Incentive - May 2008 - (Page 19)

COVER STORY Start With Objectives A bigger issue for media companies is that changing the way they sell ads involves changing the people who sell them. “The advertisers are the easy sell. The harder sell is the sales rep,” says Tampa, Fla.–based Mike Blinder, whose company, The Blinder Group, provides advertising sales training. “Any Local flavor: Winners of the KGO-AM team boogie down with the locals salesperson can sell anything if they’re motivated and they understand the products.” However, understanding those products is no longer a simple feat. “A local media company has been turned upside down, with the same team now trying to sell six or seven additional products,” says Bill Caudill, vice president of sales and training for Borrell Associates. To make matters worse, media companies struggle with pricing new multimedia offerings as well as with how to compensate salespeople juggling new sales goals with their existing loads. Although individual online ads usually cost less than a large print or television campaign, many companies offer the same commission rate across the board, while asking reps to increase their online sales. “If you pay the same commission rate on a lower metric display ad, the rep will say, ‘Why would I waste my time selling that?’ The commission has got to be higher,” asserts Caudill. Sales staffs are often left in the dark about how to prioritize their workload. Should they be up-selling Web products or offering them as standalones? Should they be pursuing new business or trying to expand existing accounts? Left to their own devices, many reps will naturally stick to the strategy with which they’re most familiar—the very kinds of traditional ad formats that are in shrinking demand. “Salespeople need to clearly understand both how they can contribute to the company’s overall success and if certain types of revenues or customers are more important to the company’s health than others,” says Smith of O.C. Tanner. Goodbye, Adman; Hello, Marketing Consultant To compete in the current market, some media companies are taking a more strategic approach to selling. In 2007, Borrell Associates surveyed nearly 1,000 newspapers with online presences and identified best practices that set apart the top performers in revenue (see sidebar). One key characteristic is that nearly all the most successful companies engaged in “consultative selling.” With this approach, reps do more listening than pitching during a sales call, and are able to advise an advertiser on a wide range of interconnected marketing strategies as well as give feedback on how current strategies are working. Used in tandem with other best practices, consultative selling can have a dramatic impact. At The New York Times Company, the sales force creates a completely customized advertising product for each client that might span several brands and media categories. Their online sales jumped 22 percent in 2007 over the previous year, although total advertising revenues dropped 9 percent. To adopt this consultative approach, salespeople often need to learn new skill sets and be educated in the merits of various products, as well as in the metrics and statistics that advertisers want. This means they need extensive, ongoing training, another hallmark of top performers. “Addressing an employee’s ability to improve performance in a task along with their willingness to improve is an often overlooked element that will enhance a program’s success significantly,” says Smith. At the Kansas City Star, one of Borrell’s market leaders, new hires receive targeted coaching on vertical markets, while all reps are expected to go through 40 hours of sales training every year, so they can stay on top of the latest information about their products. An effective rewards program can drive this transformation of a sales force, and media companies should be rewarding behavior, not just sales figures, Best Practices for Media Companies What makes a successful online strategy? As part of an annual survey, Williamsburg, Va.–based consulting firm Borrell Associates looked at the online spending and revenues of nearly 1,000 newspapers and derived a list of best practices that characterize the companies that rank among the top of their class. Top performers . . . Offer data on demand. The Web offers almost unlimited possibilities for reporting on audience behavior, and advertisers are increasingly hungry for that information. The salespeople at top-performing companies are equipped to offer compelling statistics on market demographics, click-through rates, page views, unique visitors and more. Educate continuously. Media salespeople need to keep up with the fast pace of technology, and this means they require ongoing training in the latest technologies, terminologies and data. Top companies require as much as 40 hours of training per rep every year. Skip the hard sell. The most successful sales teams use a consultative selling approach, in which the rep listens to the client’s particular needs and offers feedback and solutions, rather than pushing a hard sell. Stick to market rates. The leading companies have left off the practice of offering online ads as a value-added service. Instead, they charge market rates based on inventory. Source: Borrell Associates’ “Best Practices: Newspaper Sites,” June 2007 incentivemag.com | May 2008 | Incentive | 19 http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - May 2008

Incentive - May 2008 Contents Editor's Note: Turn to Incentives in Hard Times In The News: At IMRA Conference, Trade Show Talk; In Utah, Team-Building Trauma Cover Story: Can Incentives Save the Media Business? Incentive Interview: Our New Columnist, Christi L. Gibson Case Study: Architecture Firm WESKetch Builds a Recognition Plan Incentives in a Recession: Advice on Adjusting Your Plan Office Bullies: The Scourge of the Workplace Can Be Reined In Original Research: Incentive Sales IQ Report Recognition@Work: Stop Driving Your Top People Away Incentive Primer: Ways to Foster Creativity in Your Organization Travel News Puerto Rico: Shining Star's Trendy Makeover Mexico: Cancun and Cabo Still Have It Potentials Here and Now Luggage and Leather Goods Gift Cards: F&B Advertiser Index Last Word: Stanley Bing Gives Wimpy Bosses a Nuggie

Incentive - May 2008

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