The cure for what ails you may be closer than you think

I have discovered a benefit to aging: you get to take more time off from work for medical reasons. Hahahahaha. I jest of course, but there is a personal track record of the increasing occurrence of medical aches, pains and doctor visits one endures as they over-ripen.

Case in point: had to have some x-rays taken this week. The woman taking the "photos" made small talk while waiting in between shots. "What do you do for a living?" she queried. "I work for a free paper publishing trade association," was my proud reply. "What are you gonna do when that goes under?" was her quick (and cold) retort. After a nano-second of reconsideration, she added "I mean I hope you'll be able to retire before they stop making newspapers."

So I work in a dying industry...and I look old, too? X-rays are something, aren't they?

It was not the first time someone offered such best wishes to me, and you have heard them, too, if you are a print industry person. Public opinion of what is printed on newsprint and delivered daily or weekly to area homes and newsstands really isn't bad, but the vast majority of readers probably agree with the impression that our days are numbered. I say probably because I don't have a stat on public impression of our anticipated longevity. I looked for some research on it, but found none. What I did find was a lot of surface gloom and doom articles but many that also showed a more realistic vision (if one took the time to read all the way through).

Here is a quick summary synopsis of what I learned:

1. Paid circulation continues to fall.

2. Local and national retail display sales dropped again in 2014, as they have done since the recession was born in mid-2008. 

3. Numbers of free standing inserts delivered by newsprint media are holding steady, producing profits but always in play.

4. Successful print media must have an interactive online presence that delivers strong, local content.

5. There are people who still like the feel and experience of a paper and experts believe there always will be, but the numbers are smaller. 

Nothing surprising there. What caught my attention in my searching is the clock that is running, toward the next economic tightening. Experts talk about recessions coming in six or seven year cycles, and that means the next one is closer than the last. A lot closer. The exact date and the depth are unknown, of course, but as long as experts predict it will happen, most consumers will catch the Chicken Little bug, stop spending and help bring it to fruition.

That said, what have you done to not just survive but thrive in the next slump? FCPNY will help provide ideas on two fronts this October, both in the same venue: the Leadership Summit. First, we have an excellent lineup of speakers and presenters who will talk trends and the immediate future of print and digital venues. They have ideas to use now. Second, your peers in this industry, association members and associates,  will be talking and sharing, both informally and at structured idea exchange sessions we have scheduled. 

We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity, right in your backyard at the Genesee Grande Hotel here in Syracuse. CLICK HERE for more information, and thank you. 

IOT -- It's not short for "IDIOT", at least not yet.

God speaks to me. Often, unfortunately. It's not that He has a lot to say to me; He has to repeat Himself several times before I actually listen. I am working on that and I am getting better at listening.

Case in point: IOT. I have heard the term twice now in the past three days from very legit sources. Repetition merits listening to. If you are new to the term, as I was, it stands for Internet Of Things. My first exposure to the phrase came from a friend who owns a fast growing, high-tech lighting company. You'll see an example of his work if you watch this year's Super Bowl (they lit the Phoenix stadium where the 2015 game will be held). He was talking about LED lights they design that have built-in transmitters that communicate constantly with a central station that monitors the status and condition of the lights. Keeps everyone on top of maintenance. He said "this is the next big thing you're going to start hearing about: the Internet of Things!" He was right. I heard about it again, this morning, on a news report about the huge high-tech product showcase that is going on in Las Vegas this week. The Internet of Things is all over it. Not only are people connected through our enabled devices, the devices themselves communicate with each other and take care of their business, if you will, without our direct assistance. The Internet of Things. 

Like everything new it is part exciting and part scary. I know I have seen sci-fi movies where smart machines take over the Earth. That's not the scary part, it's the exciting part. Here is scary...

Our clients would like to automate their marketing and advertising. There are programs that put a social media message out on multiple platforms at the stroke of a key. Reports come in that tell what kind of web traffic they are getting and where it comes from. Digital equals measurable, and measurable is good. Where are you in this mix? Hopefully, you're out in front of it. Digital changes so quickly that you have to become an everyday student of it…and then you can help your customers, your PRINT customers, make the most of it. Don't wait for your company or your boss to tell you to do this. It's up to you. You see, print isn't dead, it's alive and kicking in many forms. And it won’t die unless you kill it by not efficiently and intelligently attaching it to the new technologies that will always be coming our way. 

So don't become an I-di-OT. Get out in front of the wave. Learn a little bit more about new and existing products every day. Your advertisers have businesses to run -- they are looking for someone like you to take their hands and guide them through all of this, today and going forward. That becomes the exciting part. In spite of the looming Internet of Things, people still make ad decisions and pay the bills. And your job is to help people make their futures brighter. That makes yours brighter, too. Thank God!

