---
title: Leonard Kim Went From No Promotion To The King of Promotion
description: Leonard Kim was arrogant and couldn't get promoted at work. After his electricity was cut off a fire was lit under him and now he's the king of promotion.
---

[Skip to content](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim#main-content)

[![Wes Schaeffer is The Sales Whisperer®](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png?width=1560&height=360&name=wes-header-lockup.png)](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/)

- Work With Me
  
  Show submenu for Work With Me 
  
    - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up)
    - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever)
    - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank)
    - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak)
    - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix)
    - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start)
    - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog)
    - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)
- [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker)
- [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)
  
  Show submenu for Podcast 
  
    - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests)
- [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about)

Open main navigation

Close main navigation

- Work With Me
  
  Show submenu for Work With Me 
  
    - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up)
    - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever)
    - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank)
    - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak)
    - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix)
    - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start)
    - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog)
    - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)
- [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker)
- [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)
  
  Show submenu for Podcast 
  
    - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests)
- [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about)
- [Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)

[Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)

 Jun 13, 2025

# Leonard Kim Went From No Promotion To The King of Promotion

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer)

Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim)

## [Humanize](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/ethan-beute) and be yourself to maximize your promotions

<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/3Zuv6dTZoUiSeSsfz5ouIT?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>

## [Sales Tips](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) you'll learn today on[The Sales Podcast](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)...

- Branding, marketing, and startup strategist
- But he struggled at first
- He's "stuck in his ways since I'm Korean!"
- He was [running away from his fears](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/rejection-therapy-handling-rejection-in-sales/) but he didn't know what he was afraid of

[![Jia-Jiang-On-The-Sales-Whisperer-Podcast-Session-37](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/file.jpg?width=612&name=file.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-31-40)

- Took shortcuts in everything...
- Had to keep starting over
- Had his electricity cut off and had to move back into his grandma's house
- Had to recognize his faults and grow
- Moved to his friend's sofa for $100/mo
- Broke his ankle so he was stuck on a couch for three months so he reflected
- You're where you are where you're supposed to be
- He went back through his life and analyzed cause and effect
- His business partner has a process for doing this quickly 
    - Two sets of sticky notes
    - He writes on one set
    - Has his friends write on the other set...and people are honest and direct
    - Now you know what you have to work on
    - He had issues he didn't realize...he was scared of being hurt by people he helped
    - He had to accept and forgive
    - He accepted responsibility
    - His mom is a "great victim of everything" and she doesn't have joy in her life
- 2011 he got an entry-level job
- For two years his goal was to get promoted 
    - He worked hard
    - He wore a suit
    - But didn't get promoted or a raise ($16.24/hr)
    - He could only eat one meal per day (Obamacare cost him his lunch money, literally)
    - People told him he was arrogant
    - He applied to 100 jobs, got three interviews and nobody hired him
    - Went back to school and it helped a little
    - He went out and shared his feelings and experiences and within six months he had two million reads on his posts
    - He wrote posts on his Blackberry on the bus
    - Within 18 months he had about 10 million reads and figured he should monetize it
    - He started on Quora and didn't have a website
- Posted the same stuff on his site 
    - About me page
    - Subscribe button (RSS feed)
    - How to hire him (for free...which was a bad idea that he quickly recognized) 
          - Raised his prices
          - Doubled his rates and doubled his rates and doubled rates
    - Did sales in 2005-2006 he was in sales and understood it
    - Did some marketing from 2007 to 2011 so he understood it
    - All of the companies went out of business so his resume was "full of broken hopes and dreams"
    - So he started marketing himself
- May 2013 and by Dec 2014 had 10 million reads 
    - It's hard to master social media all at once so dive into one and master one
- Doesn't trust tools, he trusts people to do his social media 
    - First, it was the 17-year-old sister of a friend
    - Then it was a friend who broke an ankle
    - Then it was an intern who got 2,000 retweets to be hired
    - **#BruisedBananaEaters**
    - He had Deborah create a PowerPoint based on his articles 
          - One was like a college assignment and it wasn't "right" or "shareable"
          - Then she made it 10 times better
          - From there she got better and they tightened it up
          - Now she re-purposes his content
    - [When one VA left he had her write up a list of tasks](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/john-jonas-onlinejobs-ph)
    - Maybe 80% of his posts are branding
    - He does his own CTAs
    - Most of his content is evergreen
    - When you use current events you get a huge spike in traffic from people who don't care about you
    - Use BuzzSumo to create better titles, avoid controversy, replace the image, update links
    - His assistant works maybe 30 min/day after a month of getting up to speed
    - His Vegas assistant creates new content but this is her part-time job so it may take a month for her to get it done
- Humanize yourself and be yourself
- For example, a doctor 
    - Maybe unapproachable...educated...aloof
    - Make them be seen as "just like me"
    - Tell their story
- Hungry, Humble, Honest is how 17-year-olds should brand

