2011-4b

®

Washington University in Saint Louis Student Life Training Program Description

The Student Life account executive training program is an interactive program that begins with five formal half-days of training in the office and continues as long as the account executive continues working in the advertising department. The program provides the knowledge, tools, and customer service skills necessary to successfully meet clients’ needs.

All returning and new account executives must return early in the fall for mandatory formal training. Requiring returning account executives to be present at training ensures everyone is given the same and most up to date information in our ever-changing college newspaper office. It also fosters camaraderie. The training schedule is attached but a few aspects should be highlighted. We only do half days of training because there is a lot of information to take in and we find that the trainees remain more attentive and enthusiastic.

Since they are only half days, we start at 10am so that we can all break and go to lunch as a group to help the introductory and bonding process.

Each account executive is given a binder. The binder contains an explanation of their commission & goals, office procedures like setting up voicemail and e-mail, all of our rates, readership info and a breakdown by month of the previous year’s advertising run sheets. The run sheets show what advertisers ran each month, what size their ad was, how much it cost and what the ad was for. There are also separate tabs with run sheets from the previous year’s special sections and the current year’s special section sales sheets. The binder also contains a copy of the training manual which account executives are also given a copy of when they are hired and asked to read before training.

The training manual is very comprehensive. The first section details the structure of the paper and how the business office fits into that structure. It includes information on revenue generation, goals, distribution, readership, and newspaper terminology. It then moves into units of measure, rates, deadlines, frequency packages, non-profit discounts, and univer-

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sity discounts. The last section of the manual covers the sales approach including: preparing for a sales call, determining a client’s needs, developing a solution, tips for phone calls, closing the sale, overcoming objections, and follow ups. We ask new account executives to read it before training so that they enter the training with a firm idea and understanding of the business they are getting ready to join and it’s procedures and it does not have to be the focus of the formal training.

In addition to learning basic office procedures and the procedures of the paper, we also cover sales technique, customer service, readership information and sales goals. We measure results with rate card jeopardy and we do scavenger hunts for both our server and our ad entry software. We give them a list of items to find on both so that they can become familiar with how to navigate and find what they need efficiently.

The training is an important process and we try to eliminate a new account executive from becoming discouraged or overwhelmed by involving current account executives and by breaking up the information into half days with group lunches and unique activities to measure retention of the vast information being covered. This interactive training also allows for the development of office camaraderie as we try to keep the office atmosphere light and fun. Training continues throughout their employment with Student Life with the weekly sales meetings where new ideas and activities are introduced and questions and concerns are shared.

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® Mechanism for Measuring Results Student Life Jeopardy & Server/Adworks Scavenger Hunt

Categories as they appear on the Jeopardy board: 1. Special Offers

$100 – A: 50% discount for running 20 consecutive issues.

Q: What is the business Advantage?

Bonus: What special is running thru September for this?

$200 – A: Customer’s choice of 14 ads within 42 consecutive issues for a 20%

discount.

Q: What is the 14 week Fabulous Frequency discount?

$300 – A: When a customer runs a ¼ pg or larger ad in 2 consecutive issues and

gets the 3rd ad free.

Q: What is the 3 Run Discount?

$400 – A: $299 for Local customers and $275 for Wash U departments

Q: What is the special one time run rate for a ¼ pg?

$500 – A: $125 in addition to the space cost.

Q: What is the lowest discounted rate on color?

2. Sizes

$100 – A: 3 columns wide x 10.5 inches tall.

Q: What is the size of a quarter page ad?

$200 – A: 2 columns wide x 2.5 inches tall.

Q: What is the size of a business card sized ad?

$300 – A: 1.5278 inches.

Q: What is the width of one column inch?

$400 – A: 468 pixels wide x 60 pixels tall.

Q: What is the size of an online banner ad?

$500 – A: 4.9167 inches wide.

Q: What is the width of a 3 column ad?

3. Rates

$100 – A: $12 per column inch

Q: What is the Local Rate?

$200 – A: $9 per column inch

Q: What is the university dept & non-profit discount?

$300 – A: $200 in addition to the space cost.

Q: What is the color rate?

$400 – A: $65 per thousand

Q: What is the cost of a 1-4 page insert in of Student Life?

$500 – A: $450/day including full color.

Q: What is the cost of the front page strip ad?

4. Publication Schedule

$100 - A: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Q: What days of the week does Student Life publish?

$200 – A: Career Fair guides & Finals Survival Guides.

Q: Which special sections come out each semester?

$300 – A: February 14, 2011.

Q: When does the Valentines/Sex issue publish this year?

$400 – A: October 18, 2010.

Q: When does the Dining Guide publish this year?

$500 – A: This will serve as a guide for students looking to live off campus for

the 2011-2012 school year and also as a guide to the “Lifestyles” and

Housing Fair.

Q: What is the Housing Guide?

® Mechanism for Measuring Results Student Life Jeopardy & Server/Adworks Scavenger Hunt

5. Terminology

$100 –

$200 –

$300 –

$400 –

$500 –

A: A standard newspaper that measures 6 columns wide by 21” tall.

Q: What is a broadsheet?

A: A special section printed and cut so that it measures 11 3/8” wide by 11” tall and can be inserted into a broadsheet.

Q: What is a tabloid or “tab” section?

A: Ad advertisement that is printed separately, shipped to our printer and then inserted into the paper.

Q: What is a pre-printed insert?

A: A measurement of space, equivalent to one column wide by one inch deep.

Q: What is a column inch?

A: A copy of an ad as it will appear in Student Life. It must be approved by all customers by the deadline in order to run in the paper.

Q: What is a proof?

Server/Adworks Scavenger Hunt 1.

In Adworks, who is our contact for the Panhellenic Council? What is her e-mail? (*Hint remem ber all WU departments are under WU in Adworks)

2.

What is the path on the server to find the current rates and publication schedule?

3.

List five restaurants that ran in last year’s dining guide. (*hint look in ads folder on the server)

4.

Use Adworks to find out how many runs did A CUT ABOVE THE REST sign up for so far this fall?

What are the first and last dates the ad will run?

5.

Use Adworks to find out what size ad is Blick Art Materials running on 9/1?

6.

On the server, find how many prospects are listed on the Master Prospect List?

7.

Use Adworks to see what was the last payment we received from the Career Center? (*Hint Click on the “History” tab.)

8.

Where is the invoice folder located on the server?

9.

10.

In the Account Executives folder on the server, you’ll find the template for a weekly report. What is one thing you need to report each week?

Follow the path: Account Execs -> AE materials -> Interactive Forms -> Insertion Order. Fill out and print an insertion order for an 1/8th page ad (*for a university department) with spot color.

The date is 8/25. Use Adworks and the server to complete the form.

® Training Schedule

2010 Account Executive Training Schedule Saturday, August 21st 10:00am – Noon - Introductions - About our readers/audience - Student Life Readership Info - Rates Noon – Group Lunch 1:00pm – 2:00pm (estimate) - The “Not so Sales” Philosophy Sunday, August 22nd 10:00am – Noon - Student Life Jeopardy & exercises - Goals & Commission - Expectations as a Student Life employee Noon – Group Lunch 1:00pm – 2:00pm (estimate) -Setting Expectations for Clients -Handling Objections

-Common objections

-Scenarios & Group Discussions -Closing a Sale Monday, August 23rd – Friday August 27th 10:00am - 2:00pm -Account Lists -Office Procedures

- Email

- Voicemail

- Phone

- Fax

- Adworks

- CRM

- Account Lists

- Billing & Invoices

- Server Navigation - Adworks & Server Scavenger Hunt - New AE’s shadow returning AE’s - Wrap up our first issues back - Sell for Career Guide

!

C A LI FO R NI A

STATE

Training

U N I V E R S I T Y,

F UL L ERTON

Policies & Procedures

2010-2011

Program

Steps to Placing a Display Ad Administrative Procedures Media Information

Phone 657.278.4411 • Fax 657.278.2702 College Park Building • 2600 E. Nutwood Ave. • Suite 660 • Fullerton, CA 92831-3110 E-mail: ads@dailytitan.com • Website: www.dailytitan.com Revised: 1/3/11

Policies and Procedures I. New Hires

In order for you to be placed on our payroll system, you must complete the “new hire packet.” These may be obtained from the Daily Titan Business Manager or from the CSUF Foundation Office, Suite CP275.

