Central Michigan Life
Advertising Sales Manager OF THE YEAR
Jessica Lutey
NOMINATION
CNBAM 2007 436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
cm-life.com
L E T T E R O F R E C O M M E N D AT I O N
436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
Jessica Lutey L E T T E R O F R E C O M M E N D AT I O N
Central Michigan Life
Personal Statement
436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
Central Michigan Life
Jessica Lutey
APPENDIX
436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
Central Michigan Life
Advertising Manager JOB DESCRIPTION JOB DESCRIPTION Reports To: Advertising Director Basic Function: Responsible for managing and directing the Advertising Account Executives for Central Michigan LIFE. Conducts goal-setting meetings monthly, and leads deadline and weekly sales meetings. Distributes manifests, confirms with Account Executives ads scheduled for each publishing date. Primary goal is to increase Advertising Revenue in CM LIFE.
BASIC FUNCTIONS 1.Maintain contact with all Account Executives on adaily basis. 2. Establish annual, monthly and weekly lineage/revenue goals with Advertising Director. 3. Maintain records for monitoring progress towards lineage/revenue goals. 4. Review issues of CM LIFE, Monring Sun, Buyers Guide and other Print Media. Evaluate advertising leads and distribute results and suggestions to staff. 5. Assist Account Executives in developing account lists and establishing new accounts. 6. Create and maintain office schedules for Account Executives. 7. Attend and participate in departmental meetings and training sessions. 8. Conduct progess meetings for Account Executives. 9. Assist Account Executives in developing sales presentations and advertising strategies for clients. 10. Meet and exceed agreed upon sales and service objectives for the office. 11. Project knowledge of market, customer, competition, newspaper and advertising throughout business contact. 12. Adheres to and enforces established deadlines, policies, procedures, etc. 13. Follow up on requests from Account Executives, Advertising Director and Assistant Director of Student Media. 14. Recommends special promotional and sales programs designed to increase lineage and revenue and to enhance advertising status of the newspaper. 15. Assist in selection, training and development of staff.
QUALIFICATIONS 1. Must have previous CM LIFE sales experience. 2. Must have demonstrated ability to deal with a variety of accounts effectively. 3. Outstanding communication skills, both oral and written. 4.Working knowledge of all departments of CM LIFE (business, composition, editorial and advertising) and knowledge of computer systems. 5. Ability to interact with people in a positive, upbeat manner.
HOURS 20-30 hours per week. Must be present at all deadlines. Managers are allowed 3 personal days off per semester. Exceptions will be made for graduating seniors who are interviewing. Personal time does not include sick days. Frequent absences will not be tolerated.
436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
Performance Analysis 120000
2006 VS. 2007
Central Michigan Life
Jessica Lutey Comparison
Dollars
100000
January 2006 January 2007 February 2006 February 2007 March 2006 March 2007 April 2006 April 2007
80000 60000 40000 20000 0
90000 80000
1
2006 vs. 2007
70000
May 2006 May 2007 June 2006 June 2007 July 2006 July 2007 August 2006 August 2007
60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0
120000
1
100000
Sept. 2006 Sept. 2007 October 2006 October 2007 Nov. 2006 Nov. 2007 Dec. 2006 Dec. 2007
80000 60000 40000
2007 TOTALS:
$803,292.00 2006 TOTALS:
$672,716.00
20000 0
1
Percent Increase over previous 12 months: 19.4% 436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
Central Michigan Life
Samples
436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
Central Michigan Life
Resume
436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com
January 29, 2008 Dear CNBAM Awards Committee: It is with a great deal of pleasure that I submit this letter of nomination for Lenay Snyder as CNBAM’s 2007 Advertising Manager of the Year. Lenay is an excellent candidate for this honor because of her strong personal attributes, innovative ideas, outstanding organizational skills, excellent work ethic, and obvious sense of loyalty and dedication. She joined the Collegian advertising staff first semester of her freshman year at CSU. Her creativity and excellent customer service skills quickly earned her a spot in an outside sales territory and in August 2007 she became the Collegian’s advertising manager. Her dedication to the Collegian and success as a sales person has become the solid foundation for her success as a manager. ACHIEVEMENT Lenay is one of the most dedicated employees I have had the privilege to work with. She is an excellent communicator and takes on duties and tasks without being directed or asked. Because of her dedication to the Collegian and her strong desire to succeed, she is continually seeking opportunities to improve our efficiency and to increase revenues. One of the first things Lenay did as manager was to redesign our promotional and office materials so that everything had one consistent look. Lenay recognized that we had a mismatched collection of office forms, business cards, sales materials, etc. and that this reflected poorly on our overall professionalism. Coordinating and updating these materials not only made a big difference in the look of our media kits but also got the sales staff excited about the new year. I think more media kits have gone out this past semester than in all of last year. Collegian revenues have taken a hit this year due to a decline in national advertising and a four-word editorial that ran in our September 21 issue. As a result of the editorial local advertisers cancelled annual contracts and pulled already scheduled advertising. Other local advertisers refused to place future ads with the Collegian. Needless-tosay, the advertising staff was faced with a challenge beyond their experience. Lenay reacted quickly by putting together a contest she called “When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade.” The contest rewarded staff for new clients, selling color and making presentations to recover upset clients. Lenay worked diligently to counsel the staff on ways to respond to the negative results of the editorial. She met regularly with the editor-in-chief and newsroom staff to keep dialog open and foster positive relations with what was becoming a tenuous relationship between staffs. Lenay’s efforts helped the staff regain confidence in our product and helped us to regain lost advertisers. Since September Lenay has created several monthly themed sales contests to help motivate the sales staff. With all the contests she has created colorful window displays to track results and get the entire organization enthusiastic about is happening in the ad department. Lenay has taken advantage of several opportunities to develop her media skills. She has participated in seven Collegian Back-to-School training programs and has participated in CSU Student Media’s Leadership training program, diversity training and sexual harassment training. In addition to Student Media programs, Lenay has interned for the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art and JohnstenWells Public Relations in Denver, CO and has attended two CNBAM conferences. MANAGEMENT Lenay works with all new sales representatives to the Collegian. She begins with the basics, takes them step-by-step through the sales process and then role plays various different scenarios they may encounter. Because Lenay has had tremendous sales success at the Collegian, she is able to coach sales representatives through tough situations or difficult objections they have encountered. She recognizes when reps need encouragement and will go to them with ideas, advice or new approaches for handling a client. Lenay has incredible time management skills. In addition to her responsibilities at the Collegian, she serves as a student representative to the CNBAM board, is an honor student at CSU, is actively involved in the CSU chapter of
the American Marketing Association and took a lead role in the EdVenture Partners/Honda Accord Marketing Challenge this past semester. The Challenge was a nationwide collegiate competition to create, implement, and track a marketing campaign for the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe. Despite all her activities and obligations she consistently gives 100% to the Collegian. Her work ethic is impeccable. In a school year that seems laden with obstacles, Lenay has had ample opportunity to exercise her excellent problem solving skills. She has had to make judgment calls and put out a host of fires large and small. She does this with confidence and without fear or hesitation. Her ability to lead, manage, and problem solve has made her an invaluable member of our Student Media management team. In addition to lagging sales and a controversial editorial, in August TEAM Fort Collins, an organization created to address teen drinking, sent out a newsletter to alcohol related businesses in Fort Collins “urging them to reconsider any plans they may have to advertise in the Collegian.” The newsletter asked them to consider the risks involved in exposing young people to alcohol advertising and asked that they consider advertising in other publications instead. Lenay attended the Responsible Alcohol Retailers meeting in September to dispel any false claims the newsletter may have created and to offer positive advertising messages to alcohol advertisers. She wanted to help advertisers create a positive image in our community while continuing to advertise in the Collegian. She also worked with the sales staff on communication strategies while calling on their alcohol related clients. INTERACTION Lenay’s commitment to our organization has gained her the support and confidence of Collegian employees, student and professional, and the Colorado State community as mentioned before. Her positive attitude and approachability contribute to her success in motivating and inspiring other staff members. She has an excellent working relationship with all Collegian departments and consistently performs above and beyond the call of duty. Lenay does not have a specific schedule at the Collegian. She works until the job is done. On many occasions Lenay has stayed well beyond office hours to complete a project or create ad for a sales rep who may be struggling with an idea. Each month Lenay creates a newsletter to mail to our clients informing them of campus and Collegian happenings. She also creates an individual flyer for each sales person for every special edition or special sales project. These personalized sales plans add to the professionalism of our staff and help the staff to sell more effectively and confidently. INNOVATION Recognizing opportunity is second nature to Lenay. Many of the things she has done to enhance our operation and improve the productivity of each of our sales reps have been mentioned throughout this letter. Some of the things I didn’t mention are the special advertising pages Lenay created to target new clients. These pages include Taste of Fort Collins, a weekly restaurant listings page and Rocktober, a page for the World Series. She also created “OneUp November”, a campaign that rewarded our loyal customers by upsizing an ad proportionately by one column. The idea behind the One-Up campaign was not to generate revenue but to restore confidence in the minds of our readers and advertisers. People perceived that because of the September 21 editorial our papers were smaller and therefore believed we were losing readership. The benefit of the campaign was that it filled open space in the newspaper without increasing printing costs and restored faith in our product. Lenay has also been working with College Publisher to create an online dining directory to compliment the printed dining page, Taste of Fort Collins. In summary, Lenay’s professional demeanor, outgoing personality and leadership skills have contributed greatly to the professional reputation of our sales department and our success in overcoming fall semester’s unforeseen obstacles. I can not imagine a person more deserving of CNBAM’s Advertising Manager of the Year than Lenay Snyder. She is a leader and a manager who I believe truly exemplifies the high standards you set for the recipient of this outstanding award. Sincerely, Kim Blumhardt Associate Director of Advertising, Student Media, Colorado State University
CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year Nominee
Lenay Snyder “The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.�
Agha Hasan Abedi
APPENDIX
STUDENT ADVERTISING MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGIAN Student Media supports the mission of Colorado State by enhancing the undergraduate experience through education, training and hands-on experience in media methods, management, ethics, responsibilities, and community service. The department supports student staff members who produce a daily newspaper, the Rocky Mountain Collegian (which includes Collegian.com, an on-line version of the newspaper; College Avenue magazine, a student television production facility, Campus TV; and KCSU-FM, a 10,000-watt radio station. Student Media Department goals are to create and maintain: (1) co-curricular educational and training programs; (2) a learning community that is enriching to students and staff and integrates academic and professional journalistic skills, values, ethics and responsibilities; (3) a welcoming environment for staff and visitors; (4) an organization that demonstrates belief in student capability and potential; and, (5) a development program that recognizes students’ individual needs for personal accomplishment as well as connections with peers, staff, and faculty.
Stu den t Ad ve rtisin g Man ag er The Student Advertising Manager assists the Collegian Advertising Director with management, hiring, training and daily operational duties of the Rocky Mountain Collegian Advertising Department. Example of Duties: • Train new sales representatives, motivate and create sales contests for the existing advertising staff. •
Track and record daily inches of individual sales representatives.
•
Prepare a daily run list of advertisers and creating dummies for the newspaper.
•
Produce a monthly client newsletter included in the billing statements and a monthly newsletter for the advertising sales staff.
•
Create promotional materials for special sections and developing special edition ideas.
•
Along with the Collegian Editor-In-Chief, determine advertising acceptability when an ad is in question.
•
Handle all money in a responsible way, enforce credit policy and collect from prepay accounts at the time the ad is placed.
•
Be knowledgeable of all advertising policies regarding acceptability of copy or art, and assist representatives with questions regarding these policies.
•
Be knowledgeable of all rate and market information in the Advertising Rate card.
•
Attend and assist with training sessions and staff meetings.
•
Motivate the staff and be a positive role model every day.
Semester Revenue
$500,000 $400,000 $300,000
Goal Current
$200,000 $100,000 $0
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Totals
July - Goal: $6,000 - Actual: $12,500 - Increased revenues 100% August - Goal: $123,000 - Actual: $120,100 - Increased local and campus revenues 2% - Decreased national revenues 29% September - Goal: $100,000 - Actual: $62,000 - Decreased revenues 38% due to decreased national advertising and editorial content controversy October - Goal: $85,000 - Actual: $75,100 - Decreased revenues 12% - Marked improvement November - Goal: $56,000 - Actual: $46,000 - Decreased revenues 18% December - Goal: $40,000 - Actual: $37,000 - Decreased revenue 7% - Uprising in the midst of adversity
Brand Image Consistency Rate Card
Presentation Folder
Fax Sheet
Business Cards
Sales Sheets %H LN; S>KH
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Go Rocks.
N`ek\i Jgfikj <[`k`fe The winter season is approaching and students are eager to prepare for the slopes. Skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and winter climbing gear is a must for any winter sports enthusiast. Students will be purchasing new equipment or renting gear for the season. This edition is an excellent opportunity to reach the right students about sports shop merchandise, winter car care discounts, and seasonal activities. In addition, show your support for CSU winter sports teams, like basketball, featured in this edition!
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Publishes: Wednesday, November 14
$40 Blue, $100 Full Color
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cover, lineup information, statistics, time lines and plenty of informational editorial to keep readers â&#x20AC;&#x153;on the ballâ&#x20AC;? as fans. Use this edition to reach the thousands of students, staff, and to watch the games, party supplies,
Regular Rates Apply Friday, October 26th (Saturday Home Game vs. Utah) Friday, November 16th (Saturday Home Game vs. Georgia Southern) Friday, November 21st (Border War)
Deadline:
Wednesday, October 24th Wednesday, November 14th Wednesday, November 19th
Color:
$20 Full Color
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%H ?HK MA> AHF> KNG Every December, thousands of Colorado State University Students study hard for finals and prepare for winter break. Family members will be coming to town to celebrate their graduates and students will plan their graduation parties. Undergraduates are making travel plans, holiday shopping trips and looking for fun ways to spend their time off in Fort Collins. The last week of classes is the prime time to reach students on campus before they leave for the holidays. Many will need to find spring semester housing, tune their cars for the winter, or show families a great time in Fort Collins during graduation weekend. Take advantage of these specials by directly reaching students.
The Holiday season is just around the corner! Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss your chance to... - Reach students who need to buy presents for family and friends - Announce holiday party spots for students, faculty and staff This unique edition is filled with holiday editorial that directly appeals to those who are looking to shop for the holidays. Reach a targeted audience with special discounts, seasonal items and events, and treasured gifts they can only find in Fort Collins. Grab the attention of the CSU community in the Collegianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Holiday Gift Guide!
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5 For 4
Last Week of School Special Maximize reach, frequency, and your advertising dollars with our special 5 for 4 rate. Advertise in 5 of the last 6 issues of the year, you pay for 4 ads and the 5th one is FREE! Eligible Monday, December 3 - Monday, December 10. No copy or size changes please.
20% off Pickup Day Finals Week Edition, Monday, December 10
Full Page Sale: 35% off Make a BIG impression! Eligible Monday, December 3 - Monday, December 10.
Deadline: Friday, November 30 Color:
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$40 Red or Green, $100 Full Color
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Distribution: Format:
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Format:
Tabloid Special Section
Publishes: Monday, December 10 Deadline: Friday, November 30 Color:
$40 Green or Yellow, $100 Full Color
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Color:
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Go Pride. Homecoming and Family Weekend is one of CSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest events for activities and celebrations. Thousands of alumni, family and friends will be in town October 5-7 for the game. The city comes to life creating a host of opportunities for local businesses. This edition will be the place to look for everything happening that weekend. As an added bonus, extra copies of the edition will be available at the Alumni Center and during the Homecoming parade.
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9\jk f] :JL <[`k`fe The Best of CSU edition is one of the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular editions of the year! One week prior, we publish a survey for students, faculty and staff to vote for their favorite businesses and things to do around Fort Collins. The top three winners* from each category will be published in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best of CSUâ&#x20AC;? issue. CSU students spend over two million dollars on restaurant and entertainment purchases each month. This is a valuable edition to establish regular customers to your business.
Regular Rates Apply. IXk\j1 :fcfi1 $40 Spot Green or Yellow $100 Full Color Friday, September 28th ;\X[c`e\1 Wednesday, October 3rd GlYc`j_\j1
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$40 Green, $100 Full Color
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Regular Rates Apply, Buy Four Get one FREE
Publishes: Tuesday, November 27 Wednesday, November 28 Tuesday, December 4 Wednesday, December 5 Monday, December 10 Deadline: Friday, November 16
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8[m\ik`j`e^ @e]fidXk`fe Rates:
20% off to any advertiser who ran in the Fall coupon book!
Black plus red or blue Cover (outside): Full Color Cover (inside): Full Color
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Did you know... 77% of students live off campus Each CSU student will spend an average of $6,000 annually on living expenses
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19,000
Each coupon measures 4 3/8â&#x20AC;? wide x 2 3/8â&#x20AC;? deep
Deadline: Cover: Friday, December 7 Inside: Monday, December 10 Color:
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss your chance to... - Reach students who need a place to live for spring semester - Promote 2007 rent specials - Reach students who will be returning from Semester Abroad and need a place to live - Reach students and their parents touring campus for next school year
The Collegianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Housing Guide is the perfect place to promote living arrangements to CSU students, faculty and staff!
$350 $520 $70
Publishes: Monday, January 7
The Collegianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Graduation Edition is the best way to reach graduating seniors as well as their friends and family who will be visiting for the ceremony. This is a great opportunity to promote dining options, hotel accommodations, and gift ideas. Many students will be having their graduation parties here in town and will be looking for reception locations, catering, floral and liquor specials. The Graduation Edition provides readers with special features not offered in any other publication. These features include congratulatory ads from campus departments, graduation personal ads, as well as baby pictures of graduates in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Graduatingâ&#x20AC;? section. This edition is a true keepsake for readers to hold on to. Put your name front and center so they will remember you during their special time.
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One page: Two pages: Back of coupon:
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Repeat any ad from the Fall 2007 Semester and receive 20% off!
Regular Rates Apply
Publishes: Wednesday, December 5
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The Collegian Coupon Book is the campus coupon book distributed throughout the Lory Student Center, to the residence halls, direct mailed to the offices of CSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faculty and staff and the only coupon book included in the University Bookstoreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pre-textbook orders! Collegian Coupons will reach more students, faculty and staff than any other coupon book available. And best of all, at a cost less than other coupon books! The beginning of a new semester is an ideal time for businesses to introduce themselves to new students unfamiliar with the community and also remind returning students where to go for the best deals. More than 240,000 students will attend CSU in the spring. CSU students will spend in excess of $20.9 million while in Fort Collins. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss this opportunity to reach the lucrative CSU market with a money saving offer.
celebratory discounts, and more!
'REAT 'AME
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This edition will feature a poster size
faculty Rockies fans. Feature places
Publishes:
Deadline: Friday, November 9 Color:
A special pullout section will be Rockies game of the world series.
8[m\ik`j`e^ @e]fidXk`fe Rates:
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advantage of this valuable edition. published in the Collegian the first
Publishing each Friday before the last three home games, your ad will be placed in featured â&#x20AC;&#x153;home game pagesâ&#x20AC;? in the paper. Additionally, the paper is filled with editorial and highlights for the upcoming game. Not to mention full color is only $20. Now thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a winning play you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to miss.
Regular Rates Apply
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Use your Rockies pride to take
If you want the to reach Ram football fans, this package is for you. The Triple Threat package combines frequency and prime placement to give you winning results. Use this special advertising package to get the most Ram Fan exposure. Feature places to watch the game, purchase Ram gear, stock up on tailgating supplies, or just show your support for the Ram team.
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The Best of CSU edition gives business winners an opportunity to boast their earned status and thank their customers who dubbed them worthy. The edition also gives businesses not voted into the top three spots an opportunity to position themselves with the Best of CSU or highlight the #1 feature of their business.
8[m\ik`j`e^ @e]fidXk`fe Rates:
Regular Rates Apply
Publishes:
Tuesday, October 23
Deadline:
Thursday, October 18
Color:
$40 Red, $100 Full Color
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m o .c Go Virtual. Collegian.com is the internet version of Colorado's only student-run daily. The site includes all the editorial content of the regular Collegian plus interactive features, Collegian classifieds, blogs, videos, letters to the editor, reader comments and updated weather forecasts. Visited by students, faculty, parents, alumni and others from around the world, Collegian.com is an excellent complement to your print ad campaign.
Button 125 x 125 pixels (Actual Ad Size)
25k Maximum File Size
Full Banner 468 x 60 pixels (Actual Ad Size)
Statistics
35k Maximum File Size Vertical Banner 120 x 240 pixels (Actual Ad Size)
Other
27%
38%
CSU Students & Faculty
35k Maximum File Size
35% Alumni
110,605 110,605* Page Impressions (views) Per Month *Spring 2007 Average
Jaimee Ribelin 970-491-6584 Direct 970-491-1690 Fax retail2@lamar.colostate.edu
Online Rates
Full Banner 468x60 pixels
Vertical Banner 120x240 pixels Square Button 125x125 pixels
$150/month $400/3 months $150/month $400/3 months $110/month $300/3 months
Call Me Today!
Go Ghoulish. Halloween Package Halloween is many studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; favorite time of year. The CSU community is ready for a fa-boo-lous time! Our Halloween pages are a valuable way to reach students about Halloween specials, as well as places to go for a great time! Highlight costume contests, specials on needed supplies, places to eat and alternative entertainment.
Package Details Format: Publishes:
Deadline: Color: Rates:
Halloween pages in the regular paper Thursday, October 25th Friday, October 26th Monday, October 29th Tuesday, October 30th This day is Wednesday, October 31st free! Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 $40 Orange $100 Full Color Regular Rates Apply
Jenn Taussig
970-491-1692 Direct
970-491-1690 Fax
Call Me Today! retail2@lamar.colostate.edu
Sales Incentive Office Theme
COLLEGIANAIRES Laminated Cubicle Nameplates
Money Tree: Make it Bloom!
Sales Incentive Competition
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!
When life gives you lemons, make LEMONADE!! A AK KA AÒÒ W WH HEEN N LLIIFFEE G GIIV VEESS Y YO OU U FF******,, TTH HEEN NM MA AK KEE SSO OM MEE B BU UC CK KSS!!!!
Hooray!! A sales contest!! See if you can make the most lemonade in 2 weeks!!
MAKE 20 INCHES A DAY AND GET A LEMON NEW PROSPECTS EARN YOU DOUBLE LEMONS IF YOU GET AN ANGRY CLIENT TO continue ADS AFTER EDITORIAL, DOUBLE LEMONS!
Here are the rules: MAKE 20 INCHES A DAY AND GET A LEMON (IF A NEW PROSPECT IS PART OF THOSE INCHES- DOUBLE LEMONS!!) (IF YOU GET A CLIENT TO continue ADS AFTER THE EDITORIALDOUBLE LEMONS!)
FOR EVERY COLOR UPGRADE, ADD A TEASPOON OF SUGAR
FOR EACH COLOR AD YOU SELL, ADD A TEASPOON OF SUGAR !!! You have two weeks to make lemonade. Whoever makes the most, wins THE PRIZE!!!! STARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3RD ENDS, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17TH
SUGAR+LEMONS=LEMONADE MAKE THE MOST A WIN!
Interactive Window Display
Award Incentives: Client and In-house Best of CSU Client Certificates
2007
Best Place to Hear Live Music
Aggie Theatre 6TH YEAR IN A ROW
i made a fabulous ad thatad really rocked i made a fabulous i made a fabulous ad that really rocked award 1. Biz: ________________________________Date: ______________ that really rocked award Page:_________ 2. Biz: ________________________________Date: ______________ Page:_________ award
Creative Services Staff Weekly Design Award 3. Biz: ________________________________Date: ______________ Page:_________
Advertising Staff votes for Ad Design of the week
i made a fabulous ad thatad really rocked i made a fabulous i made a fabulous ad that really rocked award 1. Biz: ________________________________Date: ______________ that really rocked award Page:_________ 2. Biz: ________________________________Date: ______________ Page:_________ award 3. Biz: ________________________________Date: ______________ Page:_________
Winnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name is displayed with this tag each week!
of wetehe k i made a fabulous ad thatad really rocked i made a fabulous i made a fabulous ad that really rocked award that really rocked award award
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T heRocky M ou ntain C ollegian NOVEMBER 2007 TIPS FOR REACHING COLLEGE STUDENTS
TESTIMONIAL
“
The Collegian is the only true way to target my demographic! Since my involvement with the Collegian, my business has grown by leaps and bounds! The staff is smart and responsive to my needs. Bang for my buck, there is no finer publication in Fort Collins!
-Daniel Dolan
Freakshow Tattoo
ADVERTISING UPDATE Did you know that CSU students contribute over 120.7 million dollars to the Fort Collins economy each year? This includes food, entertainment, transportation and other personal expenses. Why not include your business in their contributions by reaching the students through a medium that 92% read on a daily basis! The Rocky Mountain Collegian continues to be the primary source of news for college students since 1891. Advertising in our paper places your business in front of over 33,000 students, faculty and staff at Colorado State. Call 970-491-7467 today to speak with your representative about reaching this valuable market.
