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Three Keys To Connecting With Prospective Customers by @XLConsultingGro

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Connecting with prospective customers

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

A few weeks ago I interviewed Pat Duckworth an international author, speaker and NLP expert on my podcast. We had a really interesting and engaging conversation about connecting with prospective customers.

Pat talks about how people want to feel understood.  Are we really listening to want they want and need?  Although we may have all the answers ahead of time and can anticipate many of their questions, if we go too fast, they will feel no connection with you.  Prospective customers have their own pace, so don’t rush them.

Mistakes When Connecting With Prospective Customers

A friend of mine said this very thing happened to her.  She is an accounting professional who uses the latest cloud based accounting software called Xero.  It’s pretty new software in North America and many people aren’t familiar with it, preferring an accounting program called Quick Books.  When a prospective customer called her asking about accounting/bookkeeping services, she talked about how great Xero was, even though the prospect had never heard of it.  He wasn’t interested in hearing about Xero as he had been using Quick Books for many years.

This is the bookkeeping program he is familiar with and was inquiring about.  My friend realized when she had hung up the phone that she hadn’t connected with this potential client because she was way ahead of him.  He didn’t end up becoming a customer.

What should have done instead?   My accounting friend could have used this technique, recommended by Pat Duckworth.

1. First Ask A General Question

Start with something like

“Do you have a problem with your bookkeeping/accounting at the moment?”

Listen to the answer and then paraphrase the answer back to the person using their own words.  This way they know you understand the question asked.  Something like:

“You have explained that your current bookkeeper takes weeks to post the entries every month into Quick Books, is that right?”

2. Ask the Follow Up Questions One At A Time

Let The Customer Lead The Pace

“Can you tell me more about this?”

By asking the questions one by one you are clarifying each question rather than jumping ahead and assuming you know both the questions and answers.  Jumping ahead can confuse your prospective customer because it can catch them off guard and down a path that is nowhere near addressing their immediate problem.

3. Developing Trust In Just A Few Minutes

Once you have let the prospective client truly explain their problem and they know you understand them, you have quickly established the trust factor.  Once there is trust, it is easy to continue the connection and eventually turn the prospect into a customer.

 

Pat DuckworthTune into the Fabulous Fempreneurship podcast to hear how expert, Pat Duckworth, leads you through the whole process of building trust with prospective customers.  You will be amazed how simple it is and you aren’t selling a thing!

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Do You Dream Of A Business With Over A Million Dollars In Revenue? by @XLConsultingGro

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7 Strategies To Reach a Million Dollars in Revenue

Business Success

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Did you know that less than 2% of women-led businesses reach over a million dollars in revenue?  In researching for my follow-up book to “Fabulous Fempreneurship” a business startup guide, I have been interviewing women founders to see what it takes to move up from a startup business to a superstar organization of over a million dollars in revenue.

Here are some of the highlights of these interviews.

 

Don’t over analyze and paralyze yourself into taking action

Victoria Sopik founder of Kids and Co. is a visionary and her partner is an accountant and a detailed person.  As a visionary Victoria says it’s her role to think big and expand the business (originally starting in Canada and now spreading across North America).  Her partner’s role is to find holes in the vision but not stop the vision.  Victoria will listen to her partner but unless there is a great reason why the company should not go forward with its plans, she takes the risk, because she knows from her past experiences, with the risk comes the reward.   She has seen and heard a lot in her 15 years of business, but nothing she says is insurmountable. After all, she has survived the trials of being the mother of 8 children all of whom she says are still alive to-day!

Surround yourself with mentors

No-one can be an entrepreneur on their own.  The successful women founders I interviewed all said they had mentorship.  For some it was mentorship by other women in CEO networks, for another CEO it was earning a spot in the Quantum Shift leadership series, partly sponsored by KPMG

Have a strategic plan

If you don’t know where you want to go, how can you get there?  All the women leaders stressed that as your business gets traction you have to plan the next phase.    Using SMART planning to define your strategy was a unanimous choice.   Breaking the strategic plan into 5 year, 3 year and 1 year visions is paramount to success.  Sharing the plan with all your employees is another essential element because everyone on board has to be part of your plan says, Shantel Feltman, CEO Sitiris Research.

