Paul Upton

Want to get to your next Career Level? Or into a role you'll Love? ◆ We help you get there! | Sr. Leads ► Managers ► Directors ► Exec Directors | $150K/$250K/$500K+ Jobs

"With no exaggeration- Paul and the LeaderUP program changed my life!" – James
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👉 Message me on LinkedIn

Why Senior Leads, Managers, Directors & VPs choose to work with me:
▶️ You want to break into your next leadership role, get promoted, or move to a promotional opportunity. Maybe you are seeking to break into your next level or senior leadership.

▶️ You're stuck in your current role, not much company growth, or growth opportunities. Or you do not like your current company/role and want to find a better one and level up your career to the one you deserve!

▶️ You're in a job search, you know you are good, but something is missing, you are not getting interviews, or are not getting offers!

▶️ You're tired of being frustrated & wasting time!

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞: I've spent the last 14+ years working at top Fortune 100 companies.
◾️ 10+ jobs over this time and 2 highly competitive leadership programs
◾️ 7 times promoted/found promotional opportunities (often they found me)
◾️ Most recently an executive director at a telecom leading an organization of 150+ people.

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝:
◾️ What it really takes to stand out in the Top 1% of leaders
◾️ How to be a great leader and more importantly how to develop this in others
◾️ How to hire the best, I've done over 500+ interviews and hired multiple high performing 10X teams

I am one of the few career coaches who has leadership/hiring manager experience and knows what they are looking for!

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒!

I have put these learnings together and have created the 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐔𝐏 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐨𝐩 1% 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 to help leaders and aspiring leaders reach the next level and land their dream jobs/promotions. 

Are you someone who wants...
✅Wants more MONEY, TIME, FLEXIBILITY, and GROWTH?
✅Gets multiple offers and CHOOSES the best one for them?

And would rather...
✅Follow a proven step-by-step process that works!
✅With the 1:1 support, you need along the way!
✅That takes 70% less time & effort and 99% less frustration!
✅And finally, get that dream job that they deserve and are excited to jump out of bed for?

► LeaderUP Job Offer System & Coaching Program -  Reach out to learn more!

👉 Learn more: message me!

Founder, CEO & Chief Career Officer - Career Expert | Career Success Coach | Leadership Coach

👉 Message me on LinkedIn

I am one of the few career coaches who has Fortune 50 leadership & hiring manager experience. This gives me the perspective to know exactly what hiring managers (not just recruiters) are looking for in a Manager, Director, VP+, how to stand out, and what it really takes to be a top 1% Leader & Candidate!

I have partnered with recruiters, HR leaders, hiring managers, and leaders to understand and distill the most important qualities and traits of successful leaders and how to find these in candidates and develop them in leaders. 

Through all this and hundreds of interviews, I have learned what the Top 1% of candidates do and built a system that works to help leaders, aspiring leaders, and high performers learn these skills and get the jobs & opportunities they really deserve!

► I help YOU master YOUR resume + LinkedIn so you STAND OUT and get NOTICED

► I help YOU learn how to ROCK your interviews and build real, memorable connections with hiring managers & GET OFFERS!

► I help YOU learn the skills to negotiate like a PRO to get the best total compensation package possible

► I really care. My sole reason for LeaderUP is to help YOU find success and fulfillment in your career. Success YOU DESERVE and have earned by working harder, learning more, and putting in the effort to SUCCEED!

I have created the LevelUP Leadership Top 1% Candidate Coaching Program to help leaders get promoted and land their dream jobs using Top 1% Applicant Strategies, leveraging the top SECRETS learned from Expert Resume Writers, Recruiters, Hiring Managers, Leaders, and Top Candidates, as well as many failures, successes, and continuous improvement!

► LevelUP Leadership Top 1% Candidate Coaching Program

MESSAGE me on LinkedIn to learn more and how I can help you!
Email me at Leaderup.Program@gmail.com

A VP candidate walked away from a $280K offer.

Two weeks later, she proved “playing safe” is the real risk.  

She came to me as a Director. Strong track record. Clear VP potential.

A big brand posted a VP role.

Scope looked huge. Title looked shiny. Process dragged for 10 weeks.  

Panels. Presentations. Homework. Politics everywhere.

Final offer: $280K total.

Low range for VP in her market. Messy scope. Weekend “fire drills” baked into culture.  

Her words: “I feel I should say yes. Roles at my level feel rare.”  

My reply: “You do not need a VP title that pays Director money with burnout hours.”  

She declined. With grace. No bridge burned.

Next day we went all in on a different plan:  

• Clear VP narrative for her resume and LinkedIn  
• Tight value story for board, CEO, COO problems  
• Target list of growth companies that need decisive leaders  
• Direct outreach with short, sharp messages  

Within 10 weeks:

• Three new processes, all true VP scope  
• Two clean offers  
• One dream role  

Final package:  

• Real VP role  
• $52K more total comp than the first offer  
• Fewer direct reports, clearer charter  
• Culture that respects boundaries  

Same market. Same time.

Different result because she refused a misaligned “safe” choice.

Right now leadership hiring splits into two groups:

• Companies clinging to power with slow steps plus low offers  
• Companies hungry for leaders who decide, act, own outcomes  

Senior leaders win when they market themselves to the second group, not beg the first group.

Alignment over fear is the move that changes careers.

HR: We'd like to offer you the Director role at $165,000.

Her: I appreciate the offer. Based on my research and the scope of this role, I was expecting something closer to $195,000.

HR: That's above our budget. $165,000 is our max.

Her: I understand. I'm genuinely excited about this opportunity. Can I share something?

HR: Of course.

Her: In my current role, I reduced vendor costs by $2.3M annually. For a role at this level, I'd want to ensure the compensation reflects the value I'll bring. Is there flexibility in the total package?

HR: Let me talk to the hiring manager.

24 hours later:

HR: We can do $178,000 base with a $23,000 signing bonus.

---

She didn't beg.
She didn't threaten.
She didn't accept the first number.

She stated her value with evidence and asked if there was flexibility.

That one conversation was worth $36,000.

Most people lose thousands because they're afraid of one uncomfortable moment.

---

The offer is never the offer.

It's the opening of a negotiation.

Would you have asked—or accepted?

“We can’t promote you this cycle.”

90 days later she signed a Senior Director offer for +$72,000 more comp.

Her title inside the company: Senior Manager.

Her reality: running Director level projects, calming executives, fixing broken teams.

3 performance cycles in a row her VP said the same line.

"Not ready for Director. Maybe next year."

She did not lose skill. She lost patience.

When she came to LeaderUP she felt stuck, angry, tired.

We did three big moves.

1) We turned her hidden Director work into hard numbers.

• Revenue impact
• Cost savings
• Scope of people leadership
• Size of budgets under her control

2) We rebuilt her story for the external market at Senior Director level, not "high potential manager" level.

