Larry Levine – Your Tragedy Could Be the Story That Brings You Success

Jan 4, 2021

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Larry Levine is the best-selling author of Selling from the Heart and the co-host of the Selling from the Heart Podcast.

In a post trust sales world, Larry Levine helps sales teams leverage the power of authenticity to grow revenue, grow themselves, and enhance their clients’ lives.

Larry has coached sales professionals across the world, from tenured reps to new millennials entering the salesforce. They all appreciate the practical, real, raw, relevant, relatable, and “street-savvy” nature of his coaching. Larry is not shy when it comes to delivering his message.

In a world full of empty suits, Larry is passionate about helping sales reps succeed by helping them to uncover their true value before they get visible.

Larry is leading a revolution of authenticity, integrity, and substance in the sales profession.

“If you can self reflect, become self-aware of who you are, and work on the inner part of who you are, you, it fills your outer success.”

Larry Levine

Worst investment ever

Larry helped start a company in LA in 1994. In 2000 he bought into the company that went on to expand rapidly.

Wanting to explore more options

In 2012, Larry started feeling that it was time for him to move on. His work environment had become too toxic and dysfunctional. It was time for Larry to explore other options. In 2013, Larry sold his shares of the company, and after about eight months, he left the company for good.

Starting afresh

After working for almost 20 years with the same company where he poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, Larry made a career decision to go somewhere else. This time he decided to go to a large corporation. He was now a newbie in one of the biggest corporate firms in LA. Larry was number 18 on an 18 person corporate account team.

To prove himself, Larry got an exorbitantly high quota for the year. For 90 days, it was a rough roller coaster for him but, Larry took everything he had learned, put his best foot forward, and rose in one year from number 18 to number two. He managed to bring in a million and a half dollars of brand new business.

The biggest let down of his life

In the spring of 2015, at 50 years old, Larry was fired. For the first time, he found himself without a job. Losing his job was the worst rejection Larry had ever had in his whole life, and it hit him so bad. He cried for days. Now he had to figure out what to do with himself at 50 years old.

Trusting himself to start his own business

Larry had to figure out what to do next because he had a family to take care of. He started tapping into his networks right away. A few days later, Larry’s close friend called him and suggested that he becomes a sales coach and trainer.

Larry thought about his friend’s advice and realized that he could do it. But he was afraid of disappointing his dad. However, Larry decided to give it a shot. The plan was to be the best coach ever and make his dad proud.

Building a successful coaching business

Larry started to coach office technology reps. He wore his emotions on his sleeves, connected deeply, and built meaningful relationships with his clients. He built a successful coaching business based on everything he had learned over the years.

Lessons learned

Reinvent yourself and learn from your mistakes

Whether you made a horrible career investment or a bad financial investment, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep pushing forward.

You are capable of doing a lot more than you think; just believe in yourself

If you believe in yourself, you will see that you can do a lot more than you ever thought you could. Trust yourself to be great.

Andrew’s takeaways

Be comfortable with facing resistance. It will propel you to greatness

Embrace resistance, disasters, frustration, and emotions. It is this resistance that forces you to change and look for new options and propel yourself.

Embrace your pain and your struggle and tell your story with authenticity

You may have gone through a lot of struggle and pain. Instead of letting it hold you back, embrace it, and then bring your story to the world. You will never know where it can take you and who you may help with your experience.

Actionable advice

Whether you are in sales, finance, you are a teacher, a banker, work as a clerk in a grocery store, etc. if you bring genuine sincerity, substance, and your heart to the forefront, it will not only change you but also change the conversations you have, your relationships and your business endeavors.

No. 1 goal for the next 12 months

Larry’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to launch another Selling from the Heart book. He just started the rough outline, and he hopes to get the book to market in 2021.