When putting the strategic plan together it should include the total structure of the company.  As you grown, your company structure will change.  What will that look like?  Identify employees that can grow with your company says Shantel and push them to take on the responsibilities.   Shantel knows this only too well.  Having to take a couple of years away from her business for breast cancer surgeries and recovery, she learned that people will step up to the plate if they are empowered and encouraged to do so.

Joni Lien, franchisor owner of Supperworks also found out the same thing as she was forced to take a break from her business to look after her terminally ill husband who was the chief operations officer.  Her team stepped up to the plate and now Joni has been getting back to her business but in a different role.  She is focusing business growth, while her team handles the operations side of the business.

Listen to your customers

For Debbie Gracie-Smith, founder of Cretos an International IT business that she has since sold said “it was listening to the customers of American Express when I worked there was the whole premise of starting my own successful company”.   Cretos filled the gap for her customers that American Express was not interested in filling.  Debbie says “Do the right thing and do work you are proud of”.

This also means making things right even if you make a loss and it’s not your fault. Having respect for the client.  In the case of Michelle Bailey, CEO of Blazing The Agency, this also meant covering up the mistake of a manager in her client’s business who signed off on a $60K print run with an error.  The error was fixed, the print run reworked and Blazing The Agency footed the bill so the client’s employee could save face.  Not every company would go that far, but Michelle believes the client is always right (even when they are wrong).   Michelle suggests making sure your clients are partners, not users.

And how does Michelle get it right for her clients?  Without a doubt, it’s “by active listening”.  “ How can you make sure your solution fits the client’s needs if you don’t understand what the problem is?” says Michelle.  Mirroring back to the client in their own words clarifies the problem.  If you don’t have the solution, recommend another company who can solve the client’s problem.

Hire for cultural fit and teach the skills

All the female founders stressed that building a team that gets what you are trying to do and buying into the strategic plan is paramount to success.  Don’t hesitate to remove toxic employees from your company.  It’s not the right fit for you or the employee.   They will be happier at a different kind of company.

Use technology to expand your business

This can mean so many different things.  It could be app based software to manage employee projects, it could be software to make the quoting process more efficient.  Or it might be database management to keep track of your strategic metrics.  Whatever it is, information at your fingertips is paramount to efficiency in all areas of your business.   Technology can also change your business focus from offline to online giving you more areas of growth towards a million dollars in revenue.

Read, read and read some more

Whether you are reading for ideas, productivity, business structure, success stories or client engagement, keep reading. Or to-day should we say watch videos, listen to podcasts and attend webinars.  But like anything else, keep the end goal in mind and educate yourself only on items that fit your strategic plan.

Keep focused and head on up to the million dollar club.  Let’s get the million dollar club up from 2% to 3% of women-led businesses in the next few years.   If your business already has a million dollars in revenue, and you would like to be interviewed for this new book “Startup to Superstar”, drop a comment below.

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Elaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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7 Great Tips To Make Your Website The Best Experience For Your Clients by @XLConsultingGro

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by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

We’ve all done this, clicked on a website and spent so much time trying to find out basic information, we click off, leaving totally frustrated.  Many businesses make the mistake of putting together a website that is more about their own idea of what it should look like instead of being optimized for future clients.  Here are seven tips to help you make your website a great user experience.

Keep It Simple

You only have six seconds to engage your website visitor, so make it count by making your home page simple and easy to navigate.  Get rid of all the clutter.  Be clear on what problems you can solve for your future clients.  What makes you unique and how you can help solve their issues.  This clarification is part of your strategy in developing your brand pillars.

Create A “Call To Action”

A Call to Action (CTA) is where you direct your visitor to take an action.  What would your action message be?  This message depends on the focus you are trying to achieve.  For startups, it would be different than it is for established businesses.

