"No legacy is so rich as honesty."

William Shakespeare

Let's get right to the point, honesty is one huge fundamental virtue and foundational pillar to building trust, respect, and strong relationships.

When you're honest with others and yourself, you build a foundation of trust that allows you to connect more deeply and work together more effectively. Now, think about your clients.

Honesty also enables you to take responsibility for your actions and learn from your mistakes, leading to personal growth and integrity.

Reinforcing the quote to open our time together, in living with honesty, your legacy becomes one of authenticity, trustworthiness, and positive influence.

People (your clients) remember those who were true to their word, and who treated them with respect and fairness.

In a world that can sometimes feel full of falsehoods, empty promises, and in Selling from the Heart fashion, empty suits, the enduring legacy of honesty shines through.

Your first mirror moment:

• In a business world starving for truthfulness and honesty, what do you wish your legacy to be?

• Are you leading your sales life with confident, direct and truthful conversation?

I enjoyed reading, "The Business of Honor" by Bob Hasson along with Danny Silk.

There is a style of communication they refer to as being healthy and aligned with the core beliefs and commitments of honor, and they call this assertive conversation.

Please key on this especially in a business world where trust is extremely low... "I'm going to tell you the truth about my thoughts, feelings and needs."

The following is your sales light bulb moment.

Bob Hasson goes onto to say that this demonstrates trust, in that it says, "I'm not going to do anything to try and manipulate or control the way you see me or respond to me."

I strongly believe healthy conversation like this is mission critical to have to cause the people who really want to know you to trust you, my sales friends, this would be your clients and future clients.

Continuing on with "The Business of Honor",

"Assertive communication fosters trust, safety and belonging. Telling the truth especially difficult truths is one of the main things that causes the people who really want to know us to trust us."

I ask you to think about your clients, now reread the quote above.

Assertive conversations require connection. When we think of connection, let's refer to Brené Brown,

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

Your second mirror moment:

• Do you believe in your heart that you're creating a space for your clients to feel seen, heard and valued?

Building authentic connections becomes the key to effective, long-lasting and meaningful client relationships.

Client relationships will become stronger as you learn to open up.

Without healthy conversations with your clients, where do you believe the relationship sits, really?

The struggle for many in sales is when you rely upon scripted questions, you usually get scripted answers.

Real conversations require complete participation. It requires you to be present. Genuine healthy conversations are invitations, an invitation to "what is really going on" starts to unfold during these conversations.

Question some of you might be asking yourself, "Larry, how do I achieve authentic, meaningful, genuine and real conversations with my clients?" My answer is quite simple, you let your guard down and stop acting like a salesperson.

START SPEAKING THE TRUTH

To quote, John 8:32,

"The truth will set you free."

Truth transforms feelings and actions. Choosing truth over feelings can transform how a person feels, thinks, and acts. Now, think about your clients.

Truth is an absolute. Truth should transcend emotions and feelings. Now, think about your clients.

I get it, there may be times when you feel hesitant about speaking your truth…because of the way you think it will be perceived, or to avoid confrontation.

I do know this... Spend any amount of time in sales and you will have been faced with the moment, "Do I really share what's going on or do I sugar-coat it to avoid a difficult situation arising?"

Perception is reality through the lens of your clients and future clients. And, my friends, this is what matters the most.

No matter what the situation, you must always be truthful, rather than avoiding uncomfortable conversations. Yet, how many in sales avoid these types of conversations?

Brad Blanton, author of Radical Honesty: How to Transform Your Life by Telling the Truth, writes:

"When we reveal more, we have less to hide. When we have less to hide, we are less worried about being found out. When we are less worried about being found out, we can pay better attention to someone else. In this way, telling the truth makes intimacy and freedom possible."

Your third mirror moment:

• Are you brave enough to start proactive, healthy and assertive conversations that matter?

• Are you and your clients having break through moments with your conversations?

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TRANSFORM YOUR SALES WITH PURPOSEFUL AND POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS

"Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters."

Margaret Wheatley

Sales professionals who sell from the heart approach every conversation with sincerity.

They share their thoughts and feelings openly, inviting others to do the same. They engage in active listening by giving their full attention and responding thoughtfully. They encourage deeper dialogue by asking open-ended questions that prompt reflection and discussion.

Sales professionals embrace uncomfortable conversations as part of their growth process, sales reps love the status quo while embracing comfortable conversations.

By embracing purposeful conversations this:

Shows You Care — Dedicate the time to provide insights and creative ideas for your clients to help them grow their business.

Builds Trust — In a post trust sales world, proactive conversation shows that you're invested in their business growth. Closely monitor your client's business and routinely engage with knowledgeable insights to help them cast vision about their business.

Prevents Future Issues — Make sure there are no surprises. Prevent your clients from "making a mountain out of a molehill". Healthy or assertive conversations will help you gain a better understanding about your client's needs, wants and desires before they turn into issues that require tissues.

Here's the deal, if you want to build lasting and impactful relationships with your clients, and I know you do, you must tell them the truth.

Not only do you need to speak the truth with your clients; you also need to be willing to hear the truth from them about your business, how you carry yourself and the experience you're providing to them.

To quote Timothy Ferris,

“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”

Engaging in uncomfortable conversations leads to self-discovery, personal development, builds confidence, and the believability you have with yourself. These conversations will challenge you to confront your fears and assumptions of others, but stick with them, the outcomes are wonderful.

These conversations build your conversational muscles.

DETACH FROM THE OUTCOMES, TRANSFORM YOUR CONVERSATIONS

A special shout out to my dear friend Scott Schilling for this quote,

"High intention, low attachment"

What would it be like if you entered conversations with high intention and low attachment, as opposed to, high intention and high attachment? Would it change the conversation and outcomes? I submit you that it will.

It takes courage to have assertive, confident and healthy conversations. It also requires practice. The more you seek to connect with your clients in an authentic way, the more you will hone your skills of giving, inviting and releasing (detaching from the outcomes).

To quote Bob Hasson,

"Fostering healthy connection in our business relationships is critical to success, and for this reason, we must be committed to telling the truth, receiving well, and serving well."

Healthy and meaningful connections in your business relationships is not just beneficial; it's mission critical to your success and sustainability.

Commit to truthfulness. Become openminded to having assertive conversations, as this leads to collaboration, enhanced sales performance, and ultimately leads to you having greater success.

In today’s hyper connected business world, all of this becomes the bedrock for building lasting relationships that propel you to greater sales heights.

I will leave you all with one last quote from Brad Blanton in "Radical Honesty",

"We all lie like hell. It wears us out, it is the major source of all human stress… The kind of lying that is most deadly is withholding, or keeping back information from someone we think would be affected by it."

Think about your clients, think about the conversations you're having with them, think of how they view you... And now, to honor your clients is to honor yourself.

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.