Who Is Leon Shasta?
When a voicemail becomes a case study in digital presence and modern communication.
There was a time in my childhood (eek —say the 1970s or 80s), when a ringing phone felt exciting. You raced to pick it up, not knowing who it might be on the other line.
Your best friend? Your grandma? The girl you have a crush on?
Today? If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer. Period.
99.99% of the time, it’s spam, a warranty scam, or someone wanting to “buy my house in any condition.”
Years ago, I had a phone number twin. A local company ran a huge campaign—billboards, print, digital—all with my number… just the wrong area code.
Guess who answered all the calls? Hundreds of them. Guess who stopped answering unknown numbers altogether?
Enter: Leon Shasta.
Voicemail after voicemail: “Hey Knox, it’s Leon. Give me a call.”
No context. No company. No reason. No footprint. I don’t know a Leon. (It was only later that he added Shasta – but what a great last name! Shasta Cola was soda company that made the best root beer sodas when I was a kid! Hadn’t seen them in years!)
But Leon was just a name and a number.
Over and over. Voicemail after voicemail.
Eventually, he dropped a company name I recognized. Naturally, I went looking.
LinkedIn? Nothing. Company website? Nada. Google? Zilch.
Here’s the thing:
In today’s world, no digital footprint is almost as suspicious as a bad one. And as you know, I lead programs for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, non-profits and small businesses teaching them about the importance of a professional online presence.
So why is a guy—who doesn’t exist online—repeatedly calling me and not explaining why?
The Breaking Point:
With a company name in hand, I emailed my contacts there: “Someone is impersonating one of your employees.”
Their reply? “Oh, that’s Leon. He works here.”
Again: No intro. No context. No explanation. Just: “He’ll email you.”
He didn’t. He called again. But this time he also texted. Still no clarity or why.
So let me ask you:
Would you call this person back?
Because here’s where I’m at: If you’re in sales, business development, recruiting, partnerships, or literally any external-facing role, your job is to build trust. And trust today starts online.
People Google you. People validate you. If there’s nothing to find, you’re invisible—or worse—suspicious.
At a minimum, you say “Hey Knox, this is Leon Shasta with ABC company. I’m new here, but I’m working with Mike and I wanted to see if you had 10 minutes to talk to me about X, Y, Z.”
Easy. Peasy. Or at least it should be.
Final Thought:
Leon Shasta may be a great guy. He may be calling with a fantastic opportunity. But in the absence of context, validation, or a presence, all I have is a name… and a growing sense of annoyance.
Digital presence isn’t optional anymore. It’s the handshake before the handshake.
P.S. If you know Leon Shasta, tell him I’m still waiting on that email.
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What Would You Do?
I am curious how you would handle this?
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