Workplace -- it could be a lot worse, and you control how it goes!

So, do you think you have it bad at work?

These two stories appeared next to each other on the local news website in the Syracuse area this morning:

Kim Jong Un executed defense chief for sleeping during meeting, spy agency says
Fall asleep at a meeting in the USA and you might get fired, or you might get handed a cup of Starbucks. In North Korea you apparently go before the firing squad. And you thought your boss was a jerk?

Upstate NY ex-postal carrier faces prison for dumping Bed Bath & Beyond ads
If a 12-year old carrier dumps papers he probably gets fired and maybe Mom grounds him for a day or two. A postal carrier gets fired and goes to prison. And his wife probably gets really, really angry with him.

The common thread here is a simple lesson: screw up on the job and you pay for it. For those involved in advertising and marketing sales, the corollary is truer: screw up and you don't get paid. Your client doesn't get paid either. Nor does your company, the source of everything you have to sell for. 

There are large, obvious errors, such as leaving a client's ad out of a paper. No one gets paid. The point today is that you may be making many more, less obvious errors that are costing you, your clients and your company even more money over time. And they are so basic:

1. You don't suggest -- no pressure on the customer, just ask "have you ever considered expanding your market area? Would you be interested in discussing a new campaign that will help you build your market share? We have a print & deliver insert product that we can target specific neighborhoods with -- should we look at that for the new line of tractors you're carrying?" We get caught in our routine...so make your routine better! Make it one of consistent suggestive selling that benefits your client.

2. You don't pay attention -- watch the small details; notice little things in your client's inventory: new items to promote, seasonal items that need to be cleared. Notice competitor ads and approaches that affect your client's results and strategy. Pay attention to details like that. You probably do it for your top 20% -- expand that to your top 50% and see what additional revenue it brings you.

3. You don't ask -- for referrals, for additional ads promoting related services, for details on co-op plans, for sit downs to discuss annual plans and revised strategies. You know.

You are not going to be killed or incarcerated for missing these little tips. Fact is you are not going anywhere...you will remain in the income and opportunity level where you are currently seated if you continue to miss these finer points of your job responsibilities. I read a study on Ej4.com recently that stated 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact on a customer. Here’s another interesting number: 44% of sales representatives quit after the first  “no”. Your job also includes hanging in there. Don't screw it up.


tcuskey@fcpny.com  1-877-275-2726

Zig Lives On Even If Cold-Calls Haven't

"Cold Calling Is Dead - Thanks to Social Networking. Get Your Free eBook. Download Yours Now!"

This headline is at the top of my LinkedIn page this morning. What has happened in our profession? Google "cold call" and results return more references to the demise of this sales staple as well as a couple of 2012 links explaining the finer points of the technique ("7 steps to a perfect cold call - CBS News", "Seven Secrets to Cold Calling Success - Entrepreneur").  Contradiction in the search engine! I am confused. When did cold calling die? Must have passed away when Zig Ziglar did, in November of 2012. I still love Zig, and miss his wisdom, captured in this Top Ten Ziglar Quote List, courtesy of Forbes.com:

10) “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”

9) “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

8) “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

7) “There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”

6) “People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”

5) “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

4) “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”

3) “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”

2) “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

1) “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”

Funny, but the term "cold call" isn't in Zig's list, be they dead or alive. As much as some folks want us to think that selling has changed (and we all need reprogramming with a fee payable to the trainer claiming to be the cold-call undertaker), the fact is that selling always has been and always will be about relationships, helping people and being sincere in everything you do. Successful advertising works the same way. So, if you're selling successful advertising, you'd better be twice as nice and twice as sincere.

Aside from learning how to write up an order and using some helpful tools, there really isn't too much else you need to know.

If you need help with the tools that FCPNY provides as member benefits-- AdMall, CVC Audits and more -- contact Tom at tcuskey@fcpny.com or call 877-275-2726.

Political ad spending -- looking forward to 2016?

I don't know if anything could have been done to stop the death of the dinosaurs. Lava flowing from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii is going to make its way downhill to the sea, and man will not deter its course. There are some things in which we are powerless. Changes in media spending habits may be one more fine example, but I am betting, and hoping, that we still have a hand in our future. 

I live in the 24th Congressional District. Incumbent Democrat Dan Maffei is fighting off a strong challenge from Republican John Katko. This means nothing to you if you live outside the district, unless your home district is touched by the Syracuse TV market. Estimates of ad spending in this race have topped $5-million, and the great majority of those dollars have come from outside the district. Both parties have seen this race as a volatile swing zone so the outside money has flowed. And the winner is...local television. As we approach Election Day (tomorrow as I write) 30-second local spots have been almost entirely swept up by political messages, most of them by this Congressional battle. TV execs are whooping it up right now (and probably already sweating the "curse of media success": going up against these sales numbers next year). Still, TV's future seems bright, or brighter than most, except for you know what.

According to an article on emarketer.com (http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Total-US-Ad-Spending-See-Largest-Increase-Since-2004/1010982), 2014 will wind up seeing the biggest jump in ad dollars since 2004. TV is king at 38.1% of the mix while print grabs 17.7% of the ad dollars. Between now and 2018, it's estimated that TV will lose 6% of it's share while print will lose almost 21% of its claim. Every category is losing except digital. 28.2% of dollars are there right now, expecting to grow to a share of 37.3% by 2018, a 32% increase. The web is full of stories documenting the challenges newspapers/print media have had building digital services that provide revenue. As an industry, as a state association and as individual publishers, we have to overcome that or continue to lose. Why not make the 2016 elections our target to do so?

