Festivus and the commercialization of Christmas

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Festivus is today!!

Fans of the 90s sitcom Seinfeld know what I’m referring to, the celebration of Festivus which was featured in the ninth season. The show that was about nothing managed to make something out of nothing with the faux holiday celebrating the over commercialization of Christmas. Ironically, the celebration about commercialization is itself a well commercialized event, celebrated every year on December 23.

Learn all about the Seinfeld version of Festivus at https://youtu.be/rKdnqjnegEs.

You can learn plenty about Festivus and celebrate in a tongue-in-cheek manner like my family will be today. As explained by the character Frank Constanta, the person that started the fake holiday on the TV show, it was his way to act out against all the commercialization around the holidays. All that tinsel, as he says can be distracting.

While there certainly is a lot of commercialization surrounding Christmas, there are some really good things that have resulted from the commercializations that has taken place over the years. Many of them are now a beloved part of the holiday story for many of us. This may becoming an anti-Festivus post, because I choose to celebrate three of my favorite commercializations of the holiday with you, and the heartwarming stories of their origins.

I guess this might make me an anti-Festite.

When I ask you to conjure up an image of Santa Claus, pretty much everyone reading this will have the same description, and any any mall I visit across the US with a Santa in the commons area will also be the same. A jolly fat man dressed all in red with white fur trim, and a white beard is definitively what Saint Nick looks like, right? Well, that’s not always how the big guy has been described.

Prior to the Civil War, Santa’s depictions would often be a tall, skinny guy with a pointy hat. In 1863, Harper’s Weekly commissioned Thomas Nast to create an illustration which quickly became the inspiration for the modern looking Santa Claus. Later on that basic look became the starting point for the modern pitchman that solidified the modern look of Santa at Coke. Coca-Cola started using Santa in ads in the 1920’s. Santa has become synonymous with Coke ever since, and is now a staple of their ads every holiday season for the past almost 100 years. So much in fact that a lot of people think his image was completely invented by the soda giant. Not so; it was only used exceptionally well for generations, thus making Santa and Coke eternally linked. And besides, wouldn’t Santa look odd in Pepsi blue?

Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer is of course the lead reindeer for Santa’s sleigh on his journey each December 24. Yet Rudolph’s existence was actually a hustle play by department store Montgomery Ward to save money on a coloring book. The story of the story of Rudolph is really a story of redemption, of perservence, of dreams and despair and the author that struggled with the death of his wife.

Robert L. May was tasked with the job of creating a coloring book for the holidays. It was the summer of 1939 and May was dealing with a lot of things in his life. A wife with failing health, career frustrations and mounting debt hung over his head as he tried to be festive. May never wrote that great American novel that he thirsted for, yet he created a character that is a part of millions of kids who look in the sky each December 24 for a red light shooting across the sky. And of course, Montgomery Ward got a super nice coloring book for holiday shoppers in 1939.

While all kids may look to the sky for that red light, the official tracking of Santa and Rudolph is of course conducted by NORAD. Based in Colorado Springs, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) is the organization that keeps a watchful eye on our skies year round and protects us from attacks from foes across the globe. And since 1958 they have been the official tracker of Santa’s sleigh across the United States. Well, it wasn’t official in 1958.

The hotline in the bunker rang one night. In the midst of the 1950s Cold War, hearing that phone ring would have been a scary sound echoing throughout the control room. A wrong number in a newspaper ad, an innocent child wanting to speak with Santa and a quick witted colonel created a new high-tech tradition. There are a number of resources that tell the story of that night, with my favorite being Mike Rowe’s reading of his podcast The Way I Heard It, episode The Missiles of December.

So yes, some commercialization of the holiday and the creation of some beloved traditions. But for me, these three commercialized aspects of the holiday all make me smile, warm my heart and put me in the holiday spirit. So I say to you with Christmas approaching in the coming days — Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukah, Happy New Year. And in the spirit of Festivus, I have a lot of problems with you people!

Local journalism vs. the 'milking' of profits by corporate owners

This is the time of year where people reflect on their circumstance in life, and often times give thanks for their many blessings. The end of year ritual has not eluded me, as I sit here thinking about many aspects of my life as the holiday season begins.

