CONTRACTS, NOT PAGES

The TRUE GOAL of ALL ad selling is to end up with a booking for a SERIES of adverts, not a 'one-off'.

If you sell for a magazine, paper or other serial publication, and you already know on Day One that you have sold 80% of the ads for the next issue .... how do you feel?

Great!

In truth, MOST publications have far less than 50% of their space pre-sold, so that they start Day One with 60% or more of the space still to be sold.

This makes EVERY DAY very STRESSFUL, as you strive to get in the new ads by the deadline.

But if your publication has over 75% of it's sales already made on Day one, and if YOU have already sold 75% of your quota on Day One ... life is FUN.

You do this by selling 'contracts' not pages. You sell a contract for a SERIES of adverts.

Mostly, you do this AFTER you've sold the first ad space to a client. They book one ad as a 'test' and take it from there.

Having got ONE ad out of a client, you leverage the time and effort you spent getting them 'onboard' by selling them again and again.

How?

By offering them DIFFERENT ad opportunities:

· Contracts, not pages

· Multi media -- especially the web

· Co-op advertising

· Calendar opportunities

· Remnant space

But first, you have to SELL them on the idea that their first ad was a success.

It may have been, or it may not have been. And most clients CAN'T TELL.

Why?

Because there are so many variables. The client is usually running ads in several places and media at the same time. And they usually fail to 'key' their ads .... so they don't know which publications worked, and which ones didn't.

[Direct marketers, who key their ads and COUNT every reply which they receive ARE able to judge EXACTLY how a particular publication performs. Fortunately, savvy direct marketers are few and far between ....]

Also, the COPY of the ad, and the OFFER which it makes directly affect the response. A lousy ad in your (terrific) publication will get a poor result. That's the reason the advertiser should TRY AGAIN -- with a BETTER ad.

So how does an advertiser, who has poor data on which to make their next purchasing decision, actually choose which publications to support, and which to drop?

They decide by choosing to work with the SALES PEOPLE whom they like and trust -- and drop those who make them feel uncomfortable.

Which means that YOUR Repeat Sales System is slightly different from your Sales Conversion Process.

It is a system of repeat contacts with each client which TELLS them that their advert was a 'success', REASSURES them that they made a good decision in using your publication, and OFFERS them some BENEFITS for repeating that decision and choosing you again.

All this is done with humour, enthusiasm, appreciation for the PERSON who booked the ad, and a light touch. They should LOOK FORWARD to your contacts with them -- not groan inwardly "Oh God! It's that XXXXing ad sales rep bugging me AGAIN!"

To achieve this you need to keep contact NOT just by constant phoning -- but by letter, postcard, fax, newsletter, email .... AND by phone (and visit).

And you need to have SOMETHING TO SAY.

In every contact you must say:
· How well the ad worked
· How OTHER PEOPLE are ALSO getting great RESULTS
· How pleased you are to have them as a 'valued' client
· Some NEW piece of information which INTRIGUES them

You also (every third contact) sell them on the idea that a series of ads is more than the sum of its parts. Six ads, one after the other have a CUMULATIVE effect and get better results than six random ads.

So it 'makes sense' to PLAN a campaign and agree a CONTRACT for that campaign.

While that campaign is running, you don't ignore the client. You keep in touch with the postcards, newsletters etc. -- but you don't have to ask for an order each time you call.

Your calls are 'customer service' calls. Much easier than selling calls. And if 75% of your calls are like this (and you use some of them to gather case studies, testimonials and referrals to new customers ....) how does that make your sales job?

What PROFIT does it bring to your publication? [MUCH more than new business ads. The 'cost of acquisition' of a new ad often eats up all the profit. The 'cost of acquisition' of a repeat ad can be nil. Pure profit.]

So the GOAL of ALL ad sales is to procure contracts not pages. You do this with a programme for staying in touch with everyone who has already advertised -- and the programme PERSUADES them to book again.

It consists of a series of TOOLS which can be sent out mechanically -- like newsletters and DVDs on how to sell more effectively with advertising -- but which keep your name in front of each client.

A selection of tools (such as tip booklets, newsletters, checklists for clients etc.) can be found in the member's area of the website.

In addition to these tools, and with the GOAL of securing a contract, you need to be able to OFFER something OTHER than plain vanilla ad space to tempt some clients into spending more money with you.

Offers such as:
· Multi media
· Co-op advertising
· Calendar opportunities
· Remnant space

MULTI MEDIA
Offer your advertisers "bonuses" when they sign up for a contract of several adverts. These bonuses can include:
· adverts on your website
· mailing lists for direct mail
· creation of brochures (using your editorial and art departments)
· Creation of CDs with their ads on them
· Reprints of articles to give away to their clients

You can charge money for providing these services (with a mark up to your publication) but by OFFERING them 'only' to 'special' clients -- who have signed contracts -- you make the client feel that you have their best SALES interests at heart, and tie them closer to you.

CO-OP ADVERTISING
Co-op advertising is common between local papers and local stores, whereby a store takes a full page advert and promotes several brands which they have for sale. Each of the brands that is featured pays a contribution to the cost of the ad.

This idea can be applied to ALL advertisers. If you have a THEME for a certain page (for example weddings .... you can have a full page ad which would include a hotel, a dressmaker, a flower shop and so on) then YOU can pull together several advertisers to share the cost of a page.

But this takes a bit of your time. So you should only offer to arrange co-op ads for clients who ALSO have signed a contract with you for a number of solo ads as well.

The co-op ads are a bonus you arrange (and charge for) as a 'bonus' to your 'best' clients.

CALENDAR OPPORTUNITIES
You know TODAY that how many weeks it is until the next school holidays, 'till next Easter, next July 4th, next Christmas.

You can have full page ads ready for each of these and offer space within each ad to your contracted advertisers.

It can range from a simple "All at XXX wish you Season's Greetings" to full colour ads with photos and special offers.

You can build in calendar opportunities to an initial contract (to sweeten it) or add them on later as an up-sell.

REMNANT SPACE
We all have remnant space at times. Usually it is sold for horrific discounts at the last moment to bottom-feeding clients who refuse to buy ad space at normal rates.

Far better to write into contracts that advertisers can have first call on any remnant space as a bonus for contracting for a series of adverts.

The remnant space can be in another part of the publication, or another issue, or a sister publication. The IDEA is to make the client feel special, to show that you are looking after their interests, and to get a better price for the remnant space than you do from the usual suspects who wait until one hour before deadline to make a deal.