For example, popular yoga wear brand Lululemon is a business that has already established the ‘like, know and trust factor’ (other than that hiccup a few years ago with the transparent yoga pants!)  Because they are established and have loyal customers, they can concentrate on offering new products and product line extensions. Lululemon know that’s what their clients are looking for.

When Kate Hudson started her Fabletics brand of athletic wear, she focused on a different Call To Action, which she still uses to-day.   The Fabletics Call To Action is based on “Become a VIP member and get special offers.”  The focus for Fabletics when they started up was to offer it’s members “value” yoga/active wear.  The Fabletics price points underscore “value”.  This is a different focus and call to action than the more luxury brand, Lululemon.

Each company has positioned itself with it’s own unique Call To Action.

Free Offers In Return For Email Addresses

If you are offering courses or consulting services, an easy way to get sign-ups for your email list is to offer something “free”.   This could be any one of the following:

A free checklist

A free downloadable e-book

A free “how to” guide

An Easy To Follow Menu Bar

A menu bar should be clear and logical and cover essential elements.   Visitors want to know you.   An ‘About Us’ page showcases you and your team, showcases your experience, tells your story, all in a clear and inviting way.  This will create the ‘trust’ factor.

A ‘contact us’ page is also essential.  Don’t make your clients chase all over your website to find out how to contact you.  In addition to a stand-alone contact us page, your contact info can go right on your home page.

Testimonials – Also essential for creating the “trust” factor.  If you have extensive testimonials, list them on a separate page, so they can be found easily from your menu bar.

Content Is King

Your website can look the prettiest or coolest on the planet, but if the content isn’t there, then within a few seconds of frustration, your visitor will click off quickly.  Are you providing valuable content? Content is a great tool for service-oriented businesses to demonstrate value.  A consistent blog strategy that you share everywhere is a platform for your content.

Choice of Images And Videos Is Important

It’s true, we are all very visual.  The first things that we react to on a website are the pictures and videos.  Are they engaging, do they speak to your audience, do they tell a story?  Can your viewers relate?  It’s one of the single most important parts of your website because it’s key to the client experience and first-time engagement.

Ask For Or Develop Your Wireframe Before Coding

A wireframe shows the navigation, the columns, the placing of the home page elements and is a blueprint for your website.  A wireframe can also show the images for the homepage and titles of the columns, and either sample text or real text.   Once the wireframe is complete you can test this with your clients. Have you hit the highlights of what a customer would want to find out when they land on your site?  Feedback at this stage is important so adjustments can be made before coding begins.

Once your website is finished in a ‘test’ environment, send it out to your tribe of colleagues for their critical analysis before you publish to the world.  You are looking for feedback.  Incorporating the feedback will make your website the best experience for your future clients.

If you aren’t sure if your website is the best experience for your clients, contact us for a free website checkup.

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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Empower Women Entrepreneurs+Amp Up Your Business Credibility by @XLConsultingGro

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by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

The “know, like and trust” factor is essential for business credibility, especially if you are new to entrepreneurship.   You can achieve this credibility quickly by sharing your expertise to empower women entrepreneurs. How can you do this?  Be a part of an influencer’s community.  Here are some ideas.

  • Participate in a Podcast

Podcasts are very popular because you can listen to them on the go, wherever you are.   These interview opportunities you can do in your PJ’s because there is no video!  Just sound only.  Anna Letitia Cook is always looking for experts for her WomenUp radio.  I recently had the opportunity to be on her show and it was a lot of fun.  Anna was in France and I am in Canada.  The power of Zoom technology provided the magic.  Jo-Ann Hamilton, founder of Secret Birds, will soon be launching her podcast series.

  • Apply to speak at a global conference

At the beginning of May, each year,  Dr. Harbeen Arora, founder of the Women Economic Forum holds a women’s empowerment conference in New Delhi, India.  There are many opportunities to speak during this global event.  Get on the list for next year.

