What's important to the reader?

I was helping a rep work out the copy for a customer's ad. The customer felt that the headline should tell readers "Family owned since 1949." The customer was very proud of the longevity of his business but is this a good lead for the ad? Do readers really care how long a business has existed? Will they look at the headline and think "So What!" or even worse think "They're probably out of date." An ad should speak to the reader and tell them how our customer's business can help them. Our job is to create the best ad for our clients. Sometimes we need to confront our customers and challenge their assumptions. Remind them that we are the advertising experts and that we know what we're talking about. They can still tell people they've been in business for 60 years, but they need to tell customers why they are better than the competition if they want to survive for another 60.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Are you a part of the business community

Since we cover the entire metro market, my company belongs to dozens of different Chambers of Commerce and similar local business groups. Some of our reps never attend, other religiously go to the meeting, eat the bad chicken and leave. Our best reps actively participate in these groups. They join committees and give some of their time to the organization. If properly used these memberships can can lead to some serious sales and referrals. If you are not participating, your membership dues are money down the drain. Sales is about relationships and working with people on Chamber projects is a great way to build relationships. Typically the people who get involved in these projects are the most successful, best connected persons in the community. Even if these people come from industrial firms that are unlikely to advertise a word from them will open many doors that may be closed to you. The key is to actively take part, showing up is not enough.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Quote of the week

"Optimists do not wait for improvements, they achieve it."

Paul Von Keppler

I like this quote because it is about "making it happen." Being an optimist is a lot more than believing that things will turn out right. Optimists roll up their sleeves and work toward making things right. Pessimistic people think that optimists are clueless, that they are in denial, that they are out of touch with reality. In truth optimists are true realists, they see the obstacles in their path but work hard to remove them or to find an alternative route around them.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim B.

"Vivid" Description

I am currently reading Dan Arieley's "The Upside of Irrationality". I have read some of his other books and I always find his information interesting and useful. In his new book he touches on two things which make messages memorable. Number one is the message should be personal, it should discuss a recognizable individual. We remember people, The second point is that the more vivid the description, the more memorable the message. Specific detail makes the story believable and burns the story into the listeners brain. So the best way to get a point across is to tell a detailed story about an individual.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim B.

The rolling classroom

As sales people we spend a great deal of our time in the car. You can put this time to productive use by listening to audio books in the car. Sales training legend Zig Ziglar termed this "Automobile University" I can listen to 1 1/2 to 2 books per week during my travels. About half of these books are sales/business related and the other half are histories or biographies (which also offer lessons for sales people. This means that I listen to 50 or more business books in a year. The old proverb knowledge is power is especially true in sales and this has helped me to become a better sales person and a better manager. I get most of the books I listen to at my local library though their are online book rental companies. As Benjamin Franklin said "An investment in knowledge, pays the best interest."

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Sellabrate National Coupon Month

September is national coupon month. With the change in the season and the back to school rush coupon redemption peaks at this time of year. This is a great time to run coupon sections or promotions. Remind your customers that most people who redeem coupons actually spend more than customers who don't. This is a great time for advertisers to ramp up their revenue.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling.

Thanks Jim Busch

What are you talking about?

There are 3 things that are generally discussed on a sales call, your publication, your customer's business and the customer's customers. Most sales people spend most of their time talking about their publication which I believe is a serious mistake. If you want to keep the client engaged, you need to talk about what interests them--their business and their customers. These subjects also should be of supreme interest to you, because we are there to help their business by attracting more customers. The more you know about these things the more likely you are to make a sale. Most reps spend most of their time talking about their publication because this is what they are most familiar with. You should only talk about your product in relation to how it can help the customer. The only thing the customer want to know about your paper is how it can help their business and solve their problems. Pay attention to what you talk about on a sales call and keep the focus on the customer.

Keep smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch