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Month: November 2017

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

So, You Say Your Company Wants an Entrepreneurial Culture

Anyone who owns or manages a business or organization can say they want their employees to be invested in the company’s mission. They can say they want to hire natural entrepreneurs. Of course, it is doable to hire the crème de la crème. Aside from entrepreneurship college graduates, you will find and interview people whose core values exhibit those of self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, imagination, and responsibility, but your company environment is what will either keep or frustrate those bright-eyed new hires. It will be impossible for them to identify with the company’s goals without the proper environment.

It can be quite the paradox. Job security is a top-priority item for all employees, but for those who are met with office politics and petty status issues, job security can become the only reason to go to work. How can these people be imaginative and empowered at work when they have a career to worry about? Before Barefoot Wines was conceived, Michael was a government employee. He was motivated, like most college grads, to be productive and move forward in his field. But the negative office environment gave Michael a wake-up call. He did not want to become an employee who was detached from his actual job, only going to work because it was his duty to show up. From then on, he was determined to avoid working for any such organization.

In part, Barefoot Wine is due to what Michael learned from his stint with the government. As a company grows, it is further and further removed from accountability for the customer experience, and sales. Any employee may think, “Sales is someone else’s responsibility. I’m going to get paid regardless.” This leads to people becoming comfortable in their specialty. Why does their individual job matter in terms of customers and sales? This thought process is even worse at the governmental level, where many are so detached from customer responsibility.

Simply put, sales is the foundation from which entrepreneurial culture grows. If two people start a business together, they both know that sales need to happen to guarantee them a job the following day. As the business grows, new departments develop, and the two owners are not as close to sales as they once were. Here, you can see how easy it is to lose an entrepreneurial culture. Maintaining an entrepreneurial culture is more important than building it! As a company grows, compliance and fear can replace productivity and sales. Employees are no longer dedicated to responsibility, ownership, and empowerment—their basic checklist is simplified to attendance and status.

So, before you interview and hire for people who are natural entrepreneurs, you must first make sure your company environment will keep them there. Whether it is a startup or an established company, it is essential for any organization to create a culture of acknowledgement, respect, ownership, and enthusiasm. Always keep the customer experience first in mind. This, instead of organizational politics, must be most important.

Get in tune with the company’s foundation and what got it all started—sales. Sales must be the motivational factor that drives and fosters a proper entrepreneurial culture. How can you maintain a proper environment if you’re out of touch with your core goals? When your employees understand that they are appreciated and are capable of making a difference, they will be devoted to delivering the best customer experience!

For more, read on: http://csnetworkadvis.staging.wpengine.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

 

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

Overcoming the Leadership Gap

Leadership or rather a deficit of available, competent leadership has risen to become one of the most pressing talent challenges faced by global organizations. Deloitte University Press stated, “nearly 9 out of 10 global HR and business leaders (86 percent) cited leadership as a top issue.” This, coupled with the widening gap between organizational leadership needs and leaders available to meet those needs indicates what many of us already know, most companies have been unable to successfully develop their current leaders as well as build an effective leadership pipeline for the future.

Many organizations propose leadership training as the recommended solution for this problem (and trust me, I am all for leadership training), but I believe that ignores the core leadership deficiency in most organizations. Before training, must come selection and most organizations do a poor job of selecting leaders.

Most supervisors and managers are promoted first and foremost because of their technical skills and often that is the source of the problem. Starting with first time supervisors, many are promoted for the wrong reasons and this is the source of the problem. Many supervisors become supervisors because they were good at their previous position. If they worked as customer service representatives, they stood out as customer service representatives. If they worked as engineers, they were stood out as engineers. If they were sales people, their sales were above average.

But there is an inherent problem with this: The skills necessary to succeed in a leadership, supervisory, or managerial role are completely different than those necessary to succeed in a non-managerial role. Yet, as people’s roles travel from contributing to leadership, the skills necessary succeed go from technical and specific, to tactical and social. Where as a contributor, the ability to handle specific task, may have been critical, as a leader the ability to motivate and instill vision within people is an absolute must.