Need training or assistance from FCPNY? Contact Tom at tcuskey@fcpny.com or call 877-275-2726.

Don't let a little rain wash away success

It's Friday afternoon as I write this, pushing toward quitting time. The sun is finally out...this might be the first decent day of the week. On Monday of this week, as rain was pouring down on Central New York, I said to my wife "Thank God we didn't take this week off!" Looking back on the past few days, I say it again, with gusto, "Thank God we didn't take this week off!" Rainy, cool, unsettled...not what you'd expect the final week of July to be.

There are a couple of great sales reminders in this example.

First, don't assume that what you expect to happen will happen. July is sunny and hot, year after year. But not this week. Just because a prospect or customer always acts a certain way or a promotion produces certain results, don't take it for granted. The more you don't anticipate unusual circumstances, the more likely they will happen. Murphy's Law. Be prepared for all possibilities, in all situations. Be flexible, think on your feet and follow the flow.

Second, like planning a week's vacation months ahead of time you have to make the most of it regardless of conditions that prevail at the moment. An appointment with a big agency or major advertiser that you have waited and waited for can go sideways in a hurry through no fault of your own. You may not have the option to wait for a better time or better conditions. You have to make a good time happen regardless of the situation. It's like a camping trip that turns into a rainout; playing checkers with a smile may not be as much fun as beach volleyball but it can still get you where you want to go in the relationship, if you make it so.

Talking about hopeful outcomes with your prospect will always help cut through the "rain and mud" that sometimes happen in a sales presentation. Focus always on what the customer wants and needs, not on what you have to sell. A happy customer always feels like a ray of sunshine.

FCPNY is a little like the postal service; we help our members with their needs regardless of the weather! Call us at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Meet a "new school" expert.

Salespeople from our publishing membership have asked about the new selling style or the “new school” approach to sales. One hears a lot about it today when searching for training and education information on becoming a more effective salesperson. In my mind, Marc Wayshak is one of the best at presenting the skills of a new school salesperson. Marc received rave reviews after presenting at our FCPNY SuperConference earlier this year.

I subscribe to Marc's weekly email. This week's entry follows, and it is to the point on how the sales process is evolving. From Marc....

Here Are Five Ways to Stand out from the Competition

#1. Tone down the enthusiasm. Salespeople love to show their enthusiasm to prospects about their product or service. The problem is that every salesperson uses the same fake enthusiasm, and prospects are on to this gig. It’s time to par back on the histrionics and simply be real and sincere.

#2. Stop trying to persuade. All of your competitors are out right now trying to persuade their prospects to buy from them. Persuasion is a very old-school strategy in selling, and it simply doesn’t work anymore because every salesperson uses it. Instead of persuading, spend time asking effective questions and understanding what your prospects are really seeking to accomplish.

#3. Ask questions focused on outcomes. Nothing will separate you from your competition more than fully understanding what your prospects are looking to actually accomplish.

So ask questions such as, “Help me understand what you’d be looking to accomplish,” or, “If I gave you a magic wand to change anything about your situation, what would you change?”

By asking questions like this you are going to more effectively understand what your prospects are seeking to achieve; you’ll thus stand out from your competitors as the person who understands his goals.

#4. Learn about key challenges. Your prospects will not be buying your product or service; they’ll be buying a solution to their challenges. By starting your conversations focused on the challenges that your prospects are facing, you are going to have a much better idea of how to actually solve those challenges.

Think of going to a doctor: A doctor doesn’t ask you what solution you want. A doctor asks you, “What are the challenges that you’re facing?” and asks a lot of effective questions to understand what’s really going on. Follow this same protocol and you will find that your approach is totally distinct from that of your competitors.

#5. Don’t pitch your prospect. Prospects are so used to being pitched by salespeople all day long that the second you start to give a pitch, the prospect’s defense walls will go up significantly. Drop the pitch because it’s time to start effectively asking questions to understand what’s going on.

Once you’ve fully understood what’s happening and you’ve gotten buy-in from that prospect about what those challenges are, it’s time to just share some potential solutions with your prospects in the form of a proposal or presentation without all of the flare and hype of a pitch.

The most successful salespeople stand out like a sore thumb from their competition. Be the apple among the oranges. By applying these five ways to stand out from your competition, you’ll find that you’re totally and completely distinct from your competitors.

Marc encourages his readers to share his information, as I have today. I have to admit that I struggle with some of the new approaches. For example, I am an enthusiastic guy and toning down goes against my grain. But growth only comes through change, and change takes effort, sometimes pain.