For my work life, the past year has been a year of change. There is much thanks in my heart as I reflect on those personal changes. More on that another time.

Friends get together around the holidays; that isn’t breaking news by any stretch. Our personal circles expand and our lives change as we take new jobs, move on and evolve. While I look forward to the future and all that comes with it, it is also good to return to familiar times in past and the people that made a difference in our lives. You see this reflected in everyone’s social media feeds right now, with family gatherings as well as reunions of past co-workers and friends. 

As I write this, it is Thanksgiving Day, the largest newspaper of the year as most exclaim. That is a true statement, if measured by weight, thanks to countless Black Friday inserts from local stores. The fact is today’s local newspaper is probably the high water mark for the year for revelance, for circulation and readership. And it has nothing to do with journalism. The largest newspaper of the year that I read was light on news, as most newspapers are anymore. 

Politico had a story this week suggesting that individuals should stop subscribing to their local newspaper if they cared about local journalism. I don’t subscribe to that belief, but I do think the article made some great points. The biggest of those points being decision by many corporate owners and their decision to squeeze all the profits out immediately on newspapers and then the likelihood that they will abandon them once they are no longer profitable. In the article by Jack Shaffer,  he wrote about Alden Global Capital but could have said the same about several chain owners: “Deliberately starving its newsrooms and shriveling its news pages, Alden’s “milk-it business modes” is designed to extract the value of a newspaper over time until the day—poof!—their papers vaporize and Smith and Freeman climb into their Scrooge McDuck vault to count their riches.“

This is a reality for more than just Alden owned newspapers and something I had mandated to me by a former boss. I sat in a meeting shortly before I left my last newspaper job where the corporate mouthpiece told me this was exactly the plan I was to execute.

The impact of this corporate ‘milking’ is evident with the daily newspaper you are reading, if you’re still reading. The newspaper is smaller; in width and page count. It is also evident by the dwindling amount of local by-lines you see. And for me, that milking was made evident in one of those social media posts that I mentioned earlier as friends gather to remember and give thanks together this time of year. 

On Facebook today, I saw the reunion of the sports department of the now defunct News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I say defunct, since the decision to stop being a newspaper was two years ago and the decision to stop being a real newsroom ended just over a year ago. Yes you technically still find a website with one good reporter still doing the occasional story. But this is a good example of corporate milking as detailed in the Politico article. It was just all at once instead of the slowly disappearance that is happening at most newspapers.

This group from the old News-Sentinel had recently gathered for their reunion, to share, to give thanks and no doubt reminisce. Not everyone was able to make it, but most were in attendance. The talent of that staff was / is impressive, and would be hard to assemble again in any single city newsroom, no matter the size of the publication or the market they cover. Cheers to that crew who have moved on but have not forgotten their friendship or the impact they made on the community. 

Changing your customer service culture to change your company’s future profits

Meet my new favorite employee at Krispy Kreme, Jackie and see how changing your customer service culture can change your company’s future profits  

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Focusing on the customer is easy to say, but harder than you’d think to pull off. It always sounds good in a conference room, during some management retreat or even on the plaque you place in the lobby of your company. But once you actually introduce the customer into the equation, it gets difficult.

But it’s not impossible. Being customer focused means creating a culture that builds up employees through training and by the company practicing what it preaches with every interaction it has with internal candidates. It is after that practice is established that the employees can and will provide that same experience to the paying customers.

Changing culture involves an intentional process to improve how you do business. I had a former employer who was convinced that the best way to improve culture was to post internet mimes on attitude and then pass out bagels every few months. His actions did not match his desire. Lasting and meaningful change is more than passing interest from a CEO.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is internationally recognized as a customer service leader. They start with their creed: “We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." That is a very classy and very bold statement to make, and one that they work hard to uphold. Their training programs are industry leading, and it shows in every aspect of their business.

Leadership at The Ritz-Carlton has made a commitment to their employees, knowing that commitment will translate to their customers and provide long term success for their organization. This is evident in their commitment to employees:

The Employee Promise

At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies and Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to our guests.

