"You can beat 80% of the competition just by showing up."

Harvey Mackay

I believe most salespeople don’t lose because they’re not talented, they lose because they’re absent.

By this I mean, not physically, but mentally, emotionally, and relationally. Showing up means being fully present, prepared, curious, and grounded in service.

When you show up with intentionality, your clients feel it. They sense that this conversation isn’t about your quota, it’s about their reality.

This business world is full of distracted salespeople chasing the next deal, presence alone sets you apart.

Showing up from the heart means consistency when it’s inconvenient. It’s the follow-up that doesn’t benefit you immediately. It’s the check-in that isn’t tied to a proposal.

It’s asking better questions and having the courage to sit in the silence long enough to truly hear the answer.

Most salespeople tap out when things get uncomfortable or unclear. When you stay engaged, steady, and human, trust begins to compound and trust always beats technique.

You don’t need to out-talk, out-maneuver, or out-pressure 80% of the competition, all you must do is out-care them.

Showing up is a decision you make every day, to lead with heart, to bring meaningful value before value is returned, and to honor the relationship whether there’s a sale on the table or not.

Do this long enough, and you won’t just win more opportunities, you’ll become the standard your clients refuse to replace.

Is this conversation helpful so far? Super, let's continue.

Again, I believe salespeople lose deals because of how they showed up. Whether you want to admit it or not, how you show up is your responsibility.

Every word you choose, every message you send, every tone you carry into a conversation is quietly answering a question your client may never say out loud... Can I trust this person to help me?

Before someone believes in your solution, they must believe in you.

Belief is never created by accident.

Proverbs 18:21 reads,

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Your words carry weight. They always have and they'll either pull people closer or push them away faster than you realize.

How You Show Up Speaks Louder Than What You Sell

Let’s be really real for a moment, most sales conversations sound the same because most salespeople show up the same.

Same buzzwords, same recycled value propositions, same we help companies like yours… language that feels polished and massively empty.

You know what? People feel it, sense it and smell it.

They may nod politely, they may ask a few questions, and even agree to a follow-up meeting. However, internally, they've already disengaged, not because you were rude or incompetent, but because you were forgettable.

Showing up isn’t about being loud, it’s about being intentional.

It’s not about saying more, it’s about saying what matters to them.

Colossians 4:6 reads,

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Grace and truth, clarity and care, conviction without arrogance. This simple balance is rare in sales.

Messaging Without Meaning

Here’s a hard truth most salespeople don’t want to hear... Your messaging may be pushing clients away and you don’t even know it.

Review your last few emails, how about the voicemail you just left or the last LinkedIn message you copied and pasted, did it sound like you? Or did it sound like every other salesperson?

Your clients don’t reject salespeople; they reject the noise.

Noise is what happens when messaging is disconnected from intention.

Matthew 12:34 reads,

“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

If your heart is focused on quota, urgency, and self-interest, your words will reveal it, even when you try to hide it behind well-polished language.

If your heart is focused on service, clarity, and helping someone move forward, even if that means not buying, your words will carry a different weight.

Belief Is Earned Before It’s Spoken

Internally, most salespeople are asking themselves the wrong question... How do I convince my clients I can help them?

What they should be asking themselves is... What am I doing that makes belief possible or impossible

Belief doesn’t come from your pitch; it comes from you being consistent.

Belief doesn’t come from your fancy marketing brochures; it comes from alignment between what you say and how you act.

Belief doesn’t come from confidence alone; it comes from credibility over time.

Luke 16:10 reads,

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.”

Mirror moment... Do your clients trust you with small things?

Do you listen without interrupting? Do you follow through when there’s nothing in it for you?

Do you ask questions that help them think differently?

Clients don’t suddenly decide to believe you, they notice you over time.

The Gap Between Intent and Impact

This is where many well-intentioned salespeople get stuck, as they mean well, and want to genuinely help.

Intent does not equal impact.

Impact is what your clients experience, regardless of what you meant. The gap between intention and impact is where trust is either strengthened or where it silently crumbles.

You may intend to sound confident, but you may come across as being arrogant. You may intend to sound helpful but come across as self-focused.

It's this gap that goes unexplored, and it's this gap that quietly becomes your reputation.

That’s why I believe reflection isn’t optional, it’s essential.

Psalm 139:23 reads,

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

This kind of self-reflection requires courage. This will force you to look past your results and examine the emotional state you leave behind in your conversations, meetings, and decisions.

Reflection is uncomfortable, but it’s the doorway to growth.

Sales professionals don’t ask... Did I hit my number? They ask themselves... How did I show up? What did my presence create or cost me? Did I build trust?

