Get Smarter or Get Left Behind featuring Richard Vickers

Richard Vickers (0:00)

Eight-year-old me would say, man, why are you worried about what people think? Just go for it. No matter what you're selling, if you're selling pen, chapstick, bottles of water, whatever you're selling today, your customers are looking for you to add value to them in whatever way and shape that possibly could be. And so getting that coaching from eight-year-old me and 80-year-old me really helps me keep things in perspective. And eight-year-old me would say, man, why are you worried about what people think? Just go for it. And so getting that coaching from eight-year-old me and 80-year-old me really helps me keep things in perspective.

SPEAKER_2 (0:39)

Welcome to the Selling from the Heart Podcast on the From the Heart Business Network. You've joined a global movement of sales professionals who are dedicated to being authentic and building trust. We call it Selling from the Heart. Together, we're on a mission to bring sincerity and substance to the sales profession we all love.

Get ready to be inspired and equipped as we join our hosts, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy.

Darrell Amy (1:14)

Welcome back to Selling from the Heart. I'm your co-host, Darrell Amy, here today with Larry Levine, and we're joined by Richard Vickers. He is the author of Getting Smarter Every Day, Practical Lessons in Leadership, Communication, and Personal Growth. Richard, welcome to Selling from the Heart. It's great to have you here.

Richard Vickers (1:31)

Oh my gosh. Thank you guys for allowing me to come and be a part. Love both of you so much. Spent some time with both of you in the past, and I love the podcast itself. I don't know if you know this, but I'm a fan.

SPEAKER_2 (1:45)

That's so good. Thank you.

Richard Vickers (1:47)

Yeah. Longtime listener, first-time caller. So there you go.

Darrell Amy (1:52)

Well, as a long-time listener, then it's going to be no secret to you at the first question we ask every guest on the show and that is Richard, what does Selling From the Heart mean to you?

Richard Vickers (2:01)

Man. And I love this question. And I've looked at a lot of different people and how they respond to this question. I'll tell it to you from me as a coach of facilitators and communicators and sellers.

I tell presenters and facilitators all the time to go into the empty auditorium, sit in an empty auditorium and look up on that empty stage and what do you feel? And typically, they tell me absolutely nothing. What do you mean? What do I feel? It's an empty auditorium. There's a blank screen up there.

It's just an empty stage. And I always tell them, Larry, you'll appreciate this. I tell them exactly, it's empty. Until you get up there and fill that void, this auditorium is going to be empty. And so I put them in the seat of the listener. That's what I do. And so Selling From the Heart, it's a long story for me to get around to saying this. Selling From the Heart to me is putting yourself in the seat of the buyer. And what are they feeling? What emotions? What are their buying decisions? What are the problems are they trying to answer? And I think until a seller puts their butt in the seat of the buyer, they will never truly be a seller from the heart.

How's that?

Larry Levine (3:33)

Oh, this is good. It's your answer. But you know what's interesting? I want to zero in on the word feelings for a moment, because when I speak and when I facilitate workshops and things like that, I always like to poke the bear just by saying, I just want to let y'all know this.

You're in the feelings business, right? That's set aside the things that you all sell. You're in the feelings business. Now, how's that sit with y'all? It's just interesting to A, hear the comments, but B, see the facial expressions, Richard.

Richard Vickers (4:05)

Yeah, we forget that we are human beings first, human doing second. We are hired. If you're a seller, what you do as a human doing is you sell whatever product, if it's this water bottle full of nice little protein liquid. Whatever you do is what you do as a human doing. But before you can get to the human doing, you have to get to the human being.

That human being is full of feelings and emotions and baggage and stuff and decisions that have to be made, and you have to accept that and embrace those. I love how you put that, Larry, the feeling.

Darrell Amy (4:50)

Part of that is growing every single day.