  • Look for a local women’s empowerment community

Offer to start a chapter in your local area.  Hone your leadership skills, while at the same time connecting and forming relationships for future business opportunities.

  • Write a Book of Authority

Nothing amps up your credibility more than writing a book.  It makes it easy for influencers and organizers to book you for speaking engagements because a book gives you instant credibility.  Did I say INSTANT!

  • Start Your Own Facebook Group

Facebook groups are formed around “interests” and are not to be confused with business pages.  As the host of a facebook group, you can determine the rules of the group.  Find a topic which speaks to your expertise.

Kimra Luna started a group a few years ago that has attracted over 40,000 followers.   She offers a forum for people looking to launch online and has made a huge success of her group. The #1 reason is ….SHE shows up to contribute to the Freedom Hackers mastermind.  Kimra is adding her value.

  • Guest Blog

Looking to spread the word about your area of expertise.  Look no further than this very site.  Connect to apply to become a monthly blogger and enjoy the influence of Melissa Stewart’s  123K+  Twitter followers to engage new followers. Share the content of other “She Owns It” experts and empower the crowd of contributors.

  • Unleash The Power Of LinkedIn

Don’t be afraid to link with influencers on LinkedIn. Always write a personal note as to why you want to link with them.  Once connected, comment on their posts to show your interest in the topics they are interested in.  They are already where you want to be.   They are an influencer with a large, active community.   You can tag along, too.

  • Volunteer At Your Local Chamber of Commerce

The “Old Boys Club” hang out here.  Do you want to be in their club, but do business with women?  Why not change the dynamic and offer to start a Women’s Business Network within your local Chamber of Commerce.  Think about the kind of influence this will have in your local business community and what kind of different events you could suggest.   WOW, that’s powerful!

Could any of these ideas work for you?  Why not step out of your comfort zone and give one of these suggestions a try and amp up your business credibility.

Have you tried any of these ideas?   Let us know how they have worked for you or make suggestions that we haven’t even thought of!

PS:  To make it easy for influencers to book you, put together a media page on your website to showcase your credibility.  This can include your logos, headshots, speaking topics and links to articles or books you have written.

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

How To Turn Your Website Into A Compelling Marketing Machine by @XLConsultingGro

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Web Design concept with notebook on wooden desk

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Just like your business card, your website is another pillar of your branding and if structured properly your website can become a compelling marketing machine for conversion.

Here are the key factors to make your website more convincing.
 

10 Marketing Tips for Website Conversion

 

Brand Consistency

The look and feel of your website should represent your target market.

For example, if your site is mainly for women customers, the coloring may be around the softer female or vibrant palette as long as it links to the overall coloring of your business cards and print advertising.

Powerful Content

Here are the four essential elements to address in your content:

  1. Identify customer’s pain point (his/her problem)
  2. Educate/offer solutions to the pain point (your unique product solution)
  3. Give Valuable content – show your expertise by posting blog articles, videos, podcasts, industry information, or testimonials
  4. Call to Action – After you have identified the pain and offered a solution, next is the specific message (Call To Action or CTA) to encourage your prospects to contact you. Examples include, “sign up for a free ebook”, or “attend our xxxx free webinar”.

Conversion Call to Action

Conversions come directly from having the valuable content and a call to action.  Without the call to action on the home page, your chances of sign- ups to your mailing list could be minimal.  Consider a popup for the home page that encourages the visitor to trigger an action and email capture.  Just don’t make the popup annoying by triggering it too quickly and with no ability to click it off.  The popup call to action might be a free e-book, a free tip sheet or free webinar.

Easy Site Navigation

Simple & crisp text, direction buttons and menu bar and lots of visuals.

 Social Shares

Adding social share buttons on your pages and blog posts means everyone who likes your fantastic content can blast it across their favorite social media platforms and share with their friends on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.

Mobile Friendly

Over 65% of website searches happen on mobile devices, either smart phones or tablets.  Make your mobile site “responsive”, ie one that automatically resizes and organizes the content, regardless of the screen size.  Google will rank you higher if your site is responsive.