“
The holiday season is quickly approaching! Students, staff and faculty will soon be on the hunt for the perfect gifts, transportation home and winter gear! Make sure you reach them effectively through advertising in our holiday special editions. Keep in mind that we do not publish during Fall break, so make sure you plan advertising accordingly!
t s o P
CALENDAR
11/14 11/17 11/23
WINTER SPORTS EDITION PUBLISHES RAM FOOTBALL VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN @ 12 RAM FOOTBALL BORDER WAR @ 12
11/17-25 FALL BREAK 12/05 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PUBLISHES
12/10
GRADUATION GUIDE PUBLISHES
12/3-10 5-FOR-4 DAYS 12/3-10 35% OFF FULL PAGE 12/10 LAST PUBLISHING DAY 12/10 FIRST DAY OF FINALS WEEK 12/10 SPRING COUPON BOOK DEADLINE
12/14-15 GRADUATION CEREMONIES
UPCOMING SPECIAL EDITIONS WINTER SPORTS The winter season is approaching and students are eager to prepare for the slopes. Ski, snowboard, ice skating, and winter climbing gear is a must for any winter sports enthusiast. Students will be purchasing new equipment or renting gear for the season. This edition is an excellent opportunity to reach the right students about sports and winter merchandise, winter car care discounts, and seasonal activities. In addition, show your support for CSU winter sports teams featured in this edition! Deadlines: Friday 11/9
Publishes: Wednesday 11/14
phone: 970.491.7467 fax: 970.491.1690
email: retailad@lamar.colostate.edu or retail2@lamar.colostate.edu
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Lenay N. Snyder 720-280-3249
lenay.snyder@gmail.com 5397 S. Independence Street
Littleton, CO 80123
OBJECTIVE To obtain a entry-level position in the marketing industry and to make significant contributions that will lead to company profitability and personal career growth.
EDUCATION Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, GPA: 3.3 Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO Concentration: Marketing Minor: College of Liberal Arts, Media Studies
QUALIFICATIONS • • • •
Professional communication and customer service through client relations at The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Advertising sales and advancing small business growth through The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Management and leadership skills gained as Advertising Manager of The Rocky Mountain Collegian advertising sales staff. Creative innovation displayed through enhancing client marketing strategies at The Rocky Mountain Collegian and enriching college student experience of CNBAM
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE The Rocky Mountain Collegian, Fort Collins, CO Oct., 2004 - May., 2008 Senior Account Executive • Managed roughly 35 businesses in self-run Fort Collins' sales territory • Contributed creative input and work in sales promotions, advertising copy design, and editorial layout • Worked with clients to help create and maintain their desired image among collegiate market • Exceeded every monthly sales goal on average by 92% • Accomplished every special edition goal • In 2005, sold approximately $1 million in revenue with sales team (record to date) • Salesperson of the Month: November/December 2005 Advertising Manager • Developed consistent brand image across all sales and promotional materials • Created motivational office theme to foster goal attainment, motivation, and positive energy in the office environment • Implemented incentive based sales competitions within staff • Held weekly staff meetings to problem solve, brainstorm, role play, and maintain business operations • Held frequent one-on-one meetings with sales employees to evaluate performance and enhance sales skills • Conceptualized specific food and dining section in print and online to enhance reader experience and advertising effectiveness Webolutions.com Marketing Agency, Greenwood Village, CO http://www.webolutions.com
Jun., 2007 - Aug., 2007
LEADERSHIP/INVOLVEMENTS College Newspaper and Business Advertising Managers, National Elected Student Representative
Oct., 2004 - May., 2008
American Marketing Association, CSU Chapter, Fort Collins, CO
Aug., 2006 - May., 2008
Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, CO Marketing Intern JohnstenWells Public Relations, Denver, CO Internship Workshop
Oct, 2006 - Mar, 2007 Jun 2006
EdVenture Partners/Honda Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge, Fort Collins, CO Aug., 2007 - Dec., 2007 Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge: New Car, New Generation • Nationwide collegiate competition to create, implement, and track a marketing campaign for the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe towards the collegiate market • Transformed $2,500 budget into over $17,000 in sponsorships and donations • Increased unaided recall of brand 36.3% as well as overall brand attitude and purchase intention Member of Report and E-Media Creation • Compiled marketing strategy proposal and final report • Created PowerPoint presentations for client meetings • Actively participated in bi-weekly strategic brainstorming
To Whom It May Concern: I enthusiastically nominate Lenay Nicole Snyder as CNBAM’s Advertising Manager of the year. Lenay has been working at the Rocky Mountain Collegian since her freshman year, and she has been growing ever since. As the Advertising Sales Coordinator, I work closely with Lenay and admire her hard work and dedication to the Collegian, especially during the turmoil the Collegian has suffered this past year. As you may, or may not know of, the Collegian was scrutinized and shunned by many advertisers and community members when the editorial staff wrote an offensive editorial on the opinion page of the paper. Lenay rose to the challenge during this time when the paper was losing thousands of dollars because of the editorial. She remained professional in the media, positive in the office and a leader among her peers. Achievement: Lenay is great at creating sales contests to boost revenues. When the advertising representatives were stressed and down because of the lack of sales due to the editorial, Lenay created, “When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade” contest. The sales staff would earn lemons for their carafes by finding new clients and by getting clients to return to the paper after pulling their advertising. The sales staff would also earn sugar for their lemonade by selling color ads. The winning sales representative won $50.00. This motivated the staff to keep positive while working with clients who did not want to be associated with our paper. Many of the advertising representatives were able to get those advertisers who pulled out of the paper back into the Collegian. Management: Lenay holds meetings with each sales representative individually. Although we meet as an entire sales staff weekly, the individual meetings allow her to discuss best practices for how the representative should handle each territory. These individual meetings also allow for Lenay and the sales representative to strategize getting new clients, matching their clients to our different products and allowing for feedback between Lenay and the representative. Lenay is also very involved with the training of the sales staff. When a representative is promoted into a territory, Lenay goes with him/her on their first couple of sales calls. This allows for Lenay to make sure the representative is practicing the sales techniques they have been taught. It also allows for instant feedback on the representative might improve in any areas of the sales process. Lenay is also very good at balancing her work and schoolwork. Lenay was part of a class, which designed and implemented a marketing campaign for Honda. Naturally, she was also a leader of the marketing campaign. They even pitched the campaign to representatives from Honda. Lenay’s Grade Point Average of around 3.3, speaks to her hard work and her ability to balance work and school.
Interaction: Lenay has great interaction among the sales staff, as well as, other departments in Student Media. The sales representatives know to go Lenay because of her years of experience as a sales representative as well. She is someone they can look to for things like balancing school and work, staying motivated, and acting professional when dealing with clients. Lenay is also complimented by several of the professional staff members of Student Media because of her positive attitude and professionalism. Lenay is an excellent problem-solver. Especially when it came to forging a positive working relationship between the sales staff and the editorial staff. It has not always been easy, but Lenay repeatedly told the sales staff they should not dwell in sorrow because of articles done by the editorial staff, which angered their clients. On the flip side, Lenay also meet with the Editor-in-Chief, repeatedly, to educate him on how sales could be affected by how the newspaper is perceived. During that time, Lenay was also aware that advertising could not, and should not; dictate what things are printed in the newspaper. Lenay also keeps in touch with our advertisers in the form of a newsletter inserted into our out-going bills. She redesigned the inserts to provide our clients with tips on how to advertise to college student, testimonials of how the Collegian has benefited other clients and up coming special editions. Innovation: Lenay sees the potential in on-line sales. She is working with our creative services department, as well as our website hosting company, to develop an on-line restaurant directory. She also designed an on-line rate flyer for the sales representatives to use while pitching our website to clients. Although, our on-line rates are in our rate card, this flyer goes into depth on our website statistics which helps our representatives sell on-line ads with ease. Lenay is always willing to help, to brainstorm, and to put in hard work. For the many duties Lenay performs, she should win the Advertising Manager of the Year Award. Sincerely,
Eric Melendez Advertising Sales Coordinator Student Media Colorado State University
MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY
Serving as a sales representative at the Collegian for three years, I was ready to implement change as the Advertising Manager. I knew our strengths and weaknesses as an organization and immediately established my mission and goals for the sales staff operations at the start of the year. I take pride in my position and believe a manager should always encompass three roles: motivator, communicator, and problem-solver. Create a professional foundation. I believe a manager should begin the position by analyzing the foundation of operations for any problems. For me, I needed to recreate all printed material into a consistent brand image for the Collegian. As a marketing major, I place high priority on this element. If clients are not shown professionalism and consistency in our image on paper, they will question the sales representatives’ abilities. Furthermore, when materials are consistent, our brand and product now becomes memorable. I brainstormed with my advisors on the design of our new rate card and then proceeded to transfer the same design standard into our business cards, fax sheets and all sales materials. (See Appendix) My staff appreciated this change because they could easily gather a proposal of sales pitches in an organized fashion. Students have a difficult enough time establishing credibility with clients, so the revived materials gave my sales staff a newfound confidence in their professional abilities. Be a motivator. One of the problems I struggled with as a sales representative was keeping myself motivated through stressful as well as slow periods. I wanted to keep my staff consistently excited about selling the product. I began with creating our annual office theme. This yearlong theme is meant to satisfy long-term motivation. I wanted to establish a concrete numerical goal for the staff to achieve by the end of the school year. The theme was Collegianaires. In recent years, our staff has come painstakingly close to breaking one million dollars in annual revenue. I wanted my staff to make this record and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. To create eager participation and excitement with the staff, I created “personas” for each employee. Each staff member was given a Collegianaire name, thus encouraging an alter ego for extra motivation. (See Appendix) To showcase their efforts along the way and keep them motivated, I created a money tree that would “grow” a money bloom for every 25,000 in revenue earned (See Appendix). In the past, special editions in our paper have been motivators to gain new clients and exceed quota goals. I believe that we have been placing so much emphasis on these special editions that we have lost sight of selling consistent advertising in the paper. I wanted to re-emphasize the value of advertising our paper in a regular basis. I used this as a primary focus in training my sales staff as well as in our weekly meetings. I stressed the importance of establishing consistency and value for the client by catering a long-term advertising proposal to meet their needs and expectations. This, in turn, established consistent sales throughout the year for our organization. On the morning of September 21, I began a long, unexpected journey of pulling my staff out of a rough situation. A whole new realm of motivation and management was needed after our paper suffered an unexpected editorial comment in the September 21 issue. In addition to our national advertising in decline, now many local advertisers had lost faith in our professionalism and trust at the Collegian and pulled their advertising. I needed to take action. Instead of complaining with the staff, I decided to step up to the plate and be a leader for change. It was time for damage control. I immediately enacted a sales competition labeled, “When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade.” This encouraged the staff to keep their heads up and continue to prospect new clients. In addition, I made myself available to sit down and discuss with each employee about their struggles and how to overcome them. I wanted them to be professionally prepared when they were met with angered clients and community members.
I spoke with several clients and community members in the process and acted as the spokesperson for my staff to make sure our afflictions were handled in public hearings. With persistence and continuous motivation, my sales staff is now exceeding our budgeted goals by $7,000. Encourage open communication. Managing my peers seemed a daunting task at first, but with three years of experience to add to my credibility, I found my sales staff open to respect my role as a leader and a friend. This is what enabled me to establish the open communication I have with my staff today. In the beginning of the year, I would frequently initiate discussions with each employee about their struggles, successes, and operational frustrations. I wanted them to understand that I not only am open to listening to their frustrations, but that I will take any necessary action. As a sales representative, I valued management who would follow-through and commit to a needed change. If I am not available to talk, each employee knows that they can set up a one-on-one meeting with me at anytime. I am more than willing to give advice on client relationships, prospecting, advertising design, or even join in on a sales appointment. Create a work family. This may sound cheesy, but I feel that it is important to foster a welcoming environment and life-long relationships in our workplace. By creating a positive environment, the employees are more comfortable and therefore more productive. In a sales-natured environment, it is important to encourage laughter and fun as a counterbalance. We installed a miniature basketball hoop in the center of the office. Whenever, there is a sales success or someone needs a pick me up, a small game of basketball ensues! Also, if a sales representative makes a great call or closes a deal, I bring out my party horn for a good old-fashioned proclamation of celebration. I always want to put a smile on someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face, whether it be a joke, prank, game, or words of encouragement. I am always one to suggest a team party, whether it be a quick lunch, out on the town, or an all-out barbeque. These activities have brought us closer than ever. Be a learner. I will never be the best at anything and I am perfectly fine with this. I would rather be learning and advancing at every opportunity. I frequently read up on industry news, sales blogs, and management tutorials in order to stay fresh in my tactics. One thing I have learned so far is that people are far different than managing a territory. They are living, breathing, thinking and changing beings. I learned the foundation of a successful manager is establishing relationships. I value giving my staff a sense of open communication and trust. I want to prepare them to be successful salespeople by rooting them in a foundation of professionalism, solid sales skills, and an apparent client-focus. I do value and believe in results, however I place my management emphasis on preparing a solid foundation for success. This bears a rollercoaster ride along the way, but improvement is certainly apparent. And if that exists, I have done my job.
Lenay N. Snyder Advertising Manger
Buzz Sales Spring '03
Fall '03
Spring '04
Fall '04
Spring '05
Fall '05
Spring '06
Fall 06
Spring '07
Fall '07
Diff
Cume
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
$55.00 $55.00 $55.00 $110.00 $397.54 $302.50 $383.79 $438.78 $371.25 $426.25 $316.25 $440.00 $740.00 $495.00 $840.00 $486.25
$5,912.61
$440.00 $316.25 $639.37 $374.69 $436.56 $491.57 $631.36 $975.12 $761.99 $602.14 $664.02 $602.39 $1,332.77 $1,254.85 $1,222.19 $1,029.69
$11,774.96
$1,040.00 $1,040.00 $565.00 $505.00 $935.00 $1,187.50 $1,355.00 $1,572.50 $1,857.06 $1,124.25 $1,298.31 $747.69 $554.37 $1,005.94 $616.25 $1,456.88
$278.36 $796.36 $201.26 $1,857.32 $1,069.04 $1,437.04 $559.07 $1,410.17 $982.17 $1,078.27 $725.86 $2,113.88 $406.86 $926.06 $522.46 $949.26
$16,860.75 $15,313.44 First Second
$959.38 $1,379.34 $324.92 $475.36 $542.76 $944.64 $597.74 $1,378.00 $1,168.00 $1,023.94 $902.24 $494.68 $899.56
$492.96 $363.96 $696.00 $892.90 $606.97 $448.84 $618.97 $1,325.80 $875.22 $637.20 $722.35 $687.97 $1,112.43 Thanksgiving $938.96 $360.40 $308.00 $506.95 418.36 $966.75
$12,755.88
$11,315.67
$266.29 $286.00 $555.53 $474.63 $788.51 $1,037.53 $1,371.21 $858.03 $807.96 $1,592.48 $1,072.23 $386.91 $465.18
$260.18 $435.98 $451.33 $80.02 $1,190.85 $814.45 $832.60 $767.01 $642.85 $457.20 $733.53 $708.48 $831.01
$937.31 $600.18 $220.05
$562.64 $362.17 $311.02
$11,720.03
$9,441.32
$9,441.32
$431.00 $516.05 $401.78 $688.48 $401.78 $464.08 $401.78 $1,004.29 $401.10 $735.91 $891.45 $737.76 $1,560.97
$773.00 $387.99 $810.05 $486.99 $492.25 $1,105.14 $1,126.00 $726.40 $994.45 $487.00 $316.90 $739.90 $1,048.30 Thanksgiving $1,623.67 $613.90 $1,651.17 $1,122.10 $1,232.11 $868.90 $13,143.38 Third
$512.82 ($47.99) $358.72 $406.97 ($698.60) $290.69 $293.40 ($40.61) $351.60 $29.80 ($416.63) $31.42 $217.29 $51.26 $759.93 $557.88
$2,657.95
$12,099.27
$12,099.27
1.28152313
January 18, 2008 To: CNBAM Re: Sales Manager of the Year Becoming sales manager was a personal goal I set since my first day at The Daily Titan. Attending California State University, Fullerton since Fall 2005, my leadership skills have been honed on campus through many different organization including beginning as an Account Executive, I increased sales in my territory by 30%, and sold the most for our Back to School Guide special section. Continuing as an Account Executive, I became the Advertising Manager in Spring of 2007, and have the distinction of the youngest Advertising Manager ever hired as well as only the second female ever hired for the position. My experiences at the Daily Titan, combined with in depth educational experiences, are what gives me an edge over others in similar positions. A double Major in Graphic Design and Advertising allows me to effectively communicate with our production designers as well as understand the goals of the Account Executives on staff. Leadership skills were developed early on in high school in my position as Editor-in-chief of my high school yearbook as well as the president of the California Scholarship Federation. As a freshman I was accepted into the University Honors program and later became the youngest president ever for the CSUF Advertising Club. My leadership background has helped shape my management philosophy, the heart of which is that The Daily Titan is a family of sort, we are a support system in sales as well as school. Each new member is presented with a welcome basket filled with the essentials and a card. My focus is daily and weekly recognizing what a staff member does well at sales meetings. By creatively brainstorming new ways to help our community in Fullerton I also create new ways to ensure my staff is constantly learning and developing lifelong skills through working for the newspaper. My sales philosophy
concentrates on setting goals, encouraging input, and creating innovative ways to promote our paper as well as sales. As the Advertising Manager, I have outlined a complete commission plan including a semester sales goal. These goals are based on previous sales in each Account Executive’s given territory. I created a large “Sales Thermometer”, which exists for each account executive as well as one for our entire office. Whenever someone makes a sale they fill in the given section in their thermometer, which enables everyone on staff to visualize our successes and strive to beat their goal. At the end of the semester it was encouraging to see people fill in their thermometer beyond the paper itself. Those who reached or beat their goals were recognized by receiving a 2% commission on their total sales and by being recognized at our end of the semester banquet. In addition, I created three new ways to advertise with our paper. Under my direction our paper sold out-of-home advertising with the new AdRax program, online advertising with multiple position locations, as well as front page advertising. I am constantly influenced by others in our industry, especially our local papers The Orange County Register, and The Los Angeles Times. Both publications recently featured front-page full color ads. Constantly improving our advertising allows the staff to learn how to sell new forms of media. I always encourage input from the sales team and seek it by asking for comments and concerns before and after every sales meeting. I also created a comments and concerns box that is on the Assistant Ad Managers desk to allow the staff to submit anonymous input. Traveling monthly on dual walk up calls with the Account Executives, where we go out into the field to meet with clients, allows me to constantly play an active role in the betterment of my staff. Another form of my mentorship is the creation of training seminars for everything from “How to make the most of AdPro” to “How to make an effective advertisement”. These seminars took place at oyr weekly sales meetings. Being sales manager has been one of the most difficult roles I have assumed. However, I this job has also been the most rewarding experience. I love this job and
greatly respect everyone with whom I work and collaborate. My experiences as sales manager have helped me to grow into a viable and conscientious leader and the lessons learned will follow me for a lifetime.
January 18, 2008 To: CNBAM Re: Category 6B: Advertising Manager of the Year It is with great enthusiasm that I write this letter of recommendation for Stephanie Birditt, Advertising Manager for California State University, Fullerton’s Daily Titan newspaper. In my past three years with The Daily Titan, I can confidently say that Stephanie generated the most successful semester in sales and comradeship this past fall through her outstanding leadership and organization skills. Stephanie has designed programs that increased revenue at The Daily Titan. She started the Ad Rax promotion with many on-campus clients and encouraged account executives to sell clients a full media package, including examples of outdoor Ad Rax, online banner ads, and front page print advertising, to reach the CSUF demographic in new ways. The advertising staff is always informed of new announcements, deadlines, and achievements through her Ad Reports, which are passed out to each account executive at our weekly sales meetings. The positive feedback help keep up the office morale along with sales incentives that have been implemented since summer sales. In addition to keeping the Advertising staff informed about announcements and office deadlines, Stephanie purchased “sales training programs” and utilized them during the sales meetings. Account executives were given packets on: Selling Do’s and Don’ts, Helpful Customer Service, How to Make the Most Out of AdPro, Reasons Why Your Clients Should Purchase Online, and Overcoming Objections. Stephanie prepared weekly quizzes to properly train account executives in each category. Stephanie’s leadership at the The Daily Titan Advertising department has been innovative and professional. Her monthly written evaluations for account executives has
been beneficial in presenting clear communication in the office and meeting performance expectations. As Advertising Manager and a fellow student at Cal State Fullerton, Stephanie maintains a professional and friendly relationship with the entire staff. Besides her constant supervision of new account executives, she took the extra step taking new account executives on training walk-up calls after a full week of training. All new employees also received thoughtful welcome baskets on their first day at The Daily Titan. The Daily Titan would not be standing where it is today without Stephanieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard work and dedication.
Best regards, Sarah Oak Assistant Advertising Manager, The Daily Titan
ManagementPhi l osophy
St r engt hLi esi n
DI F F ERENCES St e phe nCove y
Donna Weber,Sal esManageroft he YearPort f ol i o
Noti nSi mi l ar i t i es
1
Management Philosophy
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
Beneficial differences are the means in which managers should define themselves. We are all taught to “preach the benefits.” Your direct competition is most likely taught the same principle and they will more than likely have many of the same benefits. The one who gets the sale out of the two is the one who preaches the differential benefits. As a manager, I apply the same theory but I also implement Newton’s third law to my beliefs. The law of reciprocal actions states, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." Maintaining a balance of actions and establishing differences is the key to managing. By keeping personalities varied and actions balanced, I have a formulated team handling map that guides me through each obstacle I face. Through which I recognize that each individual sales representative is different. I am different from them. They are different from me. Together, our strengths combine to create a powerful formula for success. A strong staff results in having a well‐built hiring aesthetics. During the hiring process I objectively select candidates with potential, but also those who different from the current team members. Managing people is not telling, dictating or checking every move employees make. Having the ability to “read people”, is a fundamental for influencing them. Finessing skills such as learning what tones, mechanisms and mannerisms your representatives respond best to, furthermore enhances your effectiveness as manager. Although pertinent for managers to have set expectations for the entire, every account executive sells differently; therefore, assigning individual expectations are highly important. Delegating accounts is an effective convention only when the personality and phone selling argot match both the account representative and account. “I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me” (“The Departed”, 2006). I strongly believe that the office environment is a direct reflection of your behavior in this environment. My tone and work ethic is a constant, persuasive communication with all account executives. Staff meetings are to discuss large upcoming events and publications, office housekeeping issues and specific instructions. I also utilize our staff meetings to brush up sales skills. For example, I felt we were having a problem with taking “no” for an answer too much, so I showed clips from “Broiler Room” to display a different type of a strong salesman. I did not show this for the mechanics of the movie, but for the influence it would have on all reps. It did and later that week we beat our overall sales goal for the summer semester. Additionally I send at minimum one email to all representatives each day, in which I include a motivating sales quote of the day to maintain an animated office. I also work immensely at setting individual sales goals to be challenging, yet attainable for the representatives. St. Francis of Assisi states it flawlessly, "Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Managers are often told to set the rules and live by them; nevertheless, I find that breaking the rules can be effective as well. Student managers fight a tough battle with retention. By giving that extra day off or making small allowances employee’s paycheck increases their performance. By making small, unpublicized exceptions the rules, I have gained solid commitments as well as the utmost respect from all of my employees. I also pride myself in keeping criticisms balanced with recognitions. Other positive investments I have made include, but are not limited to, administering frequent goals and evaluations as well as recognizing achievements and delegating new roles to representatives also contribute to preserving an organized and positively accelerated crew. I stepped up to the position at the end of May 2007; however, I have a successful sales history for that time. Although I may be considered a “new” manager, keeping a motivated, united, and heightened staff did not come as a large challenge for me. The best method for me is using the “how”. Most managers like to give orders or use the “what”. I believe, however, that the “what” is interpreting through the “how”. Managers are problem solvers; hence, executing how to solve the problem is the only effective to way to begin eliminating the problem. I do not define myself as a “manager”, but as “the one who manages”. There is no simplistic way in defining an action verb. As I do with my staff, I will leave you with ideas that I have utilized, incorporated and invested in. With the correct amount of energy and time invested, the following ideals make any goal attainable. • “Show and Tell” combines to make one thought for a reason. Make sure you show if you plan to tell. • In every decision, someone is always sold. Will it be you? • No Excuses, Just Results • Keep an equal balance in everything. If you say 10 negative comments, say an additional 10 positive ones. • Listen • Fight for your employees and they will fight for you.
2
Appendix
Sales Records In my first two semesters as Advertising Sales Manger, my team and I broke 9 records of 13 sales records.
Sales Records Broken in June 2007‐Decemeber 2007 Record for
Previous Record Year
Previous Record
New Record Set
Summer Sales
2004
$47,348.00
$48,231.00
Freshman Orientation Guide
2004
1245 Column Inches 1590 Column Inches
First Fall Issue
2004
1789 Column Inches 1870 Column Inches
First Week's Paper (Fall)
2005
4423 Column Inches 5214 Column Inches
Dining & Entertainment Guide
2006
September Papers
2004
Football Guide
2004
December Papers
2005
3242 Column Inches 3508 Column Inches
Last Fall Issue
2004
540 Column Inches
$11,259
$12,483
6405 Column Inches 7045 Column Inches $9,352
$10,082
997 Column Inches
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
As a new manager, I focused heavily on changing the perception of the overall goals. I frequently post thermometers with upcoming goals that state our current status to meeting each goal. In meetings, I hand out charts titled “where we need to be”. These charts, as well as the thermometers, show how many half pages are needed to hit each goal as a team and then individually.
“Efficiency is doing better what is already being done.” Peter F. Drucker
1
Appendix
Overall Sales I officially started my position as Sales Manager in May 2007; subsequently, we began to publish again with our summer editions of The Daily Reveille. The following is a comparison of total summer sales in 2007 to summer sales in 2006.
