“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”

Aldous Huxley

We all know, there are things known.

In looking at this through the lens of Selling from the Heart, these are facts. The data, the features of your product, your bio, your resume. They’re important but they’re only the surface layer.

A vast majority of salespeople live just here, the surface layer. It’s the world of the visible and it’s where mediocre sales happen.

Ask yourself this... Do my clients know who I really am, or just what I sell?

On the flip side of all of this, we also know, there are things unknown.

Focus for a moment as you look at this through a heart-centered lens, let's call this the emotional undercurrent.

The unspoken doubts your client may not voice. Their fears, ambitions, wounds and previous track record from past salespeople. These are the real reasons deals stall or succeed.

These unknowns might include your own blind spots. Things like assumptions, bias, ego, or disconnection from your deeper why.

You get to the unknowns with your clients by asking better questions to uncover not just needs, but hopes, hesitations and desires. Questions such as, “What’s the risk if this goes wrong?” or “What does success look like for you personally?”

When it's all said and done, somewhere in between, lies the door of perception. It's through this sacred door where trust is built. The client’s perception of you is the door through which your message must pass.

It doesn’t matter what you think you’re offering; it matters how your clients experience you.

If you show up self-serving, rushed, or disingenuous the door slams shut. If you show up authentic, empathetic, and others-focused the door swings open.

Question... How are you walking through your client's door?

Here are some tips to kick off our time together:

1. Be radically present. Intentionally listen. Ask deeper, more meaningful questions.

2. Lead with your heart. Show genuine care not as a tactic, but as a way of life.

3. Earn trust before asking for anything. Trust is the key to the perception door.

4. Do the inner work. You can’t fake sincerity. Your inner state shapes how you’re seen.

Perception, it’s a door. Either knock gently with authenticity or you barge in with bravado and get locked out.

Want to be invited in more often? Be real, be consistent and be human. Because the heart and not the pitch is what opens the door.

In our time together, I'm going to ask you to dig deep, self-reflect and to look at yourself in the mirror, as you ask yourself... Is my client's perception of me a mirror reflecting the authenticity of my intent?

Let's Begin

When opportunities dry up and the old playbook that you've been using for years fails you, most salespeople instinctively point outward, things like, the economy, competition, or buyer behavior.

Here's the deal, real transformation begins when you courageously turn that mirror inward.

If you're courageous enough, you’ll stop blaming the market and start asking a harder question... How am I being perceived by my clients and what does that say about me?

This isn’t about optics and mirrors, nor is it a branding conversation. This is much deeper.

This is about how your clients feel in your presence. This is about what they say when you leave the room. This is about whether you’re trusted or merely tolerated.

Trust isn't earned through tactics, but through consistency, sincerity, and depth. When clients trust you, it’s not because you closed the deal with flair and style, it's because:

• You showed up consistently.

• You brought meaningful value aligned to their world.

• You made the relationship feel safe and respected.

Please ask yourself:

• Am I seen as someone who makes my clients better?

• Do I consistently show up in ways that build relational equity?

• Is my intent transparent and client-centered or subtly self-serving?

From Pitch to Presence, Reclaiming Authenticity

With the onslaught of automation and AI, the sales landscape has become noisier than ever.

Clients are bombarded by lifeless messaging, soulless emails, and connection requests laced with hidden agendas. And the truth?

They see right through all of this.

They crave something and someone who is real.

Not a pitch, not a product peddler, but someone who is present.

Here’s the stone-cold truth that many shy away from... If your clients perceive you as just another vendor, it’s because you’ve shown up as one.

It’s how you follow up when you reach out and what you say when no one’s buying.

Omitting trust in the sales process is the fastest way to burn bridges and send your ideal clients and customers to your competitor.

You can’t outsource trust. You can’t shortcut authenticity. And guess what, there’s no CRM plugin for caring.

Trust isn’t a tactic. It’s a truth and truth is how people experience you. This is moment by moment, meeting by meeting and interaction by interaction.

The question is not whether your prospects trust you, it's, are you worth trusting?

Let's apply the Trust Formula to the question above and to your clients:

• Authentic Relationships – Who you know, and how deeply you know them.

• Meaningful Value – What you bring beyond the brochure.

• Inspirational Experience – How it feels to do business with you.

• Disciplined Habits – The quiet consistency of doing what you said you would do, every single time.

I ask you now, lean in and show up.

From a sales pitch to your presence, the difference isn’t a technique, it’s a transformation.

The Question That Changes Everything

Take a deep breath, now ask yourself and I mean really ask... How do my clients experience me?

This isn’t about how polished your pitch is. It’s not about your so-called value prop or your close ratio.

It’s about presence over presentation.

Ask yourself:

• Do I make people feel seen, safe, and understood or simply sold to?

• Am I showing up with genuine curiosity, or with an agenda dressed up as interest?

• Do I lead with empathy and insight, or do I chase approval wrapped in deals?

The mirror doesn’t lie, only the person looking into it.

This isn’t the kind of work you find in a sales playbook. This is about doing the work beneath the work.

It’s heart work, it’s the uncomfortable, unscalable, undeniable truth that buyers don’t buy from logos, they buy from how you make them feel.

If you want to be trusted, you must first be trustworthy. This means doing the work behind the scenes. It's about clearing the noise, quieting the ego, and leading with integrity over image.

The question isn’t, how can I sell more, it’s, who do I need to become to be worth trusting more?

Grab the books that will transform your sales results.