Secure Site (SSL certificate)

Secure sites are visible to the user with a lock symbol on the browser bar and a ‘https’ prefix. SSL certs. are available from your web host provider. Google is starting to rank you higher if your site is secure.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

A website without SEO is like junk mail.  Your website pages and posts should be structured with SEO in mind so that prospects can type in their search bar and find you. ie “chiropractor in Los Angeles, California.

Google Analytics

Your website conversions can be monitored by setting up your website on Google Analytics to monitor, measure and fine tune all aspects of your website.

Facebook Targeting

If the demographics of your target market are facebook users, you can install a facebook pixel on your website. Have you ever wondered when you visit a website, why you start to see facebook ads for that product when you are using facebook?  This is how facebook targeting works.

Anyone who visits your website, but doesn’t sign up for anything, can be re-targeted as an audience for facebook ads at a later date through the facebook pixel.

Conclusion

Now we’ve covered the basics of how your website can be turned into a compelling marketing machine, it’s time to look at your site. Chances are if your website is over five years old it is ready for a review and refresh.

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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How to use podcasting to connect with your clients, it’s easier than you think by @XLConsultingGro

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A radio DJ announces news in a studio

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

We are overwhelmed with information.  Sometimes we are tired of reading and viewing and we just want to listen to sound.  One advantage of sound is all we need to do is plug in our headset and listen while we are busy completing other tasks.  Sound is completely portable.  You can listen while in your car, jogging, walking the kids to school or at the gym.  Your business could take advantage of snapping up the audio space by podcasting.

Did you know that there are at least 24 women whose podcasts are extremely popular as rated by Entrepreneur Magazine?    They cover all kinds of topics from wellness to tech, finance, and interviews with women CEO’s.  Why not check them out here?

You may not be a household name like these 24 women, but you can engage a new audience and build your credibility factor by podcasting, especially if you like talking versus writing or appearing on camera.

How to get started with podcasting?

You don’t have to spend a ton of money on equipment at the beginning, especially if podcasting isn’t your main income stream.

Here are the basics for your setup:

1)  A good microphone

2)  A POP filter (for the ‘P’ and ‘B’ sounds so you don’t get the ‘pop’ sound!)

3)  A headset

4)  A Skype account

5) Recording software

6) A podcasting hosting account such as Soundcloud

Eventually, you might need audio editing equipment, but to start with, don’t invest time and energy in this area for basic podcasting.  You can get excellent audio editing and audio mixing from freelancers on Fiverr.   I found an excellent contractor whose service was impeccable.  For a complete equipment setup,  check out this list.

What kinds of podcasting could you try?

1) One of the easiest ways to get started is by interviewing people.  Before you become the interviewer, why not be a guest on a podcasting interview show to get your feet wet?

2) Next, find interesting topics and speakers your audience would like to learn from and interview them (this is where Skype comes in).   I was recently interviewed on a podcast about entrepreneurship by Tracy J on Power Xtra Radio for her show called “Something for the Weekend”.   She was in the studio in London, UK, and I was on Skype.   Although there was a difference in the audio levels between the two of us, this was fixed by the great freelancer on Fiverr, so the sound was equalized.

3) One of my entrepreneur techie friends, Stacy Maynard, has partnered with  Javed Khan from Empression Marketing.   Their podcast reviews technology and the engagement comes from the lively exchange between them (His Way or Her Way)  as they often have opposing views.  You can listen to their podcasts on Soundcloud or i-Tunes. Here is their podcast on the 2017 social media trends.

4)  Teach classes via podcasting, supplementing with downloadable worksheets, e-books etc. via your website.

Understanding Soundcloud

If you are going to produce a series of podcasts, they have to live somewhere.    Recorded audio files can be stored on Soundcloud. It is the audio version of YouTube.   You create your own channel with your own branding and gain your own followers.   This is where you upload your MP3 files.   You can then link to these media files from your website page or blog through the embed code on Soundcloud.

