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I'm Heiko Raatz – sales trainer, digital nomad and founder of Heartselling. This is my honest story.
Heiko Raatz – Sales Trainer with Heart
I didn't grow up in a lecture hall. I grew up on the phone & out in the field.
With over 10,000 "NO!"s.
Several 1,000 who simply hung up.
BUT: 200 decision-maker conversations PER WEEK
At 16 I was selling event tickets. At 18 I started my first job in phone sales. My dad worked in coal mining. My mum was an ordinary office worker. My parents' take: "Sales? Really? Wouldn't you rather become a nursery teacher?" No script, no mentor, no clue. Just a headset and the expectation to perform. I hated it. And I kept going anyway, because I could feel it: there's something here! Not because of the techniques I was taught. But because of the conversations that felt different. Me against the world.
For over 15 years I worked across every area of sales: cold calling, field sales, B2B corporate sales, B2C consumer sales. I built and led teams and developed sales structures from the ground up. Not because I had to – but because sales was never just a job to me. It was a craft I wanted to understand.
At some point the realisation hit me: the best salespeople I've ever seen never handled objections. Because objections never arose in the first place. That was the moment Heartselling was born – not as a concept, but as a description of something I had long been living without being able to name it.
Today I train individuals, teams and entire sales departments – on the move, as a digital nomad, straight out of my luggage. Not because I don't want a fixed place. But because my place is wherever people are learning to sell.
An honest timeline, no gloss.
At 18 I start my first phone sales job. No training, no script. Just a headset and daily targets. I hate it. But I learn more in three months than others do in years.
Field sales, direct sales, B2B client acquisition. I switch industries to learn. Energy providers, financial services, software companies. Every niche teaches me the same thing: the principle is always identical.
I take on my first leadership responsibility, build sales teams, develop onboarding concepts. My first informal training role: I explain to new colleagues why techniques alone aren't enough. The reactions surprise me.
I observe the best salespeople I've ever met. The pattern: they don't handle objections – because none arise. Empathy, voice, genuine interest. I give a name to what I'd long been living: Heartselling.
First paid trainings. First measurable results: clients report 35–80% more closes.
The Sell Smart Academy takes shape – first as one-to-one coaching, then as a group format. I work 100% digitally, from anywhere in the world.
I give up my fixed home. Laptop, suitcase, smartphone – that's all it takes. In less than 12 months I grow to over 50,000 followers in total across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The message reaches German-speaking and English-speaking people across Europe, the USA, Australia and South Africa.
Several media features per week, 4.9 stars on Trustpilot, 4,500+ salespeople trained. Heartselling is now a complete method – with online courses, team trainings and individual coaching. The mission stays the same: redefining selling.
I don't train anyone to put on a mask. Heartselling only works when you're yourself. Your tone, your manner, your rough edges – that's your strongest selling tool, not your weakness.
I don't promise miracle cures. No "10x your revenue in 30 days". What I do promise: practice over theory, results over hope, straight talk over gloss. Bring real work and you'll see real results.
Good selling never stops when the close comes. It begins there. I show you how to build trust that lasts longer than a commission – and that leaves your customers feeling they made the right decision.
Since 2022 I've lived as a digital nomad – no fixed home, just a suitcase and a laptop. Not as a statement, but as the logical outcome of a simple thought: if I can train from anywhere, why wouldn't I?
Thailand, Portugal, Mexico, Germany – the conversations happen online, the energy is the same everywhere. My clients sit in different time zones, but the Heartselling principle works no matter where you or the person across from you happen to be.
The nomad life has given me one thing no seminar can teach: clarity about what truly matters. Not the desk. Not the business card. But the conversation that changes something.
Awarded 2026
Officially recognised as Top Sales Expert, Top Training Provider and as “Brand of the Year 2026” – verified and confirmed.
Verified on TopExperte.com & Brand-of-the-Year.de
In 15 minutes we'll look together at where you stand, what's holding you back – and what really helps. No pitch, no sales tactics. Just straight talk.