19 Jul

A Special Message from Lisa

By Lisa In Blog, Business, Client Experience, Entrepreneur, Featured, Featured, Leadership, Social Media, The Social Business Academy, Work Life Balance /   6 Comments

Last week was such an important week in my life that I thought I would share some of the background as to why this year’s eWomenNetwork Conference was so significant to me.

I quit my corporate job towards the end of 2006 and opened my store Parlez Wireless.  In 2007, I found out about eWomenNetwork and in 2008 I attended my very first conference in Dallas, Texas.

I remember sitting in the audience at that time wishing that I was one of the speakers and feeling in my gut that I had something to offer the people who were there.

My challenge — I owned a Canadian Wireless Store.

I left that conference inspired to step out and do something different.  Around the same time, I discovered Social Media because it was becoming more and more important to the mobile world.  BlackBerry had launched their first device with a Facebook application and I knew I needed to learn more.

When I started to explore the world of Social Media, I immediately saw such incredible potential for business owners.  One day a woman pulled me aside and said “Lisa, we would pay you if you would teach us what you know.”

That conversation changed everything.

I took immediate action on that piece of feedback and that afternoon ten people signed up for a Social Media workshop I was hosting. Talk about building the plane while I flew! I didn’t even have an outline to teach and people were still interested in learning.

Fast forward to last week where it was announced at the eWomenNetwork International Conference and Business Expo that I am the new eWomenSocial Advantage, Chief Social Officer.

In 2011 I was a break out speaker for eWomenNetwork, this year a break out speaker, main stage speaker, and new business partner with Kym and Sandra Yancey.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity that has presented itself in my life.  I am however, not lucky.  This is not about luck.

The day someone first told me people would pay me to learn, I took action.

When I decided I wanted to speak at the conference, I hired someone who could help me be skilled enough to do so.  I looked for opportunities to speak at smaller events in preparation for what I desired.  Once again, I took action.

When I was ready to speak, I took massive action.  I called in every person I knew who could vouch for me to do so.  I looked for ways to differentiate myself from the other 1400 people who applied to speak.  I took tremendous amounts of action even when I was scared I would fail, and terrified that people would not think I was good enough.  I stayed true to the path.

This year when Kym Yancey mentioned us working together I got on a plane and flew to Dallas to talk strategy – armed with the best outline of a plan I could come up with.  I took the conversation extremely seriously and showed up prepared.

Leading up to the conference I experienced chatter in my head once again: “What if I was not good enough? Who am I to do this? What are other people going to think?”

This is the thing, we all experience negative self talk.  Your power comes from acting in spite of your fear.

I am going to say that again because it is really important.

Your power comes from acting in spite of your fear.

It is the only way to eliminate the fear I call tension from your life.

The first step up onto the big stage on Thursday night, I tripped over my words I was so nervous.  Friday night I got three hours sleep because I decided at the last minute to re-write my talk and for the first time ever, I did a keynote without slides.

Putting yourself out there is scary.  It is frightening and it is liberating at the same time.

I also did something that scared me more than speaking.  I wore dresses at the conference.

This might sound silly to you but 30 years ago when I was first diagnosed with Crohns disease I went from 80 lbs to 140 lbs in two short months.  It ravished my young body with red stretch marks and shattered my self confidence.  Once an athletic student, I now refused to get changed into shorts for gym and had a doctors note that excused me from the activity because it was so traumatic for me.

In my mid twenties I got over it to a certain degree and started wearing shorts in public.  Up until last week, I have NEVER showed my legs in public for any type of professional gig.  I have kept myself covered up, safe from criticism and judgement.

If you saw my legs you would tell me it was all in my head.  And today — I would say you are right.

Two weeks before the conference I decided to embrace who I am and I bought five dresses for the conference.  Scared to death of being judged but more afraid of my own inner critic, I did it.  I wore those dresses, hose free and felt liberated.

Why am I sharing all this?

Because I want you to know the journey of stepping out in spite of being afraid.  I am guessing you are afraid just like I was to step into your true potential.

I hope this letter inspires you and gives you confidence to just do it anyway.

A friend of mine, Ray Zahab from Impossible 2 Possible says “Limitations are 90% mental and the other 10% is all in your head.”

Get out of your head, into your heart and live that life you desire!

 

If you would like to see more photos of the fun that we had at the eWomenNetwork Conference, check out the eWomenSocial Advantage Facebook page!