Re-Hires Documents required as follows:

1. Completed Personnel Transaction Report (PTR)

2. W-4 Form

3. Affirmative Action Form

II. Compensation

1. Payroll Each Account Executive will earn $150 per payroll period providing you have: (a) made a minimum of 30 sales calls per week, along with following up with clients on a daily basis, and a minimum off 7 “on-the-street” or walk up sales calls and (b) have completed all administrative functions satisfactorily.

The $150 payment is to be considered a non-refundable draw against commission earned over the course of the semester.

Specific semester sales goals, as well as weekly sales goals will be established by the Advertising Sales Director and discussed with you during training week. All new hires will be given a one-month grace period, before the sales goals becomes effective.

2. Sales Commission Each Account Executive will be given a semester sales goal. A 2% commission will be earned over the semester on all collected advertising revenue and will be offset against your draw from this sales goal. If the commission earned is greater than the amount you received as a draw, you will be paid the difference at the end of the semester. You are responsible for collecting all advertising revenue.

3. Goals As needed, the Advertising Sales Director will announce sales contests wherein each Account Executive will have the opportunity of earning additional compensation.

III. Sales Meetings

Each week there will be a MANDATORY group sales meeting. Primary emphasis will be placed on your progress with sales calls and the success of your overall sales for the week. In addition, each Account Executive will be required to meet with the Advertising Sales Director once a month on a “one to one” basis for the purpose of evaluating the Account Executive’s work. See Performance Evaluation Form.

IV. Office Hours

The Daily Titan Office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday thru Friday. If you need to be in the office at night or on the weekend, please make arrangements with the Advertisng Sales Director or the Business Manager. Please give the sales manager a list of the hours you will be in the Daily Titan Office or out on sales calls. Please also provide your class hours and your work schedule if you have a second job. These hours of availability should be posted at your desk.

V. Telephone

All Account Executives are required to use their personal cell phones to call clients.

1. When you call a client, an assistant will answer the phone most of the time. Make friends with this person! Don’t get frus trated at being put on hold. Make sure you ask the assistant’s name and tell them yours. Remember the name when you call

back.

2. Leave messages that get results. Instead of saying, “Tell him I called” try saying, “I’ve lined up some information that would be very beneficial to him.” Also, remember to leave a number where the client can reach you, as well as the name

of the school and the newspaper you are with.

3. In regards to voicemal, always return calls daily, ABSOLUTELY by noon the following day.

4. You are not required to set up a voicemail on your personal phone for the Daily Titan, but you may if you wish. Although, your voicemail must always be professional and friendly.

Ex. "Hello, you have reached Adrian Gaitan, Account Executive, for the Daily Titan newspaper at Cal State University Fullerton. I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave me a message with your your name and number, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks and have a great day!"

Ex. "Hello, you have reached Adrian Gaitan. I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave me a message with your your name and number, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks and have a great day!"

VI. Mail

The mail is delivered (and picked up) usually by 2 p.m. everyday, except Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Remeber, postage is for business use only. When mailing tearsheets or media kits use the 8.5"x11" white envelopes. If the package is too large, use the manila envelopes located next to the personal advertising mailboxes. Each Account Executive will be given a Daily Titan email account. Check your email and personal advertising mailboxes everyday. Your Daily Titan email account can also be checked outside the office by going to mail.dailytitan.com. Then simply enter your login name and password.

VII. Equipment and/or Office Supplies

If any equipment breaks while you are using it, please notify the Business Manager immediately so it can be fixed. If you require any office supplies, please submit your request to the Advertising Sales Director or Business Manager.

VIII. Attire

You may wear whatever you feel is appropriate when you are in the office, but bear in mind that clients may visit the Daily Titan office. However, when you go on a walk up sales call, a professional appearance is absolutely required.

IX. Comm. 454 – Sales Advertising Class

As an Account Executive, you MAY be required, to act as a “mentor” to a small group of students from the class. This includes making “on-the-street calls” as well in-office training. The class is designed to be an “apprenticeship” for potential new Daily Titan Account Executives.

Media Information

Facts to know before approaching potential clients:

I. Media Kit

Each fall, the Daily Titan publishes a Media Kit with complete information on the CSUF market (demographics), circulation, rates, advertising policy, promotions and publication schedule. Every AE needs to familiarize themselves with the media kit and additional promotions as soon as possible.

The media kit has been designed as a “fax” media kit based on a survey that indicated 80-90% of all media kits were sent by fax.

The media kit can also be e-mailed from your computer or a client can download the media kit from the Daily Titan website. Media kits can also be mailed.

• The “Welcome” page includes the logisitics of The Daily Titan, including publication deadlines.

• The "Standard Rates" page includes Display and Classified advertising rates. This page should be visible on your desk while making cold calls.

• Note that there are more configurations for 1/8, 1/4 & 1/2 size ads.

• The configurations for a full page ad in The Daily Titan is 6 col. x 21". One column is equal to 1.944 inches.

• Spot color is $150, 4-color $600 (plus separations).

• The online advertising rates are determined by pageview and placement. Themeasurements are by pixel.

• The Publication Calendar outlines all special sections as well as indicating each publication date for the year.

II. Circulation

The Daily Titan prints 4,500 copies each day, Monday thru Thursday. The only exception to this is when week long issues are printed. In these cases we print a total 6,000 copies. Our recent daily readership statistics have totalled 18,000 people, with 40,000 people on campus. This means that for every one paper we print there is an average of three readers.

III. Inserts

The price for inserts is dependent on the number of pages in the insert. The most popular insert is one page, which costs $247.50.

Minimum 4,500. Must be approved by Advertising Sales Director. Must be pre-printed by the advertiser and sent at their expense to the printer listed on the following page. Never have inserts sent to our office!

IV. Advertising Agency Rates

Most ad agencies automatically take a 15% commission on ad placements. The Agency Open Rate listed in the rate card is $9.80 per column inch. This rate is considered a “gross” rate as opposed to the “net” non-commissionable rates you normally use.

To raise a “net” rate to a “gross” rate multiply the “net” rate by 1.1765 (e.g., $85 x 1.1765 = $100.00). Conversely, multiply $100 x 85% (less 15%) = $85.

Role Play: Trainer is a customer calling on the phone. The customer wants a quote for a 1/4 page ad running seven times in The Daily Titan. Did the trainee talk about any special sections or the web?

>Have the trainee come up with a script of what to say when calling a client.

Steps To Placing a Display Ad I. Customer Insertion Order (CIO)

When a client decides to place an ad, fill-out the CIO form in its entirety and fax or mail it to the client with the request that they immediately sign the form & return it to you ASAP! The client should be advised that NO ad can be entered into the “runsheet” unless you have a signed CIO in your possession. If the advertiser is a “first-time” advertiser/new customer, they must pay in advance unless waived by the Advertising Sales Director.

Checklist:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Fill out all known information about the client.

Mark the publication: Daily Titan, AdRax, Online, or Special Section.

Fill in the Date and your AE# Specifiy the size and rate in the appropriate boxes.

Fill in the dates that the client is running their ad(s).

Role Play: The trainee just got off the phone with a customer and sold their first ad. Trainee shall fill out a CIO and "fax" it to the customer.

Train in ADPRO essentials

I. Run Sheet (AdPro)

AdPro is a computer program that helps the office run more smoothly by tracking invoices, runsheets, and routing cards. Once the CIO is signed, an ad must be entered into the runsheet on this program three business days prior to the publication date in order for the ad to run. The Advertising Sales Director will give you a user name and password for this program along with an AdPro user's guide. Please refer to this guide for how to enter customers and ads into the system. When entering a client into AdPro they will be given a customer number. When entering a new display ad, AdPro will assign an ad number for each new ad.

II. Routing Card

Fill out the routing card form on AdPro and place it in the appropriate shelf above the media kit boxes for the production staff.

1. Date Due, Date In, Time In: Place time, date, and due date into appropriate boxes.

2. Account Executive: Your name.

3. Account Name: The advertising client.

4. Ad Number: The number assigned to the ad in AdPro.

5. The Contact Name: The person who we could contact from an account.

6. Address, Phone, Fax, Email: All related information should be written in the appropriate box indicate size.

7. Ad Size: Circle corresponding size, or indicate size to the left using columns and inches.

8. Color: Check if the ad is black and white, spot color, or 4 color. Make sure to write the spot color or Pantone

Color #, if known.