Interview stories, resume, LinkedIn profile. Every piece showed national scale leadership.

3) We used the LeaderUP 4x4 Marketing Method to get her story in front of hiring VPs.

Targeted outreach. Warm intros. Direct value messages.

Within 90 days she landed a national Senior Director role.

• Thirty four direct reports
• Seventy two thousand dollar raise
• Equity on top

Her old company tried to react only when she gave notice.

Too late.

Internal promotion games stay political in 2026.

The external market can feel more fair when you market yourself at the level you already operate.

How long have you been doing Director level work without Director level title or pay?

I walked away from a Fortune 100 Executive Director title.  
I wanted impact, freedom, and the right people instead.  

For years my identity came from:  

• Big logos  
• Large teams  
• The next promotion  

Stress climbed.  
Travel climbed.  
Politics climbed.  

My health dropped.  
Family time dropped.  
Joy at work dropped.  

On paper everything looked perfect.  
Inside I felt empty and trapped.  

My biggest fears before leaving:  

• Losing status  
• Losing steady pay  
• Disappointing people  
• Wasting fourteen years of work  

I stayed longer than I should from fear and habit.  
My body started to send clear signals.  
Sleep went bad.  
Energy went low.  
Sunday dread became normal.  

One day I realized my ladder leaned on the wrong wall.  
Safe did not feel safe anymore.  

I chose a different path.  

I took the same executive playbook I used for years:  

• How to stand out in the top 1 percent  
• How hiring leaders think  
• How promotion decisions happen behind closed doors  

Then I built LeaderUP.  

Now I help senior leaders land roles they love, with lives they can sustain.  
More money, more meaning, more space to breathe.  

Success for me no longer means title plus chaos.  
Success means work I care about, people I trust, a life I can keep.  

My hope: more leaders choose a new version of success before burnout makes the choice for them.

I was an invisible top performer for years.  

I became Executive Director when I finally changed my story.  

For a long time I believed numbers spoke for me.  

• Exceeded every target  
• Fixed broken processes  
• Saved millions in cost  

Yet I got passed over.  
Told to “be patient”.  
Watched others with more visibility move ahead.  

My work lived in slides, trackers, late nights.  
Not in decision rooms.  

The turning point came when a mentor said:  
“Your impact is strong. Your story is missing.”  

I stopped dumping data.  
I started sharing simple stories leaders could repeat.  

Instead of:  
“I reduced cost by 12% across three regions.”  

I said:  
“I found a way to save us millions without cutting headcount. Here is what changed for our teams.”  

Key shift:  
I made my impact clear, human, easy to retell in promotion talks.  

Here is what I did different:  

• Tracked every win with numbers and a one-line story  
• Framed work as problems solved for the business, not tasks done  
• Gave my manager short updates they could forward word-for-word  
• Shared credit with my team, claimed clear ownership for my part  

Promotions started to find me.  
Roles came to me, not the other way round.  

The move from hard worker to Top 1% leader is not more effort.  
It is a story of impact leaders cannot ignore or forget.  

Share your thoughts on this shift from invisible top performer to visible Top 1% leader.

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She was the ‘go‑to fixer’ for 7 years.  
One mindset shift, now she leads 28 people as Director.  

For a decade she lived in firefighter mode.  

Late nights.  
Weekend emergencies.  
Last‑minute saves before executive reviews.  

Leaders praised her hustle.  
They sent thank you emails.  
Promises of "next cycle" promotion.  

Title stayed Senior Manager.  
Pay stayed flat.  

Inside LeaderUP we named the pattern:  

• High trust in crises  
• Low trust in strategy  
• Seen as doer, not builder  

The market rewards builders.  

We built a new story for her career.  

She stopped volunteering for every rescue.  
She started owning cross‑functional programs with clear outcomes.  
She mentored two successors, then pushed work down to them.  
She translated wins into business language: revenue, cost, risk.  

Within 90 days recruiters treated her as Director level.  

Panels asked about her systems, not her late nights.  

Offer she accepted:  

• Director, national scope  
• Team of 28  
• 51% increase in total compensation  

Same person.  
New mindset.  
New evidence.  

Promotion arrived when she stopped proving she could take more tasks.  

Progress started when she showed she could build leaders & systems which worked without her.  

Firefighters keep lights on.  
System architects change level.  

Many high performers stay stuck in fixer mode for years.  

Career breakouts come when leaders shift from hero work to scalable work.

The job market is chaos.

Reorgs, layoffs, shifting markets.
Not bugs in a career.
Features of the game.

Your mindset must be the calm storm center if you want that promotion.

I led teams of 150+ people during big shakeups.
Whole org charts moved in one day.
Strong performers lost roles.
Average performers kept seats.

One pattern stayed clear.

The people who thrived did not chase the “safest” job.
They built the strongest position.

They had:
• Clear targets for their next role
• Strong, visible skills
• A proactive strategy, not a wait-and-see mindset

True stability came from inside:
• How they thought
• How they planned
• How they showed up in the market

A powerful shift helped me and my clients:

Move from “I hope things calm down”
To “I always build my options.”

That shift looks very practical:

• Sharpen your story
→ Clear value, clear results, clear next step

• Keep your network warm
→ One call, one message, one update each week

• Treat your career like an asset
→ Review it, invest in it, protect it, grow it

You do not control markets or reorgs.
You control how prepared you stand when they hit.

Use chaos as a signal.
Time to upgrade mindset, skills, story, network.

Your calm center in the storm becomes your unfair advantage.

She was told VP roles are rare in this economy. 100 days later, she chose between 3 VP offers.

First call, her voice shook.

“Paul, maybe I should wait. VP searches feel dead. I do not want to waste energy.”

She was not missing skill. She was missing confidence, strategy, communication.

We fixed each one.

Step one: we rebuilt her story for VP level.
Step two: we trained every single conversation.

Harvard professor Allison Wood Brooks said:
“Every person you know, every relationship in your life is a repeated sequence of conversations over time.”

Job search is the same.
Recruiters. Hiring managers. Execs.
Repeated conversations.

If you improve each one, results change fast.

We used a simple 4-part communication framework:

• Topics
She prepared 3–5 topics before every call: team goals, business pain, growth plans, leadership style.
No small talk drift. Clear, sharp conversations.

• Asking
Follow-up questions every time:
“Can you share an example?”
“How will you measure success in year one?”
She stopped selling. She started understanding.

• Levity
She let her personality show. Short stories. Light humor. Human, not stiff. That made her memorable.

• Kindness
Thank-you notes. Warm praise for the team. Respect for each person’s time. People felt great after talking with her.

Result:
• 14 screens
• 7 interview processes
• 3 VP offers in 100 days

The truth is: learning to be a stronger communicator gives you more respect, more influence, more offers.

Where do you need to upgrade your conversations to reach your next level role?