 

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11 Jul

Face to Face Matters

By Lisa In Blog, Business, Client Experience, Easy User Tips for Social Media, Entrepreneur, Fav, Featured, Featured, Leadership, Marketing, Networking, Social Media, The Social Business Academy /   No Comments

Social Media has made it easy for us to keep connected to the people who matter and enables us to accumulate an audience full of people we may or may not know.  One thing is for certain—Social Media will never replace the value of meeting, connecting and networking with people live.

Face to face interactions are critical for relationship building.  I am amazed by how many people think they can replace this just by using social media.

You can’t hug someone on social media.

You can’t clink glasses and say “cheers”.

You can’t share a really good belly laugh.

You can’t have a really intense, life changing conversation.

You can’t pick up on body language and facial expressions from a picture alone.

You can’t always get the right vibe through Facebook.  (Trust me, I know women who have accepted friend requests from other women who turned out to be men, and we won’t even discuss the “normal” person who emailed me and asked me to send him pictures of my feet.)

Tears, laughter, smiles, hugs, shared stories and vivid eye contact taking in another person’s every word can never be replaced by Social Media alone.

But Social Media can take a connection that might have only lasted a brief moment in time to a relationship that spans decades.

I know this to be true based on friendships I have formed with individuals I might not have had the ability to stay connected to if it were not for Facebook.

I love Social Media, I can probably give you a list a mile long as to why.  But one thing I know for sure, you need quality one on one face time with people in order to strengthen and build relationships.  Your soul needs it too.

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10 Jul

Shop Talk – Are you Scaring away Potential Clients?

By Lisa In Blog, Business, Client Experience, Easy User Tips for Social Media, Entrepreneur, Featured, Featured, Human Resources, Leadership, Marketing, Networking, Shop Talk, Social Media, The Social Business Academy, Work Life Balance /   No Comments

On my way to the eWomenNetwork Conference on Sunday, I sat next to a top level executive who works in investment banking. Our conversation quickly turned to Social Media and how it can make or break a job offer, and gain or repel your next client. I had an epiphany when we were talking that I absolutely had to share with you–just in case you might be doing this.

You can’t afford to miss what I am about to share with you–I mean it. I want you to keep your customers and get your next job, no questions asked.

Are you with me?

 

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27 Jun

15 Ways Mercedes Nails Client Experience

By Lisa In Blog, Business, Client Experience, Entrepreneur, Featured, Featured, Human Resources, Leadership, Marketing, Networking, Sales Models, Social Media, The Social Business Academy /   1 Comment

Do you remember your first car?

Mine was a Chevrolet Chevette. It was red, it was old, it was ugly, and I wrecked it by driving too fast, losing control, and submerging it in a pond when I was 19.  Back then, I had very little appreciation for cars, speed, or safety and to be frank, I am lucky my desire to drive fast did not harm me or someone else!

Later that same year, I got transferred to Mississauga to work at Square One for Fredelle Shoes as the Assistant Manager and because they thought I was a big shot (not really) I got to spend a month at the Novatel Hotel for free while I searched for a place to live.  Every night I would walk back to the hotel from the shopping centre and I would see this black Mercedes and I always thought… some day.

Fast forward 23 years and the time has come for me to get my own.  I picked up that car on Tuesday and I was struck by the experience that Mercedes creates for their clients.  Yes it is a luxury product but I have bought other luxury items with far less appreciation for my business.

There are 14 little things that they did that really impressed me overall.  I think there is much to be learned as business owners from this experience as every time you interact with a client or a potential client you are creating the experience of your business.

  1. Every person working in the show room was professionally attired, friendly and made eye contact with me.
  2. Each individual I was introduced to extended their hand out to greet me and repeated their name, smiling sincerely.
  3. Upon arriving, my car was in the middle of the show room so it was the first thing I saw when I walked in.
  4. I was offered coffee, juice or water when it was time to fill out the paperwork.
  5. The office I sat in was super clean and organized, there was not even a garbage can in sight.
  6. When they drove the car out of the showroom they sounded a bell to congratulate me on my new car.
  7. The gas tank was full, car was clean and sparkly.
  8. The salesperson paired my iPhone and demonstrated how to use voice controls for navigation and phone calls so I could drive safely.
  9. The vehicle came equipped with a charger for my phone, that automatically picks up and plays my phone’s music
  10. They took the time to point out the important things like the spare tire, hidden basket for grocery shopping, divider for pets, and a first aid kit which comes in every Mercedes.
  11. They threw in extra bonus items that I did not expect like floor mats, and a coat hanger for the back of my seat.
  12. They complimented me on my new car and let me know that I had made a great choice, and thanked me for my business.
  13. They offered to take a picture of me picking up my car.
  14. They gave me my keys with fun Mercedes bling attached! (very girly, and I like it!!)
  15. There were no glitches – everything went exactly as it should, all my expectations were surpassed.

