Mark Deo's Latest News

Thanks to Dale Carnegie of Hawaii

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:39:00 +0000

Thanks to all the talented salespeople in Honolulu for attending the recent sales success program!

Are You in a Dip?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:53:00 +0000

You have to check out Seth Godin's new book. It is pure genius. You know how it goes, often new project (or jobs, or hobbys, or companies) start out exciting and fun. Then get harder and less fun, until it hits a low point-really hard, and not much fun at all. And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you're in a Dip-a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try. What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt-until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. Check it out at The Dip

Let Your Customers Buy

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:07:00 +0000

Most salespeople refuse to do the hard work that makes selling easy, They do the easy stuf0f, which makes selling HARD! How do you let them buy? Ask more, talk less, be friendly, use tasteful humor, know your client’s motives, talk mostly about their desired OUTCOMES, not your company, product features or service benefits. create attraction by writing about timely relevant stuff, maintain a current Internet/social presence, Be a valuable resource to your clients and prospects. When you do this you will find you don’t have to resort to selling because you will be attracting qualified buyers. Yea, selling requires work because we are not really selling... we’re LETTING THEM BUY!

The Risk Adverse Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:32:00 +0000

I know that these days it is more difficult than ever to encourage team members to take some calculable risks. Even leaders and managers these days are hesitant to encourage risk-taking of any kind. And even the most committed employees are having difficulty balancing their professional and personal life so risk taking is on the bottom of the list. Technology seems to have placed GREATER demands on our time and face-to-face relationships are more important than ever. The current economic and social pressures seem to be pulling at one another. Add to that the generational differences and managing risk, productivity, satisfaction and engagement is a double-edged sword for many leaders. In such a risk adverse environment how can we encourage team members to take risks?

I wanted to take this moment to mention that it is our duty as managers to help our team members to make the best decisions in terms of risk tolerance. This almost always means that we need to KNOW their personal goals, circumstances and current challenges. Often managers and leaders shy away from asking too many "personal questions" or challenging team members to take risks. This is particularly true in rabid HR compliance states like CA and NJ. Let me just say the consequences of taking NO RISKS is even higher. Just as critical, consider the dis-service we are doing for our employees when we avoid this kind of discussion or back-off challenging them.

Here is an article written a while back but discusses this in greater detail. Hope you find it to be valuable. Risk Taking Culture

What's Really Effective in Sales?

noreply@blogger.com (SBA Network) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:48:00 +0000

Next Monday I'll be doing an interview with Morrrie Shechtman, author of Working Without A Net and Fifth Wave Leadership, about this very subject. We'll discuss a study of over 6000 salespersons in 100 different industries, and the conclusions it draws about different sales styles and their effectiveness. This show will be available Monday, December 5th at 4 PM Pacific Time at www.smallbusinesshour.com.

If you missed my show last week, you can also catch a great interview I did with Lloyd Chapman from the American Small Business League. He is one of the few true small business champions out there that has no political agenda, other than to see the government stop giving our tax dolars to giant corporations, and instead to do business with actual small businesses. His lawsuits have forced the federal government to release data showing that they have never met small business contracting mandates. We discussed why politicians from both major parties talk a good game about small businesses while actively working to make things harder for the little guy, and what you can do about it.

If you have any topics you'd like to hear me discuss on future shows, please let me know. Thank you, and have a terrific weekend!

Co-creator of ACT! to appear on the Small Business Hour

noreply@blogger.com (SBA Network) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:01:00 +0000

I just wanted to let you know that this coming Monday, October 24th I'll be interviewing Mike Muhney, the co-creator of ACT! We'll discuss ways to create lasting relationships that go beyond basic on-line connections. Tune in at www.smallbusinesshour.com on Monday at 4 PM to hear this show.

We also recently interviewed Steve Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible about creative ways to fund your small business. You can browse our library with highlights from our years on CBS Radio and our last two years of online exclusive shows on our website at www.smallbusinesshour.com, or find us on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-small-business-hour-as/id332118693

I hope you can tune in, and if you have any suggestions for future topics for the show, please send me an e-mail to let me know.