9. Slug Line: Usually the main headline of the ad. Whatever distinguishes this ad from any other ad.

10. Instructions: Specify whether ads are new builds, minor changes, or camera ready, and specify whether or not

there is a sample layout.

Check All Categories That Apply to The Ad: New Build: Completely new ad. Needs to be built by the Advertising Production Department.

• Follow Layout: All the basic information for the creation of the ad is contained in the envelope (e.g. logo(s), original photos, headline, body copy, typeface and font size. Production will follow the suggested layout as closely as possible.

• Create Layout: All the basic information is contained in the envelope. Production will design ad

at his/her discretion.

• Proof needed by: Specify when you need a proof. Allow at least 5 business days.

CAREFULLY and THOROUGHLY check the proof for errors. If you find an error, or require a change of some kind, resubmit the corrected proof with a new routing card and check the minor change box. If the proof is correct, fax it to your client for approval.

Minor Change: For existing ads that require minor changes, including ads that need to be resized.

11. Advertisment Run Dates: Write down every day THIS ad will appear. For each day your ad will run, you

must have a corresponding entry in AdPro. 12. Special Instructions: Specify whether there are any special instructions (i.e. ad is on Sage’s desktop.)

13. Computer Information: Specify the platform, media type, FULL FILE NAME, # of pages, and application the ad was created with.

Administrative Procedures I. The printed invoices for billed customers will be returned to you for mailing every Friday. Remember to attach your client’s tearsheet to each invoice and to send out tearsheets to every customer that ran that week even if they prepaid and have no invoice.

Tearsheets are located to the right of the Advertising Personal Mailboxes.

II. You are also required to submit a WEEKLY SALES REPORT to the Advertising Sales Director on Friday.

These forms shoud be completly filled out and present in enough detail to assess your sales effort/contribution for the week. On the back of the Weekly Sales Report is the New Business section. Fill out this section with any new business information and give a copy to The Business Manager to receive your commission.

III. If you receive a credit card number for payment (MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express credit cards will be accepted), please give the information to Sage via the "Payment Form" for processing. The yellow copy should also be given to Sage and the white copy should be mailed or faxed to your client without fail. To complete a credit card transaction press 1 for sale. Enter the account number and follow all other questions from the machine. All orders are final.

IV. Please do not go through mail. If a check or contract comes in, you will be notified immediately.

V. Every 30 days you will receive statements for those advertisers who have failed to pay in 60 days. Please mail or fax these letters to your client immediately. After 3-5 days personally call each of your “past due” advertisers and find out when they will pay.

Keep notes, as clients often say one thing (“like the check is in the mail”) and, in fact, do something else. If the check doesn’t arrive when they say it will, call them again. In the media business “ the squeaky wheel” gets paid. This is a business and your income depends on sales AND COLLECTION! Excluding on-campus and national accounts, if your client doesn’t pay in 90 days, you lose the commission. Appeals can be made to the Advertising Sales Director.

VI. All sales calls should be “memorialized” by virtue of “fully” completing communication

notes in AdPro. This will help not only you, but everyone else in the office. These notes should be very specific and have full details about what was talked about with the client.

Training Program (Pg 1 of 5) Our training process begins well in advance of the Student Account Executive’s official beginning day in their sales territory. For the benefit of our customers, and our bottom line, we want to experience as little “downtime” as possible in a sales territory.

Central Michigan Life

We keep a running log of the current staff’s graduation dates, and prepare a hiring plan according to the number of openings we will have available in the next two semesters. If we only have one opening, we will hire closer to an actual start date, as we have more one-to-one time with that student. When we have more than one opening, (which is usually every semester), we will fill the positions 8-10 weeks out.

In a typical Fall Semester, we will begin with help wanted ads in September, interviews in October and hire at the beginning of November. The new hires will be trained for the months of November and December and will start in their territories the first week of January with the start of Spring Semester.

In the spring semester, we start the process all over again with employment ads beginning in January, interviews in February and hires made before students leave for Spring break (1st week of March). When the students return from Spring break, they start the training process through March, April and early May. Our first step after hiring, is to set up training dates with each incoming sales person. Each new sales trainee is assigned to one of our 3 Advertising Managers and a Senior Account Executive. The training process is overseen by the advertising manager, and the senior account executive is who they shadow during the process.

The training will begin with review of the CM LIFE Advertising Department Handbook. Each section is carefully studied, and practiced, so the new employee will be as familiar with the operation, policies, procedures and paperwork as possible. This is an ongoing process for the rest of the training period.

The second step is a complete tour of the facility, with introductions to staff members and their roles in the organization. When possible, we also tour the printer’s facility so the Student can grasp the entire process involved in getting a daily newspaper produced.

436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com

Training Program

(Pg 2 of 5)

In addition, the new “trainees” are required to attend our weekly sales meeting, to get acquainted with staff rapport, student and professional staff managers,.

While job shadowing, the “senior” sales member has the “trainee” handle all procedures related to processing ads and customer service issues. The “trainees” will thumbnail the ads, handle the scheduling of the ads, proof the ads with the customers, and clear the ads for press. They will learn about deadlines, special sections, handling objections, bad credit and collection.

Central Michigan Life

During this shadowing process, new account executives are given their official Central Michigan Life notebooks. These notebooks contain everything a rep should need when talking with their customers. (Rate cards, publication schedules, distribution lists, special section calendars, special section flyers, weekly and monthly specials, cheat sheets for pricing, competitive media information, etc.) The new rep learns through the senior rep how to best use this notebook when working daily with customers.

When the new representative feels they are ready, they can choose to start making calls on their own. This is usually reviewed upon with the rep, the senior rep and the sales manager. We will have them start with cold calls or new customers. This gives them an opportunity to practice their skills, while waiting for their account lists to become ready. During this time, we will also introduce the NAA Planbook and the Fair Housing Guide to the new account executives. A brief review is done, but it is up to the new rep to review them on their own and utilize them as necessary.

About one to two weeks before semester end, the new account executive will begin the process of meeting their new accounts. This is done by face to face introductions from the departing representative. This gives the customer an important adjustment opportunity and can review things directly with the old rep and the new one.

The new account reps are then given their team and individual goals for the first month of the new semester. All new account executives are on a probationary period their first semester. Their progress is charted by call sheets, spec ad production, achievement toward goals, teamwork, commitment to the job, peer attitudes and reviews with selected customers. It is a constant monitoring process.

The student advertising managers handle every aspect of the training process. This provides continuity to the program, and great leadership experience for the student managers. The adviser oversees the process, and handles questions and offers suggestions. There is constant feedback between the new hires, the senior staff, the professional staff, the student managers and the adviser.

Alumni and professional feedback is provided ongoing through the semester and summer. We have informal sessions with visiting Alumni, and most of our sales staff intern with CM LIFE/CMU alumni at public relations firms, advertising agencies, newspapers and other media/pr positions throughout Michigan during the summer months. The lessons learned through our training program are not only reinforced, but supported by professionals in the state of Michigan.

436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com

Annual Training Schedule

(Pg 3 of 5)

AUGUST Week 3-4 - Determine number of positions to fill for next semester. Design house help wanted ads.

SEPTEMBER. Week 1-4 - Ads run in newspaper for Account Executives.

Week 3-4 - Classroom presentations in Journalism, Advertising, Marketing Courses for positions at Central

Michigan Life

OCTOBER. Week 1-2 - Interviews are conducted with all applicants.

Week 3-4 - Second interviews are conducted with top applicants. Hires made.

NOVEMBER. Week 1. - Introduction to Central Michigan Life.

Week 2 -4 - New Hires are assigned a Senior Account Executive to shadow.

Week 3 - New Hires are giventheir own Central Michigan Life sales notebook, NAA Planbook and other

marketing aids. Sales representative starts attending weekly sales meetings and are assigned to a “team” and manager.

Week 4 - New representative given “test” account list.

DECEMBER. Week 1. - New account lists assigned. January team and individual goals given. Probationary period begins.

Central Michigan Life

END OF SEMESTER. JANUARY Week 1 - Determine number of positions to fill for next semester. Design house help wanted ads.

Week 2-4 - Ads run in newspaper for Account Executives.

Week 3-4 - Classroom presentations in Journalism, Advertising, Marketing Courses for positions at Central

Michigan Life

FEBRUARY. Week 1-2 - Interviews are conducted with all applicants.

Week 3-4 - Second interviews are conducted with top applicants. Hires made.