Although the ability to perform is an absolute must when looking for candidates who can take on greater leadership responsibility, data shows that high performance does not equal high leadership potential. CEB, a member-based executive team advisory company, says that just one in six high-performance employees also exhibit the attributes that indicate leadership potential. Research from the Corporate Leadership Council of the Corporate Executive Board indicates that only 15% of high performers show high leadership potential. There are many other surveys that have produced similar results. The bottom line is clear, being a top performer is not an accurate indicator of leadership potential.

Many organizations never consider this when promoting people into leadership positions. Instead it is assumed that because they excelled beyond their peers, they should be promoted above their peers, yet in reality many of these new leaders do not posses the skills needed to succeed in management. For these individual, the words of Marshall Goldsmith ring true, “What got you here won’t get you there.”

Unfortunately, most organizations have no alternative method of rewarding their top performers. There are many who are subject matter experts in their field, who in the best interest of everyone involved should remain as such. But too often, the only way to work your way up the ladder and increase your compensation is to take on a supervisory role.

Let’s use baseball as analogy to show how unreasonable this really is. Let’s say that a baseball team has an all-star catcher. This catcher is the best player on the team. No manager in his (or her) right mind would entertain the idea of moving that catcher to the first base in the name of upward mobility (on average 1st basemen make approximate 74% more than catchers). That would be a horrible idea, but unfortunately, in the workplace it happens everyday. Lineman are moved to receivers, catchers are moved to first base, centers are moved to point guard, and left wings are moved to goalie, and the team suffers.

Not only is this not in the best interest of the organization (we need more people who really know their areas of expertise inside and out and who love learning more about them), its’ not in the best interest of the people they will attempt to lead. And many of these individuals end up resenting their new roles and miss being “in the trenches” of whatever they were doing before. But what are they going to do, turn down the opportunity to be more highly compensated for what they bring to the table? Stall their career path because there is no alternative?

Organizations must decide to choose potential over performance as a basis for leadership selection. In addition to this, an alternative career path needs to be developed that rewards high performers who are not capable of effectively taking on leadership roles. Until this occurs, we will continue to see a shortage of effective leaders.

 

Categories
Entrepreneurship Marketing Personal Development

The 3 Fundamental Abilities Entrepreneurs Need to Succeed

We see it all the time—entrepreneurs become fantasized with their products, and they believe that their ideas alone will make them a riveting success. Tons of great products waste away in warehouses, never seeing store shelves. Founders of start-ups resort to working for their investors, or even worse, closing their doors for good. Their dreams have crumbled, and they’re back living with mom and dad. They’ll ask themselves: Why? Because they didn’t master the three fundamental abilities of a successful business.

  1. Distribution Management: Before your product gets to your customer, you have to get it to market! This is commonly overlooked, but it is perhaps the most important skill a new product creator can have. They are blinded by their product—they think that if it is good and priced right, it will sell. But people want to know why they should carry your product—not why you are selling it. Sales managers want to know how your product will boost their sales numbers, and salespeople want to know what the incentive is. Why should it be stocked on the shelves? And how fast will it turn? Your customer cares about price and quality. Sales managers, salespeople, store retailers, and clerks do not. But, if you don’t meet their needs, your product won’t make it to market. Your product is not nearly as important as its distribution—it can’t sell if it’s not there!
  2. Cash Flow Management: You have to pay your bills! And if you can’t, there are two options: Raise money, or close your doors. But, how do you expect to pay your staff without sales? Many companies attempt to get financing to take care of that, but they may be financed and even refinanced before they can make up the overhead. In this case, they rely on continuous new investment to keep above water. There are a couple of solutions. First, you could make sales your top priority, and sell as best you can in a small territory. Then, use those proceeds to finance growth. Or, you could form tactical relationships with your buyers and vendors. If a vendor trusts you, they’ll help you make ends meet by extending your credit. A buyer who trusts you will pay in cash in order to get discounts, which helps you pay the bills.
  3. Personnel Management: Getting help isn’t easy, but you need it! One of the most valued skills of a successful entrepreneur is hiring the right people. But even when you find the perfect employee, you still have to incentivize, inspire, and properly train them to want to do their best. It’s a lot to ask for, but it is essential to your success. Even creating a compensation system that works can take years of failed attempts. Start with the basics—we suggest you create a bonus structure to ensure sales, development, and profitability. Make sure everyone agrees on the specifics, and make sure they understand how their jobs will contribute. Give a quarterly bonus to each employee, no matter their duties, so everyone feels like they’re on the same team. This builds a foundation for positive company culture.