By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity and commitment, we nurture and maximize talent to the benefit of each individual and the company.

The Ritz-Carlton fosters a work environment where diversity is valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton Mystique is strengthened.

By building a strong workplace environment, the brand of The Ritz-Carlton is strengthened. Isn’t that what every business ultimately wants?

In most cases you have to start by making your statement an aspiration, and then work on a plan over time that will help rise your organization to that high level. You and your organization need to have strong resolve, because this will take time. You’ll need to mark your progress not in days or weeks, but in months and years. But it is possible, and the potential pay off is big. The companies that build company loyalty through customer experience, like Southwest Airlines, Ritz-Carlton and Starbucks enjoy prolonged growth and stronger than trends profits. It will also mean strong employee loyalty, which can reduce employee turnover. The future of workforces in the coming 10 to 20 years means that finding and keeping qualified employees is important.

Improving customer experiences is a training opportunity that doesn’t cost any money. And I’m not taking about a one time event. Your organization has to plan out training over time to truly change your culture. This doesn’t mean you have to take the entire team for an off-site meeting. You can talk to your staff and give them the power to provide superior customer service. You trust them, and will back them up to make great decisions to wow the customer. While there are many resources available; from books to websites to Ted Talks and YouTube. In fact, let me provide you with your first training session. The training is for your business, your team or even just yourself.

Jia Jiang created a blog to help him deal with rejection, “100 Days Of Rejection Therapy” is a funny and thought provoking look at life. His goal was to learn rejection by immersing himself in it. Something funny happened along the way; not everyone rejected him. In this video, you’ll meet Jia and Jackie, an employee from Krispy Kreme. Jackie is an empowered employee who connects with customers, even when they ask crazy things. Yet she wanted to make the customer happy, satisfied and an evangelist for your brand to others. Is that everyone’s goal in business, with each customer interaction?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ax2CsVbrX0

So how would your team react to a crazy customer request? Are your employees empowered to say “yes” to customers? When your employees are saying yes to customers, you are building customer and employee loyalty. A loyal customer will become an evangelist for your brand, helping to attract more customers.

I’ve never been a super big fan of Krispy Kreme. After viewing this video I’m more of a fan now of that product. And I’m a huge fan of Jackie. I’m much more likely have a positive impression of Krispy Kreme going forward, which translates to more revenue.

A limitless amount of patience; key to relationships and life

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My 30^th wedding anniversary is quickly approaching. Just typing that is seemingly unbelievable. Unbelievable in that it doesn’t seem possible to be that old, and unbelievable that someone has tolerated me for that long! I’m not sure which is more improbable.

Ruth has more patience that any person I know, to put up with me and my son. I’m lucky beyond words when I look backwards and forward with the life we have built. Ruth and I struck up a conversation with a waitress recently. We were discussing marriage and relationship. She said that they key to marriage was “a limitless amount of patience.” It was as if she knew me!

Long time editor of The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Indiana and friend Kerry Hubartt touched on the depth of marital relationships in a column he wrote while I was leading that newspaper. Kerry’s commentary on the death of his 97 year old father only days before, and his relationship with his wife as they approach their 50^th wedding anniversary has stayed with me.

My wife has never wanted to think about losing me, much less talk about it. But she’s the one who brought it up late one night as we were lying down to sleep after a day of making the final plans for Dad’s funeral.

“I just can’t imagine losing you,” she said. “But it’s going to happen to one of us someday.”

“I know,” I whispered, punctuating the reply with a heavy sigh. And we held hands softly as we tried to put that thought out of our minds, and we drifted off to sleep.

When you get older, I suppose it is only natural to think of dying. I never had the opportunity to speak with my parents about it,  but it seems only normal that they had the same thoughts. Laying in bed next to my wife, thinking about a future where death is an increasing factor is just a reality of being 50+. So is attending services at the local funeral home, consoling friends and family who have had a loved one pass. And so it goes again this weekend, as I make plans for a funeral instead of something much happier.