Summer Sales COMPARISON (2007/LY) ADPRO SALES FOR YTD (JUL‐DEC) Reveille National Advertising Reveille Display Advertising Reveille On Campus
TOTAL
June‐July 2007 $3,842.96 $68,895.19 $28,702.07
June‐July 2006 $120.00 $26,732.39 $16,270.81
VS LAST YR VARIANCE 3102% 158% 76%
$101,440.22
$43,123.20
135%
Summer Totals
2006 June to December Totals
2007 $50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
Thousands _
The following is a comparison of the total sales in our current and previous fiscal years. The following shows our overall percent to budget at the mid‐way point and the variance from last year.
YTD ‐ JULY TO DECEMBER COMPARISON (We are 50% into fiscal year) ADPRO SALES FOR YTD (JUL‐DEC)
% TO BUDGET
Reveille Classifieds Reveille National Advertising Reveille Display Advertising Reveille On Campus Gumbo Revenue Legacy Advertising Revenue Events‐Revenues
$75,000 $72,000 $399,500 $134,500 $16,500 $14,500 $12,000
78% 101% 46% 54% 3% 32% 28%
TOTAL
$724,000
55.00%
June‐December June‐December VS LAST YR 2007 2006 VARIANCE $58,524.61 $40,845.00 43% $72,973.18 $32,582.02 124% $185,112.52 $159,271.92 16% $72,187.31 $94,586.64 ‐24% $417.56 $78.00 435% $4,707.68 $3,136.00 50% $3,319.67 $1,127.60 194%
$397,242.53
$331,627.18
20%
2
07‐08 BUDGET
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
$0
Appeendix
Ov verall Saales Con ntinued d The following is a compariso on of the 2007 total salees to 2006 to otal sales, beeginning in JJune and end ding in Deceember of each year.
JUNE TO O DECEMBE ER COMPAR RISON (20077/LY) ADPRO SALES F FOR YTD (JUL L‐DEC) Reve eille National Advertising g Reve eille Display A Advertising Reve eille On Campus
TOT TAL
June‐December 2007 $74,473..71 $208,110 0.38 $96,433..21
June‐Decem mber 2006 $39,226.8 88 $159,939.36 $107,736.0 09
VS LAST YR V V VARIANCE 90% 30% ‐10%
$379,0177.30
$306,902.33
23%
Thousands
Oveerall Salles Com mpariso on $400 $350 $300
$200 2007 $150
2006
$100 $50 $0 23% increaase (June‐ Decem meber)
125% increase in summer saales
20% % increase for tthe 2007 Fiscal Yearr
I Increased o overall sa ales by 125% in su ummer s sales, 23% % in my m managem ment m during g 2007 an nd by 20% % as of m midway th hrough o our 2007‐22008 fisccal year. term
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
$250
3
Appendix
Personal Sales Personal Print Sales 2007 Account Type Local Campus National Total
# of Advertisers 75 71 72 218
Personal Print Sales $76,569.84 $74,598.60 $71,677.06 $222,845.50
Total Inches 7589.8 8815.4 5808 22213.2
Total Print Sales $349,171.15 $187,879.13 $101,340.63 $638,390.91
% of Total Sales 22% 40% 71% 35%
For 2007, I sold $222,845.50 in display advertising sales and 22,213.20 column inches of advertising space. My personal sales account for 35 percent of total sales revenue for 2007.
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio 4
Appendix
Job Description
5
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
Advertising Sales Manager Office of Student Media, Louisiana State University Duties and Responsibilities: • Ultimately responsible for all aspects of managing the sales department. • Supervises the solicitation of advertising and underwriting for Student Media. • Coordinates the operation of the sales department with the various editorial and broadcast departments • Works with the Assistant Director to set semester revenue goals for the sales department • Has ultimate authority over hiring and firing of all account executives. Supervises account executives. • Has ultimate authority over hiring and firing production staffs. Supervises production staffs. • Has ultimate authority over hiring and firing classified sales staff. Supervises classified sales staff. • Works with Assistant Director to conduct comprehensive training sessions for student staff and will attend all training sessions. • Develops, assigns and maintains account lists for account executives. • Attends advisory board meetings. • Makes sure all employees are familiar with Student Media Handbook. • Follows Student Media and University regulations and policies regarding credit and financial matters. • Works with the Business Manager and Assistant Director to monitor collections and payments by advertisers and underwriters. • Works with Assistant Director to motivate and set sales goals for account executives. • Monitors daily sales call reports. • Makes sure all contracts are properly prepared. • Ensures account executives respond to needs of customers. • Implements new sales strategies and techniques with account executives. • Meets with Assistant Director twice weekly and provides copies of all sales call reports. • Discusses sales matters as necessary with Assistant Director. • Conducts regular sales meeting with account executives. • Maintains appropriate posted office hours and ensures that account executives and other staff members do also. • Prepares advertising layout (blue lines) for The Reveille, The Gumbo, Legacy, Special Sections, and any other print media. • Sends press orders to printer for every issue. • Reviews and signs payroll of account executives and hourly employees and turns in to Office Manager before deadline. • Ensures that all run sheets are turned in to appropriate parties. • Reviews account executive sales reports from Business Manager on a weekly basis before invoices are printed • Makes sure all insertion orders are signed. • Makes sure account executives mail out their own weekly invoices (with tearsheets if necessary) and monthly statements to their clients. • Handles all complaint calls. • Performs other duties as needed and assigned.
Appendix
Donna Michelle Weber 6163 Parkcrest Court • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 • (504) 491‐5244 • salesmanager@lsureveille.com
Objective: Education:
To obtain a full time position at a media company that utilizes a background in advertising sales
Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication concentration in Advertising Minor in Business Administration Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana Graduation Date: December 2008
Work Experience:
Advertising Sales Manager, June 2007 to present Office of Student Media, Louisiana State University Responsible for the development, performance and execution of all representatives and production staff In charge of hiring, firing, recruiting and training of sales and production staffs Responsible for managing 218 established accounts Responsible for 28% to 30% of departmental goals Responsible for preparing all advertising layout and delivering daily specs and paperwork Responsible for recording all sales, overseeing sales calls, setting budgets, signing
Senior Account Executive, June 2006 to June 2007 Office of Student Media, Louisiana State University Responsible for managing approximately 35 client accounts Responsible for soliciting businesses continuously to advertise in Student Media’s print entities Responsible for 10% of overall departmental goal of $261,695.52 Responsible for assisting with hiring efforts and conducting training sessions Achievements: Awards and Honors:
Experiences:
Computer Skills:
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
Attained nine out of thirteen available overall sales records, by executing new strategies Advertising Sales Manager, June 2007 to December 2007 Nominated for Advertising Manager of the Year, 2006‐2007 College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers, Inc Advertising Manager of the Year, 2006‐2007 Office of Student Media, Louisiana State University Sales Representative of the Year, 2005‐2006 Office of Student Media, Louisiana State University Nominated for Sales Representative of the Year, 2005‐2006 College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers, Inc Nominated to run for the Executive Board Position as Student Representative, 2007 College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers, Inc Awarded a Multi‐Media Internship, 2004 Loyola University and WDSU News Channel 6, New Orleans Participated in Job Shadow with Chad Leblanc, Peter Mayer Advertising Agency, 2003 Participated in Job Shadow with Bill Capo, WWL News Channel 15, 2003 Advertising Federation Member, Louisiana State University, 2005‐2006; 2007‐Present Proficient in Microsoft Office Programs (skillful with Excel), Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, AdPro, and basic computer software applications. Familiar with Quark Express, Adobe Illustrator, SPSS and Choices 3.
6
Appendix
Changes & Implementations Sales Flyers. As an account executive, I commenced the concept of the “sales flyer” in an attempt to make a sales call more specifically crafted towards a customer’s needs. This was a big success for me, so as manager I implemented this successful tactic. I created sales packages for holidays, on‐campus events, high traffic weeks and entire semesters. Each flyer gives the client three to four options to maximize their exposure. Flyers, such as the “Nightlife” flyer below, are also created for niche‐specific clients. Flyers are a means for me to select dates at the client’s benefit, while increasing sales numbers for specific time frames. Simultaneously, this tactic provides the representatives with additional selling time by eliminating the time spent making numerous proposals. I post the flyers on a cork board so that they are accessible at all times; additionally, electronic forms of the flyers can be found on the server making this a convenient alternative for clients and employees.
significantly lower your turnover rate; therefore, I deemed it a necessary and effective move to steam‐ line reconstruction of our previous manual. Reformatting and redesigning the program and the manual aided in optimizing the development of new hires. The manual embraces all formatives of the office, including small facets such as “Who to speak to if you need a manual invoice.” The new training program comprehensively covers the sales process; however, I felt that encompassing an equal balance between motivation and skill was significant. Each page includes a quote about sales in the bottom right‐hand corner; thus, new hires are gain knowledge yet are stimulated to take action on their thoughts. Staff meetings. I conduct staff meetings once a month; however, not during the money hours. At least every other week all reps receive a “meeting supplement” in which I address all significant issues explicitly. I also transmit updated monetary progression information. Comparable forms are administered at monthly staff meetings; however, “meeting supplements” include more concrete sales motivation
Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
Training. A concrete training program can
7
Appendix
Motivation. Motivating employees can be difficult, especially when presenting them with numerical figures. With perpetual postings of “sales goal thermometers” as well as “team and individual goals”, numbers begin to look less horrifying to the representatives. To do so I compute the overall goal for the publication and slightly increase it. I then compute the amount we need to reach the goal as a team and as individuals. Every goal is furthermore divided into categories including, but not limited to, “how many ads are needed per representative according to the team’s goal.” Elucidating goals further gives account representatives a more obtainable goals and enhances the team’s work ethics.
Prospects. When I first became manager, I immediately retrieved over 300 inactive accounts from Adpro, our ad tracking software, and sorted through them to check for active accounts. I then incorporated a new way to manage prospects by launching the “note card prospect system.” For every inactive account I found, I created a note card, containing all information available, for each account. Although accounts were immediately administered; however, accounts are retrieved and placed back into the “open prospect” card box if they are not actively engaged. Occasionally the best prospects are the ones consistently overlooked. As a manager I have figured out that there is “no way possible to extend the hours we have in the day,” then you are ready to prioritize and delegate. I am a strong believe and preacher of “you get out of something what you put into it!” Prospecting can be relatively tough as a manager. As with every problem, if you have a will there will be a way. To overcome the prospecting challenge, I incorporated a new prospecting method that would allow me to prospect 150 to 500 people at one time. Coining it “mail out” I do this by creating a letter that explains a niche specific packages and examples of publications.
Innovations. Campus Occurrences, prior to this Donna Weber, Sales Manager of the Year Portfolio
semester, was a free listing for all campus organizations published in every paper. The editorial staff handled requests, which was very challenging. I saw campus occurrences as wasted space and time. I initiated the development in redesigning the spot as an ad that used to run as a black and white advertisement on a color plate. Having the occurrences for advertising space would not only increase revenue, but this would also allow for me to have contact with more student organizations. Gaining confidence in The Reveille, as a promotional source, student organizations that previously felt the process to be unfair and biased now have an equal chance to promote their campus activities.
8
Sales Management Philosophy Candace Barnes, Advertising Manager, The State News My grandmother always claimed I was headed in a certain direction. When I was nine, I excitedly told her I wanted to write books when I grew up. “You will teach,” she said. “I want to be a journalist!” I told her. “Teaching is in your blood.” She would reply. I told her I’d like to produce movies. I told her I’d like to anchor news broadcasts. I told her I would write screenplays. I told her I was a director. I was an editor. I was an engineer. “You’re a teacher.” It was the same response every time; it never failed. Right before she died, I accepted my admission to college and declared advertising as a major. She looked at me, her little green eyes still watering with youth, and she said, “Candace, teach. It’s what you were born to do.” Needless to say, I did not become a teacher. I do, however, teach every single day. Instead of teaching in a classroom environment through the use of textbooks and theoretical circumstances, I teach in a competitively driven, constantly changing, quick-paced environment, which involves hands-on experience with the real world. Lesson plans consist of creating sales plans and selling tips that drive sales and teach account executives how to develop real client relationships. It involves strategizing on the fly, constant adjustments to motivational tactics, individualizing management styles for each different sales rep and all the while keeping a consistent level of buzzing creative energy that encourages the staff to come to work, looking forward to what the day has to bring. Phew, that was a mouthful. Through a unique and creative sales philosophy, I have developed a killer sales team based around three core values: communication, motivation and education. Through these ‘tions’ we have accomplished nearly every challenge presented to us thus far. Such triumphs include a move from publishing 3 days a week during the summer to 5 days a week (Just how many collegiate newspapers can say they’ve done that?!), the launch of an entertainment website, a paper and website redesign, the introduction & training of a brand new computer business system, an increase in revenue by 7.9% over the previous year in a failing economy, and the first sales team in State News history to reach a million dollars in local sales (that’s excluding any classifieds, university accounts or national rep firms). Now, I wouldn’t be doing this philosophy justice if I didn’t admit that this current fiscal year has been a struggle. Michigan continues to have the highest unemployment rate it’s had in 10 years, is one of only two states declining in population and things aren’t exactly looking up. Now in our third straight year of recession, the Michigan economy is finally having its effect on the college community and as a result, our newspaper. Yes, our numbers are down. But, that doesn’t mean we haven’t made changes to improve the areas we have control over. The ‘tions’ as well as several instituted programs have been tweaked and changed to accommodate the times, with proud results. The ‘tions’ o Communication: Individuals communicate and learn through many different channels. Some are visual, some are verbal and others need to physically internalize information. When new information, such as a sales promotion, is introduced, three things are done. I personally meet with the staff to update them. There is never an account executive that doesn’t take notes during these meetings. This allows visual, verbal as well and hands-on learners to internalize the information first hand by hearing it, writing it down and then viewing it on paper. The next step is providing a hard copy. This gives sales reps something physical in their hands to look at and keep at their desks as a reminder. Third, I update them via email with approaching deadlines, feedback on promotions and reminders of the main points of the previous meeting. This further saturates the staff, reaching the electronic readers who operate via email and are less apt to keep hard copies of information. Communication within our office happens on several levels. Weekly, we meet as a whole to discuss solutions to client issues, selling strategies, play team-building games and work to become a close-knit group. In between these meetings, employees meet weekly in four teams of 5-6 people to discuss midweek progress, brainstorm strategies for individual clients and build team motivation and success. Team leaders run their team’s meeting with their own unique format and structure. This allows for feedback from individuals on a more personal level, opportunities to receive advice from different sales perspectives and sharing of individual strategies. By creating a diverse, creative and innovative environment full of consistent feedback, sales reps can constantly improve. o Motivation: As driving sales is a priority among management, we are consistently striving to figure out what it is that will motivate employees to make sales. I believe there are two sole motivators in our sales team workforce, energy and rewards. I have developed two programs that encourage both. o Team sales competitions: For special promotions, teams are encouraged to sell the most ads. The sales team with the highest number of ads sold by deadline wins free lunch for the entire team. This encourages teamwork and individual motivation while generating a competitive atmosphere. By constantly keeping the staff informed of the winning team and sales numbers compared to last year, energy and drive naturally emerge. When this competition was introduced with the launch of a new advertising product, Finals Survival Guide, we saw nearly $14,000 of new revenue. We repeated this publication in fall 2006 along with another team competition and saw $16,350 in new revenue. Our most recent Finals Survival Guide (accompanied by yet another competition) saw $22,100. In Fall 2007, we launched our first ever Print Dining Guide. Knowing the importance of creating value in the product, we decided to go all out for our sales competition. The winning team won ipod nanos and got to pie the losing team in the face. The result of such stakes? 38 advertisers and $12,350 in revenue. Each time a team competition has been
Sales Management Philosophy Candace Barnes, Advertising Manager, The State News
o
implemented, revenue has increased over the previous year. Prizes have ranged from lunches to ice cream to ipods and cookies with milk. o Individual bonuses: In May 2006, I created an opportunity for sales reps to earn bonuses for surpassing their individual monthly goal. Once an individual’s monthly goal is surpassed, he/she receives 3% of the difference between actual sales and the month’s goal. By updating these individual statistics as frequently as possible and informing the entire staff of each individual surpassing his/her goal promptly, others become motivated to do the same and keep abreast the competition. This has resulted in a naturally motivated environment. Since this has been implemented, individual productivity has skyrocketed. As a result, departmental goals were surpassed 7 of the first 9 months after the program began. In May 2007, we brainstormed ideas to solve the industry-wide decline in classified sales. We had struggled with reaching our liner goal for nearly 12 months and decided enough was enough. Our first change was an adjustment to the way individual goals were assessed. Classified liners goals were created for each AE and individual bonuses were adjusted to include the two. Reaching either their individual display goal or their individual liner goal results in 2% the difference between actual sales and the month’s goal. Reaching both goals results in 3% the difference. Since classified liner goals have been instituted, we’ve brought classifieds back up to a manageable state. We’ve made so much progress, in fact, that we hit November’s goal (something that hasn’t happened in more than a year). Education: This is probably the most important element to leading and managing a sales department. It takes a constant change of approach to help sales reps understand what they’re selling and how to sell it. I use several tools and approaches to help teach sales reps in a variety of ways, ensuring that all individuals get their fully deserved sales training, no matter how they prefer to learn. o Living Training Manuals (LTMs for short): This is a program implemented with our rookie staff hired in Fall 2006. Each rookie was paired with a veteran staff member who stood out as a leader within the office. They acted as a resource, answering questions, helping with assignments, giving feedback and allowing the new employees to shadow their daily responsibilities. This allowed for rookie account executives to emerge from training with some experience already under their belt, ready to sell and comfortable with asking questions. Not only that, but it closed the gap between “vet” and “rookie” creating an equally level playing ground across the board. As a result, our rookies came busting out the doors making sales to new advertisers almost instantaneously. o Selling tips (Please see page 6): These provide the barebones of each special promotion: important dates and deadlines, who to sell it to, how to pitch it, close the sale and follow through on the details involved with completing the ad process. This is a handy tool that sales reps use while on the phone as a quick reference, allowing confident answers to questions advertisers may have. They also use these to double check details and track deadlines. This is one of the most appreciated tools by the department and often asked for before the promotions are even available. o The Cheat Sheet (Please see page 7): These were introduced in the fall as supplementary materials to the training manual. They are quick ‘how-tos’ that sales reps can quickly flip to for recap details such as deadlines, inch conversions, steps in completing an ad etc. New employees found these to be lifesavers when they first began to sell. Old employees found these cheat sheets perfect for a short reminders manual. Some sales reps even found that their clients appreciated such a simple guide to our paper’s operations. o How to…. (Please See 8): When problems seem to repeat themselves, questions are raised or sales reps hit a wall selling, I host a crash session on how to solve the puzzle. We have practiced overcoming objections, learned how to actively listen and created elevator pitches. These sessions are accompanied with a hard copy of the tool and how to use it for sales reps to refer back to when they might run into a recurring problem and need to review the solution. How have communication, motivation and education helped my sales management philosophy succeed? The numbers speak for themselves. For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, sales were up 7.9% from the previous year. Our State News sales staff made history. In Spring 2007, I was elected Advertising Manager of the Year by CNBAM. We also won Best Training Program. Shortly thereafter I became the first manager in 14 years elected for a second term. During the current fiscal year, we’ve taken the economy with a grain of salt and focused on what we can control. In May, I developed a management team consisting of an Assistant Manager, Classified Manager and Web Manager. By tweaking goals and creating a Classified Manager for better focus, we hit our liner goal for the first time in more than a year. After appointing a new web manager and reinventing the way the micro-department was managed, our web sales went up 56% above the previous year. Looking at our open rate increase vs. the economy, we developed a downtown business discount to help the local mom’n’pop shops. That contract resulted in 18 participants, 12 of which had never signed contracts with us before. The launch of our Print Dining Guide brought in $12,350 and helped our local revenue tremendously with 13 new advertisers. If my grandmother were alive today, she’d be as proud as ever at what I have done. She’d be ecstatic to hear about the team I have developed and the goals I have helped this team accomplish. She’d smile about my innovative sales strategies, training sessions, management skills and character as a decision-making leader. She would not, however, be the least bit surprised by what I have become: a teacher.
Revenue Comparison Candace Barnes, Advertising Manager, The State News Fiscal Years 2005/06 and 2006/07 July - December 2006 and July - December 2007
Advertising Description
Fiscal Year 2005/06
Fiscal Year 2006/07
% Comparison
Local Advertising
$
958,469
$
1,000,570
4.4%
University Advertising
$
235,925
$
264,338
12.0%
Preprints
$
65,288
$
78,780
20.7%
Classified Liners
$
261,017
$
228,306
-12.5%
Classified Display
$
256,464
$
362,021
41.2%
On Line Advertising
$
36,485
$
22,185
-39.2%
Total Advertising
$
1,813,648
$
1,956,200
7.9%
Advertising Description
July - December 2006/Actual
July - December 2007/Actual
Local Advertising
$
579,557
$
415,528
-28.3%
University Advertising
$
141,770
$
129,264
-8.8%
Preprints
$
51,364
$
44,425
-13.5%
Classified Liners
$
105,932
$
101,984
-3.7%
Classified Display
$
122,178
$
159,930
30.9%
On Line Advertising
$
19,195
$
21,658
12.8%
$
1,019,996
$
872,789
-14.4%
Total Advertising
% Comparison
Valentine’s Guide 2008 Talking Points and FAQ o Publishes Friday, February 8th o 2 page spread with process color design around advertisements o Only ads, no editorial content. This is GOOD! Perfect spot for coupons and deals. Students are reading these pages solely for the ads. They’re seeking out advertisements. Could the audience get any better? o Publishes about 6 days before V-day. This is for the men who forgot to get their girlfriends gifts, last minute plans, oh shit I forgot mom…think about the procrastination in yourselves and use it as a selling point. (who would have thought that could come in handy?!) o 27,500 copies published o CHEAP! And look at that color discount, sheesh! o Who to contact: Florists, candy shops, party shops, card shops, restaurants, gift shops…think of the perfect date and find the business involved! Shit, I’d even take an oil change & dinner at Denny’s as long as it means I get a valentine. Pricing Size 2x4 3X5 3X10
Price $120 $210 $440
o These are set prices. Contract customers must run at the price designated on the promotion sheet (but we will count toward their bulk inches!) o Have Darla or Candace override rates to match that of the promotion sheet. Putting the ad in the paper o Placement/Page Request: Valentines o Invoice notes: Valentine: Insert Copy Reference Here o Deadlines: Space: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Copy: Friday, February 1, 2008 G&S and Prepayment: Wednesday, February 6, 2008
-------DO NOT FAX------
Inserts Cheat Sheet Deadlines
Where do they ship it?
Approval
The State News c/o Michigan Web Press 10441 Enterprise Dr. Davisburg, MI 48350
Must be submitted 7 business days prior to rundate.
Example Submitted
Rundate
Thursday October 19
Monday October 30
Sizing
Cancellation 5 business days prior to rundate
Example Cancelling
Rundate
Monday October 23
Monday October 30
Printing Press Arrival Must arrive at Michigan Web Press 5 business days prior to rundate
Arrival
Rundate
Monday October 23
Monday October 30
More information is available in your ratecard!
Minimum Size: 4” x 6” Maximum Size: 11” x 15”
Folding of poster format inserts and other inserts constitutes additional pages!
What do you need to do? 1. Schedule it in SP - Invoice notes - “Preprint Inserts XX,XXX insert copy ref here” -Sign up your inserts by printer to make sure no more than 2 inserts are scheduled
3. Follow up with Advertiser to ensure all of the deadlines are met
How To Drive (sales) Defensively The Skinny We all know how to drive the sales car at this point, right? And, like the real traffic world, we all claim to be the best driver out there. But, even if we are, how do we protect our own ass when something goes wrong? and yes, something will go wrong…even if it’s not our fault. How to protect your own ass: Traffic Court – How to avoid it. • Money, money, money…moooooooney Make sure your client knows exactly how much they’re being charged and what for. Confirm it! “Okay Ms. Barnes, I’ve got you scheduled for a 2x3 next Wednesday on page 2A. That will be $114.60 for the ad and $22.92 for reservation of page 2A. Your total is $137.52.” • Running until “further notice” o Giving the advertiser the benefit of the doubt, sometimes they really mean it. Other times, however, let’s face it. This means “I don’t feel like dealing with you right now, do what you do.” o How to respond: Pick the dates for them. • “Let’s run the ad daily through next Friday. I’ll call then to discuss our plan from there. Make sure they know what they’re running • “Alright, so I’ll run the September Specials ad every other day for the month and I’ll th call you on the 30 to figure out our plan from there.” • Approval o Get a signature. It doesn’t matter how many times they tell you on the phone, “Sure, sure. Looks great.” Making somebody sign them forces them to look over it closer, and saves your ass when they call back and say, “I never approved this P.O.S!”
Stop, look and listen. Logging a call isn’t just enough, logging the details is the key! What to log: • $$$$$$ (This comes up a lot!) o Log that you confirmed the price & what the charges are for. “Spoke with Candace. She’s good to go with the ad on page 2A next Wednesday. Confirmed combined charge of $137.52 for column-inches & page 2A reservation.” “Spoke with Candace. She’s ok with extra charge for pg 2A/Color. Confirmed price of $137.52.” o Make good policy Log that you explained this to a client. Now your manager can explain to Dory that we will only make good for 1 day, not 18, because th she spoke with Nick on the 13 and he explained yadda yadda yadda...ya dig? • Be the wise old owl! o Approved by WHO? Confirmed price with WHO? Got payment from WHO? Explained copy deadline and late fee to WHO?
