Cutting ad rates often is a tricky game

Cutting ad rates often is a tricky game

Although many publishers don’tread more…

SALES ADVICE – Understanding the customer is key to building the right ads

SALES ADVICE – Understanding the customer is key to building the right ads

E ven in today’s amazing technread more…

Let’s go to the movies for creative advertising

By Bob Berting, Berting Communications

When a movie turns out to be good or bad depends on a variety of things depending on the director, cast,  music, and editing. This principle applies to  successful advertising campaigns which encompass strategy, execution, marketing, creativity, graphics and copy. Let’s look at instant recognition and customized imagery. A basic principle of publicity for movie stars is to make them instantly recognizable. This principle applies to creative advertising, by a distinctive layout style, use of typefaces, unique style of art, use of color or some element that is dramatically different from the competition, which is customized imagery.

In the movies, there is a theme that needs to be established at the start of the film. In a display ad, there is an optical weight of the ad, which in effect, sets the stage for the reader to be motivated to continue reading—in effect like the early movie theme. This optical weight is the upper left hand quadrant of an ad. Creativity can start in that quadrant namely with a well designed logo, the start of a provocative headline, a dominant eye-catching graphic and possibly spot color. It’s not easy to create an award winning movie. It’s also not easy to produce an award winning ad campaign. The key is for the advertiser to tell the story of his or her business.  This story is the movie about their business.

What should publishers look for in a sales training program?

By Bob Berting, Berting Communications

A new wave of sales training programs is bombarding the newspaper industry. Although most of them are well structured and are developed by sincere people, they miss the mark of what advertising salespeople need to develop in a profitable clientele for them and their publication.

The major drawback is that the sales training experts who write and present these programs many times have little experience in the newspaper business. A great majority of them have either an overwhelming background in electronic media –or they are internet gurus who have never worked in the newspaper industry. The material covers such topics as interviewing skills, needs analysis, quantifying measurable value, post sales analysis, etc. These are all good but unfortunately can apply to almost any type of salesperson and hardly focused on the specific needs of a newspaper advertising salesperson.

The other aspect of this type of sales training is that the emphasis dwells on step-by-step procedures based on classroom theory rather than actual field experience. The thrust of these programs deals with an information gathering process which develops into a feedback phase, which leads to positioning the value of the product, to achieve the goals of the prospect. After the prospect is led through this process, an action phase creates the sale. Again, note the informational process can apply to a broad area of selling and not targeted to the newspaper advertising salesperson.

What makes a good advertising sales training agenda?

1.    Self Motivation and intensive self confidence
All the sales training in the world won’t help if advertising salespeople have poor attitudes and have no desire to improve themselves. In many cases there is an order taker syndrome rather than an advertising counselor reality.

2.    Understanding media competition
In today’s selling climate, a good advertising sales counselor must know their media competition and how to outsell it. A good training program will show the advantages and disadvantages of other local media.

3.    Plans, packages, and programs
The ability to present long range programs and effective campaign packages is of paramount importance. Most media buyers want plans, packages, and programs which require creative thinking and extensive demographic evaluations of their market.

4.  Creativity
The ability to create great ads which are part of a continuing program is very important. A good advertising counselor knows how to design  eye-catching ads, write exciting copy, and put everything together for a long range program, which basically tells the story of the prospect’s business.

5.    The newspaper website
Although having a great website is very important, there should be a balance between the print product and the online product. If dominant ads are the case for the newspaper , they must be emphasized on the website also. Vertical banner ads on the website are preferred  over repetitive smaller unit ads which fade away with time.

Most merchants today have endured the slick sales approaches and know all the ploys and step-by-step selling procedures. What they want are advertising salespeople who can help them solve their marketing problems, not just spend their budget…salespeople who really know advertising strategy…salespeople who know how to develop the image of their business effectively. This is where a sales training program conducted by experts who have extensive newspaper advertising sales experience can really help.

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