I invite you to visit Marc's website, GamePlanSelling.com, where you can get his free eBook, 25 Tips to Crush Your Sales Goal and receive his weekly email on sales tips. And remember to contact us at FCPNY whenever we can be of service to you. Call 877-275-2726 or email tcuskey@fcpny.com. Thanks for your time today!

Don't make people guess who you are.

Over the past month or so I have been involved with our own FCPNY annual Super Conference and the Association of Free Community Papers (AFCP) conference, held this year at Disney in Orlando. At each event I had the opportunity to meet people face-to-face that previously I had known only through email or phone contact. With many folks today hiding behind their digital communications means, this is becoming a more common occurrence. What's more, none of these people looked like I imagined they would.

Two reasons:

1. I am quickly becoming one of the older people in the conference room. I am in that narrowing group of business people nearing retirement age while most of the other folks in the room are 59 and under. I tend to imagine people as being in my own demographic stratum but most turn out to be younger. Duh. Much younger in some cases. I met one salesperson that looked like she could have been the high school aged daughter of the woman I imagined her to be.

2. No one ever looks like you imagine them -- we are all non-psychic, lousy guessers.

Which leads to the selling point: prospects use the same electronic gatekeepers as our colleagues, only they have them running at DEFCON 1. On top of that, prospects are trying to do more with less (just like our companies) so they have less time to spend chatting with salespeople. Thus, we often don't know what they look like, sound like, what they need, want or fear. How do we overcome?

Honestly, if I knew the hard, fast answer I wouldn't be here writing a blog, I'd be cashing checks in Palm Springs. The wires are full of suggestions on how to break through and get conversations started. Boil down most of what you read and you're left with two basic realities:

1. You haven't shown or aroused potential value in your brief opening.

2. You don't stand out from the rest of the selling crowd.

If your product doesn't have value, fix it. If it does and you haven't conveyed it, practice. Be sincere and be supportive. Don't sell. And practice, practice, practice what you say or do.

If you don't stand apart, work on branding your product and yourself. Yes, you need a personal brand that you convey so people remember you and what you do. Unless you’re the product owner, your personal brand may be the only brand you have total control of. Make sure everyone knows what you look and sound like, and what you stand for. 

We at FCPNY can help you with all of these sales needs as well as other selling issues you may be facing. Give us a call at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com.

Thanks so much for your time!

Crazy and fun still sells.

Two industry headlines in this morning's AdMall Minute email serve as great reminders that anything is possible in advertising. Both reference recent stories in Advertising Age magazine.

First, and most timely, is Richard Sherman. At this point even the most sleepy non-football fan is likely aware of the Seattle Seahawk's TV tirade following his team's win last Sunday, punching their ticket to the Super Bowl. This pro-wrestling-meets-Darth Vader rant featured a deep cutting insult aimed at San Francisco 49er receiver Michael Crabtree, a "mediocre" player according to Sherman (who also pointed out that he himself is the best at what he does).

True? Who knows. Rude? Definitely. Inappropriate? Not according to national, big-label marketers who want to cash in on Mr. Sherman's streaking notoriety. According to the story, this is what many marketers hope for: an opportunity to ride a huge wave in the middle of an ocean of hype that is the Super Bowl. Cha-ching for Richard Sherman and his entourage of agents and advisors. Underneath the surface of this sometimes angry athlete is a very smart and savvy man. This was no accident.

Local advertising lessons: non-criminal crazy behavior by the suddenly famous can be an opportunity to latch on to. The key is to move fast and grab the wave while it's there. Super Bowl size events probably don't happen in your market so look for opportunities that do occur that you can squeeze for ad dollars.

Second is a humorous account by writer Sally Abrahms whose husband happens to be a dead ringer for "the most interesting man in the world." You know who he is..."Bigfoot once took a picture of him!" He "doesn't always drink beer, but" when he does he prefers you probably know what. The look-alike's life is full of sightings and folks who want their picture taken with him. Probably a mixed blessing. The point of the story, though, is the opportunities created for mature models and spokespeople as the gracefully aging population buys more goods and services than ever before.

Local advertising lessons: know your market, know your audience and use appropriate models, terminology and scenarios to entice them.

Selfish reasons for this: if you're an FCPNY member, use your AdMall. It's a tremendous member benefit, full of data and information. It's paid for by selling CPAN network ads, especially ClassifiedsNY ads. When you sell these ads, we keep benefits like AdMall, CVC Audits, training, conferences and more flowing to you. If you don't sell the ads those benefits and your edge in the local marketplace go away. And we all know that once you lose something good, it seldom returns.

Need help with network ads, AdMall or local opportunities? Call me at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com and I will do all I can to assist you. Thank you!