Your long-term success isn’t built on good intentions, it’s built on self-awareness, humility, and your willingness to close the gap between who you believe you are and how you experience it.

This is what Selling from the Heart is all about.

The Words You Choose Shape the Relationship You Get

"A relationship is like a house. If a light bulb goes out, you fix the lightbulb, you don't go and buy a new house"

Mark Batterson

The words you use shape expectations, emotion, and either establish trust or erode it.

When you lead with... Let me tell you about our company, you’re signaling that the conversation is about you.

When you lead with... Can you help me understand, you’re signaling respect.

When you say... We’re the best in the industry; you’re asking for belief you haven’t yet earned.

When you say... Here’s what I’m seeing others struggle with, does any of this resonate?, you’re now inviting in trust.

Proverbs 15:1 reads,

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

The tone of your voice matters, as does the pace and timing of those words.

Sales isn’t about you verbal dominance, it’s about emotional intelligence.

Trust Is Built When Your Presence Feels Safe

One overlooked and underestimated aspect of selling is this simple question... Do your clients feel safe with you?

Safe enough to be honest with you when the answer isn’t clean. Safe enough to say, I don’t know, without feeling exposed.

Safe enough to push back, challenge assumptions, or disagree. Safe enough to admit fear, doubt, or uncertainty.

Psychological safety is the soil where trust grows. Without it, every conversation becomes performative, guarded, filtered, and incomplete.

High-pressure sales tactics destroy safety, and well-scripted urgency destroys safety.

Clients don’t open up when they feel managed, they open up when they feel understood.

1 John 4:18 reads,

“Perfect love drives out fear.”

In a sales context, love shows up as restraint, shows up as patience, and shows up as being willing to slow the process down, even when the number is staring you in the face.

When clients sense that you care more about helping them make the right decision than your decision, fear begins to fade. When clients feel no pressure to perform, defend, or posture, clarity begins to rise.

When fear fades, belief takes root. By this I mean, belief in the process, the solution, and most of all, belief in you.

How Are You Showing Up When It’s Not Convenient?

Anyone can sound good when things are going well.

Question becomes; how do you show up when...

• A deal stalls?

• A client goes silent?

• A mistake is made?

• The answer is not now or no?

Those moments reveal everything about you.

Do you disappear or stay present?

Do you pressure or respect?

Do you defend or simply listen?

Matthew 7:16 reads,

“By their fruit you will recognize them.”

Deeply reflect upon this... Your clients may forget what you sold them, but they'll never forget how you made them feel when things were uncertain.

The Mirror Every Salesperson Must Face

The mirror never lies, only the person looking into the mirror.

Before a client ever believes in your solution, your pricing, or your process, they’re deciding whether they believe you.

This decision is made quietly, and it has everything to do with your presence.

It starts with a mirror most of you will avoid...

• Do my words reflect my values, or just my quota?

• Does my messaging feel human or does it feel memorized?

• Am I genuinely curious about my client's world, or am I steering them towards mine?

• Am I committed to bringing clarity even when it may slow things down?

Clients don’t trust perfection, they trust alignment.

Belief isn’t something you can demand with confidence, urgency, or clever language. Belief is invited.

This is about your clients feel seen, heard, and respected. This is about your actions matching your intentions. This is about you consistently showing up, long after the deal is signed.

Integrity opens a relationship and why Proverbs 11:3 is so important,

“The integrity of the upright guides them.”

Integrity doesn’t shout, and it doesn’t need to perform. Integrity simply shows up the same way, every single time.

It's that steadiness that turns conversations into trust and trust into long-term impact.

A Final Reflection

We all know this to be true, the business world is crowded with salespeople who simply talk the talk, while your clients are starving for those who mean it.

Growth doesn't come from being louder, slicker, or deploying a new high-tech tactic. Real growth is an inside-out process that starts when you align who you are with how you show up.

You don’t earn trust by trying to be believable, you earn trust by showing up consistently, clearly, and authentically.

While empty suits are content staying on the conversational surface with weather, sports, and weekend gossip, the heart-centered sales professional seeks the treasure chest of deep business value.

Small chit-chatty talk is an appetizer; it passes the time but rarely changes it.

Meaningful value is the main course; it builds the foundation of a long-term partnership rather than a one-time transaction.

When you show up as someone worth trusting, you become the message, and that's where true, sustainable sales growth lives.

I will leave you with this challenge... This week, review your last five client interactions, emails, calls, or meetings and ask yourself this one honest question... If I were on the receiving end, would I feel like I was being helped?

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.