Hot take: For $150K+ leaders in 2026, playing it safe is the most dangerous career move.  
Here’s why.  

For years I thought safety meant:  
• Stay in one company  
• Keep my head down  
• Wait for the “right time”  

On paper I looked strong.  
Inside I felt smaller every year.  

I stayed in roles that no longer stretched me.  
I knew I could lead at a higher level.  
I kept telling myself, “One more safe year.”  

Each “safe” year did three things:  
• My market value grew  
• My salary stayed flat  
• My confidence quietly dropped  

The gap between my value and my reality got wider.  
I was not safe.  
I was stuck.  

For $150K+ leaders, risk needs a new meaning.  

Real risk looks like:  
• Stagnant skills → same problems, no new tools  
• Single income stream → one decision away from zero  
• Zero decision‑maker network → no one with power knows your name  

Safe on the surface.  
Danger under the hood.  

Smart risk looks different.  
Smart risk grows your options, not your fear.  

Pick one smart risk for this quarter:  
• Start one new conversation with a senior decision maker  
• Raise your hand for one visible project that scares you a little  
• Make one bold career move you delayed for years  

You will not win every time.  
You win more by taking clear, smart risks than by waiting for perfect safety.  

How long will you keep calling “safety” what is really slow career decline?

Director: "You said Q4 2024. It's now Q1 2026."

VP: "I know. Things keep shifting."

Director: "I've been running this division for 18 months without the title or the comp."

VP: "And you've done a phenomenal job."

Director: "Then promote me."

VP: "We need to wait for the next cycle."

Director: "You said that three cycles ago."

VP: "These things take time."

Director: "No. These things take courage. Yours."

...

VP: "Let's not be hasty."

Director: "I'm not being hasty. I've been patient for 18 months. That's the opposite of hasty."

VP: "So what are you saying?"

Director: "I'm saying another company didn't need 18 months to see what you keep postponing."

The director put in her notice that Friday.

9 weeks later...

New company.
Executive Director title.
$55K more in total comp.
The role she'd already been doing — except now she's paid for it.

Here's what kills me.

Her VP wasn't evil.
He just wasn't urgent.

And that's worse.

Because "wait" sounds reasonable.
"Next cycle" sounds fair.
"We'll revisit" sounds like a promise.

But it's not a promise.

It's a delay disguised as a plan.

And every quarter you wait is a quarter someone else won't.

The system doesn't reward patience.

It rewards the people who stop waiting.

♻️ Repost if you're tired of "next cycle."

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The first time a client said “your program changed my life,” I froze.  

My idea of success changed that day.  

He came to me exhausted, burned out from toxic leadership.  
Promotions stalled, effort ignored, pay stuck.  
On paper he looked strong.  
Inside, he felt invisible.  

We went to work together:  

• Clear story for his value  
• Target roles with real growth, not chaos  
• Interview skills that showed his leadership  
• Boundaries with work, plus space for family, health, joy  

Months passed.  
One night I sat alone in my office, inbox open, long day behind me.  

A message came in from him.  

He wrote about a new role, a supportive boss, double compensation, calm evenings with his family.  
He wrote about feeling seen, safe, respected for the first time in years.  

No bonus in my corporate career ever felt like that moment.  
No “exceeds expectations” on a performance review reached that deep.  

For years I chased:  

• Titles  
• Larger teams  
• Bigger budgets  
• Higher bonus targets  

Success meant more headcount, more zeros on numbers.  

That message broke that old scorecard.  

At a certain point in leadership life, money still matters, titles still matter, yet they move to second place.  

Top place goes to the lives you help shift:  

• People who escape toxic rooms  
• Leaders who stop repeating harm  
• Families who get a present, healthy parent back  

My work now runs on that fuel.  

Share if your own measure of success has started to change too.

If you wait to “feel ready”, you’ll still be in the same role next year.
Move now, fix later.

I talk every week with leaders who say:
“I’ll update my resume when things calm down.”
“I’ll start looking when the timing is right.”

Next month becomes next quarter.
Next quarter becomes next year.

Nothing changes.
Stress grows.

The uncomfortable truth:
You rarely feel ready before a big move.
You feel ready after you start moving.

In my own career, every promotion and big jump looked like this:

• I said yes before I knew every detail
• I learned fast while already in motion
• I fixed gaps as I went

From the outside it looked “strategic”.
From the inside it felt scary and messy.

But action gave me:

• Clarity on what I wanted
• Confidence from real wins
• Options when I needed them

Waiting gave me nothing.

If your role feels wrong, do not wait for:

• A perfect market
• A perfect resume
• A perfect plan

Move now, fix later:

• Write a rough target role list
• Message one person who can help
• Update one part of your LinkedIn
• Apply to one stretch role today

Small moves compound.
Silence and delay also compound.

How long have you been waiting for the promotion and career you know you deserve?

He almost waited another year.
Thank God he didn't.

...

He was an Executive Director at a fintech.
Running a 40-person org.
Owning a $22M P&L.

His VP took credit for everything.

Every board deck.
Every strategic win.
Every turnaround he engineered.

His name never made it above the fold.

He told himself the same story:

"Maybe next cycle."
"Maybe after this reorg settles."
"Maybe when the timing is better."

He'd been saying that since 2024.

Two years of maybe.

His hands would shake on Sunday nights.
He stopped mentoring his team.
He caught himself snapping at his kids.

Not because he was angry at them.
Because he had nothing left to give.

He was running on fumes.
And calling it "patience."

One night he was staring at the ceiling.
3:47am.
Heart racing for no reason.

He grabbed his phone.
Booked a call with LeaderUP

He didn't even think it'd work.
He just knew he couldn't do another year.

First session, we told him the truth:

"Your problem isn't performance. It's that nobody outside your company knows you exist."

He'd spent 4 years building empire
for a VP who treated him like staff.

We diagnosed the real career killer:
Zero external visibility.
Zero leverage.

So we executed.

Stopped talking about his "team size."
Started framing the $22M in outcomes.

We ran an **Influence Audit**.
Mapped the 12 people in fintech
who actually greenlight VP hires.

He reached 6 of them in 3 weeks.
Not pitching.
Solving their problems out loud.

Within 60 days:

Two VP conversations.
One final round.
One offer.

**VP of Operations.
$310K total comp.
A $55K jump.**

Direct line to the SVP.
No more credit stolen.
No more ceiling.

He called me after he signed.

He didn't talk about the money first.

He said:

"I slept through the night."

**He got his life back.**

Not because something changed in him.
Because he stopped waiting
for something to change around him.

Here's what nobody tells you:

"Waiting for the right time"
is just fear wearing a nice outfit.

The right time was last year.
The second best time is today.

Every quarter you wait
is a quarter someone less qualified
takes the role you deserve.

Stop waiting.
Start moving.

♻️ Repost if you're done
giving "maybe" another year.