These 3 fundamental abilities could differ from company to company, but they typically follow the same pattern. Master these proficiencies, and your great ideas will have a better chance at success!

For more, read on: http://csnetworkadvis.staging.wpengine.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development Women In Business

Intentions: Your Key to Empower Mindful Leadership

Mindfulness grows as you practice in little bits each day. Just like a bodybuilder doesn’t become lean and muscular in one session, a mindful leader must continue to work on the seven practices we’re introducing in this series. This week, keep practicing your centering breath and beliefs work, we will add a new mindful practice: intention.

Intention is becoming clear about what you energetically want to have happen. I like to think of it as where your head goals meet your heart of action. For example, I intend for this experience to be educational and fun—intention adds a feeling to your goal. We live in a feeling universe, but all too often our human experience does not embrace those feelings. Mindful leaders choosing to live mindful lives make time to set powerful intentions, feelings for the life they want to live. They do this one day, one experience at a time. It’s even more critical we do this as we face the business, often mindlessness of the holiday season.

Mini-Practice As you look forward to the upcoming holiday season, pick one event and ask yourself, what is the intention for this? How do you want to show up energetically to that event? Office parties be a good one to try intention setting. Maybe the family holiday meal? What do you want to have happen or to feel as a result of the experience? What do you intend for this holiday season? The words above can help you get started.

The practice of setting intentions will help you align your goals with your feelings and to those of the universe around you. And you may be surprised how often you get what you intend.

AFFIRMATION:  I intend to experience ease in all I do this holiday season. I release stress and receive mindfulness.  

 

Mindfulness matters, HD

Holly Duckworth, CAE, CMP, LSP, is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and coach for mindful leadership. I work with stressed-out leaders to create profits, peace, and presence.

Categories
Management Marketing Operations Personal Development

Eliminate Customer Complaints… Switch Things Up!

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results,” is a very famous quote by Albert Einstein. If you’re doing something and getting a negative result, it’s probably time to switch things up.

In other words, “Stop it!”

This quote reminds me of a video I saw once on YouTube, called “Stop It!” It features comedian Bob Newhart as a therapist. In the video, a patient comes to see him and explains a recurring fear, of being buried alive in a box, that she thinks about all the time. Remember, this video is meant to be funny. The simple solution he gives her is, “Stop it!”

We can say the same thing about customer service. There’s an exercise I sometimes do when I’m presenting on service where I ask audience members to tell me some of the common complaints they hear from customers. I then ask these same people how regularly they hear these complaints. I am amazed (not in a good way) when they answer saying that they hear some of these complaints daily. Some even say that they hear them several times a day! This is when it’s time for me to share the secret solution. I become serious, look at the audience, and say, “Are you ready to hear the solution?” I pause for dramatic effect, and then I say, “Stop it!”

The seriousness ends when everyone starts laughing. They laugh because they know it’s never that simple. If it were, they would have solved the problem long ago. Even though this is a joke, it is a set-up for a very serious conversation on how to eliminate, or at least minimize, the problems that are causing these complaints.

Is it a common occurrence for us to bother our customers with policies, rules, or processes? Just remember that there’s a good chance that there are more people with the same complaints than just the ones you are hearing from. These people simply aren’t letting you know about it.

When it comes to hearing complaints from your customers, the statistic most commonly shared is this: in an average business, for every complaint you receive, there are 26 others who have the same complaint, but choose not to tell you. Even if that stat is only half true, that’s still a lot of unhappy customers. And these are unhappy customers that you don’t even know about. You think they are happy because they don’t complain to you, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. They may choose to never do business with you again. Can you afford to take that chance?

Sit down with your team. Talk about the common complaints you get. Then, get to the root of it. What is driving that complaint? There is always a way to make it better. Bad things that are happening over and over again simply shouldn’t be happening over and over again. So… Stop it!

 

Categories
Leadership Marketing Personal Development

Do Your Employees and Consumers Share the Values of Your Company?

These days, it seems like every company has their values plastered on a wall plaque for all employees, vendors, and consumers to see. Within these values, companies typically proclaim their morals and principals by way of truthful, positive terminology—words such as “integrity”, “morality”, and “honesty” can commonly be found. While some companies talk about equality, operating for the greater good, or even improving the world around them through these values, people reading that plaque will not be satisfied by such broad terms and goals. Employees and customers need to know that a relationship with your company is simply the right move.

