From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
The AbsaLionessesXpo opened with a bang to a VIP guest list on Tuesday and to the whole world on Thursday 29th October (although there will be other special invite days ahead - so keep an eye out for that VIP Gilt-Edged Invite from Melanie!).
Looking through the site we were struck by the huge amount of work done by each of our incredible Lionesses for their personal business pages. The Videos alone - WOW! We sat up through the night going through all of them and then wanted to just start at the beginning and go through them again such was the excitement generated, not only from recognizing our friends, but seeing the different styles of videos in which they presented themselves and their brands. Not only were we so inspired, but also so honoured to know them all.
What was also incredible was the community behind the ‘shop front’ of the Xpo. On the Lionesses Exhibitor Whatsapp group, the buzz was huge. Business was being done, deals were being struck and fabulous collaborations were being created. In one instance, hearing that there was a possibility of an inspirational collaboration between Leonista with their amazing 100% African agave spirit tequila/mezcal from the incredible Karoo region of South Africa and our very favourite ‘Treat Centre’ Chocoloza, the HoF sprang to attention, contacted Vicki and begged for the first box that comes off her exclusive production line. Turning and noticing our open mouths at such swift movement from one normally so sedate, the answer came with a shrug of the shoulders… “My Doctor has told me I have to cut back on the Caffeine…”. In spite of the fact that Chocolate also contains Caffeine, given the amount of Coffee consumed on a good day by the HoF, we could only smile and assume this was a wise course of action!
The AbsaLionessesXpo is a natural progression for the Lionesses of Africa. As the inspirational Ntsoaki Sibiya who owns the world class security business, Tsoabelo said in the opening video: “Lionesses of Africa opens doors”. Opening doors through the Lioness Launch; through the great collaboration Lioness Co-Lab; greater knowledge and business information sharing through our daily newsletters and to opening our eyes to the many inspirational Lionesses interviewed within the more ‘glossy’ Lioness Weekender https://www.lionessesofafrica.com/lioness-weekender; to the Lioness Lean-ins, bringing together so many Lionesses across this great continent and tightening the strength of the community; to the international ‘Lioness Start-Up Nights’ Conferences where we have been able to open doors and introduce Lionesses to massive global brands eager to become involved such as the nights we did with the Government of Germany, the Government of the UK and most recently the brilliant Harvard University conference. Following these, the obvious next move was a Lioness Den competition which had over 2,000 amazing video entries from the ranks of our brilliant South African membership.
All this is meaningless, however, if there are no sales. The greatest help anyone can give is to open doors, but after that - you are on your own. Of course we can (and often do) assist Lionesses individually when possible in certain areas, but such an Xpo B2B platform and all of the other opportunities are no silver bullet.
So being on these platforms and being part of these opportunities is one thing, but how can you increase the odds of a sale and push them into your favour?
As with all platforms you need to make people aware that you are there. There is absolutely no point in following the terrible marketing slogan of the film ‘Field of Dreams’ where Kevin Costner followed the ‘I shall build it and they shall come’ route. Do this and you will find yourself sitting in the wilderness with only the crows for company.
This means social media, aggressive social media. Those who follow you are usually the ones who have already shown interest in you and your business, bring these supporters in, allow them to become part of this new opportunity with you. We are not saying that they need to buy from you once again, simply bring them into the fold and they will tell their friends who will tell their friends and so on…
They might have gone cold over the weeks since they last bought something from you, this is a chance to reopen the conversation.
A simple message such as this from the inspirational Nicola Luther of Lunar is all you need:
Here Nicola was brilliantly replying to a post by our HoF discussing the AbsaLionessesXpo …and yes, for those who know, that’s LinkedIn she is using.
This is our HoF’s favourite business platform. There is nowhere else that you can increase the odds so significantly in your favour of being in front of the correct business people who will make a difference to your life. Also there is nowhere else where you can guarantee being seen by people with money as 98% (sadly perhaps only 80% during the CV19 war, but still a good percentage) are in jobs. Finally there is nowhere else that you can speak to the entire business world. Again, no guarantees, but as they say - the best way to guarantee failure in the lottery is not to buy a ticket!
How do we work LinkedIn into our favour.
The first rule is - have a good hard look at your connection list.
This should be full of:
People who are buying from you;
People who have shown an interest in buying from you; and
Those you want to buy from you.
Never ignore an opportunity to connect with someone on the above list.
Why?
Because firstly that is your connection forever with that person and they will instantly see what you post. These posts we shall come to later, but suddenly your post or article will be on their desk, whereas previously, it might have just been a quick Tweet or Instagram photo that is far easier to ignore and perhaps cannot convey the correct message.
Secondly because you now have access to them, at anytime you can send them a personal message, perhaps telling them of a sale you are having or alert their attention to a post or article you just wrote. This is engagement - and that’s priceless.
Thirdly, because suddenly you then have access to their connection list. If this is someone in the above list of ‘must-have’s’ in your connection list, there is a very good chance that within their connection list there are many who think like they do and would also have an interest in what you are selling.
So how do you connect?
Don’t just click the ‘Connect’ button and leave it there. When you click on that button, up pops a chance to send a message. Don’t waste that opportunity, the door again has been opened, don’t ignore it…
If someone out of the blue contacted you and said they were a Lioness, you would take their call - exactly the same is true on LinkedIn, there is far more likelihood of you having a successful connection request if you mention that you have a number of connections in common, or if there is one in particular you can mention, or if they are in a particular industry/sector you have an interest in. The CEO of Adidas, however, is not going to accept your connection request just because you play football for the local club…, therefore, this is always the least successful route, ‘connections in common’ is always by far the best.
Once they have connected, just like all real life connections, follow up! In real life once someone has said “hi”, there is nothing worse than an awkward silence afterwards as each of you look into your drink wondering what to say…
So, say thanks for accepting the request, give them a 2 liner on your business (prepare a good one in advance) and ask if there is anything they would like to discuss. Chances are that there isn’t anything at that stage, but the job is done, you are now connected, you have engaged and they will remember you.
LinkedIn needs to be used to get the most out of it and that means posting regularly. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are best to push up the number of views you receive. This means that doing a post or new article once a week is enough. The more you use this the more LInkedIn will push your posts - think Google and why it is that some businesses always seem to be number one or on the first page when you search. The more likes, comments and reads your post or article on LinkedIn gets, the higher up their list you go,
so that when the person you want to attract turns on their laptop, your post is one of the first they see. Bingo - it’s on their desk!
In the above case with Nicola, because she commented on a post (in this case one by the HoF on the Xpo), this was a perfect opportunity for her to speak directly to the HoF and the HoF’s many C-Suite connections. So if someone posts something of interest, or if someone comments on one of your posts, then always reply - this engages:
and then never miss an opportunity to reply to gain that sale! This is sensible business practice. It is polite, it is engaging and it is perfect.
The opportunities are out there, doors are being opened, but as Chairman Mao said: “Every long walk starts with a small step.”
Take that small yet important step to allow people to become engaged in you and your inspirational business.
You owe it to yourself, you owe it to your employees and their communities, and just as important, you owe it to those interested in your products, your business and the value you bring.
The opportunities are there…
Stay Safe!