Factoring replacing traditional funding

noreply@blogger.com (SBA Network) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:09:00 +0000

Today I was quoted in an article in Bloomberg Businessweek on factoring as a method of funding for small businesses. Unfortunately, many small businesses find themselves forced to turn to factors for funding. Here is my quote from the article:

Mark Deo, Torrance (Calif.)-based executive director of the consulting firm Small Business Advisory Network, says many entrepreneurs he consults with have turned to factoring, not only because they lack access to credit but also because they are having problems getting new business. “Factors are oftentimes the only source of funding for desperately needed cash, but it is very sad that business owners who have worked for years to build their businesses are entertaining factoring just to fund new purchases, equipment, or improvements,” he says.

You can read the full article here. Leave me your comments on factoring below, or send me an e-mail with your thoughts.

Jobs Bill No Win for Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:06:00 +0000

President Obama recently gave his address on jobs to congress, and it seems the solutions he's presenting are more of the same that we've seen from the Bush and Obama administrations. What the president and congress seem to not understand is that funding, regulations, and taxes are not the biggest problems for small businesses, a lack of customers is!

It's not surprising, considering the fact that the president’s council on job creation is helmed by CEOs and board members of fortune 100 companies, with a token member who runs one of the largest labor unions in the country. There is ZERO representation from small businesses.

Large businesses have essentially created zero net new jobs over the past decade- almost all new jobs in this country are being created by small businesses, so why aren't the president and congress listening to those who actually know something about job creation?

If they say that it's too hard to find small businesses that are qualified to be representatives, that's a problem that has a solution. Every year the SBA gives out awards to honor the best run small businesses in America- there are regional, state, and national winners for these awards (and in 2003 I was named Small Business Journalist of the Year for California.) Why not tap these business owners as a resource to give input on how the federal government can help small businesses?

While I don't claim to have the answers to the problems our economy faces, I do know what the problem is. Let's end the focus on tax cuts, regulations, and funding, and focus on the real issue- getting more business!

The Impending Grocery Strike Could Devastate Innocent Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (SBA Network) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:23:00 +0000

Grocery store workers in Southern California have authorized a strike as part of their labor negotiations with the management at Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons. Whether this leads to an actual strike or if it is just used as a negotiating tactic remains to be seen, but what we need to consider are the ramifications for small businesses that rely on supermarkets as anchor stores and those who service these markets.

Below is a press release I recently issued on this important topic that as of yet has been ignored by the press.

If your business relies on a supermarket for much of its business or as an achor store driving traffic to your location, please let me know by e-mail. Even if the rest of the media ignores this story, I will do my best to publicize this issue.

Innocent small business owners and employees in Southern California have a lot to lose from an impending grocery store strike, says small business expert Mark Deo.

With a strike authorized by the United Food and Commercial Workers becoming increasingly more likely, it is important that small business owners that have locations in shopping centers anchored by Supermarkets prepare now for the potential drop off in foot traffic.

The last major supermarket strike/lockout in 2003 cost the grocery stores $2 billion in business and many workers lost their life savings. What is often unreported is the drop off in business that the thousands of small businesses that rely on these stores incurred. Businesses that provide products for sale to supermarkets lost hundreds of millions in the last strike, and so did those merchants that have storefronts in areas that rely on supermarkets to drive traffic.

"If negotiations break down between workers and management, a strike could occur at any time" says small business expert and author Mark Deo. "It is important that business owners prepare now for the drop off in business they are likely to suffer"

He offers these five tips for business owners that may face difficulties:

