Selling From the Heart Podcast

Jeff Bajorek is a sales strategist, keynote speaker, author, and consultant with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations improve clarity, messaging, and performance. A former C-level sales executive and multi-time President’s Club performer, Jeff specializes in helping teams define “what good looks like” so success becomes repeatable and scalable.
Through speaking, training, and advisory work, he helps leaders systematize the instincts of top performers, strengthen customer relationships, and build sustainable growth strategies. Jeff is also the author of multiple sales books, including Rethink the Way You Sell and Fundamentals of Prospecting, and is known for blending practical insight, humor, and real-world experience to elevate modern sales teams.
SHOW SUMMARY

In this episode of Selling from the Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome sales strategist, author, and consultant Jeff Bajorek for a candid conversation about integrity, leadership, resilience, and defining what success truly looks like.
Jeff shares a deeply personal reflection on a recent leadership role that ended after just six months. Looking back, he realized that while he was focused on driving change and having difficult conversations, he failed to first earn the trust of the people around him by listening, connecting, and understanding what success already looked like within the organization.
The discussion explores the relationship between identity and performance, the importance of maintaining belief in yourself, and how professional setbacks often become the greatest catalysts for growth. Jeff explains why integrity is much more than keeping your word—it's the alignment between what you sell, who you sell it to, how you sell, and why you sell it.
Listeners will also hear powerful insights on culture, self-awareness, defining "enough," and why true success starts with getting the right priorities right both professionally and personally.
This is an honest and thought-provoking conversation about growth, humility, leadership, and the ongoing journey of becoming the person capable of achieving the results you desire.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Selling from the heart begins with integrity—alignment between what you sell, who you sell to, how you sell, and why.
Belief and confidence are not permanent; they require daily attention and reinforcement.
Lasting results require personal transformation, not just better goals or systems.
Leadership starts with trust. Before driving change, leaders must understand and earn the hearts of their people.
Professional setbacks often provide the greatest opportunities for growth and self-discovery.
More than one truth can exist at the same time—you can experience failure and still be proud of your effort.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
Integrity is alignment between what you sell, who you sell it to, how you sell it, and why.

Belief is a daily practice. The moment you assume it'll always be there, it starts to disappear.

In order to achieve different results, you must become the kind of person capable of producing those results.

I knew what good looked like, but I never stopped long enough to understand what good already looked like to the people around me.

You can't lead people effectively until you've earned the right to influence them.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast! Nominate a visionary CEO at www.culturefromtheheart.com!
Listen to Larry Levine’s Bestselling Book: Selling in a Post-Trust World! Now available on Audible! Transform your sales approach with insights that matter.  
Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: Selling from the Heart YouTube

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Todd Caponi is a sales strategist, keynote speaker, author, and advisor passionate about elevating the sales profession through behavioral science and transparency. A three-time author—including The Transparency Sale and The Transparent Sales Leader—Todd helps organizations rethink how they sell, negotiate, and lead by building trust through honesty rather than perfection.

Blending his fascination with decision science, sales methodology, and learning theory, Todd works with customer-facing teams to create more confident, frictionless B2B buying experiences. Through speaking, teaching, and advising, he equips leaders and sales professionals with simple, practical frameworks that drive stronger relationships, better outcomes, and long-term growth.

SHOW SUMMARY

In this episode of the Selling from the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy welcome sales strategist, author, and transparency advocate Todd Caponi to explore why trust should never disappear when negotiations begin.
Drawing from his latest book, The Four Levers of Negotiation, Todd challenges traditional negotiation tactics that often turn collaborative sales conversations into adversarial battles. He explains that while sales professionals spend months building credibility and trust, many unknowingly undermine those relationships the moment pricing discussions begin.
Todd introduces a practical framework built around four universal business drivers—volume, timing of cash, length of commitment, and timing or predictability of the deal. By helping buyers understand the true factors that influence pricing, sales professionals can negotiate transparently, trade value instead of giving away discounts, and create outcomes that benefit both parties.
The conversation dives into behavioral science, decision-making, confidence in pricing, and why transparency consistently outperforms manipulation. Whether you're negotiating enterprise contracts or everyday business agreements, this episode provides a modern, trust-centered approach to creating win-win outcomes while strengthening long-term customer relationships.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Transparency creates stronger outcomes in sales, leadership, negotiations, and customer relationships.
Many salespeople build trust throughout the sales cycle only to abandon it during negotiation.
Every B2B pricing discussion is influenced by four key factors: volume, payment timing, contract length, and deal predictability.
Buyers are less likely to push aggressively for discounts when they understand the rationale behind pricing.
Negotiation works best when both sides openly collaborate rather than hide information and play games.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
Transparency sells better, leads better, negotiates better, and creates stronger customer advocates than pretending to be perfect.