Why Perception Is the Currency of the Post-Trust Economy

Time to get really real... Trust has been taxed to the limit. Institutions have cracked, leaders have overpromised and the marketplace, well, it's flooded with noise disguised as value.

This is where I ask you to really think... You're no longer simply selling, you're earning. And what you're earning isn’t just revenue, it's perception.

No, I'm not speaking to the branding kind. I'm speaking to the lived-experience kind. In other words, the gut feeling people get when they think of you.

Perception is not something you own. It’s something others loan you, based on how you show up.

Perception is your daily responsibility.

Your greatest differentiator is radical authenticity. Not polished, not perfect, but just realness.

What I'm speaking to looks like:

• Owning your gaps because transparency beats perfection.

• Showing up when it's inconvenient because consistency beats convenience.

• Leading with why it matters to your clients because service beats self-interest.

Trust isn't a strategy; it’s a system of being:

• Authentic relationships, they're not just a name in a CRM. It's about being a presence in their lives.

• Meaningful value is not about more information; it's about more transformation.

• Inspirational experience, your client's forget proposals and what they remember is how you made them feel.

• Disciplined habits, this about following through when it’s quiet, not just when it’s urgent.

This isn’t about managing your image, it's managing your integrity.

Your clients don't want perfect, they want to believe again.

So, here’s the deeper question... What would it look like to become someone worth believing in?

When you live that answer, perception takes care of itself.

Perception Work Is Inner Work

You can’t shift how clients experience you until you have the courage to confront how you experience yourself.

That’s the part most will skip. Not because of being incapable but because it’s uncomfortable.

The ego defends, “I know my stuff.” But the heart whispers a harder question, “Would I trust me with my business, my risks, my reputation?”

This is not about sales script tweaking, this is about checking your soul.

Perception, the real kind, starts well beneath the surface.

The inner work of perception demands:

• Humility, the kind that listens more than it talks.

• Reflection, the willingness to explore your blind spots, not justify them.

• Emotion management, the ability to tune in, slow down, and feel what others might be afraid to say.

So, ask yourself... Am I spending more time polishing my image or developing the character that earns trust without needing one?

Tactical Ways You Can Reshape Client Perception

This is all about transformation. It's having the guts to be bold, practical, and heart-centered with your actions. It's about reshaping how your clients see you by reshaping how you show up for them.

1. Send a Truth Message

Vulnerability is the doorway to deeper trust.

Pick three clients, reach out with sincerity as you share... “I want to be more valuable to you. Would you be open to sharing how you currently perceive me or our relationship?”

You're right, this is going to feel awkward, but this kind of radical transparency is rare, and it signals maturity, humility, and a true commitment to growth.

2. Document the Client’s “Why”

If you don’t know why they’d choose you, neither do they.

For every opportunity you have, pause and ask yourself... What's the emotional driver? What outcome matters most to them, not me?

Write down both the business reason (ROI, results, efficiency) and the human reason (less stress, more peace of mind, internal credibility).

3. Turn Follow-Ups into Value Adds

Just checking in, is transactional. Real meaningful follow-up is relational reinforcement.

Instead of asking for updates, deliver meaningful value:

• Send an article tied to something they mentioned in your last conversation.

• Ask a reflective question that shows you’re thinking about their goals.

• Share an insight that’s not about your solution but about their world.

4. Refine Your Reputation Routine

Reputation isn’t built in big moments, it’s built in small, intentional rhythms.

Build routines and rhythms:

• Daily - Make one proactive, meaningful touch by offering help without asking for anything.

• Weekly - Reflect on one interaction and ask yourself... “How did I make them feel?” What emotional residue did I leave behind?

• Monthly - Ask for feedback from one client. Ask, “What’s one thing I could do better?”

5. Map the Trust Formula to Every Key Account

The Trust Formula isn’t just a concept, it’s a compass.

For each of your top accounts, rate yourself 1–5 in each area:

• AR – Authentic Relationships - Do they know me as a person or a provider?

• MV – Meaningful Value - Do they believe I understand what really matters to them?

• IE – Inspirational Experience - Do I make working with me enjoyable and energizing?

• DH – Disciplined Habits - Do I consistently follow through and stay present even when there’s nothing to sell?

Plot your strengths and gaps. Then ask:

You don’t earn trust with tactics alone. You earn it through emotional consistency, intentional value, and relational depth.

If you want to reshape how your clients see you, then start with how you’re willing to show up differently.

Final Reflections, The Reputation You Leave Behind

Salespeople will often ask... “How do I get my client to respond?”

Is it possible that the deeper, braver question is... “Who do I need to become for them to want to respond?”

Whether you realize it or not, you’re always building your reputation. You’re always telling a story and you’re always being perceived.

I'm talking every call, every silence, every touchpoint, every follow-up or failure to follow through, it all speaks loudly.

Ask yourself:

• Is the version of you that your clients experience aligned with the version you believe yourself to be?

• Are you leaving behind presence, or just pressure?

• Would you respond to someone who shows up like you?

This is the hidden work most of you will avoid.

Will your perception be shaped by ego, or forged through empathy? Driven by agenda, or grounded in authenticity?

Because in a marketplace starved for sincerity, in a business world weary of being pitched, those salespeople who choose to Sell from the Heart won’t just win deals, they'll win trust.

They’ll win respect and they’ll win the kind of relationships that outlive all the empty suits.

And in the end, that is the only win that truly matters.

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.