This week’s Simply Smart Social Expert Q&A was all about how to develop your business by building relationships on Facebook with the inspiring coach for coaches, Sarah Leather.
How did you use Facebook to develop your business?
Building on connections in groups, mostly in paid groups. Being very helpful and genuinely not expecting anything in return. Also only posting/helping in my niche and not hopping on every thread that I could help with.
How do you find your audience and start building relationships on Facebook?
First thing, stop hanging out where all the other people are also looking for clients!
I keep hearing that I should share and be visible online, but then I get in trouble for “promoting”. Any advice on sharing and being helpful, without promoting?
I have a rule of ‘help, help, help then ask’. Help three times more than you ask anyone for anything. This includes sending them to your offerings.
Just imagine everyone is a paying client and wow them. Obviously not everyone will message you and ask if they can work with you, but some will.
Is there anything you can do to really stand out from all of the people that do what you do?
Think outside the box a bit. What interests do your clients have? It’s not about jumping in and grabbing clients, it’s about building relationships over time.
What’s the best way of searching for groups relevant to your topic? Do you join as the client or infiltrate with your personal account and recommend clients that way?
I wouldn’t join as a client with the intention of getting clients. But, I have done really well from paid groups.
I’ve spent months helping people out in other people’s groups and then when it was time to fill my mastermind, I contacted them and invited them on a call. Most of them said ‘you have consistently helped without promoting, I have been waiting for the opportunity to work with you’.
Do you have any tips for getting started with this if Facebook groups aren’t somewhere we usually hang out?
Post good content on your page. Tell stories, get a conversation going. Building relationships on Facebook isn’t quick, but it’s effective.
I am an active member in lots of ‘mummy related’ Facebook groups. I know these groups are full of my target audience but I don’t want to push my product or opportunity on them. How do you suggest I approach this audience?
One of the best ways to start is to do ‘research calls’. Ask people if they could spare ten minutes to hop on the phone with you, have a list of questions ready to find out what would make them buy your product now. Use that information to work out what people WANT- not what they need.
This is priceless info and you can kickstart your marketing from there. Ask them where and when they would buy your kind of product.
Do you have any little tweaks we can make to amp up our impact on Facebook?
Say what you do ALL the time. I speak to women who are very visible but I have no clue what they do. Don’t be mysterious!
Invite people into a real life conversation to see what they need.
Stay in your area of expertise when helping/posting so you don’t confuse people. We all know LOTS of stuff, especially us multi-passionate types. Once you have a great audience and everyone knows what you do, then you can post/help out in all sorts of areas.
What are your three biggest don’ts?
Don’t hold back because you think you don’t know enough, aren’t smart enough, aren’t in business long enough or any other ‘not enough-ness’. Do your beautiful imperfect work in the world, people are waiting for you.
Sarah Leather is a Transformational Coach who helps women to have a simple, beautiful & highly profitable business doing what they love.
She has been a Naturopath & Homeopath who has worked with women for over 25 years to help women overcome their struggles with fertility, hormone imbalance and more recently to develop a business that supports and nurtures them in a simple and beautiful way.
Sarah has had an interesting career to date including being a nurse, lecturer and supervisor. She is the author of a best-selling Amazon book ‘How to Get Pregnant-10 Fertility Success Stories’, has taught several courses helping women to get their businesses online and currently runs a successful online courses for women nd is currently launching her signature program ‘Unleash Your Entrepreneurial Goddess’ to help women to create businesses that are abundant, fun and easy, to have the lifestyle they crave without burning out.
Yet another fantastic Q&A in our Simply Smart Social community – next up is Killer Content Creation with the one and only Jo Gifford this Thursday, at 3pm (UK time). Hop over and join us if you’d like to take part!