## [The Sales Podcast](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)

## Links Mentioned In [The Sales Podcast](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)

- [Follow Leonard Kim on X](https://twitter.com/MrLeonardKim)
- [Visit Leonard Kim's home on the web](http://leonardkim.com/)
- [Get Leonard's Course on how to build your brand](https://influencetree.com/)

Market like you mean it.  
Now go sell something.

[The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast)

## Related posts

[![Master a Platform Before You Promote There, Pam Perry — AI-powered sales insights from Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Master%20a%20Platform%20Before%20You%20Promote%20There%2c%20Pam%20Perry.jpg?height=200&name=Master%20a%20Platform%20Before%20You%20Promote%20There%2c%20Pam%20Perry.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/pam-perry)

[The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast)

## [Master a Platform Before You Promote There, Pam Perry](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/pam-perry)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jul 28, 2019

Direct your digital presence to dominate

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/pam-perry)

[![From The MMA To Her Own Way, Meet The Blueprint Goddess, Kerry Morgan | The Sales Podcast with Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_Podcast_Images/Kerry%20Morgan%20on%20The%20Sales%20Podcast%20249.png?height=200&name=Kerry%20Morgan%20on%20The%20Sales%20Podcast%20249.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/kerry-morgan)

[The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast)

## [From The MMA To Her Own Way, Meet The Blueprint Goddess, Kerry Morgan](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/kerry-morgan)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Apr 17, 2017

Strive To Be Interested Instead of Interesting \[ LISTEN NOW ON APPLE PODCASTS \] Planning Tips...

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/kerry-morgan)

[![How To Launch and Monetize Your Ideas Fast With Kolby Kolibas | The Sales Podcast with Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_Podcast_Images/Kolby%20Kolibas%20is%20on%20The%20Sales%20Podcast%20249.5.png?height=200&name=Kolby%20Kolibas%20is%20on%20The%20Sales%20Podcast%20249.5.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/kolbykolibas)

[The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast)

## [How To Launch and Monetize Your Ideas Fast With Kolby Kolibas](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/kolbykolibas)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jun 13, 2025

Showcase vs. Sell To Sell More

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/kolbykolibas)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Wes Schaeffer",
    "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-06-29T22:53:56.670Z",
  "datePublished" : "2025-06-13T14:36:27.000Z",
  "headline" : "Leonard Kim Went From No Promotion To The King of Promotion",
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/leonard-kim",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png"
    },
    "name" : "Fixer Wes"
  }
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization",
  "@type" : "Organization",
  "founder" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#wes"
  },
  "legalName" : "TSW Group, Inc.",
  "logo" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%20The%20Business%20Fixer%20white.png"
  },
  "name" : "The Sales Whisperer®",
  "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/fixerwes", "https://x.com/fixerwes", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/", "https://www.youtube.com/@TheSalesWhispererWes" ],
  "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#website",
  "@type" : "WebSite",
  "name" : "The Sales Whisperer®",
  "potentialAction" : {
    "@type" : "SearchAction",
    "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string",
    "target" : {
      "@type" : "EntryPoint",
      "urlTemplate" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-search-results?term={search_term_string}"
    }
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization"
  },
  "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#wes",
  "@type" : "Person",
  "alternateName" : "The Sales Whisperer",
  "image" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/wes-suit-forward.jpeg",
  "jobTitle" : "Founder",
  "name" : "Wes Schaeffer",
  "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/fixerwes", "https://x.com/fixerwes", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/", "https://www.youtube.com/@TheSalesWhispererWes" ],
  "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about",
  "worksFor" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization"
  }
}
```