Look out for the idiots on the road. You might be following the laws of the road, that doesn’t mean everybody is. o If another AE is going to handle something for you, it’s still your ass on the line, not theirs. o Look everything over. Proof read their work. o Double check the scheduling, is everything done correctly? o Check up with the client, ask if there is anything you missed. “Hi Susan, I saw that you spoke with Jacky yesterday afternoon and he scheduled you up for a th 2x2 on the 9 . Here’s the information I have from him, is there anything else I need to know?” o Don’t be the idiot. o If you talk to somebody else’s client, do the following o Log the sales call, with as much detail as possible. Sign it. o Let the AE know you logged a sales call. -This does not mean leave a sticky note on the back of their chair thinking everything is dandy. o Follow Through. If somebody else’s client asks you to do something, you better get on your high horse and do it. Think of it this way, if you’re taking somebody else’s income into your hands, how are you going to feel when they get commission pulled because you screwed up?
candacejayebarnes 431 abbott rd, apt 9, east lansing, mi 48823 barnes.candacejaye@gmail.com 248.672.9888
experience
the state news advertising manager may 2006 - present • train, manage, motivate and evaluate staff of more than 20 to drive sales and generate $2.5 million in revenue • increased revenue from ‘05-’06 year by 7.4%, 5.9% above goal • utilized problem solving skills to create motivational and communication tools resulting in increased sales for 12 promotions • built revenue through cross-platform sales - online, print and out-of-home account executive september 2005 - april 2006 • generated print and online revenue of $28,000 through cold-calls, promoted to advertising manager within first 6 months of hire • exceeded every individual sales goal by an average of 16% • developed effective sales campaigns that grew clients’ business • built and maintained positive relationships between clients and the state news boys & girls club of southeastern michigan, orion-oxford club program coordinator and membership services june 2002 - august 2005 • developed early morning programs for children that presented educational material in a creative, refreshing and active manner • coordinated and tracked new, renewing and current memberships
education
michigan state university gpa 3.85/4.0 august 2004 - present • bachelors of communication arts in advertising american university of rome gpa 3.75/4.0 summer 2006 • developed international advertising campaigns and studied television commercial fundamentals as part of a program studying international advertising and culture • represented msu at 53rd annual international advertising festival in cannes, france
activities
college newspaper business & advertising manager organization (cnbam) • represented msu at 2 national conferences 2006 - 2007 michigan state university honors college 2005 - present
honors
advertising manager of the year • national recognition - cnbam • state recognition - michigan press association best training program • national recognition - cnbam board of directors scholarship • the state news dean’s list • michigan state university nominated rookie of the year • the state news benschop international enrichment award • michigan state university study abroad scholarship • michigan state university
2007 2007 2007 2007 2004 - 2007 2006 2006 2006
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January 28, 2008 CNBAM Awards Selection Committee Members, I am honored to nominate Justin Zegar for the CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year Award. Justin joined our team in spring 2005; his determination and passion for selling helped him learn the ropes very quickly. He moved from sales assistant to non-profit sales, to sales representative, to assistant manager, and in spring 2007 was promoted to advertising manager. Justin’s leadership skills have been instrumental in building a very cohesive, hard working sales team. He is a patient “coach” who stresses positive feedback and he is very generous with his time, both with clients and staff. Justin was very successful during spring 2007, his first semester as manager; sales goals were met and surpassed. The true measure of Justin’s abilities became very evident during last fall’s “tough” economic times. He was able to keep the team positive and focused; quota was surpassed only few times, but the damage was kept at a minimum. Justin spent a lot of time with sales representatives visiting clients and prospecting, he has engineered theme pages, online opportunities, and office contests. Justin is an outstanding young man. He is one of our most successful student leaders on campus. He has exceptional character, integrity, and discipline. He has successfully balanced class work, Northern Star duties, and philanthropic activities. Thank you for considering Justin Zegar for the CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year. Sincerely,
Maria A. Krull Business Adviser (815) 753-0707 (815) 753-0708 – fax mkrull@niu.edu
Sales Competitions
Sa
Qu
ota
Ra
ce
le
sT ou
rn
ey
BIG Sales Bell
Jake Bute Northern Star Performance Report Nov. 16-30 Quota Period Aug 27th-31st Sep 1st-15th Sep 16th-30th Oct 1st-15th Oct 16th-31st Nov 1st-15th Nov 16th-30th Dec 1st-15th
TOTAL:
Quota
Inches Reached
Inches +/-
% +/-
95 275 273 197 374 248 274 350
83 213 173 397 306 422 336 272
(12) (62) (100) 200 (68) 174 62 (78)
-13% -23% -37% 102% -18% 70% 23% -22%
2086
2202
116
6%
Goals Goal
Nov/December
Goal 1 Get clients to run off of Maria's List Goal 2 CNBAM Goal 3 Sell 1 Ad Rax Current Manager Goal: End Semester 5% over quota If 0% over quota then 0% raise If 1-4% over quota then .25% raise If 5% or above quota then .5% raise 1 Ad Rax
Justin Zegar Perf. Rep. Ex.
Page 1
Justin Zegar CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year Candidate Management Philosophy Many college students, like me, are applying for the Advertising Manager of the Year Award. Each student will probably discuss his or her management philosophy and why he or she should win this prestigious award. I feel it is more revealing of my character not to discuss my management philosophy, but rather how I “lead” my staff each and every day. I do not like to use the term “manage” because it sounds as if I am watching my staff under a microscope not helping them in their overall success. In order to be a successful manager, or, in my case, a successful leader, I believe that one must first know the strengths and weaknesses of his or her own personality. After accomplishing this, leading other people and their personalities becomes more effective. My personality type, based off the four general personality traits, is amiable. As an amiable, I find myself to be very patient, sympathetic, supportive, considerate, trusting, and, most importantly, a team player. Due to these traits, I am easy to approach, build relationships well, and handle conflicts with ease. My weakness is with regard to reprimanding employees. When I first started my job at the Northern Star, I wanted everyone to like/respect me and be the “cool” leader. However, I soon realized that I needed to be able to reprimand my employees and not let them off the hook for mistakes that they have made. Over the past two semesters as a leader, I have developed a way in which I can reprimand employees without feeling like I let them off the hook and without losing their respect. Typically, I inform them beforehand that I am going to let them know how they are performing throughout the semester. I reprimand them immediately after a situation arises, and tell them specifically what they did wrong. Once I have said what was wrong, I allow a few seconds of silence to let it sink in how I truly feel. After a few seconds have passed, I shake hands with the individual and remind him or her that I value and think well of him, but not of his performance in the particular situation. The most important part of this reprimand that I have learned is that once it is over, it is over. I continue to treat him as before and conduct business as usual. After finding a method that allows me to maintain the respect of my employees, my weakness is no longer a weakness. As for the rest of my leadership philosophy, I also like to catch my employees doing something right. I praise people immediately for what they are doing right and tell them how good I feel. Like the reprimand, I pause a few seconds to let the individual know how I feel and add a smile. I then typically pat him on the shoulder or back and encourage him to continue doing well. When it comes to new employees, I try to encourage them and support them as much as possible the first few quota periods. As for veteran employees, I follow the same type of philosophy except that I encourage them to lead and praise new employees as well. As a team, everyone should be able to help and praise one another, not just the leader. Not to mention, people who feel good about themselves, their work environment, and their peers produce good results. I am also aware that many employees have different personality styles, thus respond to different methods of leadership. By learning what makes each employee “tick,” I am better able to lead them towards success, and it is easier to teach, assist, appraise, and reprimand them. Along with reprimanding and praising my employees, I also have goal-setting and performance evaluation meetings once a month. This helps employees recognize where they want to be and the level of success they can achieve. As a leader, I want to help people grow and reach their full potential. I set one goal for each employee a month, and set three SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) goals with them. Once we have agreed upon three SMART goals, I check up on them throughout the month to make sure they are staying on top of their goals. At the following monthly meeting, we discuss what did and did not go well, how to improve, and set 1
new goals if necessary. Along with goals and performance reports, I also go on several ride-alongs during the month with each employee to provide tips or appraisals for their sales presentations. Once again, this helps in the growth of the employee. I also believe it is important to allow the employees to think on their own feet. If they have a question or a problem and ask me what to do, I ask them the same question back, “What would you do if you were me?” or “What do you think the course of action should be?” Depending upon their answer I may say, “That’s a good idea or that could work, but maybe try doing it this way instead.” By using this method, the employees start thinking for themselves and only ask questions when they really need help. Besides basic leadership, I like to promote a fun/competitive working environment by having sales competitions, quota races, a “Big Sale Bell,” and group outings. Furthermore, I will also take time out of my schedule to help employees with class work or any problems they may be having outside of work. By doing so, I have a good idea what is going on with each employee and am able to approach them accordingly. A professor once told me that management is doing the right thing and leadership is doing things right. Based on what I have learned in classes and my experience at the Northern Star, I believe my leadership philosophy is doing things right. Although I still have a lot to learn, I look forward to continue learning how to do things right.
2
Justin Zegar-CNBAM Ad Manager of the Year Candidate Northern Star Newspaper-Northern Illinois University Group Performance Reports Spring 2007 Semester
Fall 2007 Semester
Jan 15th-31st
5,899
Inches Reached 6,240
Feb 1st-15th Feb 16th-28th Mar 1st-15th Mar 15th-31st Apr 1st-15th Apr 16th-30th May 1st-15th
5,030 3,867 3,027 4,066 4,439 5,299 3,345
6,074 4,222 2,948 4,381 4,230 5,212 2,656
1044 355 -79 315 -209 -87 -689
21% 9% -3% 8% -5% -2% -21%
34972
35963
991
3%
Quota Period
TOTAL:
Quota
Inches +/-
% +/-
341
6%
Projected Jan. 14-31st
Quota
Inches Reached
Inches +/-
% +/-
Aug 27th-31st
3,249
2,953
-296
-9%
Sep 1st-15th
4,053
2,404
-1,649
-41%
Sep 16th-30th Oct 1st-15th Oct 16th-31st Nov 1st-15th Nov 16th-30th Dec 1st-15th
3,823 4,095 4,172 4,294 3,275 4,020
3,452 4,329 4,142 4,344 2,856 2,992
-371 234 -30 50 -419 -1,028
-10% 6% -1% 1% -13% -26%
30981
27472
(3509)
-11%
Quota Period
TOTAL:
Quota Period
Quota
Inches Reached
Inches +/-
% +/-
Jan 14-29
6571
5589
-982
-15%
6571
5589
(982)
-15%
TOTAL:
JUSTIN T. ZEGAR 5147 Winona Lane Gurnee, IL 60031
(847) 946-7562 Justin.Zegar@gmail.com
1001 Spiros Ct. Apt #1 DeKalb, IL 60115
OBJECTIVE: Obtain the Advertising Manager of the Year Award. EDUCATION B.S. in Marketing, Certificate in Professional Sales May 2008 Northern Illinois University (NIU), DeKalb, IL
GPA: 3.45/4.0
CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE • • • •
Introduction to Selling Business-to-Business Selling Sales Management Advanced Professional Selling (Limited entry course)
WORK EXPERIENCE Sales & Marketing Intern, Hilti, Boston, Massachusetts-May 2007-August 2007 • Created sales forecasts and suggested new sales territories for account managers • Improved sales skills by participating in ride-a-longs with account managers • Organized and participated in promotional marketing and customer appreciation events Advertising Sales Manager, Northern Star Newspaper, NIU-January 2007 to Present • Lead a sales staff of 14 towards weekly sales quotas each semester • Implemented new sales competitions and incentive programs • Awarded a trip to CNBAM in Portland, Oregon for excellence in sales and sales management • Received Employee of the Year (“Best Staffer”) Award for 2006-2007 Assistant Advertising Sales Manager, Northern Star Newspaper-May 2006 to December 2006 • Exceeded quota by an average of 9% for the semester • Finished the calendar year (as a sales representative and assistant) 5% over quota • Helped set highest sales volume for “Back to School” issue by selling 902 of 1,800 inches • Received Sales Representative of the Month Award for November 2006 Sales Representative, Northern Star Newspaper-January 2006 to May 2006 • Exceeded quota by an average of 27% for the semester • Finished semester 17% over quota • Received Sales Representative of the Month Award for January 2006 Sales Associate, Northern Star Newspaper- August 2005 to December 2005 • Trained to become a sales representative Customer Service Cashier, Sports Authority, Vernon Hills, IL-May 2005 to January 2006 (Seasonal) • Sold extended service plans and provided customer service
ACTIVITIES/HONORS President, Colleges Against Cancer, May 2006-May 2007, Member since August 2004 Co-Chairman, Relay for Life Entertainment, October 2005 – April 2006, Member since October 2004 Member, American Marketing Association (AMA), September 2006-December 2006 Member, Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, February 2007-Present Member, Marketing Honor Society, September 2006-Present Member, University Honors Program of Northern Illinois University, August 2005-December 2007
OTHER AWARD(S)
Deanʼs List, NIU College of Business, Spring 2006 Semester
COMPUTER SKILLS •
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), Photoshop, ACT! 2005, Sales Force
MICHELLE GARDNER 9364 Calle Vejar 909.234.7438 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 mg249@nau.edu EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, Journalism Arizona University Minor, Public Relations Flagstaff, AZ Cumulative GPA: 3.8 May 2008
Northern
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Orientation Program Assistant 09/06-Present
Orientation Leader 09/05-09/06 New Student Programs, Northern Arizona University ❧ Lead and mentor 25 Orientation Leaders in helping incoming students transition to the university ❧ Aided in selection, training and team building of Leadership Team ❧ Help maintain overall team morale and motivate staff throughout the school year and summer ❧ Coordinate and facilitate staff retreats during the semester ❧ Maintain a positive leadership role for staff ❧ Aid in the transition of more than 7,000 new students and parents/guests ❧ Sit on student panel for parents and aid in parent adjustment ❧ Coordinate script, roles and overall production of social-skits in “True Life: I’m a Lumberjack” ❧ Orient freshmen and transfer students and their parents to the university ❧ Inform students and parents about student and academic services ❧ Provide first-hand advice and experience as a student to parents/guests and new students ❧ Assist with and provide academic advisement and enrollment for new students ❧ Work with others and reflect upon one’s own weaknesses to improve performance ❧ Professionally and accurately represent faculty, staff and administrators at NAU
Advertising Sales Director 05/07-Present
Creative Director 11/04-01/07
Assistant News Editor 09/04-12/04 The Lumberjack newspaper, Northern Arizona University ❧ Supervise and manage production design staff and advertising sales staff ❧ Discover and solve any technical problems with page layouts or advertising layouts ❧ Participate in national design competitions and national sales competitions ❧ Manage redesign of newspaper and organize focus groups to give their opinions about the redesign ❧ Communicate and collaborate with other five departments of newspaper on an ongoing
❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧
basis Serve as student voice and representative for entire look of newspaper Train production staff, sales staff and editorial staff (regarding production of the newspaper) Build advertisements and layout of newspaper in order to meet deadline Increase advertising sales from week to week and overall circulation of the newspaper Evaluate individual sales representatives weekly Plan, organize and advertise Lumberjack banquet each semester Motivate sales staff to increase sales and work harder Organize meetings with clients to discuss advertising with the newspaper and to evaluate their sales rep Sell national advertisements and specialty publications Maintain a professional and positive relationship with current, past and prospective clients Communicate potential problems to all managers and spearhead the movement to fix the problem Create sales competitions to motivate staff and increase revenue
First Year Experience Peer Mentor 02/07-Present
Honors 100 Peer Mentor 02/07-Present ❧ Facilitate three classes for 25 first-year students ❧ Act as mentor for incoming students ❧ Assist Honors students in connecting to the program and discovering what makes them an Honors student and how to get involved in the Honors program ❧ Collaborating on the curriculum and instructional design of the course, implementing classroom activities based on a set curriculum, reading papers and providing appropriate feedback to students, and functioning as a member of a larger team of Mentors ❧ Aid students in learning how to transition to life at a university ❧ Develop curriculum topics by conducting independent research, and designing classroom activities to encourage student engagement and learning ❧ Actively participate in all training and read all supplemental material ❧ Assist with departmental projects and programs ❧ Be a dedicated and motivated self-starter who can excel with minimal supervision ❧ Demonstrate a high level of maturity and the ability to function as a member of a larger team ❧ Take necessary steps to ensure a dynamic and active community both in and out of the classroom ❧ Have a working familiarity with student development theory and demonstrate a commitment to the success of the students ❧ Possess teaching or group facilitation experience, or the willingness to learn the skills necessary to create effective learning environments ❧ Providing dynamic and relevant classroom instruction TECHNICAL AND LANGUAGE SKILLS Advanced knowledge of all versions and all programs of Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Expert knowledge of Quark XPress, InDesign, Paintshop, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator Proficient in reading, writing and conversing in Spanish
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES KJACK Radio On-air talent May 2006 Lumberjack Welcome Week Ambassador 2005/2006 New Student Organization Fall 2004
October 2004August
AWARDS Manager of the Year, The Lumberjack newspaper Fall 2006 Production Artist of the Year, The Lumberjack newspaper Fall 2005 Nominated for New Staffer of the Year, The Lumberjack newspaper Spring 2005 Lumberjack staff Tuition Waiver scholarship for 8 semesters NAU Honors Program member for 8 semesters NAU Dean’s List for 8 semesters PRESENTATIONS, CONFERENCES & COMMITTEES New Student Programs Assistant Director Search Committee 2007 New Student Orientation, Flagstaff, AZ Summer 2007 Presenter “Northern Arizona” National Orientation Director’s Association Regional Conference 2007, Tempe, AZ February 2007 Presenter “Charting a Positive Course” National Orientation Director’s Association Conference, Dallas, TX October 2007 National Orientation Director’s Association Conference, Salt Lake City, UT October 2006 National Orientation Director’s Association Regional Conference, Salt Lake City, UT October 2005
Fall
January 31, 2008 Dear Chris Richert and the Selection Committee: As the General Manager of The Lumberjack newspaper and someone who has worked very closely with Michelle Gardner as she has transition from Editorial to Creative to Sales I am in a very good position to evaluate her performance as Sales Director. As Assistant News Editor, Michelle took a natural role guiding the creative side of the news department. At this time, editors designed each page in their section and Michelle proved to be an asset right away. It was this value that spurred me to hire her as our first Creative Director during a period of infrastructure renovation. She made an impression immediately, taking a previously non-existent division and turning it into one of the most productive and efficient entities at The Lumberjack. At that point she had proven to be one of the most valuable employees at The Lumberjack, which is why, despite lack of sales experience, I hired her as Sales Director. I did that because of her dedication, initiative and because she had proven herself to be dependable. I have received praise publicly (in managers meetings) and privately of Michelle from every manager over the past two years, which led to her being named Manager of the Semester, for fall 2006. Michelle also possesses attributes that are not necessarily quantified by sales numbers. For instance, her ability to creative a team atmosphere amongst her account executives is something unfamiliar to me in my time at The Lumberjack. It proved to be a consistent asset toward communication within her division and throughout the company entirely. This also led to a 37 percent increase in total revenue in the fall semester of 2007 relative to fall 2006. The precedence Michelle set from day one is a standard I consider when hiring managers in any capacity now. Her endless thirst for knowledge and experience, great organizational and communication skills and basic ideas of initiative, innovation and dedication (to her staff and the entire company) are qualities that are irreplaceable in a manager and teammate. There is not one of her peers that hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t learned from her (myself included); she is doubtlessly deserving of the Sales Manager of the Year award. Sincerely,
G. David Sharp General Manager The Lumberjack Newspaper dave.sharp@jackcentral.com
To Chris Richert and the Selection Committee: I’ve spent the last four years working as a manager for The Lumberjack newspaper and other organizations on the Northern Arizona University campus. Throughout this time, I have been able to discover my management style. However, it is difficult for me to define my management philosophy in that it is always changing based on the needs of those I am supervising. When I began my term as Sales Director I came in with two main goals: -motivate staff to bring in new revenue through alternative methods other than the newspaper -lead staff to improve on their weaknesses and maintain their strengths I knew I had a challenge as soon as I was hired: find a brand new sales team. That was my first call of duty. I hired nine sales representatives and within our first week I knew I had something special. My superior and I created an intense weeklong training program. The new staff learned everything from cold calling to reading a rate card and they were then released to the wild that is “sales.” The standing record for most revenue generated in a week was $12,000 at our publication. When I totaled the first week’s revenue we generated $21,000. This had never been done before and my team was able to create the largest issue The Lumberjack had ever seen. I soon realized and adapted my management style to what the sales team needed. The team needs to be motivated constantly. By being flexible in how I approach situations, my team would thrive. My management style grew to be all about encouraging the team to step out of their comfort zones and showing them I was there to make sure they didn’t collapse under the pressure. By acting as the backbone, the team knew I was approachable and first and foremost, I am there for them. The numbers are important, but it is also crucial to have a sales team willing to do the work I needed them to do. It is crucial for me to be the manager the staff felt comfortable calling at 3 a.m. to ask how I would respond to a particular sales pitch or asks me to run on a sales call with them to seek my advice. The following weeks at the newspaper brought even more record-breaking revenue, in addition to the 50+ new clients who had never done business with us. By taking a very active role in the representatives’ everyday behavior, I was able to see behaviors that weren’t helping their sales and then help their positive behaviors grow, which ultimately impacted their sales each week. In addition to the weekly newspaper, I wanted to generate sales in more modern ways. After three years we were able to launch JackCentral.com and begin online advertising. In addition, I am beginning the first “Best of NAU” specialty publication for The Lumberjack. The publication will feature over 100 categories
catered to the NAU college students who will vote for what they believe is the best (ie “Best salsa”, “Best drink specials”). This is a huge opportunity for advertisers, in that they can feature what they are best known for. Perhaps the most exciting, modern product we just began offering is advertising space on the computers at NAU. I knew clients wanted to advertise with something that would attract more of Generation-Y. Throughout the buildings across our campus there are several computer labs which thousands of students use. I was able to devise a way to get advertisements on the screens of each computer and sell the space to clients. Our first wave of advertisements begins next month, and the idea has been well received by our client base as an effective way to communicate to the student body. My management philosophy is to motivate my staff and new products allows for them to engage their clients into the multi-faceted business that is The Lumberjack. At the newspaper, we are submerged into a fast-paced, intense work environment. We only have so much time to figure things out and get it right before our deadlines hit. I consistently teach my sales team that they play a huge role in the entire newspaper process and everything they accomplish each week ultimately impacts the entire product we publish each Thursday. Under my leadership, the sales team at Northern Arizona University has broken every record set prior in the history of the newspaper and has generated more revenue with brand new clients than ever before. My time as Sales Director is coming to an end as graduation approaches, however I spend every day working with each sales representative to show them their path to success. Thank you for your consideration. I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter. Sincerely, Michelle Gardner Sales Director The Lumberjack newspaper Michelle.Gardner@jackcentral.com
Chris Richert VP/Awards c/o Columbia College Chicago 600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605 Dear Chris and the selection committee: Please accept this letter of recommendation on the acceptance of Michelle Gardner as Sales Manager of the year.. Michelle has been the Creative Director for The Lumberjack Newspaper for four semesters, as well as, the Sales Director for the most recent two semesters. In her tenure at The Lumberjack, Michelle has exhibited tremendous leadership and poise during a major transformation of the creative process in the publishing of our newspaper. She orchestrated all the new procedures in the development of the communication tools, deadlines, work flows, approvals quality control and implementation. Her leadership skills included the development of the written policies and procedures, as well as, the training of the entire staff on these newly implemented policies. Upon completion of the new procedures and training, Michelle set out to implement a complete redesign of The Lumberjack. Her dedication to the research and respect for traditions and history of NAU and their relationship with the student run newspaper was to be admired. This information allowed her to completely understand the 92 years of the newspapers history and she moved forward with confidence and respect to the great many students who traveled before her. Michelle also directed her new sales team to an historic sales record of the most dollars generated in a single issue of the Lumberjack in 92 years, which resulted in me losing a bet and having my students shaving my head! Michelle continues to show great visioning skills in every endeavor she undertakes, but more importantly, she does not get lost in the big picture. She has an uncanny ability to take a collective vision and apply the discipline required to see the vision through completion. A skill set never achieved by many of us. As an entrepreneur, recently found in my new academic setting, I would have no hesitation or reservations giving the award to this fantastic student who has nothing but a wonderful future waiting in front of her. Sincerely, Steve Saville Business Development Director Student Media Center NAU 928-523-5007
Issue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Fall 2006 Goal (30%) Fall 2007 $ 9,642.65 $12,535.45 $21,000 $ 12,307.11 $15,999.24 $16,500.38 $ 7,787.01 $10,123.11 $14,687.23 $ 8,904.15 $11,575.40 $13,000.73 $ 10,182.49 $13,237.23 $13,500.80 $ 7,602.12 $9,882.75 $9,000.15 $ 8,672.41 $11,274.12 $13,999.55 $ 11,006.75 $14,308.77 $12,556.44 $ 7,237.12 $9,408.25 $10,454.89 $ 6,960.70 $9,048.91 $11,443.29 $ 6,580.55 $8,554.72 $9,289.55 $ 7,007.26 $9,109.44 $8,200.13 $ 4,506.12 $5,857.96 $8,456.35 $ 6,065.66 $7,885.36 $9,200.44 $7,164.88 $9,314.44 $12,326.23
Sales Director Job Description 1. Accept ultimate responsibility of Advertising division. 2. Manage all media sales within Student Media Connection (SMC). 3. Set aggressive goals with recognizable deadlines and delegate responsibility within Advertising. 4. Directly manage advertising content and strive for goals and creative initiatives with content. 5. Manager advertising content with respect to clients and common advertising ethics. 6. Ensure Advertising division meets deadlines and accomplishes tasks. 7. Address any issues concerning billing, client conflict, personnel, human resources and payroll. 8. Manage sales representatives that sell in geographical territories as well as Classifieds representative. 9. Make sure all advertisements are accounted for and assemble dummy every Friday at 5 p.m. 10. Make sure that every advertising purchase or exchange is accompanied by an Insertion Order, a signed contract, and material relevant to the specific client. 11. Practice excellent problem-solving and communication skills. 12. Maintain an accurate media kit and utilize demographic profiles. 13. Work closely with Creative/Production division to ensure accuracy in creating ads. 14. Schedule a minimum of 20-hours in the office per week. 15. Attend weekly meetings, including: sales, managers, Best of NAU, specialty publications etc. 16. Manage human resources through hiring, penalizing and arranging organizational chart according to the needs of the division. 17. Create innovative ways to motivate sales staff. 18. Maintain weekly numbers on sales reps, and total revenue. 19. Manage sales manager, who will report to you regarding daily sales representative behavior. 20. Meet weekly with Business Development Director regarding overall sales division and sales statistics. 21. Work closely with Circulation division to ensure all distribution points are receiving newspapers each week. 22. Lead sales team to find new ways to bring revenue to the newspaper.