Both my parents and one sibling have passed. I certainly miss them all, especially surrounding special holidays or events. In fact, today would have been my father’s 87^th birthday. But those emotions are nothing compared to the thought of losing a spouse. I’m typically not the person that dwells on this type of subject. I’m not in denial, but I’d rather focus on living. To quote Jimmy Buffett, “I’d rather die while I’m living then live while I’m dead.”

What started this line of thought is a new Netflix original called Dead To Me. I won’t spoil the plot line’s ending, but simply say that the show is set up as two women that are struggling through grief and the death of a husband. The show has its normal storytelling twists to keep you interested and entertained, but it also shows the grieving process and just how damn difficult it is to lose someone close to you.

I can only image but it is those little moments like Kerry described that I think I would miss the most if my spouse would go first. I’ve witnessed this first hand with friends and family who have been in similar situations, a situation that if you have a relationship you or your partner eventually experience too.

It is good to have options. I cannot recommend enough the book Option B:  Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy. I purchased this book to help with overcoming stress and adversity in my life, not realizing it was a book written by and for people that have lost family members. It worked for me and my stress, and I think it can help you too.

I have many friends and family members that struggle with the grief and depression that comes with losing someone close. That pain is real, and no should minimize it; and I’m certainly not doing it here. But that book, a counselor at church or friends down the street — someone, somewhere can help you. As the Option B book points out, Sandberg and Grant write:

“We plant the seeds of resilience in the ways we process negative events. After spending decades studying how people deal with setbacks, psychologist Martin Seligman found that the three P’s can stunt recovery: (1) personalization – the belief that we are at fault; (2) pervasiveness – the belief that an event will affect all areas of our life; and (3) permanence – the belief that the aftershocks of the event will last forever.”

I think the waitress was right, about marriage and how we treat ourselves. Dealing with grief and the loss of a loved one means you have to have limitless amounts of patience for yourself too.

Saying goodbye to another closing newspaper

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I received word that a friend of mine passed away this week. We weren’t as close as we were 15 years ago, but that happens. Life happens — you get busy, you move on and before you know it you’ve drifted apart. Looking back now though, I have to smile about the relationship me and this friend had.

Passion. I was filled with passion when I hung around this friend. I still remember first time we met. It was at a bar, as a group of people gathered to wish a friend of mine good luck in her new job. Far from unhealthy, it was a great relationship that I cherish to this day. It was a relationship that has launched me to bigger and better things in my life. Rest In Peace, Hendricks County Flyer.

They say you always remember your first. The Flyer Group was my first post as publisher of a newspaper. At the time of my involvement, it was a twice a week publication that went to every household in Hendricks County, Indiana along with a once a week publication for the west side of Indianapolis. Community Newspapers Holdings Inc (CNHI) announced this week that they were stopping publication after over 50 years. But it was a powerful product, and produced revenue more than many daily newspapers at the time.

The Hendricks County Flyer isn’t the only paper that’s been shut down in recent months. Sadly, I fear this is going to be an all too common obituary playing out across this country. But it is sad in that the industry has changed, communities have changed and in this case not for better.  Other newspapers will look to fill in the gap and report on the city council, cover the upcoming graduation at the high schools. But covering a market as a secondary newspaper won’t provide the depth of the local newspaper. Stories won’t be told, memories won’t be made.

Remember when you or someone you know had their picture in the paper? You became an instant celebrity in your hometown if only for day. Actually longer, as the picture would be clipped and placed on your refrigerator for months.

In the case of the Hendricks County Flyer, I know of some of the heroics that were utilized to try and save the publication. Lost preprint and classifieds took away the cushion, and then slowly local businesses turned to other resources for advertising. Google and Facebook provided less expensive alternatives often times with more trackable results. And before you knew it, this newspaper and others just like it are forced to cut expenses; less money for circulation promos, fewer pages and less relevant content for consumers. Death by a thousand cuts ended this and many other publications.  And more to come.

Not that many years ago Warren Buffett was being called a savior for the newspaper industry. However even Buffett is saying now that the end is approaching. Me saying that most newspapers “are toast” might be interesting, but the guy that owns 30 newspapers saying that is an attention grabber. By his estimation only titles like the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have figured out how to cross the digital divide to stay viable.

