The Real Reason Ad Reps Fail.

The first time I spoke to a group of ad reps, I learned a very valuable lesson.
I joined a group of reps for breakfast at the hotel. It was the wrong table. It was the bitching table.
For about half an hour, I got to hear how the company was doing everything wrong. Everything was either the company’s fault...or the customer’s fault. Oh Joy.
One guy said  “Customers don’t get this business. I was talking to an advertiser the other day, and he told me that the ad wasn’t making him any money. I told him that my job is to get the customer to his door. What happens after that is his business”. Then he looked at me and said “Right?”
I said “No. You can sell that way...but what if you designed an ad that actually made people want to buy his product? He would stay a client-for-life. You just need to see it from his point of view.”
He looked at me like was from Mars, and said “I don’t know what the hell you are talking about”...and he walked away. After the seminar, we shook hands...he wasn’t a bad guy.

Unfortunately, this guy was stuck in the “We sell ad space” rut. If you think that way, your career will be filled with cold calling, convincing people against their will, competition stealing your clients, and being perceived as a pest.. Selling will be exhausting.

This is why reps fail; Not seeing the advertising from the client’s point of view...not concentrating on helping the client sell more of his product or service. This “Us VS Them” attitude is still pervasive in all types of sales. It is perpetuated by people that don’t know how to sell.
Your client’s success is your success.
It’s still common for ad reps to do one-shot-selling. They show up at a business. Give a short presentation, and leave. The business owner either bought...or they didn’t. This actually has merit if you have an unlimited number of prospects, or if you are selling a special project and won’t be in the area long.  But it isn’t much fun.

What is your responsibility?
To make the prospect want to do business with you....and want to continue to do business with you.

You can find out more in my new book.  Selling Local Advertising

http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Local-Advertising-Insider-Secrets/dp/1481862596/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360180517&sr=1-3&keywords=claude+whitacre