In this concise "6 questions in 7 minutes" interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with persuasion and influence coach Edward Zia. Zia explains his mission to help people become master persuaders, emphasizes the importance of reading foundational material (advocating for reading chapter 1 of a business book in full), and shares his core advice: continuously build personal influence so that clients seek you out, turning networking events into inbound sales where prospects are already 90% sold. He recommends future podcast guests Bill Gates and LinkedIn influencer coach Celeste Ansell, recounts his humble first jobs picking fruit on an Australian farm and working in a supermarket before moving into his current field, and provides his LinkedIn profile as a contact point. The episode blends practical business insights with personal anecdotes, ending with a call to connect with Zia on LinkedIn.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Pete, thank you. My name is Edward Zia. I love helping people become master persuaders and influencers. And whoever is listening and watching this podcast/interview is very beautiful and attractive.
Edward, it's so great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
The best thing about working in my industry is the opportunity to help people across the world become master persuaders and influencers, and it's awesome, and I love it.
Oh, it sounds like you're making a big impact. So good. Yeah, awesome. Question number 3: I have a book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I think most companies should read chapter 1 and take it from the top because you never should assume what you know or don't know.
Oh, I love that. That's a great idea. So don't skip to the end. You know, you really need to absorb all the information that the book has.
Yeah, and I've been guilty of that. I've been guilty of thinking I'm a know-it-all and I just skip stuff. And then I realize I actually skipped the most valuable lesson. So my view is if you're going to pick up a book, be it audiobook or a visual book or a video, watch all of it because unless you absorb the whole story the author's trying to tell, you won't get a complete view of the essence that applies to you.
That's very wise. Thank you.
Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business Make sure that every day you're building yourself as an influencer, and what I mean by that is that you're standing out, you're becoming unique, and people are finding out about you and the industry that you're in, and they're all coming to you.
I really like that. So being an influencer, what kind of impact can that make on an individual and their business?
On a personal level, at least with my story and many of our clients' stories, it's absolutely changed my life. It changes who you are in society, it changes the way that people look at you. And in terms of business, it can totally change the way your business works. So for example, I used to go to 3 to 4— obviously in the pre-corona world— I used to go to 3 to 4 networking events a week to get enough clients. Now they all come to me and it's awesome and life-changing.
Oh, that's great, especially because if they're coming to you, they've already been sold. At least half of it's been sold. You don't have to go out there and try and sell them.
Exactly. Probably about 90% sold. So when people come to you, they're already sold. It's just a matter of working through the detail and timing for them to get started with you.
That's awesome. That's awesome. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Definitely Bill Gates. I absolutely love Bill Gates. So I highly recommend you get— I'm a huge Bill Gates fan. A lot of people have been attacking Bill Gates lately, but I think it's all unfair. And I've been with Bill for 30 years, so I stand behind Bill Gates. And also, out of the friends that I know, one person I actually want to invite on the podcast is a very good friend of mine named Celeste Ansell. She's from Sydney and she's a LinkedIn influencer coach and she's amazing. So make sure you keep an eye out for Celeste Ansell. She'll be a great one to have on your show. And Bill Gates.
Excellent. Well, I'm connected with Celeste, so I'll reach out to her. And Bill Gates is actually in my area of the US, so it'll be Great. I'll reach out to him. Let's see if they'll agree to have him on my show.
I'm sure they will. Just say, Bill Gates, we believe you. We don't trust all that fake news going out about you. We love you, Bill Gates, is all I can say.
There you go. And question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
Yeah, my first job would have been picking fruit on a farm when I was probably 14 or 15, I remember. So working in 35 to 40-degree Australian heat, which is in Fahrenheit, I think it's about 70, about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. So very, very hot conditions if I've done my conversion correctly. And so I used to pick fruit originally, and that was backbreaking hard work. And from there, I then got a job at a supermarket, which when you've gone from the farm picking fruit to a supermarket, you're really stepping up in the world. So yeah, it was good. They were my first few jobs before I put on a green uniform and picked up an assault rifle. And they started saluting.
Oh, wow. There you go. Great story. So Edward, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
They can find me on LinkedIn. And I'm just going to say, Pete, you are— let me say Professor Pete in the house. Professor Pete, you are a top interviewer. People can find me on LinkedIn. And if you're listening as well, make sure you show Professor Pete Alexander maximum love.
Thank you so much, Edward. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn.com/professorpetealexander. LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