What made newspapers successful and why I loved them so much was the local connection. There is very little in common between the business model for the Wall Street Journal and the Hendricks County Flyer. That local connection for content; advertising and editorial are the lifeblood of hometown newspapers. Pick up any newspaper today and count the number of display ads. Many days, you might be able to count them all on your fingers. Too often, you’ll see an entire section of a newspaper with no ads; often times it is the sports section.

Maybe the passing of this newspaper isn’t a big deal. After all, 1,400 other cities and towns across the country have experienced the same thing in the past 15 years, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by the University of North Carolina. But it is for all the stories that won’t be told now, the picture not taken and published and the government not being watched over to make sure they are taking care of tax payer money properly.

Thank you Hendricks County Flyer for all you did for me and several friends of mine. You will be missed.

Bringing customer service back into focus for businesses

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The shuttle bus was cruising along from the long term parking lot towards the airport. Everyone was excited to get going on a vacation to Florida and warmer weather.

We had made the decision to park our cars at a nearby lot instead of on the airport property itself. It seemed like a no-brainer idea; slightly less expensive and the promise of great customer service. And in all fairness, the company delivered on both price and customer experience so I suspect I’ll use them again.

Looking back though, I still have to laugh about the drive to the airport. The bus driver had been given very specific talking points to help pass the time and to reemphasize the excellent customer service we were receiving. As he drove along you could almost see him checking off all the talking points he’s required to tell us.

1. Remind them where the shuttle will pick them up, and how frequently those shuttles arrive

2. Tell the guest about the website for the company and the customer loyalty program

3. Inform them about the free bottle of water that will await them on our return trip

As he was speeding towards the airport, he breaks from the script to tell us that there is a bad pothole that we are about to come upon, so be aware. He even did a mini-countdown to impact. At first I was pretty impressed with this guy and his devotion to the customer experience as I expected him to slow down and ease across the hole in the road. Oh no, not at all. We took it at full speed. And then moments later he informed us that we had another pothole ahead that was actually worse than the first. And again a countdown until impact. He was correct in his assessment as the entire bus shook as we crossed what felt like a hole to the center of the earth type pothole.

A couple of tooth-rattling potholes didn’t ruin my customer experience. But it did illustrate to me something that I think happens frequently in businesses when it comes to customer service and customer experiences. The employee had the training and clearly took it to heart. The driver felt, I’m sure, like he was the bright face for the company and its mission to be very customer friendly. And I would agree.

But companies, managers and employees don’t always show as much adaptability as they should when it comes to customer service. The driver was aware of the potholes and did a great job of informing us about them, yet did nothing to prevent the outcome which was all the customers being jolted with the impact of the bus hitting them.

Many businesses will preach their customer service system to employees as well as make sure its customers are aware of them. Walgreens used to print their philosophies on the back of their receipts. Every Hampton Inn still makes the 100% satisfaction guarantee sign hanging in every lobby. Yet with Walgreens, Hampton Inn and others I’ve had experiences that didn’t meet this philosophical goal. Often times the reason the resolution wasn’t complete is because of complacency by the front line employee or manager that backs them up. Like that pothole, the employees might see the problem coming but are doing very little to prevent it from being hit, or at least lessening the impact.

Customer service is a tough pillar to prop up in the business world today. Most people understand its value, but don’t have the staffing or the training time to implement it. The companies that are still making it a high priority are the ones that are gaining market share and increasing their profits more so than their competitors.

Perhaps no where is the struggle for customer service more on display than in the restaurant business. Liz Biro from the Indianapolis Star did an interesting article on the struggles for customer service in the industry in Central Indianahttps://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/dining/2019/04/23/why-restaurant-customer-service-getting-worse-indianapolis/1224733002/. Low unemployment rates have allowed servers and staff at restaurants the opportunity to jump ship for more money, shorter commutes to work or better hours, which leaves the restaurant in a lurk and customers often times displeased. It only takes one bad experience for most people to leave a brand that they love. That is true in the restaurant business, and every other business for that matter.