It can be tough—many companies try to avoid political issues to maintain their core values. It’s in their best interest to stay “safe” as to not appear one-sided. Once any issue, no matter how basic, becomes politicized, it is then considered a “political issue”. If a company has some employees whose loved ones would be affected by deportation, for example, they still may stay silent since it is such a sensitive issue.

Can a company really claim they are environmentally friendly if their products are packaged in non-recyclable plastics? Do they exhibit good character if they have a large carbon footprint? Actions speak louder than words. If your company’s actions do not exhibit the same values as your company’s words, it will be tough to justify. You don’t want to be forced to take a stand on an issue where you seem two-faced.

Taking sides is risky, no matter how ethically “good” or “bad” the issue may seem. We made a decision to publicly support such groups whose intentions were considered to hurt the economy. These non-profit conservation groups included The League to Save Lake Tahoe, an anti-water pollution group, The Surfrider Foundation, who cleaned debris from oceanic waterfronts, and the Mono Lake Committee, who supported Mono Lake and Mono Basin’s restoration. Their mission meant a decrease in the greater LA Metro area’s water consumption.

The above issues were “political issues”, and we were told not to take a stance one way or another, no matter how unethical we thought either side was. During the AIDS epidemic of the early 90s, we publicly supported the LGBT community. This time, too, we were warned not to choose sides.

Our risk paid off. History wound up being on our side, but these groups also became promoters of our brand, not to mention devoted customers. Of course, with such a risk, we suffered some backlash. However, over time, the “opponents” on these issues eventually changed their views as they became more knowledgeable. Even if there were some people who didn’t share our views on these marginalized issues, any new product needs customers. Those who stood by our “political views” formed the foundation of our consumer base. They saw us as early supporters.

At the end of the day, as a new business, we couldn’t afford to play it safe. If your company doesn’t speak up about issues concerning race, sexuality, or anything that makes someone marginalized, are you sticking to your core values? Could you confidently say that this is good business? Think about your company’s values. Do your actions reflect them? Etching them on a plaque will not help potential vendors, employees, and consumers understand your true mission, but your actions will. They will want to know whether or not they share your values.

Now is a better time than ever to take a stand on issues that are important, not only to your consumer base, but also to your employees. Why risk losing them, and why risk losing business? Keeping silent will not give you an edge in competition. Taking a risk and taking a stand by addressing “political issues” will show customers and employees that your company truly exhibits its values. What are you waiting for?

For more, read on: http://csnetworkadvis.staging.wpengine.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

 

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Skills Technology

The Importance of a High Performance Cybersecurity Team

In this six-part series I am going to address five pillars for creating a high performance security team. we are starting at a high level in this article and then each week I will go into more detail on another pillar.

Because cybersecurity professionals face a lot of adversity and burnout it is incredibly important for their leadership to understand what it takes to create a high performance security team.

If you are the type of leader who is striving to make big things happen for your organization, protect your organization’s data, and possibly create a competitive advantage through security, a high performance security team is the answer. If you are reading this and you don’t have a security team at all, then forming one or bringing in security consultants is the place to start. As you build that team you can incorporate the lessons from this series in order to build a high performance team from the ground up.

High performance teams in general get more done with less effort and with better results. They have less drama and more creative ideas. A High performance security team is one of the cornerstones of your competitive advantage because when you have rock star security talent that isn’t going to leave, you have something your competition probably does not, which puts you in a leading position.

You are probably intimately familiar with teams that are not high performing from your own experiences throughout your career and so am I, that is why I wrote The Corporate Detox. Therefore let’s dive right into the signs of a high performance team because so you can start focusing on what you want vs. focusing on what you don’t want.