SPRING BREAK. MARCH. Week 3 -. - Introduction to Central Michigan Life.

Week 4 - New Hires are assigned a Senior Account Executive to shadow.

APRIL. Week 1 - New Hires continue to shadow Senior Account Executive.

Week 1 - New Hires are giventheir own Central Michigan Life sales notebook, NAA Planbook and other

marketing aids. Sales representative starts attending weekly sales meetings and are assigned to a “team” and manager.

Week 2 - New representative given “test” account list.

Week 3 - New account lists assigned. August/September team and individual goals given. Probationary period begins.

END OF SEMESTER.

Summer Internships Begin.

436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com

Measuring Results & Meeting Expectations

(Pg 4 of 5)

As mentioned previously, the student advertising mangers and adviser constantly monitor, to assist the advertising representatives in areas where they may be struggling or where training might have been missed. We strive to make sure we have provided the best possible training, guidance and fairness in helping the new hires learn their duties and meet their job requirements.

After the training process, and as they begin work in their territories, the new hires are given the following guidelines to help them focus on the priorities and know where the bar is set in the department. Each account executive signs an agreement to strive towards the professionalism expected in the job.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE STAFF GUIDELINES:

Central Michigan Life

The following actions will result in a write-up and a 30 day probation period. If improvements are not made within the 30 day probation period, further actions will be taken, up to and including termination of employment.

1) Missing manifest (deadline) without prior notice.

2) Excessive absence and tardiness (3 strikes) for any individual, sales or team meeting.

3) Ads not turned into the “ready for press” box before leaving for the day.

4) Ads turned in or killed after deadline without prior approval.

5) Three or more excessive absences and/or tardiness.

6) Not offering substantial effort towards monthly or team goals and job description requirements.

7) Not following the proper dress code after 3 warnings.

WARNING CARDS: Warning cards are issued noting the date of the warning, the date of the end of probation period, reasons for the action including supporting documentation and the advisers, advertising managers, and account executives signatures.

At the end of the probationary period, if the account executive is not making progress towards meeting the expectations of the position, the account executive is released from the position.

436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com

Daily Sales Report Daily Sales Report CM Life AdvertisingIn Person On Phone Time

(Pg 5 of 5)

_________ _______ DATE: ______

_________ Ad Rep: ____________ Purpose of Call

Results of Call

Name of Advertiser

CM Life Advertising Daily Sales Report In Pers

Name of Advertiser

on

CM Life Ad vertising

Name of Ad

vertiser

On Phone

Time

Daily Sales Report On Ph

In Person

one

Time

Ad Rep: ____________ _________

_______ DATE: ______ _________

Purpose of Call

Ad Rep: __ ________

Results of Call

Purpose of

Call

__________

________

DATE: ____ ________

Results of Ca

Central Michigan Life

ll

436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 PHONE: (989) 774-3493 FAX: (989) 774-7804 EMAIL: advertising@cm-life.com

___

Radio Shack, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Food Lion, Kohl’s, Belk’s, Big Lots, Advance Auto, Ross, Staples, JC Penney’s and many restaurant chains.

Other Fall Training In addition to the major-presentation training, sessions are held on other aspects of local sales, management and design. This is in conjunction with training for the editorial staff. Speakers come from major news outlets, some traveling several hours by car to be with us. The keynote speaker was a 25-year veteran of the ABC News affiliate in Washington, D.C. Other major speakers came from Gannett, the Washington Post and the Roanoke Times.

Management Training New Management is instructed in how to set goals for each year and works with the outgoing staff to make reasonable projections for the incoming staff. The advertising adviser shows them how to do an effective budget, taking into consideration the projection of the account, the rate increase and the expectation for growth.

Throughout the year management works with the advertising adviser and general manager to lead the staff to achieve the goals and objectives through management reviews and performance and revenue oversight. The staff is constantly set to a performance standard, which is monitored and for which they have to be accountable in weekly flashes and monthly projections.

Outcomes Measurements The Breeze measures the outcomes of its training programs through the expectations placed on sales execs and designers. Commissions are based on demonstrating competency in achieving goals based on what the students learn in training. Extra points are rewarded for professional dress, quantity of cold calls per issue, attitude, ad count, achieving revenue and team goals, new contracts and accounts, and errors and omissions. (“Smart Program form” attached for detail.)

The design team is rewarded for performance on omissions, errors, and best ad of the month, working with sales staff, and creating spec layouts, all items covered in training throughout the year.

Management incentive programs include incentives for professional attitude, cold calling with their sales staff, dress code, working with the ad adviser and general manager, and achieving goals. A bonus program is also in place for achieving the annual goals.

These performance measures ensure that what is taught during training is consistently used in the field.

The outcomes of the training are also measured through The Breeze’s exit survey of students who have worked for The Breeze. More than half of students surveyed say their work and training at The Breeze has provided them with “much improved” skills in leading others, cold calling, overcoming sales objections, marketing and layout/design.

These results, paired with the high employment rates of Breeze graduates, shows that The Breeze’s training program is indeed one of the best in the nation.

BREEZE

Serving James Madison University Since 1922

20 CAMP 10 August 16-23

James Madison University

OPENING SPEAKER :: Gail Pennybacker Gail Pennybacker is an award-winning journalist who has worked for Washington, D.C.’s ABC affiliate, ABC7/WJLA-TV, since January 1986. Since then, she has covered many top news stories, including the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and the Beltway sniper shootings. Gail also reported from the Persian Gulf during the war with Iraq.

Gail’s efforts have earned her a variety of honors. She won an Emmy Award for hard news reporting on the inauguration of Virginia’s Doug Wilder, the first elected African-American governor in the country. Gail also has received several Dateline Awards for Excellence in Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists, as well as Associated Press awards for spot news, hard news and continuing news coverage. She also was presented the prestigious Quill and Badge award from the International Union of Police Associations for “consistent, effective reporting.”

Gail came to WJLA-TV from KTUL-TV, a sister station in Tulsa, Okla., where she was an anchor and reporter. Before that, she reported for KOTV-TV in Tulsa and KTSB-TV in Topeka, Kan. Gail earned her journalism degree at Kansas State University.

MONDAY

Welcome Back!

It’s been quiet with you gone. Those of us who work during the summer are glad to have you back, and we’re excited about watching you produce an excellent student newspaper this year.

Our back-to-school training program is one of our great traditions at The Breeze, and last year it received national recognition as one of the best in the country.

You get two weeks of uninterrupted time to learn skills that will help you succeed and to plan for the year ahead.

During the first week of training, we have sessions every day. Please be on time.

Your afternoons the first week are mostly open for you to plan for the coming year. Brainstorm story ideas, assign stories, call advertising clients, work on spec ads and do whatever you can to get a good start to the year.

During Week 2, we have fewer sessions. That means you have a full week of uninterrupted time to continue your planning and work.

August 16

Noon

Opening Lunch Welcome back. Get reacquainted during lunch.

Gail Pennybacker, a reporter with D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA, will open our year with a challenge to be persistent in your ad sales, design, reporting, writing and editing.

Allegheny Room (Festival Conference Center)

2:00 p.m.

All Advertising Staff: Staff orientation, including what’s new this year, policies and other information.

Festival Conference Room 2 Newsroom: Q&A with Gail Pennybacker. Join speaker Gail Pennybacker for information on being a better journalist.

Festival Conference Room 3

3:00 p.m.

All Staff: Opening staff meeting, with announcements and more information about the week ahead.

Allegheny Room

A Little Homework Advertising Staff: On Wednesday, we will discuss spec ads. So you should bring with you 5 to 7 ads you think are effective and 5 to 7 that are not.

Newsroom and Ad Designers: Next Monday, we will watch a tutorial on the new Adobe CS software.

In the meantime, get familiar with it. There are some great new tools in this version. Find some of your favorites and be prepared tp tell us what they are.

TUESDAY August 17

9:00 a.m.

Advertising Staff: Customer Service. Linda Nachtigall, who works in sales at Branner Printing in Broadway, will talk to execs and designers about effective ways to keep our customers happy.

Memorial Hall 7365 Newsroom Staff: Finding Story Ideas. Brad Jenkins will lead the staff in brainstorming ideas for all kinds of stories for the coming year. Come to the session with some ideas you want to explore.

Memorial Hall 7370

10:00 a.m.