Jan. 31, 2008
Dear CNBAM Judges: I am very happy to nominate Stefanie Kemmler for CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year. Stef took on this position in August 2007, and in her time as a manager she has had a huge impact on her staff. Advertising revenue is up, morale is excellent and everyone loves coming to work every day. Stef leads by example and is fully tuned in to the performance of her 30 account executives. She leads a team of three sales managers, who, in turn, each lead a team of 10 account executives. Stef is in the office or out seeing clients every minute she is not in class. Her managers and account executives know they can count on her to help them with anything – she wants them to stay positive and energized. But she also wants them to succeed. Weekly sales meeting are valuable and very interactive. Stef leads the meetings and includes training elements, information on upcoming promotions and always a touch of humor. She always recognizes the “Top Ten” account executives every week and gives a shout out to anyone who has won a new client or made a difficult sale. She has a very fun yet, businesslike manner and everyone feels comfortable going to her. When Stef returned to school a week early to prepare for our first publication of the fall, she had to basically “live out of her car.” Her apartment wasn’t ready, and all her clothes and belongings were scattered all around town in friends’ apartments. She slept on a different couch every night. Her dedication really showed that hectic week – despite her personal frustration she led her staff to excellent advertising sales and was fully engaged as a manager. She has great relationships with the students and professional staff of The Daily Collegian and we really appreciate her – she has made a difference! Sincerely, Candace W. Heckard Business Adviser The Daily Collegian Penn State University
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this letter in strong support of Stef Kemmler for Advertising Manager of the Year. Being an Account Executive since 2005, I have worked under three advertising managers and have seen many management styles and approaches. Managing one’s peers in a student environment provides many unique and difficult challenges. Stef’s knowledge of the business and sales, her incredible work ethic, and her personality as a leader make Stef a great advertising manager and a strong candidate for Advertising Manager of the Year. Oftentimes I find myself using my manager as a crutch throughout the year. Although I have been in the sales division for three years, Stef offers me advice and suggestions that have entirely slipped my mind. Recently I had trouble thinking of a way to get a client back into the newspaper, a client who had ran consistently in the past. Stef recommended starting out with smaller ads in high-traffic areas or a crossword sponsorship and then working from there. This advice enabled me to confidently sell to that client who has gone back into the paper. Furthermore, there are times when my schedule outside of work complicates matters. Fortunately, Stef has understood and helped me with my clients. For example, an ad sent to me by a client had unforeseen technical problems when inserting it into the newspaper. The responsibility was mine, but since I had class, Stef solved the problem without disrupting the ad insertion process or the relationship with my client. I am also amazed by how efficient Stef runs the sales office. With over thirty account executives to manage, the opportunity for miscues and items of importance falling through the cracks should always threaten daily functions. However, Stef maintains a professional sense of organization (and sanity) by properly delegating tasks to our three sales managers. Daily and weekly quotas are displayed timely, and up/down reports (personal quota reports) are always in my mailbox before I need them. Perhaps the most incredible aspect of our team of sales managers are how successfully they have operated given their relative freshness. Since I have been with our newspaper, there has always been a “veteran” in the sales office, someone who has been a manager during the past and can tutor the new sales managers as the next year begins. Stef’s team of sales managers each began the year new, without prior management experience. After watching that team function under Stef during the first week of publication, one would have believed they had been doing it for years. Stef’s ability as teacher makes her an especially important manager, given the inherent turnover of a student staff at a college newspaper.
What I am most impressed with in Stef is simply who she is. Her personality and leadership exudes a confidence in her staff. She has that charisma that can naturally inspire an audience without her even seeming to try. A lucky few have it; most do not. She recognizes one of the fundamental differences between managing an office of one’s fellow students and managing a fulltime staff that makes a salary; there is no guarantee that her staff will come back the next day. While a professional working a fulltime job may have myriad outside influences affecting his or her decision to work, ultimately he or she will because that is how he or she survives, pays the bills, and feeds his or her family. Most of the time, students at our newspaper do not have this firm commitment that affectively binds them to work. Their schoolwork, other activities, jobs, and college life itself might pull them away from their responsibilities at the newspaper. From what I have seen, that has not happened under Stef. She makes the office a place where people want to be. Oftentimes I find myself staying in the office much longer than I need to because I enjoy the open and friendly environment she has fostered. She masters the fine line from appropriately being a boss to appropriately being one’s fellow peer with which they may have class. It is no surprise that her charisma carries over into other departments, to her account executives and into their relations with clients. This letter of recommendation is important because unlike other account executives I have been in Stef’s situation. During the summer of 2007 I was Advertising Manger for The Daily Collegian. I confronted similar problems that Stef deals with on a daily basis. Hindsight being 20/20, I would change some of my own performance to what I now know is truly important in an advertising manager. I don’t think Stef would have to do much changing. Stef already displays the essential qualities needed in an advertising manager, and has that extra endearing quality needed to motivate. This is a huge factor as to why our newspaper has exceeded sales quotas for last year. It is also a reason why Stef deserves to be awarded the Advertising Manager of the Year. Sincerely,
Zachary J. Koslap
January 27, 2008 Dear CNBAM Judges: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Although this quotation is rather idealistic and unbelievably more eloquent than I could articulate, John Quincy Adams defines my ultimate sales and management philosophy and goal (of course, I would add the phrase “…sell more” to the quotation). Rather than frighten, guilt, shame, or force my staff into doing and selling their best- I want to inspire. More precisely, I hope and have tried to inspire my staff by leading through example. In applying for this job I came in with no official management experience, however I did have a lot of experience being managed and led. The managers that I most admired were those who led by example and held themselves as, if not more, accountable than they held their staff. Upon accepting my position and meeting with the three soon-to-be sales managers, I made it my utmost priority to establish our sales teams as approachable managers willing to bend over backwards to assist our Account Executives (AEs). In light of the fact that my sales management staff was just as much management “rookies” as myself (the three of them were actually younger than many of the AEs), we wanted to emphasize the idea of merit and hard work over seniority. From the beginning we leveled the playing field for our Account Executives; instead of giving the top, or most veteran AEs all the best clients (as was the common practice), we spent an entire weekend researching every one of our 350 clients - enabling us to distribute them equally. In the end (aside from our top few outstanding Account Executives), we were able to give every Account Executive a moderately equal client load, and the cherry on top was that each one received a “contract client.” Being an inexperienced sales team, we started the semester by redefining the Sales Department beginning with holding everyone equally accountable. I instilled in my managers the need to be responsible and dependable; throughout the entire semester none of us missed an office hour without notifying the staff beforehand. Each sales manager directly oversees 10-11 AEs each semester; we made it a priority to make sure that every AE checked in and had a oneon-one meeting about their clients every single week. Holding regular meetings like these have always been common practice for the Sales Department, but too often they had become neglected and/or unproductive. We worked hard to keep our regular meetings relevant; in these meetings we brainstormed new opportunities and allowed each AE comfortable one-on-one environments to ask for help and be closely monitored. Everyday in the office I attempt to encourage and lead my managers to be more approachable. On an average day in the sales office, especially if there is no immediate or urgent sales office work to be done, I encourage the managers to get out into the main office and get involved with the AEs. We make it a priority to go with all the AEs (especially the newer ones) on sales routes; most of our best selling, and subsequently best client relationships, have come out of these “four-legged” sales calls. We make it our business and responsibility to know our staff and our clients personally, not just by name and account number. We want to make the sales experience, from the beginning, the best and most personable it could be. In conversations with the newly trained AEs we found a huge flaw in our training process, although trained extremely well for selling, there was an evident social division between them and the existing sales staff. These newer AEs had trouble interacting and speaking up to managers and with the rest of the staff in general. In an attempt to remedy this situation, and although the sales staff had never had mandatory hours, I implemented a plan of having one mandatory hour a week. During this “mandatory” time, each AE would work one-on-one with an assigned new recruit in a newly revamped mentoring program. I admit I was hesitant and nervous because I was worried how the staff would accept this seemingly extreme change in the unwritten
“no scheduled hour” sales department policy, but to their credit and the credit of my supportive sales managers the plan ran smoothly. By week 5-6 we had every Account Executive in for their office hour and working one-on-one with their trainee. Not only were those recruited this past semester immeasurably closer to the staff (as proven at our end of year formal), they also had more interaction with the management outside the training/classroom-styled setting. Statistically speaking we had our up and down days and weeks, but our goal was to be up for the “year” (which includes summer and fall). In December, we came out on top: an incredible 5.10% increase in local advertising. Our plans for the upcoming semester remain the same with an even stronger emphasis on training and expanding our immediate “local” advertising zone. During the fall semester we created plans for revamping our spring magazines and stand-alone issues; I look forward to seeing them come to fruition. This past semester was a term of growth and learning. As my sales managers and I reflected on this past semester we look back and are encouraged by the progress of the newfound enthusiasm and community felt throughout the sales staff. My sales attitude will continue to follow “a lead by example” model where I hope to continue to push myself to strive for higher sales goals and better relations with my Account Executives and our clients. Although some people say the newspaper industry is looking grim, in my little microcosm of the industry it’s become a perfect place for innovation and growth.
Sincerely,
Stef Kemmler Advertisng Manager The Daily Collegian Penn State University
Advertising Manager Job Description The advertising manager is the primary student administrator of the advertising sales staff and helps to determine and shape the goals and vision of the advertising department. The advertising manager supervises a staff of 20 to 25 people. As the overseer of the paperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sales force, the advertising manager ensures that sales figures and lineage goals are accurate, fair and thorough, and that personnel are recruited, trained and supervised effectively. The person represents the student staff to the University and business community and continually works to improve the paperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standing and professionalism. The advertising manager is responsible for coordinating the operation of the advertising staff with the editorial, production and business staffs of the paper. The advertising manager is not only responsible for various daily duties, such as payroll tracking, but also long-term functions. The person runs sales meetings, helps conduct initial and periodic training, and handles department performance evaluations. The advertising manager is also in charge of promotion and marketing for the paper and is the primary person who handles recruitment for the advertising department.
Sales Management Strategies Aubrey Beachy, Advertising Manager, The Exponent The farmer’s daughter. That’s who I was; the little girl who grew up with the tough boys, worked on the farm, and played all the sports. I watched my father run and manage his farm and saw firsthand how he had to deal with things that many families don’t. How are we going to get money this month? How much are we going to have to sell and at what price to break even? My mother’s job mirrored my father’s. She owns her own printing business. I saw situations where my mother tried to figure out how she was going to finish everything for all her customers. How are we going to make all the ends meet? How are we going to deliver top-notch customer service? Fortunately, my parents always found the answers to these questions. They ran successful businesses and taught their daughter a few things along the way. They might not have realized it at the time, but I paid close attention. This childhood experience showed me something most people are not fortunate enough to experience: hard work, work ethic, positive attitude, motivation, responsibility and time management. That experience gave me the opportunity to learn, grow, and manage a fast-paced environment where nothing is a surprise. Every day I answer questions for myself. Are we going to increase our sales? How am I going to motivate the staff? How is the staff going to respond to what I am saying? Fortunately, I answer all those questions each and every day. o Increasing sales: This question was challenging for me because increasing sales is every manager’s number one goal. Naturally, that was my main goal as well, but that’s not easy to achieve in the market today. The Exponent has had a steady decline in sales over the past three out of four years. I managed to implement three things during my tenure that increased local inches 8.3 percent more than the previous year and 6.9 percent over budget. Color sales also saw an increase of more than 17 percent from the previous year. The first thing I did to boost sales was to help institute and Apartment Guide, which features one apartment, and is inserted into the newspaper. This guide was very successful in pushing up our local inches because it also allowed space for other advertisers to run in the guide as well. The guide created a “buzz” among our local apartments to see who was going to be in it next. Next is the increase in color sales. At the beginning of my tenure, a specific department goal was to increase the sale of color. I immediately identified ways for the staff to introduce color to more clients. We offered a promotion of free color to our apartments to get them to realize the importance of color and how it can impact an ad. House ads were also displayed in color for further promotion. This immediately caused in an increase in sales and has successfully improved ad quality as well. Third, I pushed customer service to every sales representative. I believe there is nothing more important than servicing our clients and following up. Representatives were required to go on a set number of visits to their clients each month and their supervisors also attended client meetings to ensure our clients were getting proper service. Also, each representative was required to send holiday cards to numerous clients. I am currently in the process of implementing a customer service survey for clients to measure how well they are being serviced by their sales representative. o Motivation: This question was a little more difficult for me to answer. I thought of a time when I was a sales representative and began thinking of things that motivated me when my Advertising Manager tried to motivate the staff. I thought the two most important things to me while I was a sales representative were a positive attitude and rewards. There is nothing more important than a positive attitude. It creates hard work and results. I am a firm believer in never letting anyone be negative in the office. This has positively changed the culture and atmosphere at the Exponent and encourages all staff members to help each other and communicate. Weekly sales meetings always end in a positive manner — either someone gives a success story or someone receives a reward. I also always end each individual sales representative meeting by presenting a goal for the sales representative to strive for during the upcoming week. It gives them something to look forward to and something to work hard for. This goal helps me motivate the staff to participate in sales contests as well. o Sales Contests: To help motivate the staff I implemented a contest that provided representatives a way to bring in more revenue, help them achieve their goals and service their client’s needs at the same time, while competing against the rest of the sales staff. The contest consisted of Bingo cards that featured all the different products and services that could be sold to clients other than just display advertising. This contest proved to be great success as it boosted online, color, new clients, and special features sales. Sales goals were made each month the contest was in effect and
Sales Management Strategies Aubrey Beachy, Advertising Manager, The Exponent sales representatives had the opportunity to receive $25 gift certificates for filling their card. o Other Incentives: I also created a way for sales representatives to earn more points for selling to a new client, signing a new contract, or filling out paperwork perfectly. The staff earned individual points for achieving these things, which could result in a casual day, free spots on their Bingo card or a gift certificate. o Communication: Answering this question seemed to be the most natural for me. I have always been open to communication and believe that it is the best way to keep employees encouraged. I communicate with the staff in three major ways. Each week we meet as an entire group to discuss updates, special issues, prudent sales information, share ideas, and talk about our successes. This face-to-face meeting helps the staff get to know each other better, which improves staff morale and really gives the staff an opportunity to exchange ideas and build their territory. After each meeting we break into groups to discuss client issues more in depth, which also helps build teamwork within the office. During the week there is also a time when supervisors meet with each representative to discuss each question and to help the rep with client ideas. If there is ever a time when the staff cannot meet, for example a holiday, I provide the staff with a paper copy of the weekly sales meeting. This copy is used to replace the meeting that could not be held and keeps the staff that much more informed. Second, I always provide the staff with a hard copy of any information that may be prudent for the staff to know. This hard copy allows everyone to have something physical to keep with them and remind them of deadlines, new products, and goal updates. The third major way I communicate with my staff is by leaving voicemails. These voicemails simply serve as reminders for the staff about important information and client needs. The best way to communicate is to make sure your staff has heard the information several times and these three ways allow everyone an opportunity to listen, understand, and ask questions. Each question I have answered has successfully helped me help my staff and genuinely improve the operations of the Exponent as a whole. There are still questions I continue to answer every day. How will I continue to keep sales up? How will I keep each individual on the staff motivated? These questions are something that I will carry on with me every day until I find the perfect answer. I believe that I have come close to answering them, as I am proud to say that sales are up more than 4,000 local inches over the previous fiscal year. The staff is motivated as ever and proud to be a part of the Exponent. I believe that being the farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter is an integral part of my life and has helped me lead a staff of wonderful individuals. My parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; questions have led me to be the best advertising manager I can be.
Local sales comparison $800,000
$700,000
$600,000
Local revenue
$500,000 2006 Actual
$400,000
2007 Budget 2007 Actual
$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
$0 June
July
August
Septmber
October
Month - Beachy started in June
November
Total
Local sales comparison Month June July August Septmber October November Total
2006 Actual $103,444 $51,067 $132,550 $125,349 $133,087 $156,723 $702,220
2007 Budget $104,259 $53,224 $148,994 $110,408 $138,703 $155,697 $711,285
* Haven't finalized December financial report 8.3% increase over 2006 actual for fiscal year 6.8% increase over 2007 budget for fiscal year
2007 Actual $97,630 $51,019 $152,728 $132,514 $152,503 $173,940 $760,334
MEMO TO: All Staff, FROM: Aubrey Beachy, Advertising Manager CC: Jim Priest, Advertising Director DATE: Thursday, October 11, 2007 RE: Classified Display Color Promotion Effective today the Advertising Department will begin a promotion involving classified color display. In order to gain more color revenue in the classified section we need to let our apartments know that we now offer color in the classified section. To implement this promotion we are offering all apartments with a 1000, 2500, or 5000inch contract ONE free color ad until the end of the semester. They will be charged for the inches, the only thing that is offered free is the color! We are hoping that this promotion will increase our color sales in the classified section. Remember, the classified section is the most read section in the paper and color is a good way to help their ad stand out even more. If you have any questions regarding this promotion please ask any Supervisor, Jim, or myself. Thank you. -Aubrey
Semester Contests Full Service BINGO: This contest will be an individual contest to track how you are performing as a full service advertising representative. You will receive a Full Service Card (BINGO card) with five categories, including Puzzles (Sudoku, Crytoquip), Color, Online, Welcome Wednesdays and Business Directory. Each time you sell one of these you will get to mark a spot on your Full Service Card (must be approved by your Supervisor and the Ad Manager). If you fill up the entire card you will receive a $25 gift certificate to where ever you want! Gosh, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Awesome Award: the Advertising Representative staff will be responsible for giving out this award, however I will choose someone for the first week to get it started. You can choose whoever you feel deserves this award. It could be someone who is on track to make goal, hard working, or someone who helped you or someone else out. This person will receive the Gosh, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Awesome Award trophy and will keep it in the office for a week. The person who receives the award is responsible for handing it out the next week. This award is a great way to recognize your peers and its name says it all!
Paper Sales Meeting Minutes 11/21/07 •
EVERYONE NEEDS TO STAY ON TASK. JUST BECAUSE WE ARE APPROACHING THE END OF THE SEMESTER DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE CAN SLACK. BE PREPARED TO WORK HARD THESE NEXT FEW WEEKS. You will be held accountable!
•
DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE CHANGES IN DEADLINES DUE TO THANKSGIVING!
•
Remember to keep your copy questions low. You are disqualified from the monthly contests if you have more than 4!
•
Reminder to keep on selling Business Directory and Welcome Wednesdays. I want to see the entire staff qualify for the contest.
•
Since there was no MGMT team meeting this week there will be no ad of the week. All ads submitted last week and this week will be considered for the next ad of the week.
•
SELL THE HOLIDAY GUIDE. Remember it is not a special issue, it is a themed part of the paper designed to help you sell December. Your clients should WANT to be in this issue. Read over your reasons to run and objections packet. If you do not have one SEE ME.
•
Great job on Salary Guide!! As of 4 PM on 11/19 we have logged 1295”/1000” which is 130%.
•
Start making your monthly sales plans for December. They are due to your supervisors by 5 PM Tuesday, November 27.
•
Inch Update: o Thru Tuesday 11/20: 11,041”/17,406” = 63% Thru end of month: 15,765”/17,406” = 91% o Need to log 1,651” more inches to make goal. We can do it!
• DO NOT forget you need to return to the Exponent on January 2, 2008 for second semester! Make plans accordingly. Sales meeting will be tentatively scheduled for 10 am on that date. •
I hope everyone has a SAFE AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
-Aubrey
January 14, 2008 Distinguished CNBAM Judges, It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Aubrey Beachy for Advertising Manager of the Year. It was about this time last year that I began to talk to Aubrey about the possibility of applying for the position. She was apprehensive at first, in part because she knew exactly how much responsibility the position entailed and how big a challenge we faced coming into this fiscal year. Last spring was miserable as we failed to meet expectations and had our third year of declining sales in the past four years. There are two characteristics that sparked Aubrey to apply for the position: pride and confidence. She takes a great deal of pride in the Exponent and she couldn’t stand the idea of the organization failing. She also knew that she could do something about our dipping sales numbers and sagging morale. There are so many traits that make Aubrey a perfect fit for her position. She is a natural leader who always has a positive attitude. She is intelligent, hard working, diligent, evenkeeled, proactive and funny. The combination of these things is why she warrants so much respect from everyone in our organization, from our Publisher/General Manager to the newest sales assistant. She provides every member of our organization an excellent example. When she took over as Advertising Manger at the beginning of the fiscal year in June, she was keenly aware of the challenges we would face. She had a very simple vision and implemented subtle — and some not-so-subtle — changes to ensure success. Hard work and positive attitudes were the cornerstones of her plan to restore pride and enthusiasm. She demands that her staff works hard and she shows them the way by dedicating herself to the task of leading a young, but eager staff. She also ensures that everyone feels a part of the organization and does her best to help everyone love their jobs. She implemented sales contests and other rewards to make sure everyone knows they are appreciated. She also sets clear expectations and provides her staff every opportunity to succeed. She took a more active role in initial and periodic training than her predecessor and she has been a valuable asset as a member of our administrative staff. The results of Aubrey’s appointment as advertising manager are evident. Local sales revenue is up 8.3 percent over 2006 and we are 6.8 percent above goal for this fiscal year. All this with a staff that includes 12 new sales representatives (out of 15) and four supervisors with no managerial experience.
Aubrey goes out of her way to help her staff in any way she can. Not only is she a consistent presence in the office, but she also goes on client visits with representatives to give them the advantage of her experience. One example of just how willing she is to help happened as we arrived back to school this semester. One of our sales representatives wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to make it back on time, so Aubrey took over her duties as well as continuing to do an admirable job as advertising manager. That is the type of unselfish person Aubrey is. The Exponent will miss Aubrey when she graduates in May. Whoever follows Aubrey as advertising manager will find the job easier to do because of Aubrey. They will also find how difficult it will be to fill her shoes. Thank you for considering Aubrey Beachy for Advertising Manger of the Year. She is certainly a worthy candidate. Sincerely,
Jim Priest Exponent Advertising Director
January 9, 2008
CNBAM Award Selection Committee: I am recommending Lakishia Cooper for the CNBAM Ad Manager of the Year Award. Ms. Cooper started out as a junior account executive for the University Times back in the Fall of 2006. Since then, she moved on to become an Account Executive and now serves as the Sales Manager. She has excelled in this position, not only encouraging account executives to meet sales goals, but also building relationships with clients. Clients have often commented on her level of professionalism. So many attributes set her apart from her peers, but let me briefly share with you some of my observations. Ms. Cooper has a tremendous understanding of quality customer service. She always opted to visit her clients with regularity and really worked with them to tailor solutions to their marketing problems. She understood that her role wasn’t to sell ads, but help our advertisers promote and market their business. Some students passing through our doors never quite get that. Ms. Cooper not only got it, she turned it into an art form. And she now shares this with her own sales staff. Also, Ms. Cooper has a remarkable understanding of the benefits of pre-planning. I have never worked with someone who had a better feel for selling special sections. It’s not unusual for me to watch Ms. Cooper help account executives make contacts, write letters, and ask for the sale months before a special section was to be sold. Perhaps Ms. Cooper’s greatest attribute, though, is her personality. It is rare that we come across coworkers who have such a great disposition. On more than one occasion, I’ve had other students speak highly of Ms. Cooper. They note particularly how her positive attitude is “almost contagious.” When you throw in her remarkable work ethic, what you have is an intelligent, compassionate young woman who will undoubtedly have a positive impact on whatever she endeavors. I’m often asked to write letters of recommendations. In those other letters, however, it’s not often that I can mention all the positive attributes like the ones I’ve shared with you about Ms. Cooper. That, in itself, makes a statement.
In closing, I urge you to strongly consider Ms. Cooper for the CNBAM Ad Manager of the Year Award.