Create an emergency fund. To help you get through unexpected drop offs due to strikes, natural disasters, or other uncontrollable issues, save some money when sales are good. By committing a small amount per week to this fund, you can survive temporary reduced sales.
Get contact information from your customers. At your storefront, obtain as many e-mail addresses as you can from your clients, which will allow you to maintain contact with them in the event of a strike. You can then use this contact information to offer specials or other reasons to get them to your location in case you see reduced foot traffic.
Communicate with picketers. Meet the strike organizers at your location, and make sure that they understand that your business also needs access to the parking lot and driveways that are shared with the supermarket.
Ensure your online presence is ready. In 2003, many small businesses weren't engaging in e-commerce or had minimal online outreach to their prospects and clients. In 2011, most small businesses have websites, and you should make sure that your website is ready to sell your products online and accept payment in case you have disruptions at your location. You can also use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to reach clients and drive additional sales.
Improve your delivery offers. If practical for your business, offer to deliver your products and services to those customers that don’t wish to show up to a location near picket lines. A modest delivery fee can help to recoup the additional cost. You may also find that this winds up being a valuable addition to your business model.

With the threat of a strike looming large, it is imperative that small business owners prepare for the worst, or they risk being a victim of a situation over which they have no control.

About Mark Deo
Mark Deo is an advocate and expert with over 20 years experience helping small business owners grow their business. He has hosted a show for CBS radio and appeared on the Fox Business channel, and has written articles for and been quoted by Business Week, Entrepreneur, Fortune, CNN/Money, the LA Times, the Hollywood Reporter, and numerous other publications. Mark was the “go to” expert for small business fallout due to the WGA strike in 2007, and has become a media favorite. In 2003 he was named "Small Business Journalist of the Year" by the Small Business Administration, recognizing his work as host of “The Small Business Hour” on CBS radio. His first book, "The Rules of Attraction" was one of Amazon.com’s top 100 business books for 2009, and his next book, "This Isn’t Your Daddy’s Business Anymore" will be published in early 2012.

Real Leaders of the Free World… Unite!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:49:00 +0000

I am sick and tired of hearing about how we need to stimulate funding for small businesses. As if that will have any impact whatsoever! The last thing a small business needs is more debt! On the contrary they are attempting to pay off the debt that they currently have.

The problem for small business is NOT lack of funding, scarcity of loans or an inability to participate in the global economy. It is lack of demand. The plain, simple fact is that these businesses just don’t have ENOUGH CUSTOMERS because their customers just don’t have the disposal income that they once had.

I am not at all surprised that politicians and economists have misconstrued this for so many years. At first I thought they were just “dim” and unaware of the real challenges facing small businesses. Then I began to realize that I was dim! Of course they are aware of this. After all they are Summa Cum Laude Harvard graduates who spend much of their time sailing, playing golf and attending dinners with bankers, corporate lobbyists and foreign financiers. They could care less about small business. In fact small business just amounts to the fruit fly in their Mouton Rothschild!

Don’t you think it’s odd that in order to “save our economy” we used taxpayer’s money to rescue the banks and mega-corporations who were the very villains that brought about the real estate/mortgage debacle that tanked our economy?

OK, so now we face the national reported unemployment rate of 9.5% percent. Right?

WRONG!

Today many experts believe that the true unemployment rate is more like 25% or more! We need to include those people who are looking for work, underemployed, or who have given up looking. We all know that the government cooks the books to make it look far rosier than it is.

There are 28 million small businesses in the U.S. employing 83% of all non-government employees. Of these approximately 600,000 business owners employ 63% of the workforce. Can you imagine what would happen if they united? Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started listening to them? Can you imagine what would happen if we created laws, tax breaks and incentives for these, the real leaders of the free world?

I could. It would mean the end of the good days for the political, financial corporate big wigs that got us into this mess and the beginning of prosperity for hard working Americans.

Last on the List

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 01:52:00 +0000

Here’s a great rant, worthy of it’s intent by my friend Chuck Blakeman, gutsy small business advocate. Tune in to my upcoming interview with Chuck. More proof that small business is “last on the list” of the Washington agenda regardless of of partisanship.

“Talk to any banker who used to give small business loans, and they will tell you very quietly and in complete anonymity that the reason their lending standards are beyond the reach of most healthy small businesses is because the government regulators are putting such pressure on them that they can’t adopt REASONABLE (not loose) lending standards. The pendulum has swung the other way and guess who’s coming-up short!