Advertising Staff: Creative Collaboration. JMU grad and Gravity Group marketing associate Kyle Coleman discusses how sales execs and designers can work best to successfully design ad campaigns together with their customers.

Memorial Hall 7365 Newsroom Staff: Interviewing Skills. Longtime public radio reporter Martha Woodroof discusses effective interviewing. It’s not just about getting information; it’s about telling a story.

Memorial Hall 7370

11:00 a.m.

Advertising Staff: What Makes an Effective Ad? Jaye Brumfield, a JMU grad and owner of The Hatchery, a design firm in Harrisonburg, will give you an overview of effective ad design.

Memorial Hall 7365 Newsroom Staff: Telling Great Stories. Martha Woodroof will discuss how she takes a story from idea to story. Her experience in radio gives you insight into using multiple senses for stories.

Memorial Hall 7370

Noon Lunch: Boxed lunches will be available. The Breeze office.

WEDNESDAY August 18

9:00 a.m.

Advertising Staff: Spec Ads. We’ll spend some time thinking of new clients and others for whom we can create spec ads for the coming year. The goal is to get some spec ads going early in the year.

Bring ads from newspapers and magazines that you find appealing.

Memorial Hall 7365 Newsroom Staff: Libel. We must be careful not to defame in our reporting and writing. Legal adviser Roger Soenksen will give you important information.

Memorial Hall 7370

10:00 a.m.

Advertising Staff: Special Sections. We’ll go over our special sections for the year and discuss sales strategies.

Memorial Hall 7365 Newsroom Staff: Freedom of Information. Roger Soenksen will give you more information about what kinds of facts you are legally entitled to, plus what to do when you are stonewalled.

Memorial Hall 7370

11:00 a.m.

Advertising Staff: The Life of an Ad. Cesi Myers gives a refresher on how an ad goes from sale to published piece, and what you need to do afterwards.

Memorial Hall 7365 Newsroom Staff: Covering Crime and Breaking News. Daily News-Record reporter Pete DeLea will give you some tips on covering crime and unexpected news.

Memorial Hall 7370

12:00 p.m.

Lunch: Today it’s pizza at The Breeze office.

THURSDAY August 19

9:00 a.m.

Advertising Executives: Presentation Training. Cesi Myers will teach you how to do major presentation sales, and she will explain our Fall Challenge. Winners get to pitch The Breeze to major accounts.

2 hours.

Memorial Hall 6110 Advertising Design: Graphic Design Pointers From a Pro. Washington Post Production Manager Heather Holland will give you her expert advice on design. 3 Hours.

Memorial Hall 7370 Newsroom Staff: Spicing Up Special Sections. Katheryn Huff and Alicia Wotring from the Daily NewsRecord will talk about how you can take routine special sections and make them better.

Memorial Hall 7365

10:00 a.m.

Newsroom Staff: Multimedia Basics. Meg Martin, the online editor for Roanoke.com will give you some ideas to take a multimedia approach to reporting. 2 Hours.

Memorial Hall 7365

12:00 p.m.

Lunch: Today, it’s wings and things from Buffalo Wild Wings. At The Breeze office.

1:00 p.m.

Ad Designers: House Ad Challenge. We will explain the assignment and the categories.

Advertising Design Office

FRIDAY August 20

9:00 a.m.

Advertising Executives: Digital Sales. Andora Gandy, director of sales training and development with Gannett, will teach you how to sell more than just the paper. Digital sales are the way of the future. 2 Hours.

Memorial Hall 7365 Designers: You may use today to work on House Ad Challenge and spec ads. Be prepared to show your work to us on Monday.

Newsroom Staff: Mike Grundmann’s annual Editorial Bootcamp. Schedule for 9 a.m.-noon.

Breeze Newsroom

Noon Lunch: Celebrate the end of our first week with a cookout-style lunch at The Breeze office.

MONDAY August 23

9:00 a.m.

Advertising Executives: Overcoming Objections and Selling During a Troubled Economy. We’ll take you through common objections and how you can overcome them. We’ll follow up with some role plays. 3 Hours.

Memorial Hall 7365

10:30 a.m.

Advertising Designers and Newsroom: Adobe CS5 Overview. Come view some tutorials on the new version of CS. Memorial Hall 7370

Noon Newsroom Staff: Design Editor Rachel Dozier will refresh you on this year’s design style.

Memorial Hall 7370

Lunch is on your own.

If you need a dining voucher, you will receive one.

TUESDAY August 24

9:00 a.m.

Advertising Executives: Get out there and sell some ads.

Advertising Designers: Finish up your spec ad and house ad work.

Newsroom: You have stories to write, photos to take and a football tab to finish. Go for it!

11:00 a.m.

Advertising Execs: Credit card training, required by JMU for anyone who handles credit card info.

Anthony-Seeger 9

2:00 p.m.

Advertising Staff: Progress report for first issue and football tab, as well as a review of what designers came up with for spec and house ads (bring them to the meeting). Anthony-Seeger 9

LSU Training Program About a year ago, we restructured our sales hiring & training process. We initiated a program we call “The Shark Tank”. Aspiring new hires are given basic sales training (2 hours) and a 30‐minute training session on specific products y y p p g g y they are to sell. They are not allowed to sell the newspaper, as we consider that the “low hanging fruit”. Everyone knows The Daily Reveille, so it’s an easy sell. Instead, they are given special sections or online products to sell. Once a shark‐tanker makes a sale, they are a full‐fledged account executive: they earn mileage, training pay and commission.

While it may seem harsh or even ridiculous to an outsider, it has improved staff retention tremendously! We used to expect about half of the people we spent countless hours investing our training in to actually make it beyond three months. Yet once we adopted the Shark Tank, our retention rate is closer to 75% ‐ 80%!

Our training program is continuous and ongoing. Our philosophy is that education is constant and never‐ending. That is embraced from the top down, meaning everyone from the advertising director to new hires participates in an ongoing education process. Everyone on staff is involved in the training process for new hires, and we tackle the challenge as a team.

As a group, everyone is required to attend our four‐day intensive workshop held twice a year about two weeks prior to the start of a new semester. The advertising director will cover the most comprehensive and newer topics presented. The management team will present broad‐scope topics, and senior sales reps present more basic topics.

We mix lecture topics with Q & A, interaction, demonstrations, practice and team competition to keep staff interested and increase retention of materials. We typically cover topics such as: • Audience‐based selling • Developing a great Customer Needs Analysis • Features vs. Benefits • Personal Time Management & Organization for Sales • Professionalism • Increasing productivity with Sales by the Numbers • Sales from A‐Z • The 33 Ruthless Rules of Advertising gy p g • Creating your opening statement Techniques of a Master Salesman • Techniques of a Master Salesman • YES! Attitude • Understanding personality types & workplace • Developing desire/Self‐motivation communication • Prospecting • Using the Phone to Get the Appointment: 5 Proven • New Business Development Techniques • Cold Calling • Reaching TOMA with Frequency • The sales process in steps • Building Brand Awareness Customer service • Customer service • Selling with a Spec Ad Selling with a Spec Ad • Handling Objections • Elements of good design • Closing the sale • Great ads vs. bad ads (with examples) • Understanding the competition • Why some ads fail • Maximizing the commission structure • The most effective newspaper ads: Proven techniques • Understanding the sales pacing chart to move an audience • Employer‐employee expectations Often we do cross‐training, inviting editorial, design, layout and marketing to discuss relevant training topics, providing insight and promoting direct communication amongst the different departments. As we began to face serious financial issues as our university cut $64 million dollars from it’s budget, we invited the editors and managers from all units to come talk with our sales staff about how budget cuts affect them, and how decreasing revenues affects their individual departments. It was a real eye‐opener for many on the sales staff. It created a bridge of open communication and collaboration to being working with editorial to find new solutions to problems as a team.

To further enhance their training experience, once a year we invite other Louisiana schools to join us for a full‐day session on topics that other advisors feel are most needed to cover at that time. The students really respond to sharing with other schools, and as advisors we laugh because our students will comment about something another advisor has said many times before, but suddenly having heard it from someone new, it’s like it finally sinks in or makes sense to them. The students appreciate that they are not the only ones facing the same problems and issues they are every day!

Best Training Program Daily, account executives must report to their team leader to recap what happened with their new prospects & a quick recap about their 15 daily dials. Weekly, in our sales meetings we cover enhanced training topics from previous topics, sales newsletters, current sales challenges, etc. We discuss where we are as a department, review personal efforts, and share stories of success. Every member of the staff is called on at times to present different topics to promote group discussion on relevant topics for staff development. And just to keep everyone on track, we post each team member’s percent to budget for the next three months and the team thermometers up on the bulletin boards.