The signs you have a high performance team:

  • Team members genuinely like spending time together and trust each other
  • Everyone is working towards a shared goal and vision
  • Projects are completed on time and on (or under) budget
  • Assigned roles are based on individuals strengths and interests
  • Team members communicate with each other and with you (their leader)
  • Everyone talks about what is working and what isn’t working
  • During brainstorming sessions no idea is ridiculed
  • Everyone is encouraged to participate in discussions
  • Feedback is provided in real time and in a constructive way
  • There is no finger pointing or blame when things don’t go as planned
  • Roles and accountability are openly discussed
  • No one is “just hanging in there” and counting down the days until Friday

If your security team is missing some of these signs, it’s okay, you can turn it around, and I’m going to provide you a roadmap to do this. In this series, each article will discuss one of the five pillars of not just high-performance teams, but EPICC high performance teams:

EPICC Teams are Engaged, Productive, Have Integrity, Collaborate and Communicate.

Now between reading this and next week’s article, I encourage you to conduct a review of your current security team. How many of the signs that I described in the above checklist can you say your team embodies? How many need a little work? How many are non-existent? Don’t pad your answers; be honest because this will help you focus on what you want. When you see areas that you are not happy with you will better know what changes you need to make.

Sometimes it’s easier to identify what you don’t want in order to more clearly identify and define what you do want. In looking ahead to next week’s article in which we will discuss the first pillar, Engagement, start to think about the times you have been most engaged and the times you have been least engaged at work.

In the meantime you can always reach out to me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com to discuss this topic, security teams, or security strategy. If you enjoy podcasts you can listen to C-Suite Results Radio to tap into the wisdom of other successful business people who know the path you’re traveling.

 

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

5 Signs Your Customer Service Might Be Lacking

Take a look at your business. Do you suspect your customer service needs improvement? If so, there’s no need to panic. If you can recognize where your organization is falling down, you can implement the necessary changes to fix things. To get you started, here are five signs that suggest your customer service might be lacking:

1. Consistent Customer Complaints (even if there are just a few)

Statistics indicate that just 4% of dissatisfied customers actually complain about a poor customer service experience.  Just because you’re not receiving many complaints doesn’t necessarily mean you are providing good service. The question is one of consistency. If you receive a consistent stream of complaints, even if the volume is relatively small, take it as a warning sign.

Also consider that complaints presented to the front-line staff may never make it to you or your management team! A complaint is a gift from a customer who doesn’t want to just leave and never come back. Treat it as such by establishing guidelines that guarantee all complaints make it to the top.  Be open to complaints and then learn from them.

2. Loss of Long-Term Customers

Long-term customers leaving on a regular basis could be an indication that you have a real problem.  Once a relationship has been developed between a company and a customer, the likelihood of retaining that customer increases. Yet when customers who would normally give you the benefit of the doubt take their business elsewhere, it’s probably due to your service or the lack thereof. Statistics show that 68% of customers stop doing business with a company because of the attitude of an employee. What kind of attitude do your employees have?

3. Few Repeat Customers

One and out is not a good business strategy.  Loyal customers do your advertising for you; they represent your largest profit potential. When customers routinely go elsewhere after their first experience with your company, you have to look for the reasons. What are they experiencing with your company? How are they being treated?  Make them feel like they are your only customer. They will come back – and tell others about you too.

4. Poor Employee Morale

If your employees are dissatisfied, your customers will be too. Unhappy employees make no effort to make customers happy. That’s just the way it is. For the record, poor employee morale is not a result of poor customer service. It is the other way around. The solution is to model the behavior you want your employees to demonstrate. Treat your employees well and you will be teaching them how to treat your customers well.

5. Employees Not Empowered to Handle Problems

Everyday customer concerns should be handled by the person serving the customer. The customer doesn’t want to wait to get issues resolved. If your employee is not empowered to make a $5.00 decision without consulting with a manager, you have a problem. Do you want to save $5.00 or save a customer? Hire employees with the right attitude who have confidence in the decisions they make. When they keep the customer in mind, they will make the right decision.

If your customer service is lacking due to any of these five issues, what are you doing about it? Ignoring the symptoms and pretending nothing is wrong isn’t going to make the problems disappear. Remember this: if you suspect your customer service is lacking, you can almost guarantee that your FORMER customers agree!

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Personal Development Women In Business

Expert Advice on How to Negotiate With a Bully

 

“To be fearless against a bully display what he fears.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

 

“Expert Advice On How To Negotiate With A Bully”

Follow this expert advice to negotiate with a bully.