Sincerely, Chase Nifong Marketing Director
ChaseTotal Nifong November 2006 VS Sales 2007
$20,000.00
$18,000.00
$16,000.00
$14,000.00
$12,000.00 Nov 06' Sales
$10,000.00
$8,000.00 Sales in Dollars
Nov 07' Sales $18,811.87
$6,000.00
$4,000.00
$2,000.00
$0.00
$13,357.67
Chase Nifong Fall 2006 Vs Fall 2007 Sales Total $90,000.00
$88,000.00
$88,796.66
$86,000.00
Fall 2006
$84,000.00
Fall 2007 Sales in Dollars
$82,000.00
$81,763.66
$80,000.00
$78,000.00
January 10, 2008 CNBAM Award Selection Committee: I would like to nominate Lakishia Cooper for CNBAM advertising manager of the year. Lakishia came to Student Media in February of 2006 as a junior account executive. She moved up the ranks and became a thriving account executive. As we began the 20072008 academic year, we did not have a sales manager, and we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what would happen with very few experienced sales staff members to apply. Lakishia stepped up in our time of need and has continued to be an impressive leader of the marketing department. This fall Lakishia restructured our sales department to reduce turnover and costs. We hired fewer account executives, who in turn make more money due to their increased sales, and the department has had great success. Lakishia is always in the office and willing to help the account executives in any way she can. She has found an excellent balance between earning their respect as a leader and continuing to learn and seek information on her own. Lakishiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positive attitude and enthusiasm throughout the office is contagious. She communicates well with all departments and creates excitement about her visions, increased readership and our upcoming special sections. She initiated and followed through with providing leads to the account executives and giving them the materials they need to get the appointment and make the sale. Beyond training, and special projects, Lakishia is also dedicated and spends almost as much time as I do as a full time employee in the Student Media office. She makes everyone feel comfortable and simultaneously challenged in this learning environment, and fills her role above and beyond on a daily basis. Thank you for your consideration, as I think this honor is fitting and deserved for Lakishia. Respectfully, Kelly Merges Assistant Director of Student Media Marketing Adviser
Management Philosophy Statement Lakishia Cooper Sales Manager, The University Times In the beginning I found the position of sales manager to be quite difficult and challenging. But I have found that these challenges can be met by applying various techniques I have learned in courses taken throughout my collegiate career. I have found that using a combination of directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented techniques help motivate employees best. This, in conjunction with keeping the clients needs first, has helped our team continuously improve. When being directive I am sure to let employees know exactly what needs to be done and how to do this. I have learned through experience that directive behavior must be used at your own discretion, and as a manager you should know when and how to use this. I find myself using this technique most often in the beginning. Using directive behavior can be very tricky when working with seasoned sales reps or even new sales reps that already have an idea of what to do and how to do it. Allowing sales reps to participate in decisions that will affect them is also helpful in reaching goals. Participative behavior allows me listen to the staffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideas so that they are involved in the decision-making that affects them directly. This is very important because they are the ones actually performing the tasks, their input helps me get a general understanding of what they can handle. Having votes during staff meetings, conducting one on one meetings with sales reps and handing out anonymous questionnaires are very helpful. One of my the techniques I use most often when managing a commissioned-based sales team is the achievement-oriented technique. This helps me to push the sales reps to do their best. When I use this technique I set sales goals and express my confidence that my team can obtain these goals. Motivation is a major part of getting my sales reps to complete tasks and reach goals. Sales
competitions between the sales reps are a very useful way of motivating them to reach goals on a regular basis. I am also very sure to support my employees and be a part of aspects in their life outside of the University Times. This lets staff members know that I care about their well-being and not only their sales goals. When staff members feel like I care about their well being they tend to perform better. Better performance leads to sales goals being met and increased revenue. One way I use this technique is by taking an interest in sales reps academic and personal life. This technique is useful in retaining employees as well. Retaining sales reps is very important for clients with special needs. These clients respond well when they personally know their sales rep and their sales rep knows their specific needs. Client needs are one of the most important factors. By expressing to my sales team the importance of clients we are able to make sure that their needs are met. I want my sales team to know that we are not only selling advertisements in the paper, but we are helping business owners achieve greater profits and realize their business dreams. I am sure to let them know that we must treat each client as an individual and help them with their specific advertising needs. For example, when working with smaller clients, you must approach them differently than you would a giant retailer. Although these are both important clients, the smaller business may be apprehensive and need a bit more coaching and education on growing their business. By using a combination of directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented behaviors to motivate my staff, we have been able to exceed many previous sales goals. Not only have we exceeded sales goals but I have also been able to gain very meaningful relationships with my sales staff and getting to know the individuals on it.
Lakishia Cooper 9920 University Village Boulevard Apt. D Charlotte, NC 28262
(910) 624-3398 Ldcoope1@uncc.edu
SKILLS
Proven ability to multi-task while handling business in a timely manner. Marketing, Leadership and Management Microsoft Office: Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint. Three Years Customer Service Experience
EDUCATION
B.S.B.A Business Management Graduation Date: December 2008 Minor: Management Information Systems University of North Carolina at Charlotte Full Veterans of America Scholarship (Merit Based)
WORK EXPERIENCE
Sales Manager, August 2007 to Present Account Executive, December 2006 to August 2007 The University Times, Charlotte, NC Manage a sales team of five Lead a team that increased overall sales for September & October Evaluate and train new and previous employees Worked on team which earned the CNBAM Business and Advertising Student Staff of the Year Earned Rookie of the Year of Award Office Assistant, February 2007 to April 2007; August 2007 to Present Regina H. Rudolph C.P.A, Charlotte, NC Answer phones, make copies, assist clients and schedule appointments. Accurately enter important tax documents (W-2, I-9, 1040, 1040A) into Tax Act & Quick Books.
Front Desk Receptionist, September 2007 to Present Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Office, UNCC Manage and coordinate the flow of student and visiting traffic through the office Answer questions regarding Transient Study, Special Requests, and Change of Major forms Occasionally performing clerical work (copies, faxes, & creating spreadsheets).
Management Trainee Intern, June 2007 to August 2007 Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Charlotte, NC Gained very substantial customer service experience in dealing with professional clients on a daily basis. Learned management and leadership skills. Used analytical skills to solve problems on a daily basis. Conducted Business to Business Marketing.
Scorekeeper/Timekeeper, August 2006 to November 2006 & August 2004 to May 2005 UNC Charlotte Recreational Services, Charlotte, NC Coordinated time for intramural events and acted as on site customer service representative.
CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Intramural Sports, Student Media, Programs in Leadership & Organizational Training
JOB DESCRIPTION Spring 2007 SALES MANAGER Student Media Marketing The Sales Manager is responsible for the scheduling and direct supervision of all Account Executives. The Sales Manager shall also supervise the Marketing Department sales operation in the absence of the Student Media Marketing Adviser. Distinguishing Features of the Job: The Sales Manager shall track sales goals and assist the Marketing Director and Adviser to help ensure that budgeted sales projections are met by the sales staff; The Sales Manager will assist the Marketing Director in overseeing all operations concerning sales and client service. Primary Responsibilities and Duties: •Maintain at least 15 posted office hours between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. •Monitor and amend sales information on a weekly basis to assess the performance of Account Executives. •Meet regularly with the Marketing Director to discuss the performance of Account Executives as well as other pertinent departmental issues; •Recommend the hiring/firing of any Account Executive to the Marketing Director/Marketing Adviser; as well as recruit applicants for the Advertising Department; •Conduct reviews and performance evaluations of Account Executives. •Make in-person sales calls with Account Executives on a regularly scheduled basis each semester and as needed to resolve problems/concerns. •Work with Account Executives to meet all sales and production deadlines; •Communicate with Account Executives to ensure all sales goals are met. Responsibilities and Duties: Assisting the Student Media Marketing Director and Advisor, the Sales Manager shall: •Develop incentive programs for the marketing department to increase sales productivity •Conduct weekly sales meetings with Account Executives to discuss sales reports, sales goals, promotions and operations; •Conduct training sessions and work shops which would be held at the beginning of each semester and as needed during the semester; •Mediate account disputes; •Approve special rates and/or credit memos issued to advertisers; •Represent and promote Student Media Marketing in a professional manner at conferences, festivals, and award ceremonies as needed; •Work with the Marketing Advisor and Business Manager to ensure that all contracts are serviced and processed properly by Account Executives; •Ensure that all steps in submitting ads for production are properly carried out; •Serve as Ex-Officio Member of Student Media Board representing Student Media Marketing Required Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Abilities: •Must be a student currently enrolled at UNC Charlotte. •Must possess and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5; and must have been an employee of Student Media Marketing the semester prior to, as well as the semester of selection; •Knowledge of: sales methods, University Times Marketing rate structures and budget reports; •Knowledge of: policies and procedures of Student Media Marketing and Student Media Board Constitutions; •Ability to prepare and present comprehensive reports on Marketing Department operations; •Skilled in sales, production, scheduling and managing department; •Ability to work well with and direct the activities of others.
â&#x20AC;˘ Must be in good disciplinary and academic standing with UNC Charlotte.
The Sales Manager reports to the Student Media Marketing Advisor. Questions about this position should be directed to your supervisor. Grievances may be taken to the Student Media Board and/or Student Media Adviser. For further information, contact: Kelly Lusco, Marketing Adviser, Cone University Center, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 Phone (704) 687-2146 The University of North Carolina is composed of 16 public senior institutions in North Carolina. An equal opportunity employer. By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above job description which outlines the responsibilities as well as qualifications for the position stated. I also understand that by not fulfilling the responsibilities listed above, I can face termination from the position stated. _____________________________________________
_________________________________________
September Advertising Sales $25,000.00
Exceeded goal by $2,092.89! Missed previous year by $2,796.49.
$20,000.00
$22,888.61
$20,092.12 $18,000.00
$15,000.00 Actual Sales 2007 Goal Previous Year's Sales $10,000.00 Sales in Dollars
$5,000.00
$0.00 September
10/11/07 October Advertising Sales as of 10/4/07 $3,500.00 $1,439.35 over goal through three issues! $3,000.00
$930.35 over previous year's sales through three issues!
$2,500.00
$2,975.86
$2,548.38 $2,500.00
$2,150.96 $2,000.00
Actual Sales Goal Previous Year's Sales
$1,757.53 $1,500.00 Sales in Dollars $1,000.00
$1,572.50 $1,500.00 $1,203.09 $1,000.00
$500.00
$0.00 2-Oct
4-Oct Publication Date
11-Oct
Sales Reps - October Goal v. Actual Sales K. Gervis
A. Richardson
$3,500.00
$7,000.00 $3,000.00
$6,000.00
$3,000.00
$6,000.00
$2,500.00
$5,000.00
$2,000.00
Actual Sales Goal
$1,500.00 Sales in Dollars $1,000.00
$4,000.00
$3,000.00
Actual Sales Goal
$2,751.82
Sales in Dollars $2,000.00 $605.82
$500.00
$1,000.00
$0.00
$0.00 Month
Month
C. Crisco
B. Falzone-D'Andrade $7,000.00
$7,000.00
$6,519.58
$6,165.37 $6,000.00
$6,000.00
$5,000.00
$5,000.00 $4,000.00
$4,000.00 $4,000.00
$4,000.00
Actual Sales
Actual Sales Goal
$3,000.00
Goal
$3,000.00 Sales in Dollars $2,000.00
Sales in Dollars $2,000.00
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00
6-Sep Month
Month
Dear CNBAM Committee, It is with great honor that I write to you today to nominate Ari Ben for the award of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Advertising Manager of the Yearâ&#x20AC;?. This past semester was Ariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sixth and final semester on The University Daily Kansan and he made sure that he went out on a high note. Ari spent this past year on The Kansan working as a zone manager and his zone as a whole finished the year at 136% over goal or $72,162. There are many reasons beyond the numbers that Ari is a fantastic manager though. As a zone manager Ari establishes a great sense of camaraderie with his group from day one. Rather than feel as if they are only employees that report to him, Ari makes them feel as if they are part of a family. Together as a team they work to hit their goal on a monthly basis. In weekly zone meetings they celebrate their successes together and learn why they were successes. When failures occur they discuss them as a group and learn how together they can be stronger and overcome them in the future. When one team member will have a down month that is out of their control Ari rallies the team together to go that extra mile to each make sure that they will hit goal as a group. They discuss as a group how to best sell upcoming special sections and how they will benefit individual accounts. His zone meetings have a casual feel to them where through his steady leadership all involved learn as much as possible while having a great time doing so at the same time Ari is also always willing to take time out of his day to help his reps with sales-related matter and even to help them with personal matters also. Ari is himself a great salesperson as well. For this year he finished at 122% of goal or $18,185 above goal. What is great about this is that not only does Ari post great numbers but he teaches his reps how to do so as well. He recognizes that each of his reps have different personalities, different things that motivate them and selling styles and therefore takes different approaches individually with each of them to ensure that they will be successful. Before he went into management Ari had his fair share of both successes and failures. Because of this he is able to relate to his reps on an individual basis and help teach them how to overcome their own failures and how to generate their own successes but learned how to make the successes far outweigh the failures. The best managers in the world are able to make the people who work for them better through their interactions with them and the proof is in the pudding with his sales reps. While Ari managed to post a very respectable 122% to goal, his team as a whole outside of his numbers for the year managed to post a 146% to goal or $54,343 over goal. He has taught his team so well that all four members of his zone will be returning next semester with two of them being promoted to zone manager and the other two having earned promotions as senior account executives. The Kansan itself has enjoyed a tremendously successful year and Ari has helped serve as the backbone to the success. We have had many separate elements that have led to that success ranging form the great leadership that our business manager has provided to the out of the box ideas that our promotions manager has helped to generate. All of them at one point though have leaned on Ari for his advice and he has always been happy to oblige. In addition to the managers Ari has acted as a resource for the entire staff. I can
say with confidence that there is not a single person on our staff that in the last year has not pulled Ari aside to ask for advice on all sorts of matters related to selling. Whenever possible at weekly meetings Ari will share his experience with the entire staff in regards to upcoming special sections and offer helpful selling tips to those that are less experienced. Ari doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do this because anyone orders him too, he does it because he loves the paper and wants to make sure that it remains prosperous. In college I spent seven semesters working on The University Daily Kansan. Upon graduation I worked at The Kansas City Star for four years and then spent two years at Gannett as a supervisor. In all my time in these positions Ari Ben is easily one of the best, if not the best manager Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever come across. The University Daily Kansan is far better off after the six semesters that Ari Ben has spent as the heart and soul of it. He is a uniquely talented individual and definitely deserving of this award. Sincerely, Jon Schlitt Sales and Marketing Adviser The University Daily Kansan
To Whom It May Concern: This letter will not be one of recommendation. There is no reason to simply recommend Ari Ben for the Advertising Manager of the Year. The truth is that Ari—my mentor, teacher, and good friend—is not the stand-out manager of one single year. He is the manager that all other managers for years should be compared against, and will be lucky if they can come close to his outstanding levels of motivation and persistence. Thus, this letter will be my own feeble attempt to capture the lessons that Ari has taught me, and the exemplary sales force that the Kansan Advertising Staff has become under his leadership. I have been fortunate enough to be a member of the University Daily Kansan Advertising Staff with Ari for two and a half years. Unfortunately, I didn’t fully realize until I was in upper management how incredible Ari is as a manager. Being the Advertising Director made me truly realize how important it is to have strong leaders to depend on within the staff, and because of his dependability and his ability to deliver incredible results, Ari truly was the top manager of the Kansan. For four semesters straight, Ari has consistently built the strongest sales teams in recent Kansan history. As a result, for the past several semesters there has been no suspense when the staff receives its weekly revenue updates: Ari has always generated the most revenue on staff, and the salespeople on his team are leading everyone else. So how does he do it? First and foremost: quietly. Ari is a painfully modest manager; he takes no credit for the high goals that he trains and drives his account executives to accomplish, and never accepts praise for single-handedly generating roughly 10 percent of the entire staff’s goal. Ari is also never one to recognize that his family of salespeople is mostly motivated simply by the idea of making him proud of their achievements. Ari’s genuine enthusiasm for his products and clients is infectious. His clients request to have him as their sales representative for years because they know that his ability to deliver a substantial return on investment is unmatched. He can come up with out-of-the-box client solutions at the drop of a hat, and trains his sales reps to possess the same kind of thinking. Ari’s sales teams are the innovators on staff. They come up with huge promotions that earn the paper thousands of dollars in extra revenue while getting thousands of students involved, and they are constantly working to outdo their own successes. Ari pushes his sales teams to realize that if they don’t think big, their clients won’t run big, and if they don’t ask for those big sales, they certainly won’t get them. His sales teams absolutely listen to these simple words of advice. As I mentioned before, I was never able to fully appreciate Ari’s managerial achievements until I became an upper manager and realized the extent to which I could rely on Ari to build top performers and be one himself. As I was configuring a staff structure last summer, it occurred to me that I could place absolutely anyone in Ari’s team, and he would make a successful salesperson out of them. Despite the fact that my business card may have said that I was in charge, Ari has been the steadying force in a group of new managers and a new sales team; he truly was the main reason that my tenure as Advertising Director was a success.
Unfortunately for Ari, when he wins the Advertising Manager of the Year award, he will try to deny the fact that he deserves the title. So, if I may please borrow that which Ari lacks, I can say with complete confidence that Ari Ben is the Advertising Manager of the Year, and that those trained under him will be the most eligible contenders of this award for years to come. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
Jackie Schaffer University Daily Kansan Advertising Director jschaffer@kansan.com | jackie.schaffer@gmail.com M: 281.723. 4103 W: 785.864.4358 www.kansan.com
Ari Ben--Ad Manager of the Year—2007--The University Daily Kansan The Tales of Ari Ben: Management Philosophy, Vol. I Today’s lesson is management philosophy as expressed by me, Ari Ben. I’ll start by saying this: I don’t consider myself to be in the newspaper industry. I am a member of the “potential development” industry. Though that is a corny transition into my philosophy on management, that’s where I have to start. Management is nothing more than taking an individual or group and getting them from point A to point B, which is far ahead of point A obviously. The tricky part is how to do it. When I say I’m in the “potential development industry”, I mean that a manager must began with an individual or group and help them realize and, more importantly, reach their true potential as a salesperson. When an organization hires someone, they know they are a good salesperson. What they don’t know is exactly what it will take to get that out of that employee. That’s where I have always come in as a manager. In 2007, I had the privilege of working with eight new members to the Kansan over the course of the year. I had been a zone manager before so I knew the ropes, but I really set out to truly make a difference for each of those people last year. My goal was to manage them in such a way that they could go anywhere in the newspaper or sales field in general and be better prepared than anyone else being hired at the same time. In addition to that, I set out to show them how to truly be professional, organized, efficient, and forward thinkers. More so than any technological skill, those attributes will set them apart from others in any type of industry they go into. When people write books on how to manage, I have a tough time buying into their ideas. This is the part where my true philosophy comes out, by the way. I am a true believer that there is literally no single way to manage any group of individuals the exact same way. In my experience I have learned that some people respond well to micromanagement techniques and need that to stay focused and on course. Others collapse under a micromanagement system and shut down, rendering them ineffective. Some people are motivated by simple positive reinforcement where as others are motivated by the idea of earning added income for their work. Some people respond well to staff functions and truly buy in to an organization, while others are turned off by that causing them to be more distant. The eight people I managed last year, had eight different personalities, came from eight different backgrounds, and had eight different goals for themselves. That being said, I had to incorporate a multitude of management techniques to make sure each would be consistently effective and progressive over the course of each semester. Before I delve into product training with them, I take plenty of time to get to know my people. I analyze their personalities, work-ethic philosophies, motivational drives, and things that upset them. Most importantly, I make myself available and do things to make them feel completely comfortable with me and trust me as a manager and leader. This way, there is never a question of who they can turn to for additional training, advice, or anything else. Based on the results I attain from getting to know them, I manage each of them in such a way that I help them build on weaknesses and continue to improve on strengths. I had an individual who was an excellent natural salesperson, who had horrible organizational skills so paperwork, among other things suffered. I spent about a month, doing nothing but helping her work on her
organizational techniques, which eventually led her to selling more. In addition to that, she is now ridiculously organized and frequently is able to help others who have the same problem. While each person requires individual attention, I also feel it’s important to have strong camaraderie and communication among a team. I set weekly zone meetings at a given restaurant outside of work. The point is for each of us to basically discuss our successes and challenges from the following week. This way, it is an open forum of ideas from peers on how to overcome objections or speed bumps, and also for everyone to express their feelings on issues pertaining to work or themselves. That way, we can all take part in making our team better and it also allows me to take care of issues hindering our team’s success before they manifest. Lastly, I believe it is so important for a manager to lead by example. I feel like I have done that in every sense of the word. Allow me to tell my short story of how I became so influenced to manage and what sparked the philosophy I hold now. It was three years ago when I joined the University Daily Kansan. Though I experienced great sales success my first semester, the organization was not exactly what I had expected it would be and my experience was not very enjoyable. I was offered a management position the next semester. Initially, I had no interest. However, after some deliberation, I convinced myself that it would be fulfilling to complete a tough challenge. The staff had been underachieving in sales, the management team was unorganized, and the organization seemed to have trouble finding what direction to go. Before I accepted the zone manager job that semester, I had what I like to call a “heart-to-heart” with myself. The proverbial speech from my mind went something like this: “Ari, you have a unique opportunity here. You did not like the way the organization was run last semester and you certainly were displeased with the way you were managed. You, in only your second semester, have a chance to change those things. Take everything you didn’t like and fix them. That means, lead your zone as a leader, not a dictator nor a negligent manager. Pay attention to details, be professional, express your ideas, and don’t wait around for things to happen; make them happen yourself. That is just the framework, Ari. Go way beyond that.” The day I started I decided I was going to make a splash. I decided I was going to leave the biggest possible footprint on the Kansan ever imaginable and take both the organization and every individual I came in contact with to new heights. I’ll say now that every goal I set out to achieve, I did in a big way. The Kansan won the “Bassy” award at CNBAM last year. We won the most pristine, nationally recognized award in our field in the country. This means we had people who lived and breathed the Kansan to make it work. That means those people were happy and successful, because clearly they were motivated to work toward such a prestigious acknowledgement. The point I’m trying to make is that when I started we were nowhere near our potential. By the time I finished, we had witnessed one of the greatest time periods the Kansan had ever experienced. Each person I managed either graduated and got an excellent job, or got promoted on the Kansan. At one point or another, I either managed, hired, trained, or at least had a “heart-to-heart” with every single person on that award winning staff and also this years staff, which I’m sure, will have much success at CNBAM. Again, I’m in the “potential development industry”. Deep down, my ultimate philosophy is that if you work hard and set goals, you can achieve anything. I was nominated for both salesperson and business manager in
years past and fell short of winning both times, though I was close. I whole-heartedly feel like I have worked hardest at being an influential manager while selling and have certainly worked hard for my third nomination.
Ari Ben Ad Manager of the Year The University Daily Kansan Appendix: A: i. Zone manager job description ii. General explanation of 2007 successes (team and individual) B. i. Spreadsheets depicting the data from the 2007 spring and fall semesters. Includes monthly breakdown of goals and revenue generated by each individual and the teams ii. Graphs of each individual’s records in fall 2007. This provides a visual reference to the data provided in part i. iii. Graphs of each individual’s records in spring 2007. C. “The October Incentive”—This is simply an example of a motivational incentive I composed for my tem to participate in. I felt like it was my most effective incentive plan to generate more sales and also contribute to the general improvement of my team. D. Resume—This is an updated resume as of December 2007.
Ari Ben--Ad Manager of the Year--The University Daily Kansan My title for the past year for The University Daily Kansan is “zone manager”. My job is to manage, train, and supervise a team of between four and six individual sales people and one graphic designer. We are one of three similar teams on the staff. I would compare my position to any sales manager for a newspaper who is in charge of a team or group and responsible for leading them to success. However, I also am in charge of managing a client list and goal of my own. This past year, my goals happened to be the highest on staff and my team’s goals were the highest as well. The data in the following pages will explain how we handled that situation in 2007. The following spreadsheets and graphs depict the team and individual sales revenue generated by the team itself and also each individual. The data also shows to what extent over the goals we finished as a team in terms of revenue generated in each semester. In a time period where many newspapers countywide are having difficulty finding ways to effectively grow revenue, particularly in the run of press category, my zones consistently beat their goals set. In fact, our team goals were shattered in both semesters, almost every month, and by almost every individual. They did this by selling a complete media mix including run of press, special sections, coupons, inserts, and our online component. In addition to that, they recognized the importance of long term planning and organizing campaigns, opposed to “one time” advertising. In doing so, they were able to sell those long-term plans to their clients, which directly influenced the growth in revenue on our side, and also proved to be more beneficial to the clients in general. In the Spring 2007 semester, I had a group of all new people to the Kansan with the exception of one. It would have been unlikely in any organization for a group of newcomers to join a staff and be successful in only a few months. However, in the case of the spring 2007 semester, each member of the zone broke their quota by at least 13%; that being the lowest of the group. More impressively, we finished as a team at $133,325.27 and 27% over goal. To emphasize again, I believe it’s true that any organization in any industry would kill for such substantial growth from a group. I never figured that my zone could ever get better than that, but we did the following semester. In the Fall of 2007, you will see that my team far surpassed their individual sales goals almost every month. Up until December, which was only a six-day sales period, there was literally only one instance where a member of my team did not break their quota. In my long time as a Zone Manager, I have never witnessed such continuous success from each individual from my team. Needless to say, we shattered our semester team goal again. We generated $142,093.10, landing us at 142% to goal. In my lengthy history at The University Daily Kansan, that was the highest mark I have ever witnessed for a zone. The data truly exhibits the type of phenomenal semester I experienced as a manager. My team’s efforts and ability to grow really led to their outstanding success. Coming off a “Bassy” award-winning year, my teams were able to step up to the plate and surpass even the high goals set by the previous year’s success.