Soundcloud has an i-Tunes app and is available in the Google Play store, too.  Your podcasts can stream for mobile under a subscription service that you can monetize.

Or individual instructional podcasts can be sold directly from your website, just like ebooks.  You may have to increase the bandwidth of your ISP (Internet Service Provider) if you want to store your MP3 files on your website in your media files.

Why not try podcasting as part of your social media strategy for 2017?

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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The Power Of Video And 9 Ways To Use It In Your Business by @XLConsultingGro

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9 Ways to Use Video

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

YouTube has over a billion users and each and every day, people watch hundreds of millions of videos.  It is the #1 place we go, because watching a video is so much easier than reading a blog article.  YouTube also goes on to say that the number of channels earning six figures a year increases 50% year over year.  The power of video can’t be denied no matter where you live.

Video Marketing 2How Can You Use the Power of Video?

#1 – Create your own YouTube Channel for your business

Your YouTube Channel is the repository for all your videos.  You can also share them to other sites such as Vimeo, but nothing is more powerful than having them on YouTube. Why?  Because YouTube is owned by Google and we should be loving everything that is related to “Google”.

Once your videos are uploaded to YouTube you can share it everywhere with the YouTube ‘share’ and ‘embed’ buttons.

#2 – Put a compelling video on your website homepage

If you don’t have your own video, you can still upload and embed a related video on your front page.   It helps give you that “Authority” voice.  Even if you are a startup.

#3 – Share your YouTube videos across your social media channels

Videos can be posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  Make sure you broadcast the right video to the right social media channel.   What is perfect for Facebook, isn’t necessarily the right one for LinkedIn.

#4 – Post your videos on your Facebook business page or your Facebook group

You can also use the Facebook ‘live’ mobile app to post your video straight from your phone to your Facebook page/group for the quick 1 minute video when you have a nugget to share or at an event that you want to share with your tribe.   Videos don’t always have to be professionally created to be effective and powerful.   Many times we are scrolling through our Facebook feed and come across an entertaining video of someone we know and we share it right away.

#5 – Nothing is easier than watching a “how to video”

If you have a complex topic, break it down into easy instructions and post.  Using screen share techniques your audience can follow your point and click instructions and re-run the video or backtrack the video until the topic is clear.

#6 – The Explainer Video

These are animated videos that hold people’s attention and help them understand complex subjects in 2 minutes or less.   Websites such as Powtoons let you make your own videos for free as long as you don’t mind their advertising tags.  Video production companies often offer this service as part of a videographer’s package.

#7 – The Recorded TED-EX talk

The power of Ted-Ex talks is vast.   Ted-Ex talks, the intimate one to many chats, have the power to go viral because of the popularity of the Ted-Ex channels and speakers.  Could you become a TED-EX speaker?

#8 – The Video with no voice track

This kind of video with a recorded music background is for visual products such as real estate listings, home staging company videos etc. The power of video, in this case, is how many different places it can be repurposed.

#9 – The introductory video

Why not use the power of video as an introductory tool.  This can be used in open or closed/private/secret Facebook groups.  It is much more personal than reading the text and gives the feeling that participants are attending a live event.

You don’t have to have fancy equipment to make a video.  Perhaps this is why the power of video is so attractive as a marketing tool. All you need is a cell phone, or a computer with a webcam (built-in or add-on), movie making software (free).  Add to this a good microphone and lighting and away you go.    The biggest hurdle is getting over the fear of being on video.  If that is your number one fear, because you aren’t remotely like a spokesperson, then make your product or service the highlight and downplay your own role.

Is turning on the power of video one your 2017 business goals?  Will we be seeing you soon on YouTube?

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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Giving Back Makes You Healthier and Happier by @XLConsultingGro

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the-purse-project-niagara-1by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Sociologists Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson in their recent book, The Paradox of Generosity surveyed over 2000 Americans over a five-year period and found that people who give are healthier and happier.  But giving back is a muscle and must be exercised on a regular basis, not just randomly.