Each one of these things on its own might not be a huge deal but when you combine them all together and couple that with my desire to drive a Mercedes since the tender age of 19, they made quite the experience for me.

What can you learn from this in your business?

Do you pay attention to the details?

We all need to pay attention to the details, every one of them in our business because it is the details that create the experience.  It is the experience that creates the word of mouth marketing, and in this case, world of mouth marketing because I have already shared the pictures of my new car everywhere I can think of!

I’d like to thank Leslie Mise, the Sales Manager at Ogilvie Motors Mercedes Benz for fantastic service!

 

 

 

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20 Jun

Social Media as Judge, Jury and Executioner

By Lisa In Articles, Blog, Business, Client Experience, Easy User Tips for Social Media, Entrepreneur, Featured, Featured, Human Resources, Leadership, Marketing, Networking, Social Media, The Social Business Academy, Training /   5 Comments

This weekend a Radiohead drum tech lost his life in a tragic stage accident.  His name was Scott Johnson and I would first and foremost like to offer my sincere condolences to his family for this loss.

This accident sparked a lot of conversation and debate online in the Social Media space due to a couple of things which happened that maybe shouldn’t have.

Live Nation Ontario, the concert promoter, tweeted to inform people that the show had been cancelled.  Then, half an hour later, a scheduled tweet showed up, encouraging people to share their photos from the concert. That was when Twitter became a flurry of activity.  UnMarketing wrote a blog with all the details here.

Live Nation Ontario is being widely criticized on two fronts:

First, they scheduled a tweet and then someone forgot to edit the scheduled tweet after the accident took place. Once they realized what had happened, they deleted the tweet.  Then, Live Nation Ontario failed to address the error in sensitivity.

The second issue people were complaining about was how Radiohead expressed themselves on Twitter.  Someone died (at this point the public did not know who) and they tweeted “Due to unforeseen circumstances tonight’s at downsview park tonight has been cancelled. Fans are advised not to make their way to the venue.”

Lisa Larter - RadioheadTweet

This was seen as insensitive because they failed to offer condolences on a life lost and many immediately complained about it on Twitter.

Seeing this, it struck me that, as a society, we might be expecting too much perfection from individuals who are trying to do the best they can. And, if you take the time to step back and analyze the whole picture, I think you just might agree.

While not an excuse for insensitive posts, Radiohead had only tweeted 87 times prior to this tragedy. I am actually a bit surprised that they Tweeted about it at all.

And while some may say, this was the official response from the band and you shouldn’t use Social Media if you aren’t going to use it “correctly” – I say “define correctly”. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on the definition of what is “correct” in Social Media. Personally, I believe that Tweeting about the death of someone in attendance at a concert (especially when it isn’t known who or how severely others are injured) could be seen as insensitive.

Live Nation Ontario was trying to be proactive and, in the face of tragedy, screwed up. There is no rule book that says, “when you schedule a tweet and there is an accident and someone dies, you must log into Hootesuite and remove all scheduled tweets.” Yes, it was unfortunate, but it was an oversight. I would hope that their minds were more concerned with what was actually happening and the well being of those in attendance rather than “what do we have in our scheduled Tweets?”

There is also no law that says scheduling tweets is a crime. I know that many in the industry think it’s bad business, but at times it just makes sense. And this is one of those situations. Live Nation handles thousands of events each year. It makes perfect sense that they would schedule some Tweets in anticipation of those events. I would go so far as to say it’s “good business”.

No one can see the future and you can’t plan every single aspect of your marketing around every possible scenario that could take place. No matter who you are, big or small, you can only do so much and you (or the person Tweeting for your company) are human.

Dealing with these types of situations is new to all of us. Public scrutiny and backlash in these situations can, unfortunately, create more fear around doing Social Media the “wrong way” rather than more openness to doing Social Media to begin with.

I had a great conversation on Twitter with Hendrik Pape about this and he was the one who said “Social media is judge, jury and executioner”. He also raised some very great points about companies owning up when they make a mistake, silence should never be an option.  He said “Even experienced hikers hire guides guides for unfamiliar territory, Social Media may be easy, but it has it’s risks too.”

While I completely agree with Hendrik,  I am not certain that all crimes deserve the same punishment. I think we need to cut people some slack.

The problem with social media is, every action or inaction is documented and readily available for criticism. Once the criticism starts it sort of feels like you are damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

We must all remember that situations like this are the exception not the norm.

What’s your take?

 

 

 

 

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