Your resume is not a story of tasks.
It is a value report, and here are 5 steps to prove it.

Senior leaders do not get hired for “owned X”, “responsible for Y”, “supported Z”.

Senior leaders get hired for money moved, time saved, risk reduced, experience improved.

After hundreds of Senior Manager & Director resumes each year, I use a simple 5-step “Impact Rewrite” process.

Clients who follow this process often double interview rates.

Here is how I do it with them.

Step 1: Pull raw responsibilities
• Copy bullets from past roles
• Keep every line task-based for now

Step 2: Find the main business lever
For each bullet, mark one lever:
• Revenue
• Cost
• Risk
• Customer or employee experience

Step 3: Attach a number
Use any real number you can find:
• % change
• Dollar value
• Volume or time
Numbers turn noise into proof.

Step 4: Use the formula
Action + lever + metric

For example:
“Led cross-functional project”
becomes
“Led cross-functional launch that grew ARR 18% & added $4.2M pipeline in 9 months”

Step 5: Compare with target Director or VP role
• Open a job description
• Scan each bullet on your resume
• Check match with scope, scale, levers in that role

Senior leaders win when every line reads like a business case.

Not “busy”.
Valuable.

Your next step to Director or VP starts when each bullet proves impact in numbers.

Your calendar is full. Your promotion path is empty.  

That is not a time problem. That is a priority problem.  

Years ago my week looked packed.  

Back to back meetings.  
Decks.  
Fire drills.  
More meetings.  

My output was high.  
My stress was high.  

Yet I had zero conversations about my next role.  
Zero positioning with senior leaders.  
Zero movement toward promotion.  

One Friday I opened my calendar for the past month.  

I saw work for:  
• Projects  
• Teams  
• Stakeholders  

I saw almost nothing for:  
• Future roles  
• Key relationships  
• Strategic visibility  

My effort went to current-role tasks.  
My future got leftovers.  

I decided on a new rule for myself.  
Later I gave it to clients.  

Protect 60 minutes every workday for “future-you” work.  
Do it before you touch email or urgent tasks.  

Future-you work means:  
→ Reach out to senior leaders  
→ Book coffee chats  
→ Build trust with sponsors  
→ Share wins with the right people  
→ Map next-step roles offers  

No reschedule.  
No skip.  

Once I did this, leaders began to see me differently.  

More invites to key meetings.  
More pull into high-impact work.  
More offers without applications.  

Same 24 hours.  
New priority order.  

Careers stall when calendars ignore the future.  

Protect 60 minutes for future-you work today.  
Repeat next week.  
Let compounding do the heavy lift.  

Share one change you will make to protect those 60 minutes.

He was invisible on LinkedIn.  
6 weeks later, recruiters called him a top 1% candidate and chased him.  

Director of Customer Experience.  
Strong track record.  
Happy teams, higher NPS, lower churn.  

On paper he looked perfect.  
Online he looked silent.  

Dead profile.  
Generic headline.  
No content.  
No views from decision makers.  

Inside LeaderUP we ran him through our 4x4 Marketing Method.  

Step 1: Niche  
• We narrowed focus to B2B SaaS customer experience  
• We highlighted turnaround stories, not task lists  

Step 2: Headline + About  
• We rebuilt both to speak in numbers  
• Revenue saved, churn reduced, teams built  
• Clear promise: “Director who turns support orgs into profit centers”  

Step 3: Profile as landing page  
• Banner for his target roles  
• Featured section with wins, not files  
• Experience written for executives, not HR screens  

Step 4: 15‑minute daily system  
• 5 minutes: comment on posts from VPs, founders, recruiters  
• 5 minutes: share one short insight from his work  
• 5 minutes: send 2–3 targeted connection requests  

After 6 weeks:  
• Profile views up 10x  
• Inbound messages from two Fortune 100 companies + one high‑growth startup  
• He accepted a Director role without a formal application  

Truth in a noisy market:  
The market cannot hire you when no one sees you.  

Treat LinkedIn as a landing page for decision makers, not a static resume, signal strength rises fast.  

What would shift in your career if hiring managers saw you as a clear, must‑interview leader before you touched the apply button?

Hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
He wasn't having a heart attack. He was having a realization.
He couldn't walk into that building one more time.

On paper? He was a Senior Director at a F500.
In reality? He was the office janitor.
Cleaning up messes. Staying until 8pm. Missing his kid's soccer games.

No raise in 3 years. "Budget constraints," his boss claimed.
(While the company posted record profits in Q3).

He had sent out 50 applications on LinkedIn. Silence.
He thought he was too old. Too expensive. Washed up.

That's when we spoke.
He was tired. He sounded defeated. He was ready to settle.

I looked at his resume. 
It was a tragedy.

It listed tasks. "Managed team." "Oversaw operations." "Attended meetings."
It screamed "Doer."

Companies don't hire SVPs to do. 
They hire them to lead.

We deployed the LeaderUP Resume Impact Formula.
We stripped out the fluff.
We stopped asking for permission.

"Managed team" became "Led 40-person unit to generate $22M revenue increase."
We stopped talking about responsibilities. We started selling ROI.

6 weeks later.
He didn't get an interview. He got a bidding war.
Two offers. Both $60k over his current base.

But the money didn't matter.
The text he sent me did:
"I just resigned. I feel like I can breathe again."

Stop waiting for them to notice you. 
They won't.

The system is designed to keep you exactly where you are—cheap, reliable, and stuck.

♻️ Repost if you're ready to take back control.

She built the entire department.
Someone else got the credit.

...

Three years as a Director of Revenue Ops.
Built the forecasting model from nothing.
Hired 9 people. Trained every one of them.

Her VP presented her work at QBRs.
Used her slides. Her data. Her language.

Never once said her name.

She told herself: 
"They see me."
"They know who did this."
"My time is coming."

It didn't come.

The company created an Executive Director role.
Her role. 
Her scope. 
Her team.

They gave it to an external hire.

She found out from a Slack announcement.

She sat at her desk for 20 minutes.
Staring at the screen.
Hands completely still.

That night she told her partner:

"If I don't make a move now, I never will."

Not next quarter.
Not after the next reorg.
Now.

She booked a call with LeaderUP.

First thing we told her:

"You don't have a performance problem.
You have an invisibility problem."

We ran the Visibility Playbook

Step one: Stop doing the VP's prep work.
Start presenting your own insights directly.

Step two: Build relationships one level up.
The people who approve headcount and budget.

Step three: Shift from executing to leading.
Delegate the dashboards.
Own the narrative.

She was terrified.

"What if they think I'm not a team player?"

We told her the truth:

"They already don't think of you at all.
That's the problem."

She executed for 11 weeks.

Started presenting at cross-functional reviews.
Built a direct line to the VP of Sales.
Proposed a revenue acceleration initiative.
Put her name on it.