  1. Differentiate between a bully that may be controlling versus bullying. Some people don’t see themselves as bullies. They may be the type that likes to be in control of situations and display overly aggressive means to maintain that control. The two perspectives possess different mindsets.
  2. Identify the personality type of the bully you’re negotiating with (you’re always negotiating). Thus, even in your first encounter with a person (and after that time), you should assess that person’s traits, demeanor, and characteristics. Doing so will give you the insight needed to formulate a negotiation strategy.
  3. Determine the best environment to negotiate with a bully. He may be stronger in one environment as the result of resources surrounding him or those he has to ‘save face’ for; this may also tend to make him cockier than he’d normally be. If that’s the case, get him out of his environment; this should be done physically and/or psychologically. In doing so you’ll dilute his psychological powers and weaken him mentally in the process (i.e. power is perceptional).
  4. If addressing a bully on a one-on-one basis doesn’t achieve your objective(s), marshal forces to use as leverage against him. Depending on the situation, let those that he has more respect for take the lead on your behalf; never let a bully know how strong your forces are. You must be prepared to send in a second, third, fourth, etc., wave that’s stronger than what preceded it. For maximum effect, the timing of your next foray should occur just when the bully thinks he’s squashed your best efforts. In normal situations, over time you’ll wear the bully down and he’ll acquiesce to your wishes. Be mindful of the bully that won’t acquiesce over a period of exhaustive negotiations when forces have been marshaled against him. You might be dealing with a bully that’s willing to destroy himself for the sake of denying you any kind of victory. To prevent from making too many concessions, establish exit points that indicate when you should depart the negotiation. Always be mindful that, the longer you stay engaged in a negotiation, the likelier you are to make concessions to your disadvantage. This is due to the psychological need to see the negotiation to its end. This could be to your severe detriment.
  5. Once you’ve achieved your objective(s), over a period of time reengage the bully from a polite perspective and observe how he interacts with you. To the degree the relationship is important to you, be prepared to let him win an encounter, but never let him bully you again. Your prior actions should be engrained in his mind to the point that he’d not want to experience the prior encounter that you two engaged in.
  6. As further insight into the affects your engagement has had with a bully, note how those closes to the bully engage with you after an encounter. Their actions will allow you to assess the degree of sting that still resides in the bully.

Bullies only pick on those that they perceive to be weaker than themselves. Don’t let a bully perceive weakness in you and he’ll have no target to attack … and everything will be right with the world.

What are your takeaways? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

Remember, you’re always negotiating.

#HowToNegotiateBetter #HowToNegotiateWithBully #PreventBullying

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

14 Power Facebook Tips to Build Your Brand and Business

If you are not using your personal Facebook as a tool to build awareness for yourself or your company’s brand, you are missing out on arguably the world’s most powerful, free marketing tool.

Yes, I did say “free.”

Facebook is used by more than half of the world’s online population, and by the end of 2015 it had more than 1.5 billion monthly users. In addition, the average smartphone user spends one out of every five minutes on Facebook. AOL had a dream to monopolize the Internet in 1985. Facebook has realized that dream today.

“I have a business page and my personal page is for friends and family.” Well, it’s time to start using your personal Facebook to build your brand, business and awareness. There’s Snapchat, Whatsapp, and a host of other fun platforms to interact with friends and family.

Your business page can sometimes be effective but since these pages are a major source of revenue for Facebook, it’s difficult to get a lot interaction on them without paying a lot. Spending $100 in Facebook advertising to get 2000 views (what value that has is unclear), 27 likes, and 6 clicks is not worth it. Facebook decreases the organic reach of posts on these pages – they are like playing the slots at a casino: you always hear about someone who walks out ahead, but the house wins 97 percent of the time.

The good news is that your personal page can get a lot of attention if you use it right – and it is free. Here are 14 Facebook tips, that will maximize your reach, likes, and interactions, which will drive awareness to you and your business.

1. Be Professional

Your Facebook page should look serious and be representative of your brand, business, or whatever it is you want to promote. Do not post things you wouldn’t want co-workers, customers, or suppliers to see. You don’t want to alienate or turn off potential followers. As a rule, don’t ever make a post about partying, drinking, or anything vulgar. One off-putting post and you will lose a friend or follower — and you won’t even know it.

2. Smart Security

Allow your posts to be publicly visible. Nothing your posting should really be private and you want as many people to view your posts as possible. At the same time, go to the setting: “Who can add things to my timeline?” and set to “only me.” Turn on approval of all tags before they appear on your timeline. You don’t want other people’s thoughts on your wall and you don’t want to be tagged at the strip club — as someone’s joke.

