Basic Training for Newspaper Advertising Salespeople: Course Outline

Whether it's online, in document form, or on audiotape cassettes, this course is designed to provide your new hire with all the information to successfully take over a territory and begin selling advertising fast.

We know how time-consuming it is to train a new ad salesperson yourself, and most likely it's only one of your many management responsibilities. Even if you do have the time, sometimes you still need that new salesperson out in a territory and selling fast.

That's the idea behind this course--turn a brand new hire, even one with absolutely no experience, into a seasoned, savvy newspaper advertising salesperson quickly and inexpensively. As you'll see in the outline below, the course covers every topic imaginable, interjected with advice, tips, and tricks that only a newspaper advertising veteran can provide.

Here's an outline of the course:

Lesson 1: The newspaper's departments
Salespeople first get an overview of the newspaper to better understand each department and how the advertising department relates to each. Topics include:

-Editorial department
-Production
-Circulation
-Marketing/research
-Credit/Billing
-Advertising sales dept.
-Classified
-Retail
-National/Majors
-Sales assistants

Lesson 2: Getting to know your territory
Sometimes your first priority is just getting want a warm body out into that empty territory, keeping current advertisers running and getting advertisers who ran in last year's special section/feature/page running again this year. This lesson teaches salespeople how to identify and approach these accounts to maximize revenue from day one. Topics include:

- What to do first
- Learning about the territory
- Activity reports to look for
- Keeping current advertisers running

Lesson 3: Ad Layout
Even more important than selling skills at this early stage, the salesperson will need to know how to get these existing advertisers into the newspaper. The first step is learning how to put an ad together that will get in the newspaper correctly. Topics include:

-Ad layout
-The layout sheet
-Indicating copy and art
-The copy sheet
-Keying copy to layout
-Keying artwork to layout
-Acceptable artwork
-Scaling artwork
-Model release forms
-Proofs
-Credits and adjustments

Lesson 4: The rate card and contracts
In this lesson, salespeople learn the in's and out's of the rate card. It covers how to calculate rates based on various rate structures as well as explaining all the other issues that's discussed there. Topics include:

-Volume discounts
-Frequency discounts
-Combination discounts
-Modular rates -Contracts
-Ad agencies
- Other parts of a rate card
-Coverage map
-Readership vs. circulation
-Co-op information
-Color
-Electronic ads
-Deadlines
-Special section schedule
-Column widths
-Line screens
-Odd sizes
-Disclaimers
-What's acceptable
-Billing periods

Lesson 5: Reserving space
After salespeople learn how to lay an ad out and are comfortable with the rate card, salespeople learn how to reserve space, including all the stumblingblocks to watch out for. Topics include:

-The ad reservation form
-Salesperson and ad info
-Ad size info
-Co-op
-Group page
- Coupons
- Proofs
- Ad types
- Pickup ads
- Camera-ready ads
- Advertiser information
- Color
- Special instructions
- Position/special charges
- Credit hold

Lesson 6: Spec ads
Now that your new hire has learned to stabilize their territory, now they can learn more about how to grow their territory fast. Since spec ads (or visuals if you're from the U.K.) are the foundation of selling newspaper advertising, this is covered here. Topics include:

- Spec ad intro
- Information you'll need
- Securing artwork
- Determining ad size
- Elements of a good spec ad
- The graphic
- The headline
- Copy
- Logos, etc.

Lesson 7: New accounts
If everything goes well, your new salesperson will be selling accounts who haven't run before. This lesson teaches salespeople what's involved when their advertiser doesn't already have an existing account or needs credit. As with the rest of this course, we keep things general and direct the salesperson to ask how you deal with the specifics. Topics include:

- New account form
- Credit application

Lesson 8: Your various products, your competitors, and what's important
In this lesson, we explain what types of products they may be selling at a typical newspaper as well as typical competitors. Also, salespeople learn about demographics, circulation, and readership and other ways to evaluate and sell against each medium, as well as better communicate their own products' advantages. Topics include:

- What ad agencies look for
- Demographics
- Circulation/readership
- Possible competitors
- Dailies
- Weeklies
- Shoppers
- Your products
- ROP
- Special sections
- Preprint inserts
- TMC products

Lesson 9: More advanced approaches to managing your territory
In this lesson, salespeople learn solid territory management techniques with tips and tricks that only the most experienced salespeople know. We also discuss the pitfalls of territory management including not planning ahead, fear of cold calls, believing nobody wants to advertise, and not getting discouraged when everyone's telling them your rates are are too high. Topics include:

-Identifying best prospects
-Special section prospects
-General time management
-Special section approaches

Lesson 10: The sales call
Here's where we teach your new hire about how to approach a sale. We believe in the consultative selling approach where the salesperson first listens to the account's needs and then, often in a second sales call, the salesperson recommends a strategy based on those needs. All aspects of the sale is covered, including how to deal with the typical objections they're likely to face. Topics include:

-Introduction
-First sales call
-Second sales call
-Overcoming objections