A SaaS company in her network noticed.

They weren't hiring.
They created the role for her.

Executive Director of Revenue Operations.
$385K total comp.
A $85K jump.

Her old company still hasn't backfilled her.

Because they didn't know what she did.

That's the trap.

You keep waiting for them to notice.
They keep waiting for you to stay quiet.

Every quarter you wait is a quarter someone
else takes credit for your work.

The clock doesn't pause for loyalty.

It was never about her talent.

It was about who owned the story.

♻️ Repost if you're done being invisible.

The most expensive tax you pay isn't to the IRS.
It's the "Inaction Tax."

You’re miserable.
You’re underpaid.
You’re doing the work of a VP for a Senior Manager’s salary.

Yet, you stay. Why?

Because the devil you know feels safer than the devil you don't.
You tell yourself it's "safe" to wait.

I call it fear dressed up as logic.

Here are 5 lies smart leaders tell themselves to stay stuck (and the hard truth):

1. "I'll look after this project wraps."
TRUTH: There is always another project. The system is designed to overlap deadlines so you never come up for air.

2. "The market is bad right now."
TRUTH: Top talent moves in every market. While you hide in the weeds, your competition is taking the seats at the table.

3. "I have too much unvested equity to leave."
TRUTH: Calculate the hourly rate of your misery. Those options aren't worth your sanity or your health. And they can just be easily negotiated into the new role.

4. "My boss said promotions are coming next cycle."
TRUTH: A verbal promise is a corporate lie. If it’s not in writing, it’s a distraction tactic to keep the mule pulling the cart.

5. "I'm just grateful to have a job."
TRUTH: This scarcity mindset is exactly why they feel comfortable paying you 30% under market value.

Stop waiting for a lifeboat. 
The ship is sinking.

Build your own raft.

♻️ Repost if you needed this wake-up call today.

She kept losing to “internal candidates.”  

Until we turned her into the obvious external upgrade they could not ignore.  

Senior product leader. Six Director final rounds.  

Six times, the call came:  
“We went with an internal person.”  

She felt cursed.  
Strong resume, strong references, strong skills.  
No offers.  

When she came to LeaderUP, we found the real issue.  

Her stories stayed at team and feature level.  
Company panels hired for portfolio and risk level.  

They heard:  
“I own roadmaps, squads, launches.”  

They needed:  
“I own bets, risk, outcomes.”  

We rebuilt her story bank with my SERI style method:  

• Situation: portfolio tension, market shift, or revenue gap  
• Execution: options, trade‑offs, resource moves  
• Result: 12–18 month outcomes, not launch dates  
• Impact: risk reduced, upside unlocked, trust gained  

We added pre‑interview stakeholder mapping.  

For each person on the panel she knew:  
• their portfolio or product area  
• where they felt pressure from ELT  
• metrics which kept them awake at night  

Every answer now sounded like she already sat on their side of the table:  

• “Here is how I shaped our three core bets across the portfolio”  
• “Here is how I traded speed vs risk with legal and compliance”  
• “Here is how we moved X metric over four quarters”  

Next panel. Global tech company. Two strong internal front‑runners.  

Offer went to her. Director title. Meaningful pay jump.  

Internal preference loses power when you speak risk, bets, and outcomes in the company’s own strategic language.

Entrepreneurs, Tech & Sales: Own Your Voice on LinkedIn | Social Selling and Personal Branding —> Increase Pipeline & Brand Awareness | LEGO Flower Power 🌻

You're not a content creator. (Phew!!) 

You're a business owner leveraging content to grow your business.

2 very different ways to approaching LinkedIn.

You don't need to post daily. 
Chase the algorithm. 
Or become someone you're not.

You need conversations that turn into relationships that turn into revenue.

I'm on LinkedIn to help you get off LinkedIn.
The platform isn't the point. The relationships are.

That's what fills my cup AND my bank account.

---

Hi, I'm Natasha. 🙌

New mom. Breadwinner. Introvert who hates cold outreach.

I built my business to half a million in 2 years. All because of how I show up on LinkedIn.

Not by being loud. Not by gaming the algorithm. Not by sending soul-destroying pitch slaps in the DMs.

By building real relationships.

I've been "doing LinkedIn" for 10 years - as a scrappy sales rep who hated cold calling, running sales at Forbes Books, to now growing my own business exclusively through this platform.

I teach founders and executives to do the same.

---

Who is this for?

6-figure founders who've built something real.

You're good at what you do. Clients stay, refer, and thank you.

But on LinkedIn? Oddly invisible.

Your competitors aren't better. They're just louder.

The issue isn't confidence. It's knowing what to say and who to say it to.

---

Through my REALationship Growth Method I help founders go from respected offline to recognized online - without becoming someone they're not.

No hacks. No volume tactics. No influencer cosplay. 👀

Real outcomes:

→ Josie closed 3x 12 month contracts from one event
→ Michelle landed two $30k speaking engagements in three months
→ Dr. Ashley secured two speaking gigs in two weeks plus a five-figure client

If LinkedIn feels like noise, performance, or a mild existential crisis...

You're exactly who this is for.

DM me "LFG" and let's chat. 💜

Natasha Walstra

I hate drama. I have no bandwidth for it. I'm building a business, raising a toddler, and pouring everything I have into both.

But something came to my attention last week that I can't ignore.

Someone I trusted has been reaching out to my network - clients, partners, prospects. Scraping my posts and using my name to get in the door.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't sting.

Nothing prepares you when you realize not everyone operates with the same integrity you do. And that's a hard lesson when you assume the best in people.

The silver lining? It makes the right people stand out even more.

The ones who show up for you, the ones who protect your name when you're not in the room, the ones who would never use your success to build theirs.

Those are the relationships worth protecting.

So instead of losing any sleep over this, I'm focusing on how I show up. For me, for my family, for my clients, for all of you. And I'll keep doing it the way I always have - with integrity and real relationships.

All this to say, if you've received a message using my name, please know that's not a referral from me. Working with them reminded me why I don't operate that way. And never will.

Ok. Back to building.

You’re not a content creator. Good. You don’t need to be | LinkedIn personal branding & social selling for founders (not influencers) | Filling APRIL cohort - ask me about it! 🙌

I got reprimanded by 4 men on a call at 10am.

By 2pm, the President of Nokia asked for my resume.

Here's the full story:

I was on a call with the CEO, my manager, and two other senior colleagues. They were telling me how badly I was performing, especially on my cold calls.

(to be fair, I was sh!t on those calls.)

But I'd started leveraging LinkedIn for outreach instead, focusing on quality over quantity, building relationships instead of dialing for dollars. (booked calls with top companies like Home Depot even!)

They didn't see it that way.

For 30 minutes, I sat there shaking, on the verge of a panic attack...or throwing my computer out the door - wasn't sure which.