It really does keep everyone accountable and motivated. We also track current contests/sales challenges with visual aids, so everyone sees a daily reminder of where they need to focus their efforts, and how they stack up to their p peers. Weekly, the reps also meet with the print sales manager to discuss progress notes on their accounts, and to y, p p g p g , recap their weekly call log. Monthly, the account execs meet with the professional advisor to address their overall progress as a sales rep, address any objections they are having difficulties overcoming, brainstorm for campaign ideas or any issues on their mind.

We give eight students a year an opportunity to serve a student leaders and managers. So often, companies promote people because they are good at what they do, not because they might make good managers. In the advertising department we train students to be advertising managers team leaders marketing managers social media department we train students to be advertising managers, team leaders, marketing managers, social media managers, design/production managers, distribution managers and office managers. We take them through a twice‐ yearly Management Summit. We mix lecture and role‐play so that the information is absorbed and the lessons are easy to recall later when needed. We also take this time to discuss what changes or improvements can be made to our processes, policies or practices at that time. Topics we cover include: • Recruiting • Employee evaluations • Red flag interview questions • Termination considerations • Hiring for diversity Hiring for diversity • Listening & probing skills Listening & probing skills • Legal considerations in hiring • Keys to delivering feedback: 5 Rules to follow • Developing direct reports • The character of a leader • Delegation • Defining your vision • Goal‐Setting • Getting buy‐in from your team • Measuring the work • Motivating your employees • Personal Productivity We practice ways in which to deliver effective and timely feedback through role‐play. We cover a range of real‐life scenarios to cover all topics related to managing your peers, addressing issues, and issuing consequences for unacceptable behavior. They practice addressing poor sales performance, inappropriate office attire, not meeting prospecting minimums, inappropriate social media use, inter‐office dating and unprofessional office behavior.

Overall, our focus is not only on success while students are a part of Student Media, but we focus on training and preparing our staff for future professional situations. We do our best to provide them with the assistance, learning and understanding they need to be prepared for “the real world”. If we don’t prepare them for the next step, then we have failed them. Our track record is pretty high, as we are placing over 95% of our students who wish to pursue a career in advertising or media sales into positions post‐graduation. We cover issues like preparing your resume, cleaning up your social media photos, creating a Linked In profile, preparing for an interview and how to use your networking skills to land a job.

Best Training Program Sample Agendas SALES TRAINING: DAY ONE TIME 8:30 am

TOPIC WELCOME & Introductions

LEADER Kodi

9:00 – 11:00 am

Audience-Based Selling Training Tips Features vs. Benefits

Kodi

11:30 – 12:00 pm

Professionalism Appearance & Office Behavior Sales Rep vs. Market Consultant Confidential information – personal and client Handshake “How To”

Jennifer

12:00 – 1:15 1:15 – 2:00pm

LUNCH BREAK

11:00 – 11:30 am

Lauren

Jupiter Images Saving Ads on the Server Changing Ads : color: cmyk vs rgb How to check an ad size

Tiffanie & Jessica

2:00 – 2:15 pm

Sales Pacing Chart

Lauren

2:15 – 2:45 pm

Evaluations

Jennifer

2 45 – 3:00 2:45 3 00 pm

Weekly W kl Activity A ti it Reports R t Monthly Mileage Reports Driver’s Safety Course

L Lauren

3:00 – 4:00 pm

Working in Adpro: Your Account Management System– use laptops to present and interact!

Jessica

SALES TRAINING: DAY TWO - Welcome visiting schools!

TIME 8:30 am

TOPIC WELCOME & Introductions Let people introduce themselves: Name – school - year – major - job

LEADER Kodi

9:00 – 10:30 am 10:30 – 10:45 am

Sales from A – Z The Curse of Knowledge

Kodi Mike Giusti

10:45 – 11:15 am

Reaching TOMA with Frequency Building Brand Awareness Selling with a Spec Ad

Kodi

11: 15 – 12:00pm

Addressing the competition Exploring Competitive Media Advantages & Disadvantages

Mike Giusti

12:00 – 1:15 p

LUNCH at Reginelli’s

1:15 – 1:30 pm

Yes, No, Know…

Mike Giusti

1:30 – 2:30 pm

Personal Time Management & Organization for Sales

Kodi

2:30 – 3:30 pm

Customer Service Discussion 23 Business Etiquette Tips (from USF)

3:30 – 4:30 pm

Handling Objections

Mike Giusti

SALES TRAINING: DAY THREE 9:00 – 9:45 am

Good Sales Practices

Jenn

9 45 – 10:15 9:45 10 15 am

Cl i the Closing h Sale S l

K l Kayla

10:15 – 11:00 am

Upcoming Student Media Events and Promotions

Nathan

11:00 – 11:15 am

Personal Motivators Questionnaire

Jenn

11:15 – 12:30 pm

Review of LSU Student Media rate card Sample scenarios – bring calculators!!

Lauren

Best Training Program Sample Agendas

• • • • • • • • • • •

Student Media NEW Manager’s Workshop/Summit Successful Managers Are good at making transitions (learning agility) Are more self aware than others Seek out feedback on their own Poor Managers Rate low on approachability Rate low on drive for results Are non-strategic Tend to overrate their abilities ORGANIZATION & MOTIVATION Know your audience when communicating to them – WIIFM Interoffice Communication – clear flow chart/chain of command Organization – personal productivity, setting team expectations, measuring the work Motivation – personal motivators, worksheets, creating a positive environment, being a leader, becoming influential & motivational, managing vision & purpose

• • •

LEADERSHIP Your story, your character Defining “vision”, clarifying it, and getting your staff involved Our pre-employment message

• • • • •

BUILDING & DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM Readings for Sales Managers Hiring & Staffing Building Effective Teams Developing your Team Members Developing Effective Feedback Skills STAYING FOCUSED, FINDING MOTIVATION, AND ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTS FOR SALES Remember the three R's: Respect for self Respect for others, & Responsibility for all your actions Discussion Topics

Best Training Program Sample Agendas for second‐semester training days SALES TRAINING: DAY ONE TIME 9:00 am

10:00 – 10:45 am

10:45 11:00 am

11:30 – 12:30 pm

TOPIC Elements of Good Ad Design 12 Causes of Advertising Failure Excerpts: 33 ruthless rules of advertising Good and bad examples Jupiter images Saving Ads to the server changing ads: to cmyk from rgb H How tto check h k an ad d size i New Commission Structure New Change of staff forms Employer expectations Work days Vacation Sick days Audience Based Selling

LEADER Tiffanie Care Kodi Kodi & Tiffanie Tiffanie

Kodi Kodi

Lauren

12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch break 1:30 – 4:30 pm Appointment Setting, Cold Calling, Drop-ins

SALES TRAINING: DAY TWO TIME 9:00 am 10:00 am

10:45 – 11:30 11:30 – 12:30 12:45 – 1:30 1:30 – 2:15

2:15 – 2:35 2:35 – 4:00

TOPIC Sales is a Numbers Game Setting the Appointment “Please don’t hang up on me, I just need an appt.”

Techniques for leaving voice messages Approaching potential clients

LEADER Kodi Emanuel

The Customer Needs Analysis

Kodi

LUNCH The Presentation Major Selling Points Closing the Sale Using a Spec Ad Handling Objections After the close Keep in touch program The Reveille vs. Tiger Weekly At a glance Poll Results Brainstorm

Jen Kayla

Everyone share!!

Kodi Nathan Lauren

SALES TRAINING: DAY THREE 9:00 9:15 – 10:00

10:00 – 11:00

Selling Truths Prospecting Where to look for prospects Making your own “hit list” Hit Lists & Charts Health/Fashion/Beauty Guide Living Guide/Expo Career Guide Stress Busters Guide

11:00 – 11:30

Office Trivia Game

Care Andrew

Jen

Best Training Program Phones ringing, friendly banter, and slapping high fives are common noises in our advertising department. This is a far cry from what is demonstrated in many movies and stereotypes that drive people away from a job that depends on cold calling, prospecting, and being paid on commission.

It’s this kind of energy that has driven our staff to success. We’re an office that thrives on competition, communication and teamwork. All of which have their own part in our training program.