The very best products and all of the marketing dollars in the world can’t fix a business that is consistently missing on customer service. As an employee or manager, if you see the pothole ahead, not only alert the customer but figure out a way around the hole.

The pitfalls of a tax that supports local journalism

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“Self government won’t work without self discipline.” That was a frequent comment of radio commentator Paul Harvey during his noon-time broadcast for decades.

The thought behind that comment is true for our government, for our personal lives and business. And it came to mind when I read a recent story on niemanlab.org, which referenced a possible tax on digital advertising to help support traditional journalism.

I am a big supporter of journalism and traditional media. The negative impact on communities and local government are well documented and something that I’ve written about before. Communities where the local newspaper has gone out of business are seeing the cost of government rise. Again as the saying goes; “Self government won’t work without self discipline.” Local media is the watch dog for local government, creating that self discipline. Left unchecked by a strong press, government has proven to have little to no self discipline. Honestly if you look at spending by both political parties in the US, you’ll see little self discipline and that is with the press pointing things out.

In the Nieman Lab article, the advocacy group Free Press is suggesting that a tax on digital ads to platforms such as Google and Facebook could generate $2 billion dollars in money to support journalism. As much as I love local journalism, I don’t believe I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth when I say this is a terrible idea.

I am an advocate of a free and independent press, with special emphasis on independent. Media companies that would belly-up to the bar for tax money would be sacrificing that independence. If you take tax dollars, then you are subject to some level of accountability to the government and tax payers.

Politically speaking, I tend to be a Libertarian in many respects. I want as little government as possible in my life. I also believe that it is especially a bad idea if government picks winners and losers in business. Offering up any tax dollars to help a struggling newspaper, no matter how well meaning, is not good.

Newspapers and other media companies need to find a way for sustainability in the future that doesn’t involve a government bail out through taxpayer dollars. There isn’t a handout coming, and if there was it won’t be without strings attached. Unfortunately, I don’t know that way to prosperity for the industry. Kudos to the companies that are truly trying to experiment and find a path for the future. Unfortunately, that isn’t happening in too many places.

The prevailing business philosophy for some ownership chains is to milk as much profit as possible in the short term, knowing full well that the long term is grim. Some are investing in some digital, though most newspapers are still well behind in digital offerings compared to competitors such as local TV, radio and yellow pages. Yellow pages saw the writing on the wall a decade ago, and now you’ll barely hear them even mention a print directory.

In many cases, if a newspaper owner isn’t squeezing out every drop of profit it can for the next few years, then they are drowning in red ink on their books. In small towns across this country, your local weekly or very small daily is currently in a fight for its life. They’ve cut and cut staffing and are now providing very little content of consequence on a regular basis. Ad dollars are just not there to sustain the old business model. Digital competitors are taking dollars, and that is a major factor. But another factor is newspapers are struggling to get sales people. In many cases, jobs go unfilled or filled with warm body employees that aren’t very good at the job; but they’re better than nothing.  

The opportunity to reinvent or invest in the future came and went for these newspapers, and now it is a monthly battle for survival. And that battle is looming for more and more properties, and bigger papers in the near future.

Recent news that the Reading (Pa.) Eagle Company was filing bankruptcy Is just the latest in a string of similar announcements. The family owned newspaper for over 150 years is trying to find a buyer while seeking protection from creditors. The Reading Eagle is a 37,000 daily / 50,000 Sunday newspaper. The article said that the operation had 236 full time employees. Having just finished running a similar sized organization, I can tell you that seems like a lot of bodies at a newspaper that size. This is often the case at family owned properties, who have multi-layered management trees and really large newsrooms. I hate the cuts of newsrooms personnel, and at newspapers in general. But you also have to adapt to the times somewhat. The days of a 1982 style newsroom and management structure won’t work today.

“Self government won’t work without self discipline.” Add in a long pause, which was Paul Harvey’s style and then his signature sign off. “Paul Harvey, good day.” Newspapers can still have some good days in the future. But it isn’t from tax dollars, and it isn’t from thinking like they always have.