2007 Sales Records: Individual and Team Spring 2007 Jan Feb Mar Apr Ari Ben Quota/Goal $ 1,951.56 $ 6,209.71 $ 8,393.37 $ Actual $ 3,332.00 $ 7,734.53 $ 9,680.10 $ Spring 2007 Jan Feb Mar Apr
May
total
9,318.28 8,432.14
$ 6,506.19 $ 32,379.11 $ 8,196.63 $ 37,375.40 May total
$ 1,850.95 $ 7,493.96 $ 6,165.90 $ $ 2,122.10 $ 10,334.75 $ 7,063.15 $ Jan Feb Mar Apr
6,352.86 8,997.10
$ 3,851.00 $ 25,714.67 $ 4,765.33 $ 33,282.43 May total
$ 440.00 $ 3,028.69 $ 3,131.20 $ $ 1,230.50 $ 3,966.52 $ 5,591.20 $ Jan Feb Mar Apr
2,463.48 3,302.50
$ 3,401.05 $ 12,464.42 $ 6,588.30 $ 20,679.02 May total
$ $ Jan
421.07 625.71
$ 3,176.13 $ 2,710.00 $ $ 2,603.69 $ 3,619.22 $ Feb Mar Apr
2,545.90 3,441.92
$ 1,045.07 $ 9,898.17 $ 1,154.00 $ 11,444.54 May total
$ $ Jan
303.73 191.20
$ 3,387.57 $ 3,400.00 $ $ 3,353.76 $ 1,164.64 $ Feb Mar Apr
2,704.57 6,655.21
$ 2,564.82 $ 12,360.69 $ 2,585.74 $ 13,950.55 May total
Dena Nunschuander
Quota/Goal Actual Spring 2007 Laura Vest Quota/Goal Actual Spring 2007 Molly Bauer Quota/Goal Actual Spring 2007 Shelby Streff Quota/Goal Actual Spring 2007 Luke Doyle Quota/Goal Actual
$ $
1,007.31 740.19
Team Totals: Quota/Goal Actual
$ $
2,951.51 6,454.00
$ $
3,365.20 4,885.31
$ $
2,240.20 1,646.10
$ $
2,906.51 2,867.73
$ 12,470.73 $ 16,593.33 $105,287.79 $133,325.27
2007 Sales Records: Individual and Team Spring 2007 Ari Ben Goal Actual
total $ $
Percent to Goal 32,379.11 37,375.40
115%
Dena Nunschuander
Goal Actual
$ $
25,714.67 33,282.43
129%
Laura Vest Goal Actual
$ $
12,464.42 20,679.02
167%
Molly Bauer Goal Actual
$ $
9,898.17 11,444.54
116%
Shelby Streff Goal Actual
$ $
12,360.69 13,950.55
113%
Luke Doyle Goal Actual
$ $
12,470.73 16,593.33
133%
$105,287.79 $133,325.27
127%
Team Totals: Goal Actual
Goal vs. Revenue $
Months
Actual
Months
Actual
5000 0 ta l
ay
Months
to
r
M
Ap
ar M
Fe b
n
Shelby Streff Quota/Goal Actual
Molly Bauer Quota/Goal Actual
Luke D.: Spring Sales Records Goal vs. Revenue $
10000
Ja
Goal vs. Revenue $
Shelby S.: Spring Sales Records 15000
20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Ja n
Months
ay to ta l
Quota/Goal
M
Ja n
Laura Vest
Ap r
0
ar
5000
M
10000
Actual
14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Fe b
15000
Quota/Goal
Molly B.: Spring Sales Records Goal vs. Revenue $
20000
Ja n Fe b M ar Ap r M ay to ta l
Goal vs. Revenue $
Laura V.: Spring Sales Records 25000
ar Ap r M ay to ta l
Quota/Goal
M
n Fe b
Dena Nunschuander
Fe b M ar Ap r M ay to ta l
Months
Dena N.: Spring Sales Records 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Ja
ar Ap r M ay to ta l
M
Ja
n Fe b
Goal vs. Revenue $
Ari Ben: Spring Sales Records 40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Ari Ben
Months
Luke Doyle Quota/Goal Actual
2007 Sales Records: Individual and Team
Fall 2007 Aug Ari Ben Quota/Goal $ 2,914.67 Actual $ 7,714.91 Fall 2007 Aug Laura Vest Quota/Goal $ 1,195.04 Actual $ 4,607.40 Fall 2007 Aug Dani Erker Quota/Goal $ 737.15 Actual $ 1,015.54 Fall 2007 Aug Katie Feeley Quota/Goal $ 1,783.71 Actual $ 2,149.90 Fall 2007 Aug Carlos Beltran Quota/Goal $ 1,175.63 Actual $ 1,377.36 Team Totals: Quota/Goal Actual
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
total
$ 16,554.15 $ 13,516.36 $ 12,457.91 $ 2,543.95 $ 47,987.04 $ 16,784.19 $ 16,567.64 $ 15,743.11 $ 4,000.18 $ 60,810.03 Sept Oct Nov Dec total $ 3,428.88 $ 4,769.31 $ 4,650.80 $ 2,245.60 $ 16,289.63 $ 8,755.77 $ 8,312.34 $ 4,794.76 $ 2,324.25 $ 28,794.52 Sept Oct Nov Dec total $ 3,000.49 $ 4,734.98 $ 1,638.64 $ 1,316.07 $ 11,427.33 $ 2,931.71 $ 3,589.32 $ 3,446.51 $ 278.32 $ 11,261.40 Sept Oct Nov Dec total $ 3,884.16 $ 3,291.12 $ 2,668.96 $ 1,102.08 $ 12,730.03 $ 5,327.12 $ 7,919.56 $ 9,405.60 $ 743.30 $ 25,545.48 Sept Oct Nov Dec total $ $
2,368.04 5,213.70
$ $
3,551.76 4,639.57
$ $
3,202.31 3,896.61
$ $
1,128.23 734.43
$ 11,425.97 $ 15,861.67 $99,860.29 $142,093.10
2007 Sales Records: Individual and Team
Fall 2007 Ari Ben Quota/Goal Actual
Total
Percentage
$ $
47,987.04 60,810.03
127%
Laura Vest Quota/Goal Actual
$ $
16,289.63 28,794.52
175%
Dani Erker Quota/Goal Actual
$ $
11,427.33 11,261.40
99%
Katie Feeley Quota/Goal Actual
$ $
12,730.03 25,545.48
200%
$ $
11,425.97 15,861.67
139%
$99,860.29 $142,093.10
142%
Carlos Beltran Quota/Goal Actual Team Totals: Quota/Goal Actual
Ari Ben: Fall Sales Records 60000 Ari Ben Quota/Goal Actual
40000 30000
30000
Goal vs. Revenue $
20000 10000
25000 20000 15000 10000 5000
0
Laura Vest
0
Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec total Month
Quota/Goal
Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec total Month
0
Carlos B.: Fall Sales Records 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Au g Se pt O ct N ov D ec to ta l
Carlos Beltran
Month
Quota/Goal Actual
Month
ta l
Katie Feeley
ec
Dani Erker Quota/Goal Actual
to
Month
5000
Au g
Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec total
10000
D
2000
15000
N ov
4000
20000
ct
6000
25000
O
8000
30000
pt
Goal vs. Revenue $
10000
0
Actual
Katie F.: Fall Sales Records
12000
Goal vs. Revenue $
Goal vs. Revenue $
Dani E.: Fall Sales Records
Se
Goal vs. Revenue$
70000 50000
Laura V.:Fall Sales Records
35000
Quota/Goal Actual
October Incentive Program Purpose: To motivate Dream Zone members to continue to stay productive throughout the month of October and to strive to achieve even more than the previous months. Also, the point is to remind you of what it’s like to be in first grade again, and how much you loved it. How it Works: Zone Members will be awarded “stickers” for meeting qualitative and quantitative performance based goals determined by Ari at his discretion. Stickers will be awarded weekly and whoever has the most stickers by the end of October, will receive the grand prize. Time Frame: Technically, this starts the week of October 1st and ends the first week of November, after Homecoming is distributed. Grand Prize: I’ll just say this. Begin thinking about what you would do with at least a $50 gift card to Target, or Jocks Nitch, or Yacht Club, or maybe just the cash itself. (The key word here is “at least”)
Category Key Weekly A: Attitude—I will decide at the end of each week who I felt had the best overall attitude (1 winner per week). O: Office Participation—I will decide who a) has spent the most hours in the office, b) the most efficiently spent time in the office each week (1 winner per week). E: Extra Out-of-Office Participation—I will decide who has exhibited proper out of office behavior related to the Kansan. This includes attending zone meetings, staff functions, softball, etc. (Could be multiple winners each week). P: Top Percentage to Quota—Weekly number reports will display at the end of each week, who the top performer is in terms of percentage to quota. As long as the zone is on track each week, the
Designer will get a sticker for this each week as well(1 winner per week). L: Total number of ads in B-Ball Preview Section + Logos on the B-Ball Schedule. The Designer will earn a sticker for over 10 ads made and run in these sections (1 winner). G: Great or exceptional achievement—I will determine at the end of each week who has accomplished an amazing feat such as a substantial up-sell, prospecting and selling to a stubborn new business, getting a non-quota client to run a large campaign, creating the ads for a brand new campaign, etc. (could be multiple winners). C: Creative Idea--I will determine at the end of each week who came up with a spectacular creative idea such as a fantastic campaign idea, a promotional idea, general thinking outside the box. This also goes for the Designer (Could be multiple winners). OE: Overall Effort--I will determine at the end of the week who displayed the best overall effort (one winner). OT: Other—I will occasionally determine if someone has done something that is worthy of the “Other” status such as a walk-off homerun in the softball game or pull a solid newsie prank. (Could be multiple winners)
Monthly M: Receive a monthly award QB: Break your October quota. If the Zone breaks, the Designer gets a sticker.
Disclaimer It shall be clear that all decisions are made at my discretion. Arguing with me is permitted but not encouraged. It will probably not help you in the end. The prize starts at a $50 value and will climb as long as I see a high level of enthusiasm and participation from all zone members. I am willing to answer any questions you have pertaining to this. Good Luck and may the best dream zoner win!
Ari Ben (720) 838- 7877 ariben24@gmail.com 920 Indiana Lawrence, KS 66044 Experience The University Daily Kansan Lawrence, Kan. Zone Manager, August 2005-December 2005/ August 2006- December 2007 ! Managed a staff of six people that generated total revenue of at least $450,000. ! Led my team to exceed revenue quota by an average of 25%. ! Built relationships with 20 clients and exceeded my quota goals by and average of 20%. ! Created and proposed advertising campaigns that generated total revenue of over $186,000. ! Recorded the highest sales marks ever at The Kansan in terms of revenue generated. Business Manager, January 2006-May2006 ! Served as head manager of a staff of more than 40 people, and maintained a client list. ! Surpassed revenue goals for all special sections by more than $2,000. ! Exceeded revenue goals in the online sector by 150%. Account Executive, January 2005-May 2005 ! Developed advertising campaigns and marketing plans for 25 active clients. ! Surpassed my sales quota goals by an average of 175%. ! Exceed quota by more than 400% in February 2005.
The Arizona Republic Scottsdale, Ariz. Advertising Account Executive Intern, June 2007- August 2007 ! Managed an account list of 15 active clients during an employee transition period. ! Created and proposed multiple advertising campaigns, utilizing multiple products. ! Proposed online ad campaigns and shadowed the online sales team.
Denver Business Journal Denver, Colo.
Advertising Account Executive Intern, May 2006-August 2006 ! Generated $25,000 total in new business revenue. ! Proposed and sold advertising for a multitude of specific products including classifieds and a Non-Profit Giving Guide. ! Supported the sales staff by attending client meetings and pitching special projects.
Education University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts in Economics Minor in Business Graduation date: December 2007
Honors ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Manager of the Semester, The University Daily Kansan, Fall 2005, Fall 2006, Fall 2007 Salesperson of the Semester, The University Daily Kansan, Fall 2006 Account Executive of the Semester, The University Daily Kansan, Spring 2005 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rising Star Awardâ&#x20AC;?, Denver Business Journal, 2006 Nominated Salesperson of the Year, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Manager Conference, 2006. Nominated Business Manager of the Year, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Manager Conference, 2007 Nominated Advertising Manager of the Year, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Manager Conference 2008,
Skills !
! !
Website advertising sales familiarity and experience. Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Power Point, and Excel Thorough understanding of message development, strategic communication, and effective campaign structuring.
Ari Ben (720) 838- 7877 ariben24@gmail.com 920 Indiana Lawrence, KS 66044 References Jennifer Weaver Senior Marketing Analyst, 3M 785-393-4770 kansasweaver@gmail.com Denise Jendrusch Advertising Director, Denver Business Journal 303-837-3518 djendrusch@bizjournals.com Jon Schlitt Sales and Marketing Advisor, The University Daily Kansan 785-864-4358 jschlitt@kansan.com
Dear CNBAM committee, Please regard this letter as my recommendation that Nate Stafford be considered for “Advertising Manager of the Year” at CNBAM this year. As the marketing and promotions manager for The University Daily Kansan, Nate orchestrated a multitude of events and promotions that redefined our marketing department. The UDK was already well known for being progressive in departments other than strictly advertising sales, having won the “pacemaker” award many times at past CNBAMs. However, in my experience, the contributions Nate made during his tenure surpassed those of any former marketing or promotions manager and paved the way for an even brighter future for The University Daily Kansan. At the Kansan, we define success by meeting our revenue goals, building a strong connection with the student body, involving our clients in reaching the student market, and developing the best staff members possible. As an advertising manager, Nate did not sell any ads nor did he have a team that did. However, he was instrumental in The Kansan achieving success, as I defined it. One of Nate’s main principles by which he operates, is the importance of building strong relationships with our business partners. In the past, the extent of which clients were able to participate in our promotions or special sections was limited to purchasing ad space or a logo on a poster, for example. Nate seeked out to improve client’s involvement with our promotions for a few reasons. The goal of our promotions was to connect the students to the Kansan. By our clients getting more involved, it gave them a chance to reach out to the student market, via the Kansan. In turn, that led to certain clients relying on the Kansan, which became more of a partnership rather than a “one-way” business deal, like simply purchasing ads would be. Nate’s creativity led to building partnerships with big names such as the Kansas University Athletic Department and KU Student Senate, which we never before had any real relationship with. His hard work led to partnering with them to develop what became a very popular t-shirt campaign that reached out to the students by allowing them to come up with the slogans of the shirts, relating to our popular athletic programs. Students could literally create a t-shirt on Kansan.com and submit their idea. From there, the top slogans were put up to vote among the student body and the winning shirts sold to the students through KU Bookstores, which was another partnership Nate developed. So, due to Nate’s work, we were able to develop strong relationships with many big clients in Lawrence, drive traffic to our paper and website, gain a presence as a brand around campus and in major sports venues, encourage actual interaction between the students and the Kansan, and connect the clients involved to the students in a very direct way. Though indirect, promotions like this led to easier sales for our reps, who were able to show their clients the value of the Kansas in yet another way, which all led to more revenue generation. In addition, Nate also did groundbreaking work pertaining to our award-winning special sections and how they related to the student body. His goal was to connect the students to the special sections in a greater way, create added exposure of the Kansan to the students, and give more reasons for our clients to advertise in our special sections. Every year we release our very popular “Sex on the Hill” special section. Advertisers love to be in it and students love receiving it. This year, Nate took it to another level. Nate
coordinated a major event to coincide with the section that took place at a bar that is one of our top clients. The entire was student body was invited to this party. Advertisers were invited to sponsor the event and contribute major prizes for giveaways. This way, advertisers were able to reach out in another direct way to students, via the Kansan, and it also gave them more reason to advertise in the section. The event was extremely successful, and immediately became a staple for future Kansan promotional endeavors. I could go on for pages giving examples of how Nate contributed to the overall success of the Kansan in the past year. Hopefully these examples provide a clue of just how influential he was as a manager. Most importantly, he truly laid the blueprint for how promotions and marketing should be done for the Kansan in years to come. I defined our success by meeting our revenue goals, building a strong connection with the student body, involving our clients in reaching the student market, and developing the best staff members possible. More than anyone on staff, Nate did all these things in both direct and indirect ways. The Kansan would not have seen nearly the success it did without his work, persistence, and creativity. I had the privilege of working on the management staff with him for all of 2007 and highly recommend him for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Advertising Manager of the Yearâ&#x20AC;? at CNBAM. Sincerely, Ari Ben Account Executive The Kansas City Star (Former zone manager at The University Daily Kansan)
Dear CNBAM Judges, It is my great pleasure to write to you to nominate Nate Stafford for the award of Ad Manager of the Year. At The Kansan this past year we have enjoyed tremendous success across the board through fantastic work as a team and Nate’s role on that team was a vital one. As Special Sections/ Promotions Manager Nate is faced with the duel task of finding a way to grow revenue for our special sections but to also find a way to brand the paper in the best possible ways. What makes Nate unique is that this semester he has found ways to do both at the same time by thinking outside the box. What makes Nate Stafford a great special sections manager is first the fact that he believes in the sections that he is asking the staff to promote. Nate understands what it is that makes each of these sections unique and why advertisers should want to promote themselves in these sections. He communicates these benefits effectively to the rest of the staff and his passion and exuberance is contagious while he does so. Nate goes out of his way to accompany reps on calls to visit accounts that are either on the fence or reluctant to promote themselves in these editions. He is also a master at working with sales reps on an individual basis to find what it is in each section that makes a good fit for their individual advertisers. Sometimes as in if it’s a basketball preview it makes perfect sense for a store selling basketball merchandise to advertise. In other cases as in if it’s a pizza restaurant thinking about “Sex on the Hill” Nate is able to help the rep communicate to the client the shelf life of the product and the different niche that it will be reaching and thus the benefit to the advertiser. His efforts were fantastic this semester as he increased revenue on all of our special sections by 146% or $41,171. What makes Nate a great promotions manager is his ability to think outside of the box. When Nate first took his job in the Spring of 2007 he felt that The Kansan had lost touch with the student body and that the paper was beginning to lose some of its awareness around campus. To help rectify this Nate thought outside of the box and introduced the concept of event marketing to The University Daily Kansan through his work on the “Sex on the Hill” special section. Nate worked hand in hand with several people on our staff to organize a “Sex on the Hill” party at a local dance club that was themed around this special section. For the event itself he branded The Kansan all throughout the club in the form of posters, give-aways and contests as well as offering copies of the special section in gift bags at the end of the night as people left the event. The ad reps for The Kansan sold all of this to prospective clients for the section as added value leading to a doubling of revenue for this section over the previous year. The club enjoyed record attendance for the event and was therefore eager to partner with The Kansan for two similar parties around Halloween where The Kansan was again able to brand itself and the club again enjoyed fantastic attendance. In addition to special sections Nate found branding opportunities outside of the box for The Kansan by partnering with the athletic department. Athletics felt that the tshirts that students were wearing for the traditional Kansas-Missouri rivalry game were in bad taste and reflected poorly on the University and therefore asked for our paper’s assistance in rectifying this. Nate engineered a promotion where the student body as a
whole would be given the opportunity to solicit new slogans through a special page designed on our paper’s web-site. The top five slogans would be chosen by a group of judges and then voted on again through the paper’s web-site by the students and the student who entered the winning slogan would receive a package of prizes including a limo ride and tickets to the Kansas-Missouri football game. The promotion was a huge success garnering hundreds of slogans from the students and over 1,400 votes on the web-site thus encouraging and garnering student interaction. In addition when the shirts themselves were printed Nate negotiated an agreement to have The Kansan’s logo on the back of all printed shirts and also made sure that The Kansan would receive branding on the video boards during games for both basketball and football. As of the writing of this letter over 2200 of these t-shirts have been sold with a portion of each shirt sold being donated to a charity of The Kansan’s choice. The t-shirts were also featured on “ESPN Gameday” prior to the nationally televised football game between Kansas and Missouri. Nate’s energy and ideas have helped to contribute to a very positive and winning atmosphere here at The Kansan. The paper has consistently exceeded its special section goals throughout this past year and the student body has responded overwhelmingly to all of Nate’s promotions and The Kansan sales staff has as well. As the newspaper industry continues to carve out what its identity will be in the years to come it will need fresh ideas from managers such as Nate. We at The Kansan have found new ways to reach our audience and realize our potential under Nate and I hope that you will see fit to reward him as well. Sincerely,
Jon Schlitt Sales and Marketing Adviser
Dear CNBAM Committee I was once asked why year in and year out The Kansan maintains such a high level of success. My response was that next to the incredible staff, it is the managers that provide the key to consistency. As managers we set the bar, and when we leave it has been instilled in those taking over our positions that it is their job to do better than we did. We are always improving and our competitive staff wants to attain a higher level of success than those before. The theme to my management philosophy is my staff, because without them, I know that I would be nothing. One philosophy that I have lived by is that no matter what I have done or where I seem to be going, I know that I still have much to learn. I have been successful in my time as promotions and special sections manager, and I attribute that to far more than my innate management skills. Everyday I look not only to my management peers, but also to the staff that surrounds me as means of improving myself. Everyone on this staff is here because they are the best of the best. I can look at each person and name skills they have that are better than my own and I emulate those qualities. This is very important in management. I always let individuals know what qualities they have that I am working on myself to improve. This puts us on the same level. They see the high level of respect that I have for them and in return they garner me the same respect. This equates to a great level of comfort and it opens individuals to being taught new methodologies in sales and business. I have a very laid back approach to management. I don’t like to micro-manage. I let the respect that I cultivate translate into work ethic. This is not to say that I am not proactive with my staff. I have designed a very effective special section and promotions training that usually lasts about the first month of the semester. Continual training and interaction follow this, but self-sufficiency is key. By training a self-sufficient staff, I am allowed to focus on my own promotional duties to a greater degree. At the beginning of the semester I spend time in-group training, teaching the benefits of advertising in special sections and objection handling. I also hold a session on how to utilize promotional tools to bring in clients who are hesitant to advertise in The Kansan. These same skills are very effective for increasing revenue streams from existing clients as well as showing clients measurable results. The staff is divided into three sales teams, each of which meet weekly. Leading up to every special section I meet with each team and coach them on the upcoming special section. I hold one on one meetings during the week that are mandatory, and allow me to focus on individual strengths and weaknesses. It also allows me to look and the individual’s client list and strategically help them prioritize which clients to approach and how. I have always been known as the “idea guy”. The person who looks at things abstractly and is able to produce innovative and effective solutions that are beyond the norm. This is a skill I try to instill in every employee. Everyone has a stroke of creativity, but like all things in sales, that creativity is nothing without understanding the processes behind it. During the beginning of the semester I hold a session where I coach the staff members on the creative process and show them how to find their own method of abstract thinking. The idea behind this is that it not only gives individuals the ability to better serve their clients, but it saves me time. If in the first month of the semester, I can help them become more solution oriented in my field, then I can spend more time focusing on the promotional work that is producing groundbreaking results for this organization and especially its clients.
Another tactic that I employ is accompanying account executives on client calls. This allows them to learn from my selling style, but more importantly I can be used as a tool to help convince clients to invest in our special sections. I do not limit my assistance in client calls to solely special sections though. I am known for my “outside the box” approach to businesses and I go on many client calls where the business owner is looking for a fresh avenue to advertise in our medium. This leads me to what I value as my top management quality. I hold an open door policy. Day or night I make sure our staff knows they can call on me. Whether it is to brainstorm a new idea, to help them utilize the “box of wisdom” (a box full of organized marketing statistics and demographics I keep for the staff), or if a deep personal issue is affecting them, this staff knows that I am always ready to listen, advise and solve problems. They know that I regard them as my backbone and I owe them my time whenever they need it. I have learned the dichotomy of business and personal relationships, and I can efficiently interchange between them. This is a very strong component of my management style. By building close personal relationships with the staff, we create strong business ties. The loyalty that they feel towards me gives them the drive to consistently break goals on special sections because the correlate their success to the effort I have put in their training and our friendship. This leads me to my incentive programs. They tend not to be that grand. I have found that the relationship building is a far more effective tool for incentive than the gift certificates I offer to the highest sales numbers. This is something I have learned from my management predecessors. Incentive programs are important and create definitive, positive results, but staff respect and loyalty are indispensable and notably more effective. Another very important facet of my management philosophy is translating my confidence in myself and this staff into the individuals that comprise it. I truly believe that you can achieve anything you want to, if you are willing to work for it. Everyone should have this confidence in himself or herself. I have found that talking about motivation and giving accolades only goes so far. For an individual to find strong confidence there is only one way it can really be attained. That is through personal success. When I first started in management I spent too much time being a “cheer leader”. It was not long before I realized that this was not an adequate solution. I then and still do spend the majority of my time teaching solution oriented strategies, which produces self-sufficient individuals, who quickly gain confidence because of their own success. As I previously stated, I would be nothing without this staff. My success would not have been possible without their incredibly hard work. I encourage questions and teach solutions. The men and women that comprise The Kansan’s advertising staff are the brightest individuals I have ever met, and it has been a great pleasure and an invaluable learning experience to be surrounded by such astronomical talent. As an account executive I relished in my own success. As a manager, I now know my greatest joy will never lie in my own achievements, but rather the accomplishments of those I have helped mentor. Nate Stafford
Promotions/Special Sections Manager The University Daily Kansan
Description of Duties as Promotions/Special Sections Manager My primary duty is to ensure that special sections break quota. This means I must train the staff accordingly. I must hold one on one meetings and group sessions that prepare them for each special sectionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parameters. The account executives are my number one priority. Whether it pertains to special sections or not it is my job to assist them in breaking their goals. Many times this is done through promotional methods. I define my job as ninety-nine percent of my time should be spent with account executives and one percent on promotional work. Through my methods of training however, I am able to afford more time to perform my promotional work. My secondary duty is to brand The Kansan. I must connect with the students and create a new brand image for The Kansan. I must garner publicity through other media. This translates into the necessity of increasing readership and visibility, which in return increases revenue. The core of promotions is to create a connection with our primary market, the student body. At the beginning of the semester I was told to promote The Kansan like had never been done before, and that is what I did.