How we do it: Newly hired account executives will quickly find themselves released into a creative escape we call “training.” Here they are encouraged to brainstorm unique selling strategies, develop individual and personal selling skills, and build confidence through consistent practice within the office. In their four weeks of training, account executives will have written a personalized business letter, developed an elevator pitch, publicly confronted objections to advertising, and developed a pure, self-built love for The State News.

In accompaniment to training, new account executives are paired up with an L.T.M. (Living Training Manual). An L.T.M. is a more experienced veteran that stands out as a leader within the office. New account executives shadow these L.T.M.s as well as look to them for answers to questions, and selling tips. The best part of the L.T.M. program is it’s ability to teach old dogs new tricks. New AEs are encouraged to ask as many questions as possible, often challenging their L.T.M’s knowledge. This has forced our veterans to stay on track and make sure they have a grip on the bigger picture.

To streamline our communication within the entire department, a weekly staff meeting is held to discuss possible updates, crash training sessions, address issues, and encourage selling among the entire staff. Although account executives are meeting outside of required office hours, they look forward to these staff meetings. To encourage office morale, food is usually provided and games are incorporated. Games usually involve team-building activities that teach problem solving skills, selling strategies, and public speaking.

In between these weekly staff meetings, account executives meet in smaller teams of 4-5. These are very important for newly hired account executives, as some may feel intimidated in the staff meeting but look to their team and team leaders for clarification.

The manager provides the team leader each week with a meeting agenda that contains reminders, topics of interest, and the goals that their team set the past week. After reporting on their goals the team leaders make a copy for the ad manager. This helps keep everyone on the same page and encourages communication. These teams regularly compete against each other in sales competitions. These competitions allow

individual sales to add up to team totals with the winning team usually enjoying a free lunch during a team meeting or another prize set by the team. Team competitions are not only popular among the staff, but drive them to individually succeed, work as a team, help others make sales and generate revenue.

To drive individual progress and sales revenue, we offer advancement programs (as mentioned previously) and goal incentives. By accomplishing tasks related to cold calling, establishing client relationships, and creating sales among other criteria, account executives can increase their commission rates (please see supplementary material titled ‘Advance Card’). Further more, each account executive is met with a monthly sales goal. Surpassing that goal results in a bonus worth up to 3% the difference between their sales goal and actual sales.

To encourage teamwork on top of individual sales, we offer departmental bonuses for meeting our total sales goal for the month. Because it takes more than just an initial sale to make the ad department work, this bonus is distributed not only among account executives, but also among graphic artists and traffic managers. Everyone’s job is equally important to the success of the department, be it answering the phone, making the sale, creating the ad or seeing that it get placed in the paper. We place a high value on teamwork and it takes the entire office to generate the positive energy needed to surpass our goals.

The results: Our four-week training program has sent rookie account executives into the sales world as account executives with experience already under their belt. By pairing them up with L.T.M.’s we’ve found they bust out of the sales door as equals: driven, competitive and comfortable.

The introduction of teams has allowed many account executives to step up as role models and leaders in the office. When given the opportunity, they have all eagerly developed individual sales plans, meeting formats, and weekly updates informing management of what their team is up to. It’s also opened up many doors for feedback.

We receive 3-4 ideas a week on how to improve things around the office, whether internal communication suggestions or ways to boost sales.

Our advancement program has been a consistent success. We currently have 2 account executives at our top commission level, 7 at mid level and 6 working their way up the ladder (5 of which are new employees).

Our training program develops some of the most well-rounded and fiercely determined sales staff that this paper has ever seen. I challenge you to find a more closely knit bunch of individuals in any department, anywhere. I also challenge you to find a sales force that has been as successful, in numbers, unity, originality and pizzazz.

Training Calendar New Account Executives • Upon hire, employees under go 4 weeks of training in which the following tactics are used o Week 1: 2 sessions, 3 hours in length each  Learning to love our product: market survey data, newspaper terminology, responsibilities, expectations, opportunities  Classified Liners: How to do it, customer service, guidelines, make good policy, scams • Assignment 1: Classified liner worksheet with computer practice o Week 2: 2 sessions, 3 hours each in length  Exercise: Practice taking liners over the phone. AEs learn how to deal with customers, possible problems and how to look out for scams  Test 1: Newspaper terminology, Market Survey Data & classified liner protocol tested to measure progress. Once passed, AEs may take classifieds. o Week 3: 10 in-office hours + 2 training sessions 3 hours in length  Welcome to retail: terminology, deadlines, advertising options, selling strategy • Assignment 2: Create unique selling point and pitch it at next session  Web & Preprint Inserts: terminology, selling strategy, deadlines  “The good, the bad and the ugly” of the week + Q&A session on how to deal  How to sell: prospecting, persistence, cold calls & dealing with advertisers • What to take on a sales call, how to go about it • How to write a business letter & use it as a selling tool o Assignment 3: Write a business letter to an advertiser by next session o Week 4: 10 in-office hours + 2 training sessions 3 hours in length  Exercise: How to overcome objections • Split into teams, each team is confronted with objection.

• Teams work together to develop a solution pitched by one team member • Rated on confidence & accuracy of response  So you’ve sold an ad, now what?!

• Steps in completing the ad process and working with production • Establishing credit & signing clients to contract  Test 2: Retail, web and insert terminology, objections, rates, selling strategies • Once passed, AEs begin full AE office hours with full responsibilities Established Employees • Advancement process (See page 3) o Commission levels increase with levels of advancement  Associate AE: 4%, Account Executive: 6%, Senior Account Executive: 8% • Training Sessions and Staff Meetings o Weekly staff meetings held for crash training sessions and increased communication o Other staff meetings may be scheduled to review in depth topics • Teams o 3-4 teams meet weekly with team leaders to discuss concerns, updates & deadlines o Competitions held between teams for most sales to encourage competition and teamwork • Incentives for sales: o Individual goals: Surpassing individual goal results in following  Bonus: 3% of the difference between monthly sales and goal o Departmental goals:  Encourages account executives to operate as a team and encourage each other to accomplish their individual goals  10% difference between monthly revenue and sales goals distributed among account executives, traffic managers and graphic artists

The Oh Sh*#% Guidebook People forget, plain and simple. With an advertising staff selling over 20 customized products, it’s no surprise that every once in a while an account executive, veteran or rookie, smacks themselves upside the head and says “Duh, self. Real slick.”

In answer to these “brain-fart” moments, we at The State News created a tool that is stocked full of info, organized and to the point. The Oh Sh*#% Guidebook is 20 pages filled with information ranging from a daily checklist to the skinny on each of our products, including liner abbreviations, and how to schedule sponsorships and web ads.

Below is a breakdown of our Table of Contents.

Page 1 – The Daily Checklist, Deadline Map and Phone Help - The daily checklist and deadline map allow AEs to prioritize what they’ve got to do before leaving for the day - How to use the phones: Ensures wrong extensions and transfers don’t happen.

Page 2 – The Quick Facts Sheet - Addresses, phone numbers, websites, emails, circulation info, sections of the paper, professional staff members Pages 3&4 – Updated schedules and contact sheets for AEs and managers Page 5 – Liners - An updated list of abbreviations, an example greeting, ad checklist and possible problems AEs may run into Page 6-12 – The Cheat Sheets - A quick reference for our range of products from the daily edition to web, inserts and AdRax (aka Posters) - The product nitty-gritty, deadlines, and what to do once a sale is made Page 13 – Changing the Paper Past Deadline - Nobody likes missing deadlines, but it’s happened at least once to everyone. This is a step-by-step process to making changes to the paper after deadlines have passed.

Page 14 – Changing An Ad That’s Already Scheduled - This is for clients that decide to add borders, bold words, add page requests etc. after their ad has already been created in the computer.

Page 15 – Reserving Special Pages - This page breaks down the rules and walks the AE through scheduling the specific request (such as page 2A and Religious Directory).

Page 16 – Helping out Other AEs - When an AE is handling somebody else’s stuff, it can be nerve racking. This page is dedicated to proper steps in communication and process for the situation.

Pages 17+ - Promotions and Sales Tips - These pages are reserved for any info AEs would like to add. Mostly, promotional materials and selling tips fill these pages. Some managers choose to fill these pages with their additional duties.