All the things that media reps DON’T do is costing companies revenue

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It has been a few short weeks since I walked away from being a member of the media. Now as the director of marketing for a group of businesses, I’ve discovered a few things about media reps that I feel compelled to tell you about.

I still love ya, media! I really do. So much so that I feel the need to enlighten you on what is happening while your sales reps are out of the office on sales calls.

You see, I want / need you to be successful. The community I work in and the businesses I work for all benefit from a strong local media. And while there are systemic issues that media companies of all varieties face, there are some obstacles in the way of future revenue that you can control.

Your sales staff.

In a short amount of time, I’ve discovered a list of a few things media reps don’t due. Pay attention, and train to repair. This list isn’t likely to surprise you that these things happen some, but I will tell you that it is happening at a much higher rate than I expected. In a nutshell, here are the things your reps don’t do:

• Reps DON’T explain why – why should I buy their product and how it will benefit me
• Reps DON’T ask why – find out why did I buy x, why are we doing y? Reps need to better understand the thought process behind we are are doing, and why we are doing it so they can see how their products and services fit in
• Reps DON’T ask for the sale
• Reps DON’T discover my needs. The amount of product dumps that I’ve witnessed in a short time is amazing.
• Reps DON’T respect my time. In one case, I’ve had three customer needs analysis done by a rep (so far). And they are still trying to work towards a real presentation, which hopefully will happen on meeting number four. We’re already four hours into this process, and I can’t imagine how many hours back at the office for them.
• Reps DON’T always have 100% integrity. As the new buyer, I’m being told of all the things the previous person promised reps in terms of buys. In one case for sure, that is a total fabrication. In others, there is definitely some exaggeration.

I’m not picking on any single media outlet. I’ve had conversations with radio, billboards, niche magazines, newspapers and various digital platforms. There are some stars out there in local media calling on me too, but the harsh reality is there is plenty of room for improvement with most individuals.

Of all the “don’ts” on the list, the one that bothers me most is the lack of integrity. I’ve experienced some tall tales, where individuals made statements that were either false or a stretch of the truth in an effort to make me feel obligated to buy. Oddly enough in each case, it was not a local entity that made these claims. Rather, it was either secondary markets or national platforms.

The basics still hold true as to the best approach, at least with me. A sale comes down to two things: solutions to problems and good feelings. Solving my problems can only happen if you know my problems. Product dumping might solve your problem of achieving a goal on the number of pitches made, but unless you do a needs analysis you don’t even know what my problems are and can’t solve those problems.

The best needs analysis I had done was from a billboard rep. He was very detailed in his note taking, and really took the time to ask a question, here my answers and probe further with additional questions. I started asking about specific products, and he apologized. He told me that he was not planning to pitch any products today, but promised to come back with my questions answered along with additional information based on our conversation. Text book!

Contrast that with the radio rep that has worked on three needs assessments (so far) but still hasn’t come back with a full market presentation like we’ve asked. Such a waste of my time, not to mention the time of the sales rep. If you haven’t role played a customer needs analysis in the past month with your sales team, you are overdue. It is the foundational step in the sales process in 2019, and few reps are doing it. Even fewer reps are doing it well. It is hard to generate any good feelings, knowing that my time is being wasted by bad sales techniques.

Another alarming trend I’ve noticed has been a lack of asking for the sale on sales calls. There have been only a few attempts, with the best of those coming from the newspaper rep. She’s also the most experienced, I believe. Thinking about media companies, inexperienced reps are very often who make up the sales team. That being the case, there is a good chance what I’m seeing from young reps is being done by your young staff at your company. Reps have a fear of rejection, so they just don’t ask for the sale. Sales managers have to instill that it is OK to be told no. After all, you can’t overcome objections until they say no. And after all, they might just say yes!

Basic training on the different techniques of closing and overcoming objections needs to be regularly featured in your training. You are training, right?

Revenue opportunities are tough. As more and more dollars go to self serve digital options, you have to make the most of the opportunities you have. I honestly don’t believe media companies are controlling all that they can control in the sales process. The result is costing them money. If you have a young staff, you have to work on customer needs analysis, closing and overcoming objections on a regular basis. And by the way, the same applies for seasoned reps too.