It all comes down to having an audience or readership, as always, but knowing who they are and how to segment them for successful targeting has become the key to new revenue. Our collective past attempts have relied on packaging digital with print, but that's because we desperately want our print products to survive. Like Tarzan, we have to let go of one vine before we can grab another if we want to keep moving forward. Otherwise we are just hanging there, gradually losing our grip. 

Continue to build audience with diverse print products, and tie them to exciting websites that build different demographic groups. Learn how to integrate video in your sites with interactive platforms that advertisers (or candidates) can take advantage of. The goal: have it up and running by this time next year and be ready to market it to the candidates. Let your associations (like FCPNY) bundle it for access to national and statewide political action groups. 

It's different, yes. The margins are different, too. Historically, that's too bad, but it is what is. Given a second chance, the dinosaurs would probably have settled for change with new possibilities for growth rather than extinction. But they didn't have a choice. 

Don't get distracted from the coming opportunity!

My wife and I recently drove to Hilton Head, SC for a long week of beach, sun, food and more. Great time, but you notice lots of scary things when you're driving in the car for a long period of time. One thing I noticed on this trip, as well as a recent long weekend to Maine, is that motorcycle helmet laws vary from state to state. Being from Upstate New York (helmets mandatory) it is odd to see a Harley pass you with a rider's hair flowing in the wind, only RayBans separating their noggin from the elements, but we saw quite a few on these trips along the East Coast. Equally scary to other road-residents: a lot of drivers are still talking without a hands-free device. Also, you see a fair number of people who appear to be doing something in their laps while driving...texting I assume? I almost hope that's what they're up to. Personally, I believe hands-free cell communication takes your concentration off the driving just as much as hands-on...and probably as much as driving with a burger in one hand and coffee in the other (we saw that, too!).

In the case for helmets, new high tech ones can have music piped in and a GPS driving-direction map for the face shield is one the way soon.

As I often ask, what does this have to do with advertising? Distraction.

New media, digital/mobile/call-it-what-you-want is distraction based. In the good old days, readers embraced print media and many perused newspapers and shopper publications for the ads. I never knew anyone who watched TV or listened to the radio to see/hear what ads were on. But print ads were welcomed on the whole. Now, ads in general have become an unwelcome distraction. Check out this headline from digitaltrends.com: "Banner ads suck, say guys who invented banner ads." As online and mobile ads become the rule it's the pop-ups, re-directs, e-mail blasts, ad text messages and more that have turned advertising into something invasive. Next scary trend: distraction may be okay with up and coming users.

For example, how many people see and react to mobile ads? According to consumer research by The MMA and Lightspeed Research (October 2010), in UK, France and Germany, 45 percent of consumers (especially younger people) noticed mobile advertising and 29 percent of these responded to it (source: mobithinking.com). Moreover, mobile local ad revenue in the U.S. will grow by 54 percent by 2016, according to a new study by local media advisor company BIA/Kelsey. They say that mobile local ad spending will outpace mobile national ad spending by 2016. BIA/Kelsey projects that local mobile ad spending will account for 58 percent of total ad spending in just four years. The company expects mobile ad spending to reach $9.92 billion by 2016. (source: clickz.com). That's a big pie that is up for local grabs.

As local print publishers we have to be the ones to make this work for users and advertisers:

1. It's a growing revenue stream; we can't let it slip by.

2. We already have local customers and content.

3. We have history on how to get the message across without becoming a distraction or invasion.

At FCPNY we launched OhSoLocal, our local mobile app last year. It hasn't caught on yet; I think we were too early with it. If you want to learn more on how it might work for you or if you need help with any other free paper topic give us a shout at 315-472-6007 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com.

Thanks for your time.

Are we or aren't we?

I was just online looking at a chart showing the rise and fall of the national unemployment rate over the past two years. In April 2011 we hit a two year low but we've been inching back up monthly since then, just when we thought a turnaround was here. Many local business people we speak with each week believe it's just one sign that we're not out of the woods yet. Are we or aren't we still in a recession? It’s debated daily.

How about this question instead: does it really matter? Utility bill is due, kids need shoes, the family likes to eat every day...what economists and talking media heads tell us doesn’t change our facts of life. So, if you have a business that needs to grow ask your staff this question: are we or aren't we going to ignore what we can't control and make something happen?

There are a million "hot ideas" out there every day, but consistent growth comes from being very, very good at the basics of marketing your business:
1. Knowing what customers like and don't like (just ask them).
2. As a result, offering a product or service that's timely and competitive.
3. Providing something extra -- something that truly makes you unique.
4. Telling the market your story in a reliable way and consistent manner.
5. Measuring the results and fine tuning.
6. Starting back at number 1 again (and again and again and again -- it's a never ending cycle).

This is a very simple outline of what can be an intricate process. My colleagues here at the Scotsman can lend you a hand, especially with items 4 & 5. We'll ask some questions, listen to your comments and offer suggestions for making things happen. No charge. We're here to help you make good decisions for your business, not just to sell products from our business. Let us know if you'd like to chat, and thanks!