We spend months building trust with our buyers. Why would we risk losing it the moment the negotiation begins?

The best negotiations don't feel like battles. They feel like two sides working together to create value.

Every pricing conversation is driven by four simple levers: volume, timing of cash, length of commitment, and deal predictability.

The minute you give away a concession for free, you diminish its value—and your own.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast! Nominate a visionary CEO at www.culturefromtheheart.com!
Listen to Larry Levine’s Bestselling Book: Selling in a Post-Trust World! Now available on Audible! Transform your sales approach with insights that matter.  
Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: Selling from the Heart YouTube

Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration:
Click Here for Your Daily Dose

Craig Klein is the Founder and CEO of SalesNexus, a CRM and sales automation platform built to help small and mid‑sized businesses grow more revenue through better follow‑up, stronger relationships, and smarter sales processes. With deep experience in sales, marketing, and technology, Craig has spent his career helping organizations streamline their sales functions while keeping the human connection at the core of every customer interaction.
He is known for his practical approach to relationship‑based selling and his ability to translate complex systems into tools that empower teams to close more deals, nurture customers long‑term, and scale with intention. Craig regularly shares insights on sales strategy, CRM best practices, and creating cultures that support consistent performance and meaningful client engagement.

SHOW SUMMARY

In this episode of the Selling from the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy sit down with Craig Klein to explore how AI and sales technology can strengthen authentic, relationship-driven selling rather than replace it.
Craig shares how his perspective on sales evolved from chasing transactions to focusing on service, trust, and long-term relationships. Together, they unpack the rapid evolution of CRM and AI tools, discussing why human connection still matters most—especially in high-value, complex sales environments where trust and credibility drive decisions.
The conversation dives into practical ways AI can support sales teams through smarter follow-up, onboarding, coaching, meeting preparation, and workflow automation. Craig also explains how organizations can use AI to eliminate “forgotten deals,” improve consistency, and free sales professionals from administrative tasks so they can spend more time building meaningful customer relationships.
If you’ve wondered how to embrace AI without losing the heart of selling, this episode offers a grounded and practical roadmap for using technology to become more human—not less.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
AI and CRM tools should support authentic relationship-building, not replace human connection
High-trust, high-value sales still depend on real conversations and credibility
One of AI’s biggest opportunities is recovering missed follow-ups and forgotten deals
The best sales technology removes busywork so salespeople can spend more time with customers
Incremental daily improvements create stronger long-term sales performance than occasional major overhauls
AI-powered systems can streamline proposals, scheduling, onboarding, and customer communication
The future of sales technology is “agentic AI,” where systems proactively assist salespeople behind the scenes
Context-driven AI becomes significantly more powerful when connected to CRMs, contracts, proposals, and operational systems

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
Technology should help you connect and have better conversations—not get in the way of them.

The best salespeople understand that relationships still win. Great technology simply helps you focus more on people.

Give before you ask. That mindset opens doors that go far beyond money.

Nobody spends half a million dollars on a major purchase without building trust with someone first.

AI should enhance the relational strength we already have with our customers—not replace authenticity.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast! Nominate a visionary CEO at www.culturefromtheheart.com!
Listen to Larry Levine’s Bestselling Book: Selling in a Post-Trust World! Now available on Audible! Transform your sales approach with insights that matter.  
Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: Selling from the Heart YouTube

Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration:
Click Here for Your Daily Dose

Jennifer Langton is an expert in transformational leadership who bridges bold innovation with human impact. As the former Senior Vice President of Player Health and Innovation at the NFL, Jennifer pioneered the league’s first injury reduction strategy, achieving a groundbreaking 25% concussion reduction through initiatives like the Digital Athlete, developed in partnership with AWS.
Her business acumen is just as impressive: she restored profitability as North America CFO for Atari, and led a revenue-boosting RFP at the NFL that delivered a 220% increase in the league’s apparel portfolio.
Jennifer’s leadership is defined by her CTG Methodology, Connect, Trust, Grow, a framework for navigating high-stakes environments with clarity and heart. An NYU Stern MBA and AWS Women of the Cloud honoree, Jennifer embodies results-driven leadership powered by purpose, people, and progress.

