Larry Lewis and the Client Builder Story

Larry Lewis, the founder of Client Builder Sales and Marketing, grew up in a family business – a wholesale distribution company that sold heating and cooling equipment to HVAC dealers.  This experience gave Larry the opportunity to witness firsthand just how important sales and marketing skills are to the success of the typical small business.  He realized early on that the difference between those that succeed and those that don’t lies not in their technical ability, but in their ability to market and sell.

After his father decided to sell the company, Larry enrolled in law school and became a trial lawyer, learning the psychology of  persuasion while honing his presentation skills in the courtroom. In 1990, he left his law practice to pursue a career in sales where he felt that he could use his skills more constructively.   Soon thereafter he was introduced to the concept of SPIN Selling and  for the first time he realized the power of using a systematic approach to selling.

Using a system, Larry found that he could set more appointments and accomplish far more in less time.  His selling cycle grew shorter.  He no longer wasted time preparing proposals for customers that weren’t going to buy.  His closing ratio improved and he no longer found himself chasing prospects that couldn’t make a decision. Using a system for selling, his sales results grew rapidly and he became one of the top sales reps for Lexis Nexis from 1992 through 1996.

Our prior organizationLonging for the independence that compels most small business owners to go into business for themselves, Larry acquired a Sandler Sales Institute franchise in 1996 and started his own sales training business.  Armed with his new selling system and the mission of providing small businesses with the tools and training they need to be more successful, he built a strong foundation of new clients in a very short time.

However, as the world entered the new millennium, Larry began to find that many of the prospecting methods and selling strategies he had been using were growing less effective. In 2000,  Google was fast becoming a household word.  After the tragedy of 9-11 customers were becoming less accessible.  Fewer decision-makers were attending networking events.  Voice mail systems were replacing most gatekeepers.  New technologies such as e-mail, cellular phones, and the internet were giving customers the freedom to execute their job functions away from their desks. This meant that potential customers were less likely to pick up the telephone when he called.  Consequently, many of the strategies and techniques that Larry taught as a Sandler franchisee were quickly growing stale. He needed more effective ways of reaching prospective clients.  He needed a better system for generating referrals. He needed selling strategies that would keep pace with today’s rapidly changing sales environment.

In 2003, Larry sold his franchise and returned to corporate America where he worked as a sales manager and a commissioned sales rep.  It was here that he had the chance to refine his approach to sales.  Although he continued to use Sandler techniques that still worked, he began incorporating strategies and insights from other sales experts like Neil Rackham, Jeff Thule, Bill Brooks and Art Sobczak. Larry also began to study “inbound” marketing and methods for harnessing the internet and social media to generate leads.

CBSM LogoIn 2008, Larry relaunched his sales training business under a new brand: Client Builder Sales & Marketing.  Armed with his self-designed sales process and a sales training program tailor-made for today’s rapidly changing sales environment, his business quickly took off.  In 2011, he wrote his first book titled “Client Builder Selling”  and in 2011 his training program was embraced by the Professional Business Coaches Alliance. Today, Client Builder Sales & Marketing has offices in Pittsburgh, PA and Nashville, TN along with more than twenty licensed sales trainers located throughout North America and Canada.

Larry Lewis is one of the most creative and insightful sales trainers you’ll find today. Over the past decade, many of his clients have been recognized as Pittsburgh’s fastest growing companies.  He has also worked extensively with accountants, lawyers, engineers and other professional service firms who acknowledge the need for improving client development.

In addition to his skill as a consultant and trainer, Larry is an entertaining professional speaker who brings humor, insight and real-world advice to his audiences.  He is also an accomplished writer who has written extensively on the topic of sales and sales management.  Prior to publishing his first book, Larry authored a popular column rendering advice on sales and sales management issues for which he dubbed the “Ann Landers for sales professionals.”


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