In this Selling in Asia podcast episode, Tom Abbott sits down with Leza Klenk, founder and CEO of beauty tech company Spendless, which operates in more than ten countries. Join their discussion about the key to entrepreneurship and growing your business through networking.Â
Being able to create impact means I can set a better example to my community, to society, and to my children.
Leza Klenk
Don’t miss out on the chance to gain guidance from an award-winning entrepreneur, early-stage investor, and a personal branding coach, covering how to receive lessons from failures and why strong personal branding can help win over investors.
The Key To Entrepreneurship
As Leza explains, the beginning of entrepreneurship begins with tenacity and a passion for growth, learning, and development. Driven by the understanding that your background doesn’t have to dictate your future, there’s always room for improvement – especially if you’re committed.
Growing Your Business Through Networking
Seeking new opportunities to grow your business isn’t as cut and dry as just attending a networking event and meeting as many professionals as possible.
As Leza explains, you need to be able to meet with people you’ve actively targeted to network with and then pursue them. This could be five minutes over coffee or an hour lunch meeting close to their office, just for that extra persuasive touch – everyone needs to eat.
When you meet with these professionals, whoever you may be targeting, whether they’re investment bankers, accountants, or CEOs, it’s important not to use this opportunity to sell but to listen and learn.
Also read:
- Building Your Personal Brand Using LinkedIn with Natalia Wiechowski
- 15 Lessons from 15 Years in Business with the Founder of SOCO Sales Training, Tom Abbott
- The SOHO Solution: 21 Selling Strategies for Growing Your Small Business
Visibility + Credibility = Profit
Many are familiar with the VCP process, but it’s a key tool for entrepreneurs to create and build meaningful relationships in their industry for those who aren’t. However, these relationships need to be nurtured to be fruitful later on.
So you need to feed them! If you keep creating mutual trust and respect and start sharing benefits, that is when you start moving through the VCP process.
Visibility
The first stage of the VCP process is about making yourself known to the people you want to connect with; it’s about creating recognition and awareness. The greater your visibility, the more people you know and the more crucial information you possess about others. This, of course, increases your chances of being accepted into niche groups of professionals, further strengthening your brand.
Credibility
The second stage is being reliable, trustworthy and a solid figure of confidence. Naturally, this is grown through keeping appointments, being punctual and keeping any promises you choose to make.
Profit
What does profitability mean for you? This last stage is entirely subjective; do you want to benefit the people you work with mutually? Is it all about the revenue? Act cautiously, as losing sight of the first two stages will never increase your profitability, let alone help you position yourself as a credible industry contact.
The Importance Of Personal Branding
Positioning yourself as an authority is crucial because, frankly, successful people want to do business with other successful people who know what they are doing.
A Personal Brand reflects your story, values, and work and is an ongoing development process to maintain your reputation to an individual, group, or organization.
Furthermore, it’s reported that you’ll get paid approximately 10% to 25% more with a structured personal brand than people with an average brand.
More About Leza
Leza is a sought-after speaker and has spoken at more than 100 events on entrepreneurship, trade equity financing, and personal branding in more than six countries.
She has lectured at more than 40 universities around Southeast Asia, and with more than 100,000 followers on LinkedIn, she contributes business articles and posts daily.
At 28, she won the title of Singapore’s Youngest Business Guru, and her story was featured in a publication, “The Lady Boss,” available in bookstores. In 2019, she bagged the award of Asia’s Greatest CEO for 2018, awarded by Asia One and URS International.
Networking Training with SOCO
Here at SOCO/, we believe networking skills to be essential for entrepreneurs, small business owners and sales professionals, which is why we have 2 complete training programs:
Digital Networking Training – Using Social Media Groups to Build Connections and Generate Leads
Networking Skills Training – Maximising Effectiveness of Networking Events