10/27/2017

Peter Wagner's 'Get Real' column: Two high volume sales ideas for any month

By Peter W. Wagner

Creative House SALES IDEA #1

With the loss of many traditional local retail businesses, newspaper ad sales have shifted strongly to community support pages or promotions. Local professionals—from lawyers, dentists and accounting firms to privately owned garbage collection companies that might otherwise never advertise—would often buy community booster pages. These full-page or sometimes smaller ads promote and support everything from summer rec programs to Catholic Education Week. One recent and new support page success in my N’West Iowa REVIEW came from a suggestion made at our weekly sales meeting.

We’d just finished discussing that morning’s report of yet another shooting attack on a metro city police force. Without a moment’s hesitation, an inside sales specialist said, “We need to print a full-color page honoring our area law enforcement organizations.”

The idea received the immediate endorsement of our entire sales team, the creative department and management. Plans were quickly completed to publish the project that weekend. Working with the title Salute to Blue, we hoped to sell enough sponsorships to publish at least one, perhaps two pages.

When it was closed, the project did much better than that. We hadn’t taken into consideration the strong emotional connection our advertising base had regarding the nationwide anti-police attacks. In just three days, our inside sales team sold four full-color support pages that each produced one and a half times what a normal full color page would bill.

Sales hints: Remember, you’re not selling ‘sig’ or signature ads. You’re offering local businesses and professionals the opportunity to be part of “a community support program.” Also, your community support pages will sell easier and be more effective when you use the advertiser’s logo rather than just set the sponsor’s name in type.

Creative House SALES IDEA #2
SALUTE TO WOMEN

This sales idea can be used to introduce a regular schedule of business sections or simply be published as a one-time special section saluting women in business in your community.

At the N’West Iowa REVIEW, we include a special business section in our weekly paper six times a year. The advertiser base includes area banks, financial advisors, insurance firms, office supply companies, trucking companies, caterers and regional economic development groups, to name a few.

Our most successful issue is our annual Twenty Under Forty section saluting up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Recently, however, we experienced fantastic sales numbers with our new Salute to Women in Business issue. The editorial material focused on six N’West Iowa business women and the contributions they are making in business and in service to the community. Reader satisfaction in the selection was apparent in the many positive comments posted on our Facebook page.

Advertiser support was exceptional. All of the ads in the section were sold modular in eighth-, quarter-, half or full-page sizes. Both black and white and process ads were offered, but most of the ads were purchased in process color. All of the editorial material was printed in process color. The featured business women were independently selected by our editorial department.

October’s sales tip

Newspaper sales professionals shouldn’t be reluctant to call on difficult customers. Businesses want to advertise but many don’t know how to advertise, what to advertise or when to advertise. Others simply don’t have the time to prepare their ads.

That’s where a well-trained, committed, newspaper sales professional comes in. If the print salesperson makes significant face-to-face calls, has the courage of his convictions, is ready with creative ideas and up-to-date market information, provide competent service and shows appreciation for the orders received, he or she can excel beyond expectations. The secret to really understand and believe in the publication and to share that belief with enthusiasm.

Peter W. Wagner is publisher of the award winning N¹West Iowa REVIEW and 14 additional publications. He is a newspaper industry "Idea Man" and noted conference trainer. Peter will present two new programs "Building a Better Community” and “It’s Classified” at the New York Newspaper Association Fall Conference in Buffalo on Saturday, September 16th. He can be contacted with questions or comments at pww@iowainformation.com.