The crazy part? I had an in-person meeting in San Jose with the President of Nokia a few hours later..to pitch the tech from the company that just yelled at me.

You can imagine how that went.

I walked in and said: "I'm so sorry, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. I think I'm going to resign tomorrow."

He looked at me and asked, "Do you have a resume?" Then gave me a tour of the office.

I resigned the next day. And although I didn't end up going to Nokia, it led me to a unicorn 3D printing company that actually embraced my crazy LinkedIn ideas.

Sometimes the thing that feels like rejection is actually redirection. 

The approach that got me scolded is now the foundation of my entire business.

Turns out I wasn't bad at sales, I was just bad at their version of it.

P.S. How did I get that meeting with the President of Nokia? Through my network. I'd started intuitively connecting with and reaching out to people who already knew me, trusted me, and liked me. Wasn't intentional then (it was just better than cold calling 😅). 

P.S.2 Even crazier? Yesterday I had a call with the VP of CX from that same company. She was there that day, making sure I didn't break things (in the most supportive way). She's been following me ever since. Now she wants to bring what I do to her current company. Talk about full circle moment!

I'm finally retiring my profile pic.

(long overdue)

My hair is 3x the length now, I've got a lot more wrinkles, and a whole different life.

The pic was fun while it lasted! You might not even know the original actually has a plant on my head - edited it out last year. It was a whole vibe (see below).

But a lot has changed since 2021.

Back then, I was newly in leadership as VP & Director of Sales at Forbes Books and I'd just moved to South Carolina (for the first time).  

I was very unsure of myself, very single, and honestly? A lotta bit lost.

Feels like a lifetime ago...and it was.

Now? 

I'm a Founder, a wife, a mother.

Same me. Just with more clarity, more stories, and a lot more life lived.

Here's to the next chapter. 🙌 

P.S. Peekaboo! Expect some new fun pics in the coming weeks! 📸

I don't know what I was doing in college, but it sure wasn't this!

On Tuesday, I spoke at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina to an entrepreneurship class where every student is starting a business this semester.

Let that sink in...they're not just learning about entrepreneurship. They're doing it. Literally! One student has an AI automation company and already bringing on big clients! 🤯

What we covered:
→ Why LinkedIn matters even when you're 20 
→ My 3-step framework for a successful LinkedIn presence 
→ 3 things they could do today

I also gave them a custom GPT, the Profile Glow Up, I built to help with their profiles. 

The questions they asked were so on point:

"I have a job lined up, but I'm building a business on the side. How should I show up on LinkedIn?"

"What content should I create beyond 'about me' posts?"

"How do I get a company's attention without pitching in the DM's?"

These students are thinking about intentional relationship-building NOW.

While everyone else waits until they "need" to network, these future founders are already making trust deposits. 😎

AND what was cool about this on a personal note? 
This is the third time I've spoken to this class.

The first time was exactly 2 years ago. 
I was six months into my business. Terrified. 
I have no idea what I even said to them.

Now I'm back. More confident. Having FUN.
Growth is wild when you're paying attention.

P.S. Shoutout to Jeff Savage, PhD for inviting me back. We met at a previous startup, and one of the best things that came from it was meeting him. Some relationships outlast the circumstances that created them.

Anything look strange here? 

Yep, my eyes are super dilated. 👀

And if you could see me right now, I’m typing this post at an arms distance since I can’t see sh!t. 

I’m doing something I never thought I’d be able to afford: 

Correcting my eyes! 

The prescription is too strong for Lazik but there’s another surgery that works despite the -7.0 eyes and astigmatism! 

It’s something I’ve wanting to do for some time, but even more so now because it makes me so sad every time I have to tell my son to “watch out for my mamas glasses!” I just want him to be able to touch my face. Sounds silly typing that but, how cool would that be?? 

Have to admit though, I feel pretty proud I’m able to do this. 🤓

Happy Monday, y’all! Anything you’re feeling proud of this week? Share below! 👇

Edit: today’s just prep, surgery isn’t for a few months. I’m too excited not to share though. Someone just told me, ‘shine your light’ so I’m shining it!

I took a 7-day "break" from alcohol.

That was 3 years ago this week.

I didn’t realize it then, but alcohol was my "extrovert fairy dust" 🧚‍♀️

For years, I used it as a security blanket to transform my introverted (and insecure) self into someone I thought the world wanted me to be.

The result?
→ Chronic migraines (for 5 years straight)
→ Relationships that never felt right
→ Insomnia that wouldn't quit
→ A career that drained me

Then 3 years ago, I took a break after going to SXSW
That break turned into weeks, weeks to months...

In the first 2 years:
- met my now husband
- started a business
- got married
- had a baby
- crossed $500k in revenue

In just the last 6 months?
- bought a house
- signed a Big Four contract
- Sold Out of 3 cohorts (and filling my 4th!)
- accidentally built a community.

Coincidence? I think not.

But, this isn't an anti-alcohol post.
It's an anti-hiding-who-you-truly-are post.

For me, drinking masked my introversion and kept me chasing relationships and environments that weren't aligned with my authentic self.

The moment I embraced who I really am?
Literally my world did a 180.

Now I have a beautiful toddler, the love of my life by my side, and a thriving business that energizes me instead of draining me.

Life doesn't truly begin until you stop forcing yourself into shapes that weren't designed for you.

If you feel stuck, misaligned, or something is holding you back from doing "the thing" you're meant to do...take a look around.
Maybe something isn't serving you the way you thought it was. Maybe it's time to make changes.

And once you do?
Everything really does fall into place.

PS: Being your authentic self is probably the most strategic thing you can do.

When you show up as who you really are, you attract the right people, opportunities, and energy that fuel sustainable success.

I've never felt better.🤸‍♀️

The CO— by U.S. Chamber of Commerce featured me!

They asked me to be part of their "Ask the Board" series - where they connect business owners with thought leaders to help solve their biggest challenges.

(A fictional fantasy board of directors. Pretty cool, right?)

They asked me to share how to build a reputation-first business that cuts through the noise.

I've got a lot to share on this, as you can imagine.

Your reputation isn't part of your strategy.
It IS the strategy.

Everything else... your brand, your relationships, your growth... flows from it.

In the article, I break down 7 ways to build a reputation-first business:

1. Why your LinkedIn profile is your reputation's home base 
2. The content balance that builds trust (hint: it's not just expertise) 
3. Why posting alone isn't enough 
4. What to show instead of polish 
5. How to turn clients into amplifiers 
6. The long game most people skip 
7. The one thing that makes you referable

With fluffy BS, exaggerated claims, and flashy marketing, people are looking for something REAL.

This is how you become it.

Take a look!

https://lnkd.in/eR25iWea

P.S. Still can't believe that the girl who was "too empathetic to be in sales" is now giving business advice in the US Chamber of Commerce. Pretty cool stuff if I can say so! 🤓

You know those days where everything just flows?!

