The Advantage News

Closing business is the primary improvement most sales and publish- ing executives want to see in their sales team's skill set. There is now a program offered by Advantage Newspaper Consultants that delivers that message and much more. Beta tested in two US markets, the Sales Advantage System training dates are now live and ready to be booked. Dates are still available in Q4 2018 and into 2019. The Sales Advantage System is a building block approach for the media sales professional. The training focuses on organization, time management, appointment setting, presentation and closing techniques. "What makes the system unique is the application of the sales concepts used each day by our own sales team," said Al Getler, the program's developer. "While the concept of a Needs Analysis is great, most advertisers are busy and want an efficient process. That is where our system comes in." Sales teams are trained in two or three half days allowing the teams to engage in selling. The team also is urged to immediately put the Sales Training the Advantage Way training into practice. The Sales Advantage System is not theory, so the results are immediate. LinkedIn and social media image proved to be an area that the students in the beta classes wanted more information. Advertisers are using Google to check out sales reps before sales appointments as frequently as sales reps check out advertisers. "After the first day of beta training, the program was retooled overnight to address LinkedIn trends," said Getler. Another area addressed in the training is the use of testimonials and the use of video as a referral tool. Newspaper sales professionals must use the same tools their competitors are using in their daily efforts. Any gap in the understanding of present practices and tools puts them at a disadvantage. The Sales Advantage System will constantly evolve as a result. To bring the Sales Advantage System to your newspaper, newspaper group or company, contact Susan Jolley at 910-323-0349 or by email at susan@newspaperconsultants.com. "ANC's staff does a great job of coming into our market and helping drive the sales team to the program goal by the week, day and hour. The positive energy and constant sales pressure helped my team not only reach goal, but enjoy their time selling with the ANC staff. We have formed a relationship with Mitchell Lynch who has come into our market and so have our advertisers who have now been working with him for the past three years. One of the best perks is that the ANC sales staff handles all administrative tracking and forms, so having them come into our market is seamless. They come in ready to sell and are prepared within the first 15 minutes of sitting down; as a manager this is a huge burden lifted, as they truly take responsibility for their efforts in their entirety." Jenean Salle Kujawa, Advertising Director The Montana Standard (Butte, MT) CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING… The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ad sales team working on a group exercise. The Republican Herald advertising sales team discusses closing techniques during Sales Advantage System training.

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