We were lucky to catch up with Natasha Walstra recently and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

During my time at Forbes Books, I had a profound realization: no matter how exceptional a book may be, if you don’t have an engaged audience or community, no one will know about it! A book is often just one piece of a bigger mission, message, or movement—beyond its publication. This insight drove me to find ways to better support these leaders-turned-authors.

Initially, I believed the missing piece was big-picture branding and strategy. However, I soon grasped a deeper challenge: translating creative expression into tangible ROI. In today’s digital economy, personal connection is everything. People want to connect with individuals they know, like, and trust. In this ever-growing digital landscape, the key to building that trust online lies in your personal brand. This understanding underscored the critical importance of personal branding—yet many struggle with how to authentically show up online.

With over a decade in sales and business development, where my personal brand played a crucial role in exceeding revenue targets, I realized I could empower others to do the same. NearPoint Strategies emerged from this realization—to equip leaders and sales teams with the tools to achieve their revenue goals through the power of their personal brands.

Natasha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Although seemingly disconnected at first glance, all of my past professional experiences have led me to be uniquely qualified at serving the leaders I work with at NearPoint Strategies.

To understand how, I need to take you on a short (I promise!) journey into my past starting at my first ever sales position. I had recently returned from a 6-year stint in Argentina and was unsure about the career path I wanted to pursue. Coming from Palo Alto, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley, where both my father and brother were in tech sales, I landed myself a job in tech sales as an SDR (Sales Development Representative). This role required me to ‘smile & dial’ 100 calls a day (cold calling). As an introvert who used to be extremely shy, this was quite literally the worst position I could have taken on. But being competitive, I had to find a way to hit my numbers without leading to tears everyday! That’s when I discovered using LinkedIn as a way to connect and network with people before making warm calls, which proved far more effective and enjoyable.

From there, I moved into the 3D printing industry, where I found myself talking to VPs of Engineering and CTOs. Despite not having a technical or engineering background (mine was in anthropology and geography), I realized that sharing insights about our CEO and our clients like Adidas and Ford helped build credibility by association, even though I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I became known as the face of the company on LinkedIn, and our CEO even asked me to teach him my strategies and share them with the rest of the company. This experience sparked excitement and passion within our organization and beyond.

When a former manager and mentor joined Forbes Books as CRO, she brought me on as Director of Sales. Despite not having any experience in book publishing, she recognized my understanding of the power of thought leadership and personal branding for business development. I quickly learned that while a book is a powerful tool, it’s just one piece of a larger puzzle. Authors often want to amplify their missions beyond their publications. This realization led me to focus on teaching leaders how to build and grow their personal brands to drive business opportunities effectively — something I realized people of all levels struggled to do!

And so, NearPoint Strategies was born. Our goal is to help leaders and sales teams build sustainable network growth of people who know, like, and trust you. We achieve this through comprehensive training, content creation, and accountability strategies. We specialize in:

1. Personal Branding: Crafting compelling personal brands, particularly on LinkedIn, that resonate deeply with target audiences.
2. Content Creation: Facilitating dynamic content development through our ‘Ideation Lab,’ producing podcast-style video clips to maintain a consistent and engaging online presence.
3. Social Selling: Implementing ROI-driven activities to ensure high-quality conversations that drive engagement and conversions.

What sets us apart is our commitment to empowering leaders to authentically amplify their missions. Whether it’s securing new clients, forming referral partnerships, or expanding thought leadership through podcasts and speaking engagements, our strategies deliver tangible results.

The most rewarding aspect of our work is witnessing the profound impact our clients make as they grow their influence and achieve their business goals authentically.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Launching my business last December was a testament to the power of personal branding in both sales and marketing that makes for a really great story.

Before I even had a name or website, I started having conversations with my network behind the scenes. Many were leaders I had connected with during my time at Forbes Books, but had also made the realization that if they were to invest the time and money into publishing a book, they would need to establish their personal brands and thought leadership.

I hadn’t yet announced my business, but the response was immediate and overwhelming. Three of those leaders signed with me on the spot to work together. They were moments of pure disbelief and excitement—I remember jumping out of my seat, realizing that I had put together something good.

Having already built an audience over the years, these initial clients validated that I was onto something significant. It reinforced my belief in the importance of personal branding and how it resonates deeply in both business development and client relationships.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My network has been the cornerstone of getting new clients! Beyond traditional referrals and word of mouth—which are invaluable, of course—I actively engage with my audience through consistent content creation and meaningful interactions on LinkedIn.

I also am a member of several communities where many of my ideal clients and referral partners ‘hang out.’ This combination has me top of mind for my network and my network’s network, leading to a pipeline of people who know, like, and trust me.

What’s equally rewarding is I get to help my clients through the same process, empowering them to establish genuine connections that drive their own business growth!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nearpointstrategies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nearpoint.strategies/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ndwalstra/

Image Credits

First main photo: Sansan Hao