ForumsAdvertising, Sales and Marketing

How do I say this without sounding elitist? I don't know, so I am going to say it. Not all the companies or agencies doing advertising are created equal. There are a lot of folks who think they understand how to run an adverting agency but they don't.

We were just talking today about how people who perform advertising should be certified. Working at or for a company or agency that does advertising does not mean you understnad how to run one. These individuals make it bad for those of us who have put in the time to do things right.

I am sorry about what the experience you have had but not all of us in adverting are slimy or untrained. Some of us actually take our craft serious, and try to maintain a standard. But since anyone can open an agency or advertising company, it is real difficult to tell the difference.

Ask to see their books, if they don't know what that is - the conversation should end.

There are three main billing options for advertising: hourly, project basis or retainer. Some people may do the one upfront price but most serious advertising professionals do not.

Ask what agencies they worked at? This is a real sign, my level has or still does work at very good agencies, not companies. We tend to bring a standard that is understood. It is like a coach who played high school ball verses a coach who played pro ball. I know, sometimes the best coaches never played but that is a rarity.

Let me stop. This is not the post for my comments.

In my experience in this field, I have found that there are two things that make advertisers listen when you tell them what you are offering.

First, you should give them "The most bang for their buck". The type of advertising you are offering should give them more than one angle of exposure. This gets their attention. For example, if a newspaper also has a website that gets 500 hits a day and they will place an ad on the website as well as in the paper for the money, this will make the potential advertisers listen up.

Secondly, as has already been mentioned here, LISTEN to what you are being told. Don't just throw out an automatic rebuttal to the words the customer is saying. Have a converstaion with them. Did they say they don't have a large sum to invest at this time? Offer then a smaller adspace. Are they concerned that your media isn't a right fit for them? Show them how it could be.

One more thought... I used to use a reference page called "10 reasons to advertise". I would combine the facts listed with each other to hook the client. For example, there were two seperate points made on that sheet...
1- It takes a person approximately 100 times of seeing an ad to feel a need for that product or service.
2- The average person sees over 3000 ads in a single day.
(My stats are probably off, it's been a long time)

I took these two points and combined it into one statement/question. "The average person sees about 3000 ads a day. Did you know that it takes the average person over 100 times of seein an ad to feel a need to utilize that product or service? How many times are the ppl of (insert town name here) seeing your ad today?". Follow that with information about your distribution and readership.

Advertising is more than writing an ad. It is building company branding. Encourage the customer to use the same ad everywhere he/she advertises so that customers will recognize that ad.

Good Luck!
Susan

No problem!

Can I help you in any other way?

Find parrallel markets to your industry.

Ex: If you were someone that did print advertising for manufactures, try and network with retail outlets of the same industry.

If you worked in market analysis for small business, it might be a good idea to align your self with loan officers of banks so that you could offer some assistance when the bank needs some more in depth research of the market plan of the business. In turn you could offer the business your services.

It is always a good idea to find businesses that you can align your company with that match your target market, but from a different standpoint.

Another thought - given you need testimonials, then offer an inducement or guarantee for the first people to take up your offer.

Hello Golferalh,

I faced the problem too. Small businesses are quite busy and they have been spammed by many inappropriate sales pitches so they are always wary. This is what my friend told me. You should give the product to the business basically make an advertisement for the business and keep sending it via mail. The important thing to remember is that what you send should look nice and professional so it doesn't get thrown away. After sending few times, just give them a call and casually mention that you have sent stuff to them and if they have noticed~~ If they don't show interest then you should put that company in the "target in a later date" category and move on. hope it helps