SHOW SUMMARY
In this episode of Selling from the Heart Podcast. Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Jennifer Langton, former SVP of Player Health and Innovation at the NFL, who led the league’s first injury-reduction strategy and helped drive a 25% reduction in concussions, including work on the AWS-partnered Digital Athlete.
Langton explains her CTG methodology, connect, trust, grow, emphasizing authentic connection to overcome resistance to change, trust built through leadership and data to scale beyond pilots, and growth through iterative wins.
She shares how purpose rooted in personal adversity fueled her leadership, how aligning personal mission with organizational priorities creates transformation, and why technology and AI require a “human path” for adoption by building with, not for, stakeholders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Authentic connection must come before trust , and trust must come before growth. Skip one, and the whole framework breaks.
Your personal "why" is your most powerful sales asset. Aligning your purpose to your client's or organization's greatest need creates unstoppable momentum.
You don't need to be the expert , you need to connect the experts. Leadership and sales are about asking the right questions and keeping everyone aligned to one mission.
Build with people, not for them. Co-creation drives adoption; top-down mandates don't.
Data empowers people, it doesn't replace them. The human path to adoption is just as critical as the technical solution.
Adversity can become your superpower. Lived experience creates authentic credibility that no credential can replicate.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
If you don't connect, your stakeholders will resist. If you skip trust, what you're building will never scale beyond a pilot.

Technical playbooks don't create change, people do.

People follow the version of you that's true.

We built with, and not for, them. That's how we empowered them.

Every time an injury was predicted or prevented, it was me winning back a piece of myself.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast! Nominate a visionary CEO at www.culturefromtheheart.com!
Listen to Larry Levine’s Bestselling Book: Selling in a Post-Trust World! Now available on Audible! Transform your sales approach with insights that matter.  
Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: Selling from the Heart YouTube

Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration:
Click Here for Your Daily Dose

Joel Zeff is a dynamic keynote speaker, work culture expert, improvisational humorist, and author who brings energy, humor, and practical insight to every stage. For more than 25 years, Joel has delivered over 2,500 presentations that blend improvisation with actionable business lessons around teamwork, leadership, collaboration, and change.
Known for his highly interactive keynotes, Joel engages audiences through playful improv exercises that reinforce a powerful message: organizations thrive when people feel supported, appreciated, and connected. From Wells Fargo and Samsung to KPMG and even the IRS, Joel has helped companies across industries build more joyful, resilient, and high-performing cultures.

SHOW SUMMARY
In this episode of the Selling from the Heart Podcast, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by keynote speaker and work culture expert Joel Zeff to discuss how joy, presence, and positive support create stronger sales cultures and better performance.
Joel explains that “selling from the heart” means genuinely helping others succeed and bringing passion into every interaction. Drawing from his background in improvisation, he shares why embracing change, staying flexible, and choosing how we respond to challenges are essential skills for sales professionals and leaders alike.
The conversation highlights how leaders cultivate passion—not by demanding it, but by creating environments built on ownership, appreciation, celebration, and support. Joel also emphasizes the importance of being fully present in conversations, especially in a distracted world where attention is rare and deeply valuable. Packed with practical wisdom and humor, this episode is a powerful reminder that positivity, persistence, and connection fuel lasting success.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Selling from the heart means helping others succeed, not simply closing deals.
Passion grows in environments built on ownership, appreciation, and positive support.
Change is constant—success depends on how you choose to respond to it.
Improv teaches two powerful sales lessons: stay present and never quit.
Positive support and recognition directly improve culture and performance.
Presence and listening strengthen trust and connection in every interaction.
Persistence and adaptability are critical to long-term sales success.
Joyful cultures create more engaged, committed, and resilient teams.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
Selling from the heart is answering the question: How do I help the people around me be successful?

I only control how I react to what happens.

You can make mistakes. You just can’t give up.

It’s my job as a sales leader to create the foundation for passion.

The best present you can give somebody is your presence.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Explore the secrets of heart-centered leadership and thriving workplace cultures with Culture from the Heart Podcast! Nominate a visionary CEO at www.culturefromtheheart.com!
Listen to Larry Levine’s Bestselling Book: Selling in a Post-Trust World! Now available on Audible! Transform your sales approach with insights that matter.  
Subscribe to The Selling from the Heart Podcast Youtube Channel! Stay updated with the latest episodes and leadership tips: Selling from the Heart YouTube

Get Your Daily Dose of Inspiration:
Click Here for Your Daily Dose