Two enterprising entrepreneurs, Sarah Boville of Barefoot Travel and Mandi Neiser of Married by Mandi exercised their ‘giving back’ muscle with a simple wish

Fill a purse with love and a woman’s heart with hope

purse-project-niagara-6A simple wish to make the holiday season brighter for women at risk in the Niagara area becomes an explosion of generosity from women in the community.

The brainchild of friends Sarah Boville and Mandi Neiser, the project mushroomed from a modest goal of gathering 100 gently used purses filled with useful items.  It ended up to be a mountain of over 600 purses.  These purses were delivered before Christmas to the many agencies in the Niagara region that help women in crisis.

Adapting from other purse projects across the country, Sarah and Mandi, reached out through Facebook in early November to see if they could collect a few purses.    Their Purse Project Niagara Facebook page became a popular place.  Donors could find out what items to add to the purses and where to drop them off.   But it also became a wall of generosity pictures, a wall of happy, smiling faces.

The Power of Social Media

And then Facebook took over.    More posts got shared by friends and groups.   Organizations like the Company of Women Niagara chapter and Fabulous Fempreneurship got on board and encouraged women entrepreneurs to donate.    Drop off centres were happy to ask their customers to contribute and the snowball began.

the-purse-project-niagara-4Even the Girl Guides of Fonthill contributed to the project.  And what about the guys?   Yes, many were involved too.   Josh at the Wine Rack in Niagara Falls, one of the drop-off points, was a willing helper.   Husbands became enthusiastic packers and drivers transporting the purses to local women’s shelters.  By December 20th all the purses were delivered.

Sarah and Mandi are on board to repeat for 2017 and they have inspired many of us to start a similar project in our own areas.

purse-project-niagara-5

A Worldwide Sisterhood of Supporters Giving Back

the-purse-project-niagara-3Worldwide, entrepreneurial women are becoming a sisterhood of supporters for other women.   This can be giving employment to women in South Africa through social enterprise, building schools, educating girls.  The list is endless.

Giving back is simple.   Find out what is needed.   Rally together a team of like-minded women who want to help and kick off your campaign.    It will put a smile on your face and increase your health and happiness.

Tell us about your giving back initiatives.

 

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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Could Writing a Book Be Your 2017 Business Card? by @XLConsultingGro

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Could Writing a Book Be Your 2017 Business Card?

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Writing a book of authority in your area of expertise is a fantastic door opener and a segue to many opportunities.  Cold calling is out the door if you open yourself up to writing a book.   No need to find a publisher, the world of self-publishing is at your doorstep and it isn’t as expensive as you think.

computer-coffeee2Shake Off Your Self-Doubt

But first, let me get rid of your self-doubt, because I had lots of doubt before I wrote my startup guide for women entrepreneurs entitled “Fabulous Fempreneurship”.

My biggest fear was, I’m not a writer, I’m a business person, what if I don’t connect with the readers?   Business topics can be a bit boring.   At an author’s summit, I learned that everyone has their own “voice” and it’s best to use your own authentic voice because …well it is YOU.    In my case I decided to use other experts to write sections of the book and found over 30 women contributors who were either subject matter experts or had compelling stories that helped put the expertise into context.

Anyone who is an entrepreneur can write a book.  Whether you are a yoga instructor, dog obedience trainer, ladies clothing retailer, social media expert, lawyer, accountant, SEO guru, graphic illustrator or paleo food expert etc.   The secret is you have expertise in your field, you are a professional and you are entrepreneurial.   So clear out the doubts and get started.

