The Market-Savvy Salesperson -- Part I
Posted on Friday, September 29, 2017 at 11:43 AM
Sales pitches backed by market expertise can be more productive than
plain old sales banter.
By William Dunkerley
"How's
the market?" When I ask advertising salespeople that question, most tell
me about the ad market they're selling to. That's a natural answer.
After all, for them the market is the advertisers and prospective
advertisers they're selling to issue after issue. The salespeople tend
to know that market pretty well.
There's another market, though,
that is often neglected. It's the market their customers are selling to,
i.e., the advertiser companies. I find that too many ad salespeople have
only a superficial knowledge of that one.
What about your sales
team? Do they fully appreciate what your advertisers are up against? Do
they have sufficient insider insights to make compelling sales pitches
that will outshine those of competing publications?
Preparing
Staff for the Market Analyst Title
In the previous issue of
STRAT, I floated the strategy of calling ad salespeople market analysts.
Advertiser prospects will believe they have more to gain from talking to
a "market analyst" than a plain old sales rep. The former has something
of value to offer; the latter is just after the advertiser's money -- at
least, some would think.
To capitalize on the "market analyst"
strategy, of course, your staff will have to live up to that billing.
They'll have to be experts in the marketplace your advertisers are
selling to.
I've seen a number of examples of salespeople who
don't measure up to that standard, not by a long shot. Here are a few
stereotypical categories:
"Let's make a deal."
This person tends to rely on discounts, special positions, inserts,
etc., to make a sale. That's good to the extent it brings in ad revenue.
But the approach often leaves the advertiser without a conviction about
the functional value of advertising with you. And that leaves you open
to competitors that can either make a better deal or demonstrate real
value in advertising in their publications.
"I'm your pal."
This variety of salesperson makes great headway by befriending the
advertiser on a personal basis. They establish good person-to-person
rapport and promote positive chemistry. What's the problem with that?
There are two. As with the "let's make a deal" approach, it can leave
the advertiser with no strong belief in the efficacy of advertising with
you. And the other problem crops up when there's a personnel change,
either on the advertiser's end or on yours. When the personal
relationship goes away, so do the ad orders.
"Buy and I won't
pester you." Believe it or not, this approach can actually
work, too. I remember one publisher telling me a story about a
hard-to-sell advertiser. His salesperson was extremely persistent in
contacting and re-contacting the advertiser, usually with the same old
sales pitch. Finally the advertiser called the publisher and said,
"Look, you can have my advertising now, but just keep that salesperson
guy away from me." Persistence is certainly a positive attribute for any
salesperson to have. But racking up sales just by being a pest will not
produce an enduring relationship.
There's far more to be gained
if your sales team can materially help its prospects with market
expertise. How can they acquire and maintain that expertise? Won't it be
hard to be a step ahead of the advertiser in understanding his own
market?
Surveying Your Advertisers to Boost Market Expertise
One
way I've found to be successful is by conducting research that will
produce information and insights no individual advertiser will have on
its own.
Here's an example: Most areas of business experience
some degree of seasonality. An advertiser is probably well acquainted
with its own slow and peak periods, but the overall industry trends may
be elusive.
You can acquire that data by surveying your
advertisers. Ask them to tell you what percentage of their revenue comes
in during each month. If you offer confidentiality to the advertisers,
you'll find that a sufficient number will cooperate with this research,
especially if you promise to share the aggregate results with them.
Allow them to submit their data anonymously, and to let you know they've
done so separately.
Putting the Data to Work in Your Sales
Force
What use is this kind of seasonality data?
The
value is that it tells the advertiser when it's best to step up ad
placements and when it's okay to stick to the regular schedule.
It
is pretty widely accepted that advertising in peak seasons, i.e., when
consumers are active, is going to produce superior results. And if
advertisers get better results from advertising with you, it should put
you in line for more of their business.
Here's a hypothetical
chart that shows the seasonality of the revenue received by companies
that advertise in a particular field:
Sixteen-month seasonality of revenue.
You can see that
there is a peak that straddles the first and second quarters. The trough
comes around December. Note that the chart shows actual data plus a
smoothed curve. Smoothing makes it easier to observe trends.
This
kind of information will allow your sales staff to speak with greater
authority. They can use it to seasonally up-sell existing advertisers.
And the data can be instrumental in creating an imperative for new
advertisers to come into your book.
There's more that can be done
along these lines to position your ad salespeople as trusted market
analysts with valuable information and advice. We'll pick up on that
next time.
William Dunkerley is principal of William Dunkerley
Publishing Consultants, www.publishinghelp.com.
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