"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

As we start off our time together, how does the above-mentioned quote sit with you?

We often tell ourselves we’ll send that note tomorrow, make that call next week, or show gratitude when things slow down. One thing is for sure, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and in business, opportunities to make an impact are fleeting.

Every act of kindness you extend to a client, a future client, or even a colleague is more than a nice gesture, it’s a deposit into the trust account of your relationship. Trust, as every seasoned sales professional knows, is the true currency of growth.

Kindness is not weakness, it’s not fluff and it’s the hidden edge that separates the transactional seller from the trusted professional.

The truth is your future business growth hinges less on the size of your pipeline and more on the size of your heart. This is about how you show up for people consistently, authentically, and without hidden agendas.

Take a moment and deeply reflect upon this... How many opportunities to show kindness have already slipped through your hands because you assumed there would be more time?

This is where the real reflection begins.

Let's refer to Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive” to transform our approach to the sales profession.

Sales is more than a profession; it’s a calling that places us directly at the intersection of human need and human opportunity. Acts 20:35 reminds us, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”

When applying this to sales, it challenges us to flip the script, as the essence of selling is not about taking from clients, but about giving trust, insight, encouragement, and meaningful value.

Believe it or not, we live inside of a post-trust world, where people are weary of empty suits and hollow promises, giving becomes the most disruptive and differentiating strategy.

The Trust Formula of Authentic Relationships + Meaningful Value + Inspirational Experience + Disciplined Habits, provides a framework for living this out.

When you give generously in these four areas, trust naturally grows, and with it, influence and sales success.

Giving in sales isn’t about being soft, it’s about being strong enough to put others first, strategic enough to create long-term meaningful value, and disciplined enough to show up consistently.

In a distrustful business world, leaders and sellers who apply truth, love, and authentic relationships stand apart.

So, here's my challenge if you're up for it:

• What would change in your sales conversations if your first thought was, how can I give?

• What would shift in your leadership if your teams were measured not only on revenue, but on the depth of trust they created?

• What fulfillment might you discover if you truly lived out Acts 20:35 in the way you sell and serve?

When giving becomes a strategy, trust becomes your currency. When this happens your sales transforms and mission becomes human-centered.

Are you ready to explore how embracing the principle of giving transforms the way we sell, manage, and grow? If so, let's begin.

Start Redefining Success, Self-Serving to Service-Oriented

All too often, success is defined by revenue, pipeline, and margins. These matter, but they're only outcomes. The true inputs, the levers you absolutely control are the value, care, and trust you extend to clients, future clients and your internal customers.

Sales is not primarily about products or pitches, it’s about who you are and how you show up.

When salespeople chase quotas without authenticity, they risk becoming empty suits, present in body but absent in heart.

The antidote is flipping the equation by showing up first as a giver. When you do, you signal authenticity, create trust, and invite long-term partnership.

In this post-trust world that we live in today, where skepticism runs high, giving is no longer optional. And this is why the Trust Formula (Authentic Relationships + Meaningful Value + Inspirational Experiences + Disciplined Habits) reminds you that success grows in proportion to how we enrich others.

Reflection time, ask yourself - Do I measure my success by what I get, commissions, accolades, revenue or by what I give, insight, encouragement, solutions, and care? Do I leave people feeling valued, or merely processed?

Action step - Redefine your scoreboard around giving. Write down three ways you will measure success in terms of service.

• How many meaningful insights did I share that helped clients think differently?

• How many introductions did I make that expanded someone else’s opportunity?

• How many internal customers did I encourage, support, or equip to succeed?

This mental shift isn’t about abandoning results, it’s about choosing the path that makes results sustainable, meaningful, and deeply human.

Giving Builds Trust in a Post-Trust World

Simply stated, your clients are weary. They’ve been over-promised and under-delivered.

They’ve been treated as numbers in a quota instead of as people with real goals, pressures, and dreams. That’s why they can spot commission breath a mile away. In this climate, giving isn’t just nice, it’s necessary. Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” becomes not just spiritual wisdom but a business growth strategy.

Trust is the currency of sales, and giving is how we earn it. The Trust Formula shows you how:

• Authentic Relationships (AR) - Give yourself authentically. This means showing up as you, not a persona. Take the time to go beyond LinkedIn titles and job descriptions. Know their story, what matters at home and at work. People buy from people, not empty suits.

• Meaningful Value (MV) - Give insights, not just information. Information is everywhere; insight is scarce. Bring relevant ideas that connect to their goals, challenges, and aspirations. When you give someone a fresh way to think, you elevate yourself from vendor to a trusted professional.

• Inspirational Experience (IE) - Give an experience of working with you that makes people say, this feels different. Energize meetings with empathy, curiosity, and confidence. Create interactions that are less about transactions and more about transformation.

• Disciplined Habits (DH) - Give consistency, as inconsistent sellers erode trust. Show up when you say you will. Do the little things such as follow up on time, respond promptly, and honor commitments. Discipline is invisible until it’s missing; when it’s present, it builds confidence.

Reflection time, ask yourself - Do my clients see me as a giver of value, ideas, and care or as a taker of their time and budget? If I recorded my last conversation and listened, what would I hear?

