SALES GUIDE Christopher Welsh The common mistakes made in sales come from the high-pressure, high-volume approach. In this approach, the customer is a 'mark' or a 'target,' only exists to hand over money to the sales rep, and is then forgotten. Another problem is the sales rep who gives up to easily. Consider the following examples. You are in a clothing store taking a look around, and... A salesperson walks up to you and asks, "May I help you?" You say, "No, I'm just looking." The salesperson nods his or her head and wanders off. A salesperson walks by and says, "Hey, that's a nice scarf you have there!", smiles at you and keeps walking. A salesperson is standing 20 feet away from you, notices you struggling with five different pairs of slacks and does nothing. You walk into the store and a salesperson walks up to you and blurts out, "You must be a SUMMER! Come over here, I have JUST the thing for you!" Which rep above are you most likely to complete your sale with? It depends, doesn't it? You might be in a good mood, ready for adventure, and number four is just the ticket. For me, number four would ALWAYS be a turn off. Number three I would go to if I had no other choice. Number one is what I expect; and if I was there to buy something, I would buy just what I needed from this guy and go home. Number two, however, would probably get me to buy a tie with my shirt, or some socks with my shoes. I would go looking for number two. Even if number two didn't up-sell me, I guarantee he wouldn't make me feel bad about it; and the next time I needed a shirt or shoes, I would probably go back to that store hoping to run into him again. Anyway, the idea is a casual, professional approach—a meeting of equals. There is no need to beg or borrow, and there is no need to try and dazzle with fast talk or fancy words. You will probably have a few different types of prospects. If you have an analytical type, they might want to be in control, they might want to change the pace of your presentation. Let them. As long as you are providing the information they need to conclude that they must advertise with us. If you have a results-oriented client, you will want to talk to them about what we can do for them, perhaps offer some examples of types of ads that would work in our magazine. As far as the flow of the presentation, that will be up to you. I will include the things you must cover. If you are an expert on these topics, then you can go into a meeting with a loose plan and be ready to adapt if you need to. FOR EXAMPLE: PRICING You will need to understand how the pricing works, be ready with the discounts and specials, etc. Don't worry if they want prices up front. Just be ready for their possible reactions. "Oh, that's too much!" "I'd like an opportunity to show you how this is a small investment compared to the extra business. We will put your ad in the hands of 20 thousand college men age 18-35, and all of them are local to you." (Just an example of a rebuttal) THE [MAGAZINE] BREAKDOWN This is what we are about: The Indispensable Guide to the College Man. Girls, Games, School, Sports, Gear, Career—you name it, we cover it, all of it local, relevant, entertaining and informative. This is what we are bringing to the readers. Not only will they eagerly look forward to the next issue, but they will keep the one that has YOUR ad in it around for a long time to use as a resource (reviews on the schools in the area, in-depth reporting on college majors, resume and interview tips, etc.). [MAGAZINE] QUALITY 80-plus pages of meticulous reporting, humorous observations of local events and personalities, gorgeous college women, sharp fashion advice for men and more—all on 60-pound paper stock, with a beautiful cover on 80-pound cover stock-higher-quality paper than most national magazines. The [MAGAZINE] ADVERTISER ADVANTAGE This is the ace in the hole. What we are offering you is the chance to advertise in a magazine that is a keepsake, that is put together and delivered with a quality that meets and exceeds national standards—at a local magazine price. THE PROCESS We are a digital, electronic media company and prefer advertising that is in that format (on disk, etc.). You can download a copy of the ad mechanicals from the ads web site. If a client does not have their ad in a digital format, we can convert it; however, there would be a charge. Also, if the client wants us to create an ad, we can certainly do that, but that is not included in the sale. In other words, in either case, call us and we will work out a price. We hope to have this hammered out shortly. THE DISCOUNT For now, the discount exists, but we have changed our approach. The places you have mentioned can afford full price. Pitch the full price. Go through the presentation. Build your relationship with them. If they are not committing to a sale, ask why. If it is price, try this: "I would hate for the price to keep us from working together. What would you say if I can work something out with my manager? A discount of some kind?" (Take 30% off the rate sheet's price). By the way, don't push the two-color price. We decided we are doing only four-color and black-and-white.