Yesterday was not that day.

→ Didn't sleep a wink
→ Massive headache
→ Bombed a workshop 
→ Mixed up client work
→ Dog threw up everywhere 
→ Spoke gibberish on my cohort call
→ Showed up 13m late to a call (thought was an hour later)

The good news?

Apparently, there's some planetary alignment happening that explains all of this.

I'm choosing to believe that. 👀

____

Anyone else blaming the planets this week? 🪐
.
.
.
TGIF

Yesterday, 2 clients renewed with me.

One's a biotech sales team that's been with me for 2 years. 

The other is a 1:1 client for 4 months.

Different industries, different stages, same reason for staying:

There's always more to do.

New approaches to test, relationships to deepen, and business development that never stops (#AlwaysBeProspecting)

The first few months are the heavy lift...profile, content, figuring out your voice. Gaining the confidence to get into the DMs and understanding how to show up without feeling weird about it.

We set a foundation.
Then things start to get really interesting.

Now it's tactical, strategic. Who do you reach out to this week? How do you get in front of this person or that person? How do you turn a comment into a conversation? A conversation into a call? What about that upcoming event? Or workshop? Cohort?

The trust deposits start to compound...the flywheel starts to spin.

My client asked: "Do you think we still have things we can do?"
I almost laughed.

This is when it gets fun. 🤓

P.S. He also left 2 industry associations he'd been part of for years. Said he's gotten more from LinkedIn in 4 months than he got from them in 2 years.

"Thanks to you, I've got too much work." 

Want the same thing? I'm booking for Q2. I still have space for 1x team and 4x 1:1. DM me "LFG" for deets.

I'm a day late for International Women's Day.

But let's be real, one day isn't enough anyways!

I want to celebrate the 39 women in the REALationship Growth Method right now.

12 that just kicked off in my third cohort. 27 in my other cohort and community.

Every single one of them is building something unique.

Growing businesses, dominating industries...showing up with heart, care, and an insane amount of strength.

But it's not just how they show up for their own businesses.
→ It's how they show up for each other. 👯‍♂️

The encouragement, the referrals, the "you've got this" when someone needs it most.

I wake up every morning genuinely grateful that these women trust me with their LinkedIn and business development strategies... it's not something I take lightly.

To my cohorts and my community:
You inspire me more than you know.

Keep building, keep showing up, keep being exactly who you are.

The world needs what you're creating.

Their like was the first move.

Your DM should be the second.

No one will get mad at you for sending a DM after they like your post.

In fact, they might even be grateful you reached out because, guess what,
Initiating conversations is hard!

And someone has to start the conversation - why not let it be you? 🤔

Plus, the way I see it:

- A like
- A profile view
- And definitely a comment

These are the digital (subtle) versions of starting a conversation.

It's them quietly waving saying,
"Hello, I hear you, and what you said makes sense!"

Now, don't go pitch-slapping them, please. 🙏

But connect, say hi back.
See where the conversation goes.

You never know what inspired that little hint of interest.

Might be your next client.
Might be a referral partnership.
Might be an intro to the best networking call you've ever had.

All I know is this:
The best opportunities only happen once words are exchanged.

____

PS. I know it might be time consuming. I have to admit I'm not able to do this all the time either.

But if you're not doing this type of follow-up, you're going to struggle to see results from all the effort you're putting into actually posting!

My challenge to you:

After your next 3 posts, send 5 DMs to people who engaged with each one.
Start small. See big impact.

I never felt rage towards tech until ChatGPT.

(I'm embarrassed to say that. I shouldn't have let it get to me so much, I know 🙈.)

But it just wouldn't listen!

The em dashes everywhere.
The "Here's the thing:" before every point.
The excessive praise.
The trying-to-be-my-bro energy.

I'd ask for direct,
I'd get fluff.

I'd ask for my voice,
I'd get... motivational poster.

So when I discovered Claude early last year, I literally couldn't believe my eyes.

It actually listens.
It's straightforward.
It remembers what I've shared.

Yes, it still makes mistakes. 
But it doesn't hallucinate to the extent that ChatGPT does. 

And it does SUCH a good job maintaining tone of voice and copywriting.

My writing changed significantly since I started using it.

I brain dump ideas. 
Based on my instructions, it turns them into posts. 

Always starting with my original thought. 
Never replacing it.

Which sparked a really cool idea:
What if I made custom Claude bots for my clients?

So easy they can't NOT post.
So I did.

Now all my clients get a custom ClaudeBot - loaded with information about them, my Know-Like-Trust content framework, and their brand voice, and my instructions.

All they have to do is speak into their phone and poof! - a post is there.

It's the opposite of garbage in, garbage out.

Is it perfect? 
No. But it gets to 80-90%.

And then there's the feedback from clients:

"I can write 8 new posts in 4x less time."

"It's one of my most satisfying relationships" 
(that one made me LOL)

"This stuff is really good."

AI isn't replacing your voice.
It's amplifying it - if you use it right.

____

P.S. I offer this not just for my 1:1 clients, but my cohort, also! I've got 1x 1:1 spot left for March and already filling my April cohort. 

You also get custom branding...AND video content. 

(yep, I'm basically an agency disguised as a coach. if you've been even the slightest bit curious, now's the time to lock it in before things change!) 

DM me "LFG" for deets!

Can we just say the unpopular opinion instead of stating “Unpopular Opinion:” first? 

Thoughts? 😉

I got real on this one.

Just did a podcast with Nick Berry about why LinkedIn feels harder than it should for business owners.

Nick's interviewed top dogs like Jason Feifer (Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine), Dr. Benjamin Hardy (10x Is Easier Than 2x, The Science of Scaling), and other impressive people. I was so shocked to be asked on it.

This was his first episode specifically on LinkedIn for entrepreneurs.

We broke down:
→ Why most advice doesn't fit you
→ Why smart people act weird online
→ What to do instead

I also shared some personal stuff I've never talked about publicly.

Take a read (and a listen!)

https://lnkd.in/eFgkAg_D

(my most honest conversation about LinkedIn yet) Hey you! I was recently a guest on The Business Owner’s Journey podcast with Nick Berry. And I’m stil

Open article: You're going to want to hear this by Natasha Walstra • 3 min read

"There's no way anyone would respond to this."

My client said this about a DM I suggested she send.

It was a simple DM for when someone views your profile.

She thought it was weird, too forward, pointless.
She sent it anyway.

The response? A four-paragraph novel.

The person explained exactly why they'd checked out her profile, what they were looking for, what they were struggling with.

They went back and forth and then jumped on a call.
All from one "weird" DM.

Here's the reframe (and why she sent it anyways):

You're not bothering them, you're doing them a favor.

Most people have so much to say, they're just waiting for someone to start the conversation.

They viewed your profile for a reason, they're curious, maybe interested. 
But nervous to initiate.

So you go first.

And if they have no reason? They just won't respond. No harm done.

But more often than not? 
They're relieved you broke the ice.

The DM that feels awkward to send is usually the one that starts the best conversations.


____

P.S. I'm doing another live workshop! And you bet we'll cover this. 

April 2nd at 12:00 ET

Why Your LinkedIn Isn't Converting...and the System That Fixes It

Register here! https://lnkd.in/eg3Kq5iX

Everyone in my community wants 2 things:

Visibility and sales.

And one of the best ways to get both? Speaking.

So I brought in Marta Spirk, M.A.

Her story was powerful. 
Her framework was clear. 
And her interactive Bingo exercise got everyone thinking about their next move.

The feedback?
"This was a phenomenal session." 
"This was so valuable!"

I could talk about LinkedIn all day. 
But speaking? That's not my lane.

Part of building something that actually serves people is recognizing where your expertise ends and someone else's begins.

Marta was the right person to have in the room. 
And my people are better for it.

P.S. My April cohort of the REALationship Growth Method is filling up FAST. 

We're not just learning LinkedIn tactics, we're hearing from top experts, actually implementing together, and you guessed it, building REALationships. Spaces are limited, and the next cohort won't be until June! 

If you're curious to learn more, DM me "LFG" for more deets OR let's hop on a call! https://lnkd.in/ecAKhTAq

Brain fog, breadwinner, business owner... AND content creator?

No, thank you!

This week's newsletter is a permission slip for everyone who's been told they need to "show up more" but can barely remember where they put their coffee.

You don't have to become a content creator to grow your business.

You just have to play a different game.

Check it out 😎

P.S. I'm hosting my next live workshop! April 2nd at 12:00 ET!! Deets coming next week. In the meantime, register here:
https://lnkd.in/ejGSQN2Z

You expect me to be a content creator on top of everything else going on? No, thank you. I've got a multi-6 fig business I run on my own (with a few c

Open article: Brain fog, breadwinner, business owner, AND content creator? by Natasha Walstra • 2 min read

Brain fog, breadwinner, business owner, AND content creator?

It's about that time y'all!

My next LIVE workshop is happening, and I’m even more excited about it (and fortunately, a little less nervous!)

Why Your LinkedIn Isn't Converting: And the System That Fixes It 
April 2nd at 12:00 ET

If you made it to the last one, you already know - you'll walk away with LOADS of value. 176 registered, 80 showed up live, 53 replay views (replays!)

This time? This one goes a little deeper, a little more tactical, and a whole lot more "Oohh, THAT'S what I should be doing."

We're covering the system that actually works - and the mindset shifts that change everything about how you show up on LinkedIn.

If you've been posting and feeling frustrated because you’re not seeing results - this is for you.

If you're new to LinkedIn and feeling overwhelmed - this is also for you.

Register via the zoom link below.

P.S. This is the system 39 other people are going through in the REALationship Growth Method community, over 75+ 1:1 clients have been through it, and how a client of mine *just yesterday* reached #1 International Best Seller on Amazon. Yep. This sh!t works.

LaQuisha Archangel, Adyna K. Pressley and 90 other attendees

View event: Why Your LinkedIn Isn't Converting - And the system to fix it

Why Your LinkedIn Isn't Converting - And the system to fix it

The most underutilized part of your LinkedIn profile?

→ Recommendations.

You might think no one looks at them. But if someone's about to spend $1000s with you? They're checking you out everywhere.

They *might* not notice if you don't have any...but they'll definitely notice if you do.

Here's one I got last week from Mahesh Guruswamy - CTO of Kickstarter when we worked together, now COO at Kajabi.

When someone's vetting me, they see this. They click his profile, they verify he's real, he held those positions, AND he said I'm "the real deal."

That builds trust faster than anything I could say about myself.

And right now? Trust is everything.
We're not in a trust recession...we're in a trust depression.

Everyone claims to be an expert, AI can write anything that sounds credible, and anyone can put "strategist" in their title.

How do you know who's the real deal anymore?
You don't - unless you can prove it.

Recommendations are one form of proof.

Real names, real titles, real companies, specific results.
 
Not a testimonial on your website that could've been written by anyone or a quote you could've made up.

A real person vouching for you in a way that AI (and potential clients) can verify.

If you don't have recommendations on your profile, you're asking people to take your word for it when where very few take anyone's word for anything anymore.
(Or at least, they want to trust, but they also just want a little proof to back it up. Recommendations give them that.)

P.S. I'm going to be sharing more juicy systems about why your LinkedIn isn't converting. April 2nd at 12:00 ET. LFG!

https://lnkd.in/epsuaE8z

I got an email from a client that made my blood BOIL.

Her business coach told her LinkedIn wasn't a good use of her time, and she was feeling nervous about our engagement.

His reasoning? "People don't go to LinkedIn to find health professionals. They go for business matters. I wouldn't spend time or energy there." 👀

I had to take a breath before I responded.

First of all, she's already gotten a client from what we're doing, and we only just kicked off.

But what really irked me is that yes, there are fewer health professionals on LinkedIn than, say, B2B tech founders.
That's not a problem, THAT'S the opportunity.

Less noise, less competition, a bigger, bluer ocean...she can become THE go-to expert in her space.

But aside from finding direct clients on here, the bigger picture is the visibility and thought leadership she's platforming as she launches her book in a few weeks...with that, she's looking for speaking engagements, partnerships, and collaborations.

Where exactly do they think those opportunities come from?

The people booking speakers are on LinkedIn.
The people looking for podcast guests are on LinkedIn.
The people building partnerships are on LinkedIn.

And if she's not there, someone else will be.

Challenge accepted. We're proving this coach wrong.

If anyone has ever told you LinkedIn isn't worth your time, come talk to me. I'm confident we can prove them wrong, too.  

Does EVERYONE need a personal brand? No, of course not! But if you're looking to grow your business, I don't care what industry you're in, LinkedIn has a place for you.

P.S. The system that works? It's called the REALationship Growth Method. And I'm breaking it down April 2nd at 12:00 ET, LIVE on Zoom. 

It's how my clients who are coaches, consultants, construction, machinists, injection molders, nutritionists, naturopathic doctors, therapists, financial advisors, digital organization specialists, golfers, authors, health supplements, security, cloud engineers,  legal, jewlers, disaster relief, festival general stores, PR, fashion, pubslihing, supply chain execs and dozens of others are all using to absolutely ROCK it on LinkedIn. 

Here's the link:  https://lnkd.in/ejGSQN2Z 

If you can't make it, register anyways, there will be a replay.

taplio

The Battle

Paul Upton

Natasha Walstra

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScorePaul Upton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNatasha Walstra's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Paul Upton

Natasha Walstra

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Paul Upton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNatasha Walstra's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScorePaul Upton's LinkedIn Performance