Seventy three percent of small businesses who need capital haven’t even bothered to apply because they know it’s useless - 43% get rejected – astonishing statistics. The 25 biggest banks control 32 percent more deposits than they did in 2006, but made 30 percent fewer small business loans.

This is your small business advocacy in Washington. In case you wondered if anyone is looking out for you, the small business owner, on either side of the aisle or in any of the halls of the giant bureaucracies there, you might think again.

I’ve said this in dozens of places on the internet for three years – access to capital is the #1 issue for small business and has been since October 2008. #2 is predictability from our govt., and #3 is regulations that hurt small business and help the big ones. The SBA says the #1 job growth sector is businesses with 1-9 employees and the #2 job growth sector is 10-19 employees. Then they, the rest of the government, and the giant corporations who all got us into this mess, continue to use this crisis to help each other just get bigger. Expect large donations from giant corporations to both sides next year.

Small business doesn’t want a bailout. And I personally don’t have time for recessions – I have somewhere I need to be with my business. None of the above make it impossible to succeed, but it does make it harder. And when government proactively kills jobs and small businesses like the State Dept. did on July 15, that is interventionism in commerce that is unacceptable and needs to be addressed, even if the SBA doesn’t have the spine to do it (in case you wondered, the SBA isn’t focused on small businesses under 19 employees).

Caveat emptor – for too long we have bought that someone in Washington is looking out for us. Think again. You won’t get help and you don’t need it. You can succeed without their help; just know that they are not in Washington to make it easier for you, but to make it easier for themselves and their giant corporation donors. It’s time to expose the game for what it is, one “big” scratching the back of another “big”, all at the expense of 28 million small businesses and the American economy.

This isn’t a lack of courage to act. This is simple self-preservation at work – both bigs (giant government and giant business) will protect their “bigness” at any cost, even the worst recession in history. And certainly without blinking an eye at the demise of small businesses.”

Thank you Chuck. Let’s face it we’re last on the list.

Mark Deo

Cbeyond Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (SBA Network) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Thank you to all who attended my Cbeyond presentation. Here are the slides from my presentation, and please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or other feedback. Click the image below to launch the presentation.

Uping the Ante on Web Presence in San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Join me in San Francisco on August 4th as I visit with my friends at Cbeyond and speak on how to maximize our investment of time, dollars and resources aimed at improving our web presence, social media or on-line marketing. With assets being scarce we must carefully prioritize where we should invest our time and attention. Surely for those who sell their products on the Internet this is an easier question to answer. But there are some basic tenants to increasing the chances that our investment produces an appropriate return. This presentation does NOT focus on the technical “how to” but rather on the “why should we” and the strategic elements of re-engineering your web presence. We will discuss why improving your on-line strategy and making it consistent with your off-line efforts will build brand continuity. We will also look at how “directive navigation” and the aggregation of relevant, timely content will produce greater attraction and participation from your target audience. Go to cbeyond.com for more information.

Facebook has 750 million users.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:43:00 +0000

While most Facebook profiles sit dormant for months it is amazing that so many people are willing to at least give it a try. This tells me that many jump onboard with social media without first thinking about their goals. Our advice is to plan some reasonable outcomes before investing all the time and effort.

Why Business Don’t Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:58:00 +0000

In my opinion small businesses resist strategic planning not so much because they are immersed in the day-to-day tactical issues (which is true) but rather because of their lack of discipline. They have not seen a direct correlation between their planning efforts and elevated results. It is our responsibility as professional consultants to help your client see the tangible value of the time and effort they spent doing planning. This requires taking them back to look at specific decisions of the past and recognizing how valuable it was (or could have been) for them to gather information, analyze the facts and work with their people to plan the key steps of their approach and implement according to the plan.

Faster isn’t Better

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:04:00 +0000

What can we learn from NASCAR racing? Well I’m not a NASCAR fan, in fact I can’t name even one driver. But what I do know is that faster cars don’t necessarily win NASCAR races. Faster pit-stops do! I think we can apply these methods to running our business. Most of us, including myself can often be found running to and fro attempting to get as much of that proactive time as we can. Often we find that we barely have time to REACT to all the stimulus hitting us on a daily basis. But if we could just knock down the speed for an hour or so we may find that we actually discover a way to get more done faster without actually DOING it. Sometimes we have to LET things evolve before we jump in and hurry to fix what’s wrong!