2006-2007 Special Section Numbers Comparison
Special Section Name Fall Sex on the Hill
2006 #'s
2007#'s 10254
18,711
Fall Homecoming
7640
8557
Basketball Schedule
3200
5600
Winter Finals Guide
1444
5270
Basketball Preview
3086
8400
Grad Guide
5966
3657
22003
26034
8164
8300
22971
40000
3850
5220
88578
129,749
Apartment Guides Basketball Poster Series Insider's Guide Brackets Bash Total:
Revenue Increase:
41171
Percent of 2006
146%
3609 Forbes Avenue #403 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412.334.0181 – siobhan.mulkerrin@gmail.com
Siobhan C. Mulkerrin Education: University of Pittsburgh, College of Business Administration Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Majors: Finance, Marketing Richmond, The American University in London Study Abroad
April 2008 Pittsburgh, PA 6/2006-8/2006 London, England
Work Experience: The Pitt News • • • • • •
Sales Manager 9/2007-present Responsible for hiring and managing a sales staff of 15 Oversee and plan all marketing and promotional pieces for advertisers Assist in setting monthly quotas and provide direct assistance to sales reps as they work to meet their goals Create and implement sales incentives for individuals and teams Accountable for revenues exceeding $1,000,000 annually Train sales force in two formal sessions and continue training in weekly sales meetings
The Pitt News • • • • • •
Account Executive 9/2006-8/2007 Responsible for the development of new business and retention of current accounts Developed print marketing strategies and assist with the design of display advertisements with clients Conducted cold call programs to enhance sales opportunities and to develop new business relationships Managed client service issues across their relationship with The Pitt News Consistently met monthly quota averaging $10,000 Responsible for five sales territories during the summer of 2007
The Pitt News • • • •
Inside Sales Associate 1/2006-5/2006 Responsible for sales of classified advertising, including Student, Personal and University accounts Handled all customer telephone calls and service issues for both advertising and editorial departments Provided creative suggestions for all display advertisements Assisted in monthly billing process and aging issues
Federated Investors Marketing Intern 9/2005-12/2005 • Provided support to an institutional investment marketing team, serving four sales channels • Assisted with the revision of monthly and quarterly marketing literature • Supported the development of marketing pieces and correspondence, including requests for proposals • Organized and performed research of the market • Designed PowerPoint presentations
Activities and Awards: Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity • Vice President of External Affairs and Alumni Relations • Pledge Advisor • Chapter Relations Chair Dale Carnegie Effective Communications and Human Relations Sales Manager of the Year – College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers, Inc. • Nominee Dale Carnegie Sales Advantage Seminar Sales Representative of the Summer – The Pitt News “Most Valuable Player” – The Pitt News Sales Representative of the Month – The Pitt News
9/2005-present
1/2008-present 1/2008 7/2007 8/2007 4/2007 3/2007
Job Description
Advertising Manager Accountability:
Business Manager and Advertising Adviser
Responsibilities:
Work as an assistant to the Business Manager, pertaining to the sales of local advertisements. Directly supervises Account Executives.
Specific Duties:
1. Assist Business Manager with the training and retention of all local and national account executives. 2. Assist in hiring and training of sales team, design team and account managers. 3. Attending weekly Board of Managers meetings. 4. Monitor the sales performance of account executives, including call reports and prospecting forms. 5. Makes in-territory sales calls with account executives on a regular basis. 6. Must call and service all accounts in territories that are left vacant until a new sales account executive can be trained. 7. Become proficient with Mac system, Multi-Ad Creator, and Photoshop software. Train account executives on advertising layout and design. 8. Collaborate weekly with the Business Manager to discuss sales staff performance and prepare for the weekly sales meetings. 9. Attend and run weekly sales meetings. 10. Attend weekly Board of Managers meetings. 11. Hold weekly one-on-ones with sales account executives. 12. Determine quotas, based on last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue and territory status as determined by Business Manager and Advertising Advisor. 13. Assist with marketing and promotions. 14. Contribute toward implementation of incentive programs for account executives. 15. Work approximately 20 scheduled hours per week, between 9 and 5 daily. 16. Perform any other duties or functions as assigned by the Business Manager or Advertising Adviser.
Although everyone works for the good of the team, I still plan and manage monthly individual incentives. Each month there is a different incentive, and the winner is awarded a $100 gift card. Examples of some incentives include: the person to get the most contracts in a month, the person to make the most calls in a month, etc. These competitions keep a playful banter in the office and really motivate the reps to be successful. However, regardless of how professional, fun or team oriented The Pitt News is, it has been the personal and professional relationships I have been able to build with our entire staff and our customers that have made all the difference. We have a great relationship with our editorial staff, which has given us great flexibility with promotions and other new marketing ideas we have done in the paper. I have the utmost respect for our professional staff and everything they have taught the entire staff and myself in the time we have spent working for The Pitt News. The relationships I have built with the reps, ad designers, and inside sales staff allow us to work extremely well together because there is a mutual respect that definitely stems from the team aspect of our business. I am proud to say that the changes I implemented and my philosophy on sales and management have been successful for us this year. We are currently up 15% in total local sales, a definite product of the entire teams hard work and the professionalism and talent the staff exhibits daily. I feel extremely lucky to have been a part of The Pitt News throughout my collegiate career. The experiences I have had and the lessons I have learned are ones that I will carry with me throughout my entire professional career. I can only hope that my management and sales philosophy can positively impact The Pitt News as a way for me to give something back. It is extremely difficult to summarize an entire yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work and passion into a two page philosophy, but I hope the above summary provides you with some insight into my passion and dedication to The Pitt News. I hope that through review of my letters of recommendation and the attached appendix you will understand my enthusiasm, dedication and drive for our paper to be successful. I would be honored to receive the title of CNBAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2008 Advertising Manager of the year. Thank you for your consideration.
Siobhan C. Mulkerrin Sales Manager The Pitt News The University of Pittsburgh
January 29, 2008 To: Members of the 2008 CNBAM Awards Committee Re: Personal Management Philosophy I consider my time at The Pitt News to be the most valuable aspect of my collegiate experience. In my three years here, I have been able to learn valuable lessons from my peers and our advising and professional staffs. Having been involved with the paper since my sophomore year, I had the advantage of working with many different managers and learning from their management styles. These experiences have helped to mold my management style and philosophy. From the day I was awarded the position of Sales Manager at The Pitt News, I have worked diligently to bring a sense of professionalism and teamwork to our staff. Professionalism in our office was something I felt was lacking when I first became a student leader. Too many people felt comfortable making excuses for our lack of professionalism, sloppy dress and lackadaisical attitude. We are in college, after all. This was an attitude I immediately put to rest. I am a believer that, in order to be successful, you need to feel confident about yourself and the product you are presenting. In order to be competitive with local newspapers, I launched into many different projects to bring a more professional face to The Pitt News. I can proudly say this is the first year that all account executives have had personal business cards and professional portfolios to take along on sales appointments. I also put a dress code into place in the office and for sales calls. Although this was not popular with many students who enjoyed wearing sweat pants to work, their attitude definitely shifted. During the summer, I spent time unifying all of our advertising and marketing pieces with new letterhead. In addition to these minor changes, my largest project of the year was our rate card. I worked with the professional members of Pittâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing department to completely redesign the rate card. The redesign included me rewriting our introduction, updating our statistics and graphically designing the new tri-fold marketing piece. It is now much easier for reps to use on calls and it is a viable marketing tool against our competition. Also, over the summer, I had an opportunity to take the Dale Carnegie Sales Advantage class. This could not have come at a better time, as I really learned a great deal about not only the traditional approach to sales but also the importance of teamwork. After returning to work from this training, I completely redesigned our training practices for the fall. This year we had ten new sales reps that joined our team. From the first time they came to The Pitt News, they all knew that this was a serious job, but one that was fun because we were all a team. Although each rep has their individual quota, they know that they are all working for the good of the team. I go out with reps on sales calls regularly to promote the idea of teamwork. Everyone is expected to pitch in and do his or her share, even if a particular task isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t written in his or her job description. Ad designers will drop ads off to customers, managers will assist with the billing process, and ad reps will help the inside sales staff manage phone calls and walk-ins. I strongly
believe in and support this team mentality and I know that this begins with setting a good example. I know we have such a team cohesiveness because the example comes from the student leaders at our paper.
seen some past Advertising Managers excel at sales; others have focused more on marketing. None, until Siobhan, have found a balance between increasing advertising revenue and improving our outward appearance to our customers and community. Our marketing efforts have been sporadic at best until 2007. Siobhan Mulkerrin, double majoring in Finance and Marketing at Pitt’s College of Business Administration, put her coursework and common sense to work in order to unify The Pitt News’ messages to our customers and readers. Today we enjoy a vastly improved, glossy tri-fold rate card, a professional looking media kit, and letterhead, thank you notes, and fax cover sheets that all carry our new logo. She spearheaded the idea of presenting each of our sales staff with a leather bound pad folio with matching pen, both carrying our logo. She announced on the first day of training that no communication would leave our offices in haphazard fashion; everything must be uniform, everything we presented to the outside world would be professional. Even internal memos took on a more polished look. Siobhan turned our little newspaper into a streamlined business with a distinct signature. The Pittsburgh community has benefited from Siobhan’s work this year, as well. She singlehandedly created our first annual toy drive for the United States Marines’ Toys for Tots program. Placing advertisements well in advance of Christmas break, Siobhan offered our readers the chance to win an iPod Shuffle when they delivered new toys to The Pitt News. Readers responded with a carload of beautiful donations for the underprivileged children of Pittsburgh, and one of our readers was thrilled with her Shuffle award, presented during finals week. I tend to judge people by what I have learned from them, and in judging Siobhan in comparison with her competition for this year’s CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year award, you need to know my lessons from this year: Siobhan has taught me to let go of responsibilities I normally would have carried when the student managers are well equipped to excel without my hand; Siobhan has taught me to focus on one task while lining others up in project-management spread sheets that simplify life and work; Siobhan has taught us all that each task deserves full attention and that nothing needs to fall short if those responsible truly care. Important lessons for me to learn at 50, I think. I thank you once again for considering our Siobhan, for she deserves every consideration we can spare. Sincerely,
Laurie Holding Advertising Adviser The Pitt News 412-648-7820
January 11, 2008 To the 2008 CNBAM Judges: I am proud to nominate Siobhan Mulkerrin for this year’s CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year. Siobhan has proven herself to be a strategic manager, a visionary marketing director and a role model for all of us at The Pitt News. Her hard work will impact the way we do business for years to come. Siobhan had worked in prior years in Inside Sales, and then as an Account Executive, so she knew our operations and had ideas for our improvement by the time she reached her senior year. She first changed the structure of our summer sales force by taking one of the sales positions herself. We find now that most of our momentum that has built over the past six months is a result of our Advertising Manager having complete knowledge of our customer base. Siobhan handled five of our territories this summer, and those customer relationships flourished with an easy transition, since she was by the sides of the new reps when fall came. Our summer reps are required to work 20 hours per week. Because of Siobhan’s contagious enthusiasm and modeling, all of our reps worked at least 25, while she herself rarely put in less than 40 hours. By end of summer, we had a Welcome Back issue that surpassed our largest ever by 17%, as well as a strong foundation for first semester. Earlier in the summer, Siobhan presented an advertising proposal to Dale Carnegie Training. The Regional and District Managers were so impressed by Siobhan’s delivery that they asked if she would be interested in participating in their weekend-long Sales Advantage course, a compressed version of their training program. Siobhan spent all weekend at Dale Carnegie, who has since pursued her for a Sales Trainer position with their organization. As Advertising Manager, Siobhan is responsible for the sales force: their training, regular oneon-one meetings, their goals and all incentive/compensation packages. Siobhan insists on meeting every Account Executive alone for at least twenty minutes every week. She knows every account they are calling, all of their problem prospects, all of their production issues. She inserts herself on their sales calls to cement long-running contractual agreements and has improved the way our sales force writes, presents, articulates and follows up. The numbers are clear evidence of her ceaseless efforts; we are currently 13% over last year in local revenue under Siobhan’s management.
We have no Marketing Manager at The Pitt News. The Advertising Manager is responsible for training and monitoring the sales force as well as to act as the Business Manager’s right hand in
Additional Incentives: Based on the demand and areas that we, as a team, need improvement, additional incentives will be available every month. These will be announced at the beginning of the month and your progress will be tracked and announced at the weekly sales meetings.
The Pitt News – Sales Incentives Rep of the Week: The rep of the week is determined based on the point system outlined below. The winner is announced at the weekly sales meeting and he/she receives a trophy and a certificate! Call or Email*: 1 point Prospecting Report: 2 points Visiting a Customer: 3 points Appointment with a Customer: 5 points New Customer or Revived** Account: 15 points Each New Contract: 20 points *One point per unique customer per day. Several calls/emails with the same customer in one day only counts as one point. **An account is revived if there has been no advertising activity for one year. Copy all daily logs, prospecting reports, insertion orders for a new customer and new contract for points. All paperwork must be turned into Siobhan by 5pm on Friday in order to receive full points. All of your paperwork will be reviewed in your individual weekly meeting with Siobhan. Rep of the Month: The rep of the month is selected by the Board of Managers. The recipient of this award receives a $100 American Express Gift card and will be announced at the sales meeting. Cards: Cards have a dollar value that is placed in your paycheck as a bonus at the end of the pay period. See Siobhan to pick your cards. A rep can select a card from the deck when they: •Get a new account or reviving an account •Get a customer on a 30 X contract •Sell a full page Card Values: Ace: $15 1-9: The dollar amount of the card. Face Cards: $10 Joker: $20
Team Competition: The sales staff will be split into two teams. The teams will compete, based on the same point system as rep of the week, for an entire month. At the end of the month, the team with the most points wins. In addition to the above points, the team whose member is rep of the week will receive an additional 25 points. Also, for every team member that makes their quota the team will receive an additional 50 points. The winning team gets their picture in the
among his peers. I cannot imagine a more qualified or deserving nominee for CNBAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Manager of the Year. He has proven himself in sales figures and also in the lessons that will be his legacy at The Pitt News for years to come. I consider myself lucky to have learned so much from him in the years I have worked with him. Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to recommend Dennis Hazenstab for CNBAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Manager of the Year. Sincerely,
Siobhan Mulkerrin Sales Manager The Pitt News
January 29, 2008 Dear CNBAM Judges, As the business manager of The Pitt News, Dennis Hazenstab has been a mentor, leader and friend to the entire staff. I have known Dennis since I began working at The Pitt News in January 2006. Dennis was extremely friendly and helpful when I first began working at The Pitt News and has continued to be a great mentor to me. It is with great pleasure that I recommend Dennis Hazenstab for CNBAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Manager of the Year Award. Even before being placed in a leadership position, Dennis was a leader in the office. When I was a new sales rep he went on calls with me and coached me through presentations, cold calling and other essential aspects of sales. The lessons I learned from observing his sales style have been essential to my success and the success of our entire team. One of his most admiral traits is his ability to lead by example. Dennis works many more hours than is required of his position, he assists the office staff in billing, filing and other tasks and he is always available to go with reps on sales calls. These traits and his versatile personality make him extremely relatable and approachable, a key to success in leadership. Numerically, the sales numbers are undeniable evidence of Dennisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success. As of the end of December 2007, our overall revenue was up 5% and local display revenue was up 4% despite national advertising being down significantly for the year. To make up for this deficit, Dennis has implemented online and color promotions. These promotions have proven to be extremely successful as we are now 51% up in color. Undoubtedly, the success of our entire team comes from Dennisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard work, dedication and commitment to training and helping to improve each and every member of our sales team. Although Dennis makes a point to be involved in every aspect of the business, he is extremely respectful of every member of the team. He consistently references us as a team and he works to keep a positive team mentality in the office. Though he is very involved with all of the reps and other staff members, he is open to new ideas and willing to give the reins to anyone in order to achieve success. When a new idea is presented to him, he listens and does his best to help everyone reach their goals. As a senior and a three-year member of The Pitt News team, Dennis has much experience that he is able and willing to share. Most of the account executives are underclassman and they all turn to Dennis for curriculum advice, resume help and interview tips. As an honor student, Dennis also helps with homework and test preparation for anyone who approaches him. I can attribute much of my academic and professional success to the help he has provided me in the years I have known him.
More than his success and hard work, his dedication and personality make him a great friend, mentor and leader to everyone who is fortunate enough to meet him. His strong work
Maura Ellen Feil
Advertising Manager of the Year CNBAM 2008
January 10, 2008 CNBAM Advertising Manager of the Year Letter of Recommendation and Nomination Maura Feil Dear Judge(s): Maura Feil confidently walked into The Daily Tar Heel office three years ago as a sophomore- she was grounded and mature for her years and already committed to giving 110% . As it turns out, Maura is a driving force behind our phenomenal success this year. Maura began her tenure at The Daily Tar Heel in as an assistant account executive (named Assistant Account Executive of the Month in January 2005) and quickly moved up to an account executive position. She has consistently surpassed her monthly sales goals, always serviced her clients to above-average expectations and creatively developed new sales through theme page promotions. She was awarded top sales representative of the month in September of 2006. Mauraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most outstanding contributions to The Daily Tar Heel have occurred in the current school year in her role as Retail Sales Manager. Maura quickly demonstrated her leadership qualities through The Daily Tar Heelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fall interview process. Maura revised and re-worked the application, pre-interview process, interview questions and decision-making process. As fruit of Mauraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s labor, we received a record of ten new exceptional assistant account executives. Post interviews, Maura took the ten assistant account executives directly under her wing and put them through a rigorous eight session training course. Her leadership has led one assistant to take over a territory a semester early, this January! Maura continues to diligently work with each assistant account executive to prepare them to take over a territory in the fall. Maura also works closely to provide training to the current account executives. Maura strives to be available to help, listen and encourage each account executive at all times. She spends an unprecedented number of hours in the office, along with making herself available after hours by phone or email. Maura formed close supportive relationships with each account executive. This way Maura believes she will be better able to turn challenges into opportunities in sales. Maura uses one-on-one monthly meetings called mid-months to dive into any problems that an account executive faces. In these meetings Maura reviews calls sheets, special section and theme page sales, and possible innovations, while also trouble shooting problems and opportunities for growth. She encourages everyone through creative goal keeping (a goal-o-meter is displayed at all times in the office), food rewards during sales meetings and she even organized a holiday dinner/gift exchange events. Maura consistently creates a positive environment for account executives to grow, learn and achieve. On top of training, Maura is dedicated to building a team with exceptional customer service habits. She is mature for her years and pushes those around her to a high level of maturity and customer service when dealing with clients. During fall account executive training, Maura and the staff devised a customer service plan for the year. Maura strictly holds each account executive to this high level of service.
Maura’s drive and motivation have paid off – we are up 14% in local sales. More importantly, this team has focused and has worked together to succeed. I can’t believe Maura graduates this spring – we will surely miss her and her commitment to the paper. Without reservation, I nominate Maura Feil for Ad Manager of the Year. Sincerely,
Megan G. McGinity Marketing/Advertising Director (919) 962-0175
1/22/2008 Dear CNBAM Judges, It is with great enthusiasm that I nominate Maura Feil of The Daily Tar Heel for CNBAM’s Advertising Manager of the Year. I have known Maura for over a year now, and in that time she has displayed an innate understanding of advertising sales as well as the ability to lead a large and diverse team. Maura’s experience is part of what makes her a dynamic leader and great advertising manager at The Daily Tar Heel. Having worked in a local territory for three semesters, Maura’s skills in selling advertising make her a great resource for the sales representatives who look to her for guidance. Through one-on-one monthly meetings with each account executive, Maura helps her staff prepare for upcoming special issues, find new sales opportunities, and reflect on the positive or challenging aspects of each individual territory. Maura further leads the staff by heading up the training process for The Daily Tar Heel’s sales assistants. These 10 young staffers often have little to no sales experience, and Maura works personally with each to help them hone their skills as salespeople. Often their first point of reference, Maura helps these assistants find answers to all the questions and prepares them for the responsibility of being an account executive. As our advertising manager, Maura has initiated many creative ways to lead our staff. She has personally created innovative ways to show our team’s sales goal progress throughout the month and often leaves us fun reminders about important upcoming deadlines. By mixing creative approaches to leadership with a serious dedication to achieving monthly goals, Maura invigorates her staff in a positive manner. But these are not the only reasons why Maura deserves to be CNBAM’s
Advertising Manager of the Year. She has earned the respect of her peers by being an excellent resource, motivating her staff, and keeping our office organized and running smoothly. She is a terrific leader and a positive resource in our office. I hope you will see what we see in her at The Daily Tar Heel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a great teacher, a kind friend, and a skilled salesperson.
Sincerely,
Callan Crisp Account Executive The Daily Tar Heel
MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY The success of the Daily Tar Heel relies on the dedication and drive of the paper’s advertising staff. In my role as Advertising Manager, I strive to motivate and encourage each of the ten Account Executives to provide superior customer service, meet their monthly goals, and serve as liaisons between the paper and the University community. Each Account Executive is busy juggling their school and personal schedules, in addition to the duties that the position requires. From my personal experience, I believe that organization and attention to detail are the keys to an Account Executive’s success. As Advertising Manager, I meet with the Account Executives one-on-one each month to assess their progress and identify and resolve any problems they might be facing in their respective territories. In addition to these monthly meetings, I make myself available to the Account Executives as much as possible on a daily basis to help with a variety of tasks, from submitting paperwork to tracking a client’s contract progress. As a result of my efforts, the Account Executives have additional time to prospect new business opportunities and provide exceptional service to their existing clients. Aside from the personal attention given to each Account Executive, I am constantly seeking ways in which I can contribute to the success of the team. This includes posting reminders for each of the representatives about approaching deadlines, and providing treats following the achievement of a team goal. In addition, I design a creative poster, or “goalometer,” to track the team’s progress towards our monthly goal. Though these actions may be small in scale, their significance can be seen in the positive attitudes and strong work ethic of the sales staff.
MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY My main objective as Advertising Manager is to provide a optimistic and engaging work environment for all of the members of the sales team. Through my actions, I seek to facilitate the relationships between the Account Executives, the other members of the paperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff, and the clients that we serve. By providing unlimited support and encouragement for the Account Executives, I am able to effectively contribute to the success of the team and our award-winning paper.
JOB DESCRIPTION The Advertising Manager at the Daily Tar Heel is responsible for the daily management of the paper’s ten Account Executives and ten assistant Account Executives. The Advertising Manager’s tasks include providing support and motivation to the sales staff and monitoring the progress of the team’s monthly goal. Responsibilities also include assisting the Advertising Director in the hiring and training of new Account Executives, and handling all national accounts.
PRODUCTIVITY RECORD Local Retail Sales July – December ’06
July – December ’07
% Change
$386,902
$467,054
+ 20.7%
January – June ’06
January – June ’07
% Change
$478,501
$521,493
+ 8.9%
Total Sales 01/07 – 12/07: $1,061,921.39 National Sales January – June ’06
January – June ’07
% Change
$45,479
$53,970
+ 18.6%
Total Sales 01/07 – 12/07: $130,507.97
SALES STAFF DEVELOPMENT At the Daily Tar Heel, we live by the motto: “we work better when we play together.” As Advertising Manager, I believe that a team’s success is dependent upon its ability to work as a cohesive unit. In order to work well as a team, it is important that the Account Executives get to know one another outside of the stresses of the office environment. Enlisting the help of my of my co-workers, I make an effort to organize various events for the members of the staff to get together and socialize. Our group celebrates birthdays, holidays, and even big deadlines with movies and dinners out. A favorite memory of mine is our Ad Staff “pasta pump-up” dinner held the day before the deadline for our Football Preview special section. Below is a picture of a few members of our staff at a recent sushi dinner.
SALES STAFF MOTIVATION TECHNIQUES For student Account Executives, often the most challenging part of the job is managing busy class and extracurricular schedules with the demands of a sales position. Constant encouragement and support are essential to the organization and success of a newspaper sales team. In an effort to facilitate the everyday tasks that face Account Executives at the Daily Tar Heel, I provide members of the staff with creative reminders about important deadlines and treats for good performance. Below is an image of the note that was placed on each Account Executive’s board, along with a ring pop or “bling” to accompany the reminder. As evident in the picture of my co-workers, these treats are enjoyed by the staff and also help to reinforce upcoming deadlines.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES As Advertising Manager, I am constantly seeking feedback from the Account Executives for ways to assist in the attainment of their monthly goals and attract new businesses to our paper. Account Executives express their desire to create new theme pages and special sections for certain clients during our monthly meetings together. Once I receive their input, I work to establish a deadline and publication date for the page, and consult with our Production Manager to create a sales sheet that the staff may show to their clients. Below is an image of a health and beauty theme page published in our paper in November. This specialized advertising opportunity attracted four new clients to our publication. During our January mid-month meetings, the idea for a cold weather theme page titled “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was developed.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Visitors to the Daily Tar Heel will notice the advertising staff’s “Top 10 Customer Service Priorities” prominently displayed in our office. During our summer training session, I led the staff in establishing these goals to guide the daily relations between the Account Executives and their clients. As Advertising Manager, I hold each sales staff member to the exceptional service standards seen below. These priorities are integral to the reputation and success of the Daily Tar Heel’s advertising staff.