“Good salespeople are hard to come by”, is probably the most common moan I hear from publishers.
But could it be that the problem lies close to home, that it’s as much down to the sales culture within an organisation as it is the skill set and commitment of would-be salespeople?
If salespeople are set unachievable targets and given no training, then, surprise, surprise, they’re not going to sell much.
Early in my career, I spent some time in a sales department selling on a holiday venues exhibition. I was given a list of phone numbers and told to get on with it. I don’t recall receiving much in the way of briefing beyond being given a printout of the floor plan. Miraculously, I sold a stand (just the one, before I was shuffled onto another department), to a luxury hotel I suspect had already decided to exhibit and was just waiting for the call.
Speaking to Graham Yandell, founder and CEO of Yandell Publishing, the other day as part of an interview for the upcoming July/August issue of InPublishing magazine, it was clear that the key to successful selling was in how you prepare your team and the sales culture you create.
What publishers should be aiming for is “experienced, motivated and well-trained salespeople with good product knowledge”. This won’t happen by magic, but by dedicating sufficient time and resource.
Another critical component is company culture, which needs spelling out to new recruits.
He expects integrity (“if we are not the right fit for an advertiser, I expect us to say so”), reliability (“if you tell a customer you will do something by such and such at time, then do it”) and an understanding of the importance of excellent customer service (“if a customer says ‘jump’, the only question is, ‘how high?’”).
And finally, they need to know what they’re selling: “We do not sell space, we sell readers. We are selling our standing in the market and all the hard work we put in to deliver an engaged reader who will be receptive to their messaging.”
Graham Yandell knows what he’s talking about. He launched his company in 1986 and it’s still going strong, as evidenced by the MBE he was awarded in the new king’s first Birthday Honours List.
(The interview was sponsored by Publishing Software Company, creators of the Advertising Manager software, which Yandell Publishing has used since 2008. You can receive the issue by registering here.)
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
