"When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain."

Mark Twain

In this quote, Mark Twain suggested that in the pursuit of love, one should be guided by genuine emotions and sincerity rather than calculated strategies or intellectual reasoning. 

What this quote is truly emphasizing is the importance of emotional honesty and vulnerability in forming authentic connections with others.

I ask all of you... 

What are you doing to form authentic and meaningful connections with your clients and for that matter, your future clients?

Furthermore,

What are you fishing for in the sales world?

What are you fishing for with your clients?

In a world full of me-too salespeople and vanilla experiences, I'm here to inform all of you, the faster you get to the heart, the faster you get to what truly matters to your clients and future clients.

May these two questions start you down the path of wonderment, 

• Could a loving a heart be the pathway to client knowledge?

• Could a loving heart be the key to monumental sales growth?

In a post-trust world, where trust in salespeople is at anemic levels, it has now become more critical than ever for you to be transparent, human, and connect at an emotional level with your clients.

Your clients must be valued, respected, seen, and their views must be heard.

Those of you who lead with heart are better suited. 

By this I mean, I believe you have the wisdom, capacity and wherewithal within you to positively inspire your clients to transform their businesses towards next level growth.

Heartfelt salespeople commit themselves to make tomorrow a better day for their clients.

Nelson Mandela eloquently said,

"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination".

Heartfelt salespeople establish deep meaningful relationships while maintaining radical amounts of self-discipline. This one-two punch creates long-term results, which in turn, fosters sustainability.

Heartfelt salespeople prioritize sustainability over short-term gains. They aim to build enduring and authentic relationships, as opposed to focusing solely on transactions.

This approach not only benefits their clients but also contributes to a more ethical and responsible business environment, one built on the foundation of trust.

Transactional thinking gets salespeople replaced; transformational interactions get to the heart.

Heartfelt salespeople recognize the importance of building genuine connections. 

This has them going beyond transactional interactions as they strive to deeply understand their clients' goals, desires, vision and challenges.

With intentional listening and empathy, they create a foundation of trust, mutual understanding and respect. This approach allows them to establish long-term relationships built on authenticity, care and compassion for each other.

Soft skills will yield you hard dollars!

In a sales world riddled with all about me, selling from the heart creates the foundation known as "all about we."

Selling from the heart is a lifestyle.

It's not a fad, it's not a fly by night sales tactic, nor something you flip the switch on/off.

Emotionally secure salespeople are truly original. They're creative thinkers who are genuine, sincere, thoughtful and just plain ole give a rip.

Selling from the Heart professionals push the boundaries of conventional sales methods.

In working with their clients, these professionals encourage creativity, openness and mutual involvement. In turn, this provides the freedom to innovate inside various layers within their client base, yielding trust, confidence and cohesion.

Leading this lifestyle means you're carrying yourself with purpose, personal accountability, and a deep commitment to do what's right.

UNLOCK YOUR HEART RIGHT, UNLOCK YOUR SALES 

“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Can emotions, intuition, and our inner wisdom perceive truths and realities that our physical senses cannot?

Prepare yourself, it's going to get deep right now... 

What do your clients see when they look into your eyes?

Really and truly think about this.

Because, to sell from the heart, your heart must be right.

Simply stated... hurt people hurt more people; confused people just confuse more people.

Here lies the conundrum... when many in sales come from a selfish point of view, they can never sell from the heart.

Your clients and future clients, they see it in your eyes, they here it with their ears and they sense it with the tone of your communication.

Philippians 2:3-4 says,

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”

The message advises against selfishness and arrogance, promoting humility and consideration for others. 

This verse is about fostering community based on mutual respect and love.

A selfish-hearted rep is someone who thinks first and foremost of self. They're consumed by self-consideration. They only find satisfaction when their needs are placed at the front of the quota attaining line.

People can smell commission breath a mile away.

When salespeople lead with their wallet and not their heart, it comes across immediately in their body language, voice, and facial expressions.

When this self-interest becomes extreme and overrides the consideration of others (think about your clients), it ultimately leads to negative outcomes, strained relationships and inconsistent sales.

Sowing the heartfelt seeds of your clients by building harmonious relationships, will reap you sales results beyond your wildest imagination.

Leading with the wallet causes commission breath.

Please hear me out on this one... you must come at this from a pure place. If not, you will eventually get called out on the carpet as being an empty suit and rightfully so.

Isn't the goal to help your clients function better, do their job better, and to build long term relationships?

If you can agree to this, then you must get your heart in the right place, plain and simple, end of story.

SERVING LEADS TO CONNECTION

There's an old Chinese proverb that states,

"If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody."

When you serve others, you connect at deeper, more meaningful levels.

Winston Churchill nailed it, as he once said,

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela served people with passion and led their lives with purpose and meaning. 

What about you?

I urge you, serve others for a cause (help them do better, more profitable business), not manipulating or flattering them with inauthentic behavior. 

If you give to the universe, the universe gives back. What goes around comes around. There's the least competition for givers. Serve others. Lead others. A life lived for others is more meaningful than the life lived for yourself. 

Albert Einstein rightly remarked, 

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” 

Therefore, add value to others’ lives, your clients. Make a difference in their lives. 

Serve to lead your life with passion and purpose.

This might get you thinking for a moment... Who are you honoring and serving? 

It becomes difficult to honor and serve with a selfish heart. Therefore, heart rules when it comes to connecting.

If you're not bringing your heart to what you do, if you cannot get passionate about leading with it, then I must ask you... Why are you in sales? Is this the right place for you?

If you want to build meaningful and purposeful relationships, then you must connect at the heart level.

Allow vulnerability to become your strength, your north star. This allows you to connect with your clients authentically, empathetically and with compassion.

Your words, your messaging and your actions create a signal that you really do care about your clients. You see them for who they really are, and not a means to quota attainment end.

Those salespeople who can inspire others through kindness, flexibility, support and empowerment, connect in ways that many in sales become envious of.

These heartfelt professionals always have something uplifting to say. They make their clients feel comfortable around them. They make them feel secure enough to open up with their business concerns, issues and secrets.

When you treat your clients with compassion and truly give a rip about them, they will never forget you.

PEOPLE SKILLS ARE THE REAL SKILLS

For years, I've been asking executives and senior leadership this one question, do you believe that you and your salespeople are in the people and relationship building business? Upon which, I get an overwhelming yes. 

Then I must ask, what are you doing to help coach your team to build their people and relationship building skills in a world that views many in sales as not trustworthy and credible? 

My friends, I have yet to any executive or senior leader share with me their plan.

Here lies the opportunity for all of you.

Leading a heart healthy lifestyle is all about people and relational skills. It's the behaviors you use when interacting with other people.

This my sales friends becomes the missing link to you doubling your sales results.

I believe committing to working with your head, heart and hands will create unbreakable bonds with your clients.

You will soon notice:

• An improvement in client engagement

• Innovative ideas flowing between you and your clients

• A collaborative client community based upon trust and loyalty

• Improved client retention, referrals and bottom-line sales results

• Long-term and stable partnerships

Working with your head, heart, and hands is a continuous journey. This requires ongoing self-improvement, learning, and adaptability to meet the evolving needs of your clients.

By integrating these three elements, you establish strong connections and cultivate meaningful relationships, withstanding challenges and the test of time.

Maya Angelou brings this home,

"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."

Combining care, compassion and heart will drive incremental and monumental sales results. And isn't this what you want?

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.