MY NEW FAVORITE ANSWER TO OBJECTIONS

For those of you who don’t know this, an objection on a sales call is just an excuse so the prospect can say no to you. They just don’t want to say yes. If they say yes it means they have to make a lot of changes (eg. Get you artwork, resize their ad, get credit approval at your company and worst of all tell the rep from the other magazine that they are leaving.) Nobody really likes changes because status quo is so much easier.  That is why you need to make doing business with your publication as easy as possible.

---

In the meantime, however, you are going to hear a lot of objections and it is wise to have an answer for them in advance so you are not stumbling for words on the sales call. I do a lot of sales training on answering objections and have fun with my clients creating great answers to all of their objections. I see an objection as an opportunity so I absolutely love them. I have an answer for almost every objection that I hear while selling ads for my magazine.

My new favorite answer to many objections (it obviously does not apply to all) is “Why is that a problem for you?” When you ask that question it requires a response and possibly will bring up another or the real objection. Let’s try this answer on a few common objections and see how it works.

Example One

Sales Rep: “Do you have any questions or concerns at this point?”

Advertiser: “Yes, your magazine doesn’t seem to cover products like mine very often”

Sales Rep: “Why is that a problem?”

Advertiser: “Because I’m not sure your editors think my products are right for your magazine”

Sales Rep: “Well we can’t possibly write about every product every issue but didn’t we already agree that my readers are your target market”?

Example Two

Sales Rep: “Do you think you’d be ready to advertise in our November special Buyer’s Guide?”

Advertiser: “No, I am in a contract with the other magazine”

Sales Rep: “Why is that a problem?”

Advertiser: “I don’t want to get penalized for canceling my contract early.”

Sales Rep: “Do you know what the penalty is?”

Advertiser: “No, I really don’t know, that wasn’t in my contract”

Sales Rep: “Why don’t you find out and I will make up for any penalty they may charge you, although in my experience, publishers seldom charge penalties. It would be well worth it because didn’t you agree that my magazine reaches your target audience more cost effectively?”

You can see how the question, “Why is that a problem for you?” helps bring up the real concern or the real objection. Try it. It really does help move the sales call along.

I’d like to hear from you about what some your favorite answers to objections are. You can email me at moreadsales@gmail.com.

Happy Selling!

DON'T JUST SELL PRINT ADS

The Publishing world is changing and advertisers are looking at several different ways to reach their potential buyers and the outstanding ad sales rep will have a lot of things to offer them. Although print advertising in magazines and newspapers will still be the basis for most marketing campaigns, adding other components to an integrated marketing program will allow you to bundle and give a better value to your advertiser. Some important things to remember in integrated ad programs:

---

1. Print should be the anchor which will achieve branding and high visibility

2. Online advertising is lead generation

3. E-Newsletters are great revenue generators and the readers love them

4. Events and trade show/conferences allow for face to face contact

By including all of these components in to an advertising proposal you are covering most every facet of your advertiser’s marketing plan. If you bundle them all together (with say a 10% discount off of everything if they buy it all) you will get all of their business and they will save money.

Advertisers are more and more concerned about ROI. If you can give them several different marketing/advertising opportunities at a bundled value, then you have helped them to reach their return much faster.

There are many more integrated components that you can offer including video, custom publishing, mobile banners, etc. I would suggest that you take a blank sheet of paper and draw your magazine in the middle of it. Draw lines from all sides of it and list all of the products you currently have to offer. Then add dotted lines to other products that you can create and sell. The more you have to sell the more you will sell. It’s an integrated world!

Happy Selling!

AD SALES MEANS KNOWING THE BAD GUY

In my work as a consultant it surprises me how many ad sales reps know little or nothing about their competitors. One of the most important aspects of selling advertising is knowing your competitors as well as you know your own magazine. This is especially important when you are trying to sell an advertiser who is running in the competition and not in your own publication.

---

You learn a lot about the competition by doing your research. You should have a complete copy of their media kit, their circulation statement, know their cost per thousand and know what specials they are offering each month. You can do these things by going to their website. If their ad rates or circulation are not on their site you’ll need to get creative. I have had a pseudonym at a “pretend” company at a PO Box for over 20 years. I am on the circulation list of all of my competitors and I get their media kit every year. Also since I am a “prospect” I also receive all of their promotional mailings and emails. And one of the most important things you can do is READ their publication every issue. Once you see what they are writing about you will get an even better idea of their position in the marketplace and can talk about that to advertisers. And of course it goes without saying that you look at the advertisers than run in the competition each issue. Those are your prime prospects!

I was consulting for a company recently who was having trouble getting advertisers interested in their publication although they had a very solid circulation that was audited. I asked them about their competitors and they gave me the names of those magazines but they knew very little about them. I started my research by calling the competitors (posed as an ad agency) and asked a lot of questions. I requested a media kit and three back issues. What I learned when researching these magazines was that my client had a much better story than any of the other publications. As it turned out they had more circulation, more data on their readers, lower cost, lower cost per thousand and they were the only audited publication. The problem is that none of the sales reps knew this. I developed their “lead” list from the advertisers who ran in the competition and not in their publication. We developed a sales story for each competitor and then trained the sales reps on how to make the call? What is remarkable is that in a few short weeks they have signed up a few new advertisers and have several in the pipeline for next year.

If you don’t know who you are selling against, how can you possibly sell against them?

Happy Selling!