Sully’s plane on the street where I grew-up

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:21:00 +0000

When I saw this photo I nearly fell out of my chair. This is the street where I grew-up in downtown Newark, NJ. Not something to brag about. It was good to see Captain Sully’s plane rolling down that street. If anyone is the picture of great leadership it is Sully himself!

Pacific Coast Leads Club

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Check out our weekly networking group, Pacific Coast Breakfast Leads Club at: our new sites:

http://www.pacificcoastleadsclub.com/

http://pacificcoastlc.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/pacificcoastlc

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pacific-Coast-Breakfast-Leads-Club/165457776851798

Building Bench Skills vs. Traditional Succession Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Fri, 27 May 2011 20:48:00 +0000

Traditional succession planning is often a waste of time. Let’s face it, “plans” themselves, although filled with good intention, often fail to create change in an organization. The idea of “planning” focuses on a process rather than a specific goal or outcome. Most company leaders that I know are so busy with the day-to-day issues of running their business that the idea of spending time thinking through a “process” often takes a backseat to critical items like customer complaints, new product development, making financial decisions, addressing employee requirements and more. Perhaps we need to think about succession planning more as a way to develop bench skills in executives with great promise. In other words, as a first step, we need to ask ourselves the question; “how do we help key leaders in the organization build the skills needed to step into critical future roles?” If we think about succession in this way there is a greater chance that these plans will be executed.

Successful Webinar

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:25:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who participated in our social media webinar. It was a rousing success. If you couldn’t make the webinar you can view the slides and listen to the audio right here.

Last Chance to Sign-up for Webinar!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Regardless of who you are, professional, executive or small business owner, the first place people will go to "check you out" is online. Particularly social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, Linked-in and others. What will they find? Who is responsible for your online reputation? You can take control without wasting time. By investigating as little as one hour per week you can begin to craft an online reputation that is both accurate as well as compelling. Learn how at our upcoming Social Media Webinar on May 6th, 8:30 am Pacific.

Corey Pearlman Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:03:00 +0000

I'm at the Corey Perlman presentation today. He is one of the world's experts in social media. I recommend checking out his website at http://theebootcamp.com/

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PR Blunders

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:44:00 +0000

I stumbled upon this very cool site about PR Blunders, Erica doesn’t skimp in brutal honesty but she is right on. There is nothing worse than a shameless pug that is dull, boring, in bad taste or completely irrelevant! Check it out here: http://ericaswallow.com/2011/03/22/worst-pr-pitches/

Advertising Isn’t Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:27:00 +0000

Advertising isn’t dead, it’s just changed venues. Small businesses control 83 percent of all local advertising — but that’s only because there are so many of them (15 million businesses in the U.S. ), not because they’re big spenders. The average small business spent just $11,740 on advertising in 2010, about $2,300 of it online. Small businesses are spending less on yellow pages, radio and print and more on-line particularly with their own web sites.

Proactive Customer Response

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Deo) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:21:00 +0000

A Dallas firm may soon replace traditional corporate call center operators with social media agents who handle Facebook, Twitter and more. By using high-tech web-scanning tools to monitor bloggers, YouTubers and Facebookers, Working Solutions home-based customer engagement agents have the opportunity via text, chat or Tweet, to handle angry callers or bloggers who want to vent. In business since 1996, Working Solutions’ makes your grandmother’s call center a thing of the past! This Dallas-based corporation provides more than 70,000 home-based customer service agents, trained to be proactive problem-solvers, to corporate clients who want to improve customer contact and reduce their costs. With agents monitoring up to 180 million unique websites and blogs looking for pertinent corporate names or terms, this service is a win-win for clients who also get a guarantee they will achieve an 8-14% increase in ROI while meeting or improving current service levels – or Working Solutions will make up the difference! On an upcoming Small Business Hour Show.