Action step - Take an audit of your last five client interactions. For each, write down one tangible way you gave value beyond the transaction. If you can’t find it, don’t beat yourself up, plan how you can give more next time. Here's some help, use the Trust Formula as your checklist and ask yourself, Did I show up authentically? Did I bring meaningful value? Did I create an energizing experience? Did I follow through with discipline?

This makes giving more than a virtue, it becomes your strategy in a world starved for authenticity and trust.

Giving in Prospecting: The Power of Value-First Outreach

Prospecting is often where salespeople feel the most taker-ish. Cold emails, LinkedIn DMs, and phone calls can easily come across as self-serving interruptions. People are conditioned to expect pitches, not partnerships.

The antidote is simple but profound, simply give first.

Authentic prospecting is about relational entry points, not manipulation. When you lead with value, you stop being an interruption and start becoming a contribution. You shift from hunting prospects to helping people.

Here are a few practical ways to give when prospecting:

• Share relevant insights, not generic white papers, but carefully chosen articles, research, or even a thought you’ve written that helps them think differently about their situation.

• Make introductions by connecting them to someone in your network who could add value, even if it has nothing to do with your product. That generosity builds relational capital.

• Ask clarifying questions, as a thoughtful question can spark reflection and show you care.

• Offer small wins, something like a sales growth tool, a checklist, or a practical tip that gives immediate benefit without obligation.

When you give before you ask, you earn two things that every salesperson craves but few achieve in prospecting, attention and trust.

Reflection time, ask yourself - Does my prospecting show up as noise or another demand for time? Or does it feel like a contribution that leaves the other person better, even if they never buy from me?

Action step - For your next 10 prospecting touches, make sure each one delivers something of value before it asks for a meeting.

Use the Trust Formula as your guide:

• Did I show up authentically? (AR)

• Did I give meaningful value? (MV)

• Did the interaction feel like an inspirational experience, not a transaction? (IE)

• Did I follow through with disciplined habits? (DH)

Value-first prospecting doesn’t just open doors, it ensures those doors stay open.

Giving Inside Current Accounts, Authentic Client Management

Revenue growth doesn’t only come from chasing new logos. Exponential sales growth requires both net-new clients and cross-selling more to current clients. All too often, salespeople celebrate the win of a new account and then settle into maintenance mode, leaving growth and trust on the business table.

True client value engagement happens when you give more than products or services.

Inside your current client accounts, giving should look like:

• Relational depth - Expanding beyond few contacts to building authentic relationships with multiple decision-makers, influencers, and even end-users. This builds relational equity and protects you from turnover or shifting priorities.

• Meaningful conversations - Going beyond transactional updates to ask better questions about their goals, challenges, and aspirations. When you bring curiosity, you create space for clients to think differently about their business.

• Inspirational experiences - Crafting moments that remind clients why they chose you. From strategy visioning meetings to surprise and delight gestures, these experiences foster loyalty and advocacy.

• Disciplined habits - Consistent follow through, quarterly strategy reviews, and proactive check-ins communicate reliability and care. Inconsistency erodes trust; consistency cements it.

Reflection time, ask yourself - Am I truly giving inside my existing accounts, or am I just maintaining the status quo? Do my clients see me as a trusted partner who invests in their success, or simply as another vendor delivering transactions?

Action step - Identify your top 5 clients. For each, design one new way to give meaningful value this quarter.

Examples might include:

• Hosting a vision session to explore future goals and challenges.

• Conducting a benchmarking study to provide perspective against peers.

• Facilitating an introduction to someone in your network who can help them.

• Leading a quarterly strategy review that focuses on outcomes, not just deliverables.

• Even a thoughtful check-in that shows you care beyond the contract.

This shift moves you from being seen as a supplier to being trusted as a strategic partner, the one they want to keep, protect, and grow with.

Live Out Acts 20:35 in Sales

The marketplace is noisy, and your clients are wary. In this kind of climate, it’s tempting to default to self-preservation. With this environment comes an ancient, countercultural truth,

“It is more blessed to give than to receive”

Acts 20:35

When salespeople and leaders for that matter live this out, everything changes:

• Trust flourishes as people stop seeing you as a taker and begin to believe you are for them. Trust becomes the soil where long-term relationships take root.

• Growth accelerates and multiplies when you help others achieve what they didn’t think was possible. Giving unlocks opportunities that chasing never could.

• When leaders model giving of encouragement, belief, and care; cultures shift. People feel safe, valued, and inspired to give their best.

• Clients become partners and transactions fade. Your relationships deepen. Your clients don’t just buy from you, they fight for you, advocate for you, and grow with you.

Here’s the paradox, when you give first, revenue becomes the fruit, not the root.

Generosity in sales is not charity; it’s strategy. It’s not weakness; it’s wisdom. It’s not just spiritual; it’s profoundly practical.

This is your challenge - Tomorrow, as you prepare for your calls, your emails, your meetings, or your coaching sessions, pause and ask:

What can I give today?

• A listening ear?

• A thoughtful question?

• An insight?

• A connection?

• A word of encouragement?

Every time you choose to give, you’re not only transforming your results, you’re transforming your heart. Over time, you’ll discover that Selling from the Heart isn’t just about closing more deals, it’s about opening yourself to a life of deeper purpose, greater trust, and lasting impact.

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.