thing when you ask me about heart and sell and you know made selling from the heart is that whole word around deception is you can’t bring your heart to this If you’re trying to deceive somebody else or manipulate or anything like that, which are the words that that really kind of, if you ask anybody, their opinion as salespeople, those words are going to come up is in order to bring your heart to that sales table. You got to understand what makes you tick. And it has to come from inside. And I always say that people can smell sincerity The minute you open your mouth, but they can smell bs just as fast. I always say, you know, I don’t have a doctorate in psychology. I don’t have a doctorate in human behavior. Not a Ph.D. from getting this not kicked out of me selling, you know, copiers in Los Angeles. That’s what I bring. And I wear my heart on my sleeve. And people sense it. When you’re clear with your message when you’re concise with your message, when you believe in your own message in your heart, and you deliver it in a way people understand that Christine to me that’s what it means. means to bring your heart to the table.

Christine Schlonski [26:03]
Awesome. Yeah, I love it. And that’s why, you know, our messages are very much aligned. Because that’s so important. I believe you should bring your heart like always not just in a sales conversation. It makes life so much more beautiful and real. Living your own truth and knowing who you are. Learning that this might change over time. So that’s wonderful. So where can people find you?

Larry Levine [26:31]
Well, I’m all over. I’m all over social, but they can find me on LinkedIn. I mean, it’s really easy. My LinkedIn addresses is https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/. It’s really easy to find me. You can go to https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/ and you can find out everything that you ever wanted to know about selling from the heart, you can download the first three chapters of my book. You can find the Selling From The Heart Podcast on there. You can find me on a link on Twitter. You can find me on Instagram. You can find me on Facebook.

Christine Schlonski [27:00]
Yeah, I will definitely put all the links in the show notes so that you are just one click away. And also connect to your wonderful book, which I highly recommend people reading it because the message is so beautiful and so important. I have people over and over again, that sabotage themselves selling because they feel or in their thoughts. They’re afraid they have to become the next Wolf of Wall Street, or the next ABC always be a closing person. So it really makes a huge difference bringing your heart to the table. So thank you so, so much for being on Heart Sells! Podcast. I’m so excited. I get another interview with you.

Larry Levine [27:38]
Oh, that’s got to be good.

Christine Schlonski [27:39]
Yeah, that’s gonna be very good. And yeah, I can’t wait to hear what’s the first thing was that your episode in your life. So we’re going to finish off here and I’m looking forward to another amazing episode with you. Thank you so much.

Larry Levine [27:54]
You’re welcome. I look forward to it as well.

Well, I really, really hope that you love this episode. I just love having a conversation with Larry it just totally makes sense everything he says I get, and vice versa. So it was so much fun. And I hope you’re taking away lots of golden nuggets to implement. Make sure you hop on over to https://christineschlonski.com/. Find the podcast tab as the show notes with the resources, all the links to Larry at just one click away. While you’re over there, check out the Heart-Centered Lead Generation Summit. We are kicking off right now. You do not want to miss because if you struggle a little bit in generating new leads, finding clients to fill your pipeline, to really give from your heart, your wonderful gifts. You want to make sure you join the Heart-Centered Lead Generation Summit. You can also find it at https://christineschlonski.com/hclgs-registration/ or you just hop on over to https://christineschlonski.com/ where you usually are and just check the summit out there. Join us, learn from over 40 Amazing World Class speakers, heart-centered strategies for your lead generation and take your business to the next level. Thank you so much for being here. Tune in for the next episode 175 Selling from the Heart with Larry Levine and I’m saying bye for now.