What Can A Published Book Do For You?

es-book-launch-pic

  • Gets you free publicity either with the media or people who love your book and recommend it to friends.
  • Helps you get speaking engagements (easy for the event co-ordinator to book a speaker who is a published author)
  • You become a published subject matter expert and immediately you create trust with potential clients and partners
  • It becomes your new business card when you are making an appointment to see busy people.  It is a gift nobody will refuse.
  • You can use your book as door prizes, gifts, giveaways for program bookings and at conventions.
  • Other experts can use your book to augment their offerings and help you form partnerships with other professionals.
  • A book is the best networking tool EVER.  You can take it wherever you go.  It helps open up the conversation and who knows what will happen from here.
  • It can help increase your social media fan base.

Writing A Book Quickly

girl-and-computer2Now the next question is “I don’t have time to write a book!”     This is often the case if you are already juggling multiple roles, but there are a couple of ways to tackle this problem.

  1. Map out your book, then write for just 30 minutes every day without worrying about your grammar, syntax etc. (that’s for your editor to correct). In no time you will have your book written.   By chunking it into manageable bites you are more likely to finish your book because you are focusing on the journey of writing, not the end result.
  2. No time to write? There are companies that take the hard work out of book writing.   How do they do it?   Journalists interview you over a five day period.  You provide your expertise and they write the book.   The author credit is still yours.   Yes, this method is more expensive than self-publishing, but look at this cost as your marketing budget.  The payback is well worth it.  A US professor I work with is doing just that to augment his online university course on the Coursera platform.  He was able to get a grant to offset the cost.

Finding Your Audience

There is an audience for your book, believe me.   It is less than a year since I wrote my book and I have received many comments and recommendations from readers when I attend networking events.   I’m introduced as the author of “Fabulous Fempreneurship” everywhere I go.   Accountants and banks are using my book for potential clients as their “starter” book for entrepreneurs as it saves them endless time explaining the steps to becoming an entrepreneur.  A women’s incubator used the book as a graduation present for their first cohort.   Many of the women featured as subject matter experts are also my biggest fans, because the book also highlights their own work.  It has opened up so many opportunities and sales are strong.

Add your Say

What do you think? How many of you have thought about writing a book but keep pushing the idea aside? There are so many uses for your book of authority, why not make it a priority for 2017.

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Elaine SlatterElaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of  XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women.  XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success.  Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs.   To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.

You can connect with Elaine on social media at:  Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook

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Do You Want To Be A Successful Business Owner? by @XLConsultingGro

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by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Of course you do, but sometimes you just don’t know the right path to success.  From my experience of many years of privately coaching and mentoring women in business, here are the top 5 tips for becoming a successful business owner.

  1. Understand your Numbersphoto-saying

Not the favourite topic for many of us, but essential to understanding your whole business.  At the beginning, when you are looking for investors/loans, the first questions will be about your business numbers.

Did you know the whole business health is in your profit and loss statement?   If you don’t understand what goes into a P&L statement, your accountant can help you interpret accounting terms such as: gross profit, fixed and variable expenses and net profit.

  1. Market Your Business and Fill the Sales Funnel

Along with understanding your numbers this is the next important part of business success.  Yes, there is a cost to customer acquisition, but without customers, where would you be?

See what millionaire and celebrity Shark, Robert Herjavec, has to say in his video about these two key steps to success.

  1. Find a Business Mentor

Many organizations, including our own Fabulous Fempreneurship community, recognize the importance of having someone help you and run free mentorship programmes.   Mentors don’t operate your business, they listen to your questions & concerns and help guide you to the right solutions.  Mentors have a wealth of experience, why not tap into their knowledge.  Asking for help isn’t a weakness, it shows how determined you are to be the best.

Business Success

  1. Have The Right Structure for Growth

This includes putting in place systems and processes as your business grows.   When you are ready to hire additional employees, this will help with the on-boarding of new members of your team.   Even if you are using contractors to help you, systems and processes will shorten their learning curve.

  1. Be Ready to Pivot for Success

Your first business idea doesn’t always work out.   Entrepreneurs usually have many ideas before one takes off.  Just read the story of Haute Chocolate and how they changed their focus away from chocolate to inventing a stock photography site for women entrepreneurs!   Talk about pivoting your business, this is a classic example of completely changing your business and finding the magic.