When I interview people to join me in my home business as a partner, the number 1 common hesitation I hear the most is “I’m not good at sales”, or I don’t want to be salesy”. Ok, now let me ask you, who wakes up one day and says, “today I feel like being salesy?” ha ha no one. We all want to be liked, trusted and respected right? But here is the thing, if you want to own a successful business, there is going to be some level of sales involved in that process, because at the end of the day, the only way we make money is by having a sale, or exchange of money for a product or service. So that is something we all need to get over and get comfortable with. When you stop being weird about what you do, people will stop acting weird about what you do!

So you find your passion and you get started in your business because you feel comfortable “just” sharing what you love. You don’t want to be salesy. So you do everything you can to get around that whole sales thing, and figure I’ll just post stuff on my time line because then whoever sees it will then just come to me and I don’t have to sell to them.  So you use your personal facebook feed to “share” information about your company or product, with captions like “pm me for more details”, “shop here”, “support my family and buy from me”. Perhaps you have links to videos or websites with your companies products, invites to your company event, and posts about your opportunity hoping people will read it and join your company or buy from you. Let’s not forget the endless hashtags about your company and niche. You’ve put the word out there, and you figure with the amount of friends on your friends list, at least 1 in every 10 is going to do something, you’ve read about this in books, so the odds are somewhat in your favour. You check back later that day to see who has liked your post, only to see its your mom and your company support team. No one has pm’d you to take advantage and no one has left a comment saying ‘I’m in”. And your sales are still at 0. So let me ask you this, “how is that not being salesy?” You’ve just unknowingly spammed your entire online network, and you’ve not given anyone a choice about whether or not they wanted to be exposed to your business, product or service. How would that make you feel if you were on the other side?

You’re probably thinking, how does she know?  Well friend, because most of us have been there, and I know for sure I was when I started my business. I was not properly trained on how to promote my business on social media, so i just started posting and sharing what I cared about, and although they weren’t super salesy posts, I was posting in hopes of gaining sales in the process – what I call “shameless” selling. I couldn’t believe that only 10% of my friends list liked my fan page. I would post daily wondering why I wasn’t getting any traction from my posts, and wondered how in the world other business owners were creating wealth on social media.

I knew it could be done, because other people were doing it, so I just had to find a way, and I started to think about social media as a networking tool, and applying the same ethical rules of networking to my social media approach. I got really clear on the message I wanted to send out to my world,  I thought about how I would like to be approached by someone in business, and what are the reasons I would do business with one vs another. I found mentors who I thought were not only killing it on social media, but mentors I could relate to, who were just out there living their passion and purpose and pulling people into them, rather then pushing them away. Are you pushing your business on your audience or are you pulling them into you? Its one simple change you can make to your approach that will change your business.

Here are the top 10 changes I made to clean up my social media act and pull people into me, as well as really create the ideal tribe of people I want to do business and life with. Remember, you want your network to share your stuff, so make it valuable and shareable!

1. I stopped posting branded images on my timeline.

2. I started using my facebook like page to attract new people to me who wanted to hear about my business, and i created a special VIP group for anyone who wanted to specifically learn more about my products and service.

3. I l started looking for information about my industry that would create value for my clients.

4. I started a blog where I could help others learn more about what I do, and tips to help them in their business in hopes to create value for them.

5. Every time I post, I ask myself, could this be of service to someone?

6. I stopped telling people about my business, and started inviting them into my world, always asking first for their permission in a private message. I never ever add people to groups, pages or events without permission.

7. I found my true purpose in my business, the thing that really makes me tick, and I focused my energy on that thing that makes me jump out of bed excited to start my day. I focus in on my strengths in my business, and I rock them every day.

8. I became more personal and more authentic. I created a brand around who I am, my personal message, what makes me different, and I started taking people on my human journey with me. And this allowed me to really only attract the people I want in my circle anyways.

9. I stopped prospecting and I started connecting with people, both online and in person, getting to know them, and finding that often I was able to uncover a need I could fill, by saying less and listening more- remembering to always ask permission to show them how what I do could benefit them, not me.

10. I really started to have fun with my business both online and off, and because these strategies complement each other so well, and I’m not sure I could have one without the other.

Social media is a beautiful tool, if used properly, to enhance the relationships you have. Its a place to share, connect, grow trust, grow your networks, and establish yourself as a total boss in your industry, but if you want people to view you like a boss, you have to show up like a boss. Check out my most popular post www.johannhunt.ca/facebook101 for more tips about sharing your business on social media.

If you gained value from this, have had a similar experience, or would like to add your tips, I’d love to hear your comments, and feel free to share this with someone who could gain value for growing their business online. We all learn from each other.