3. Be Friendly

Friend people often and approve all friend requests from real people. Like any social-media platform, the goal is to have as many followers as possible, but be wary of fake accounts and decline those invitations.

4. No Politics

No one should be able to easily determine your political views. I always take into account what a potential customer, who is opposite of my political views, would think of my posts. If you need to vent, there are many closed groups on Facebook where you can.

5. No Whining and Complaining

No one wants to hear about bad service at the DMV, the traffic, the boil on your toe that burst, or how bad your life is. If I wouldn’t say it to a first date, I won’t post it on Facebook. Face your problems, don’t Facebook them.

6. Play Tag Fairly

It is appropriate and good technique to tag people who are in pictures or are with you at an event because it increases viewership and makes your post available to their followers too. However, do not tag people in posts that have nothing to do with them for the sake of getting their attention.

7. Rock Your Profile Picture

If your profile picture has you shirtless or is of you taking a selfie in a mirror, immediately stop reading this article and go change it. You look ridiculous. This is not LinkedIn, so you don’t necessarily have to have a professional headshot, but you do have to have an interesting picture. You want to have a picture that represents you or your brand and creates a conversation. The goal is to get people to interact with you anyway you can. Sometimes when I have little to post about, a change in my profile picture can generate a lot of interest. Here’s an example of how I worked a post with my profile picture.

8. Like a Lot

The more you like someone’s posts the more of their posts you will see — and they will see more of your posts. When you pass by a post and don’t click “like,” Facebook thinks you really don’t like that person’s posts and will stop showing them to you. I like hundreds of posts everyday (unless I really don’t like it). I also don’t stand on ceremony — even if someone doesn’t like my stuff, I’ll like his/her posts anyway. It’s good for me.

9. Like Comments

Like every comment on your posts. If a person took the time to comment, you should acknowledge it because it builds interaction and rewards him/her for doing so. He/she will be more likely to interact again and Facebook will be more likely to show them your posts. The goal is to get as many likes and comments on a post as possible.

10. It’s a Happy Birthday

Wish every friend “happy birthday.” I do it as my morning ritual. It’s a chance to increase interaction with friends and see what they are up to. Sometimes it even reminds me that I need to contact them for some business or personal reason.

11. Always Post with a Picture

Never make a text-only post. Picture posts get much more attention from the viewer and Facebook promotes those posts more. Even if it’s just a holiday wish to your Facebook friends, make sure to use a picture. As an example, here is my Thanksgiving post, which is just a simple statement, but the picture sends it big.

12. Instagram Is a Post Booster

When possible, post a picture on Instagram and click the “share to Facebook” button. Not only does it give your picture two chances to get noticed, Facebook promotes Instagram pictures more than pictures posted directly.  And you have the ability to edit the post on Facebook later, adding comments and picture tags. A recent picture I took in Seattle, is a great example of this technique.

13. Timing Is Everything

The timing of posts is crucial because Facebook promotes your post to more of your followers  if and only if it gets likes and comments quickly. This sometimes requires trial and error to see when your followers react best. Posting business related posts late at night is a sure fail. Similarly, making a post that is more personal during the middle of the work day is not going to be effective either. I have had a lot of success with posting late afternoon and early evening on weekdays and mid-afternoon on weekends. Avoid posting anything business related in the hours before a holiday begins.

14. Be Interesting and Informative

Content is king. A post that says, “It’s hot out” is not going to get the same viewership and interactions as one with a cool picture of an egg frying on the hood of your car. Similarly, a post that tries to sell a product is a no-no. You can tell about the features of a product or service without obviously selling it. Every post you make should be thought out carefully on how it will build your brand and increase interactions — and keep your friends wanting to see more from you. Use humor when appropriate because making people laugh always draws them to you. Finally, don’t be overly narcissistic. My rule is for every self-promoting post, I also try to have a few posts that make fun of myself. You want people to like you.

These 14 tips will get your posts more likes, comments, and shares on the largest social platform on earth. You will be creating an image of yourself, your brand, and your company that people are attracted to. That is what any good marketing campaign should do.

Facebook is free and now you know how to use it. So what are you waiting for?