Best Training Program – The Daily Collegian – Penn State University About us: We publish five days a week, 20,000 copies a day. Student enrollment at Penn State is 42,000. The Daily Collegian is a 124-year old independent student-run newspaper that does not receive any funding from the University. (Penn State does buy a large subscription that allows the students to get the paper free; we pay Penn State almost equivalent rent for our space). $1.2 million of our $1.7 million budget comes from advertising sales. We have about 80 students on the business side of the paper. Because we are independent, students do not receive academic credit for being on the staff. There is no monetary compensation during the semester-long training program. Students join to better themselves, so we tend to get really good people who want to be successful.

Goals: We have two primary goals. The first goal of our training program is to give the students a professional, high-quality experience that will lead to future success in whatever field they enter. The second goal is for our staff members to use the principles learned in training to consult successfully with clients, ultimately delivering Penn State’s 42,000 students to their businesses. Student staff members assist with every training session and run the hands-on portion of training.

Frequency: Because our staff is big, we train every semester for positions in ad sales, customer service and creative. In 2010 we trained 63 new staff members. For example, in Fall 2010 we trained 15 account executives, 10 customer service reps and 5 creative specialists for positions that begin in January 2011. Because of staff turnover due to graduation, study abroad and internships, we need to constantly “look down the road” and make sure we will have enough people to run the paper. Training lasts for ten weeks.

Trainees have sessions twice a week, as well as three office periods a week for hands-on experience in their specific departments. We do not sugarcoat the time commitment during recruiting! They are committed by the end of training and attrition is low.

Range of subjects covered: Product knowledge, advertising sales, customer service skills, creative ad design, selling skills, Code of Ethics, dealing with the News Division, dealing with national advertisers, cold calling, setting up campaigns, consulting with creative on sales calls, using marketing information effectively, selling color, dealing with difficult clients, closing the sale, selling web advertising, role playing, selling sponsorships for various spots, selling guaranteed placement, selling our multiple products and special promotions, learning how to adapt our products to different audiences (faculty, alumni, parents), even writing professional e-mails and other correspondence. Throughout the program, we constantly reinforce how important the trainees are to the future of the paper. Each trainee is assigned a staff mentor.

Measuring results: With such an extensive, long-term program we continually measure results. Trainees have regular quizzes ranging from basic info like our phone number and open rate, to calculating complex advertising combo rates. We assess role plays through assigning points and critiquing performance. The training class is informed from the beginning that there is a “final” and they must pass it to be accepted onto the staff. We have three versions of the final – a different version for ad sales, customer service and creative. We have a Trainee of the Week award called SPAM – Super Positive Attitude and Motivation. The proud recipient is given their very own can of Spam and has their picture (with the Spam) on the Trainee Board all week. Results from all the measuring

are used when assigning clients for the following semester and for advancing trainees into staff positions. Sales trainees must go on a minimum of five sales calls with senior staff members. Towards the end of training they are assigned to work with a client from their mentor’s list.

Professional standards: Sales for example: One of our primary sales training goals is to instill professional standards into our staff members. We want them to stand out when it is time to interview for jobs. By stressing ethical business practices, a consultative selling approach, listening skills, we are helping their professionalism grow. By holding our staff members accountable (through strict quota-monitoring) for their clients, attending meetings, cold calling and being responsible for attendance, they understand what will await them in the “outside world.” Other departments are held to equivalent standards of professionalism. Our alumni network is very strong. Collegian graduates know our students are ready to enter the workplace running, we are constantly getting calls with job and internship opportunities. Especially in this economy, that knowledge provides a lot of staff motivation!

Realities of selling: It doesn’t take long for trainees to understand the realties of selling.

The Daily Collegian is an independent college newspaper, and 85% of our $1.7 million budget comes from ad sales. They learn the realities on Day 1. Without their efforts, our paper could cease to exist! That’s our reality and it’s harsh. Training illustrates all phases of our sales operation. We monitor 25 salespeople’s’ quotas daily and are always cold calling and seeking new clients. A big component of our sales training is dedicated to role playing, cold calling, creating ad plans and closing sales. Selling requires constant vigilance and a passion for success. It can be frustrating but that’s part of the reality. As long as our account execs and trainees are working hard and asking for help, we are fine with them. Training continues throughout their Collegian careers with weekly workshops, guest speakers, role plays and identifying problems and working out solutions as a group.

We continue to coach them and help them seek new clients.

Enhance the image of the paper: We work hard to make sure the students on the staff feel a lot of pride in what they do. When we remind them that 89% of students read the paper and what they do really matters to Penn State, they feel important. Because they are! We couldn’t survive without the students on our staff, and we constantly thank them, recognize them and publically acknowledge their achievements. When nationally known Collegian alumni come back to talk to them and tell how their careers never would have been so successful with out their Collegian training and experience, it is so meaningful to the staff.

The Daily Collegian would be honored to be CNBAM’s Best Training Program. Our program is unique in the industry. We take all semester to train our people before sending them out on their own. We cultivate loyalty in our staff members because transitions are the bane of college newspapers’ (and our clients) existence. All elements in the program are designed to lead to solid success now and in the future. We ask a lot of our trainees, but this unique training gives them a huge career jump. People are always amazed that our trainees get no monetary compensation during training. But the prestige of the program and the quantifiable future benefits make it worth it. Thank you for your consideration!

Daily Collegian Business Division Training Schedule for Fall 2010 Training is Mondays from 6-7 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. You will also be required to attend some all-staff meetings, sales meetings, creative department meetings or customer service staff meetings. Part of the mandatory training requires you to schedule three periods a week in the Collegian office for “hands on” training (during the day). All sales and creative trainees will be required to schedule graphics training sessions. All trainees must go out on sales calls with our account executives to get a first hand picture of active selling. Time commitment during the training period is about five hours a week including evening training sessions (two hours) and in-office training (three hours between your classes).

Customer Service, Creative and Sales Training Introductory Week Monday, Sept. 27 – Meet the Staff Wednesday, Sept. 29 – Intro to our products, ad sizes and advertising pricing Policies Week Monday, Oct. 4 – Business Division Code of Ethics, Collegian policies Wednesday, Oct. 6 – Advertising acceptability. Visit from editor and general manager Operations Week Monday, Oct. 11 – Classifieds, forms, partnerships, phones, professional communications Wednesday, Oct. 13 – All departments split. Simulate specific department operations Selling Skills/Client Relations Week Monday, Oct. 18 – Island Exile game (trainees identify leadership styles), Selling Skills Wednesday, Oct. 20 – Departments split. Role play client relations as they relate to different departments. Sales: objections. Creative: going on sales calls with account execs.

Customer Service: dealing with angry clients Testing Week Monday, Oct. 25 – Review everything covered so far Wednesday, Oct. 27 – Test on procedures, operations and policies Beyond Entry-level Monday, Nov. 1 – In depth presentation from Layout and Promotions Departments Wednesday, Nov. 3 – Creative demonstration. Look at ads, how to request creative services Going Deep Week - Split departments.

Monday, Nov. 8 – Sales: ad plans, contracts, closing, cold calls. Creative: create specs on the spot. Customer Service: trainees “take over the office.”

Wednesday, Nov. 10 – Sales: Role plays and critiques. Creative: Role play with sales, Customer Service: Phone role plays with new clients, over-the-counter clients Fun Week & Final assessment Monday, Nov. 15 – Break into four teams. Each team includes Sales, Creative and C.S. trainees. Relay race to complete project that includes creative spec ads, processing paperwork, dealing with managers – prizes to fastest and most accurate team!

Wednesday, Nov. 17 – Collegian Jeopardy. Teams & prizes!

Monday, Nov. 29 – Final test!

Wednesday, Dec. 1 – Sales role plays Monday, Dec. 6 – Sales role plays

Example page - Frequent Objections and Responses 1. “I am using my advertising budget in other media.”

RESPONSE: “The Daily Collegian had an independent marketing company conduct research on the student market and found here (show the marketing packet) that 37.9% of students said they rely on newspapers for information about the goods and services they purchase in this area. Plus 89% (40,180) of all Penn State students read The Daily Collegian. It is evident that your business will benefit from the exposure The Daily Collegian can offer you.” * REMEMBER: The more you back your statements with facts and statistics, the more credible and influential you are.

2. “Students are not our target market.”

RESPONSE: “Being a student, I know we are constantly looking for ________ (fill in with examples specific to their business). By catering to the students, you are expanding your customer base by 42,000! The Daily Collegian can help you achieve this growth. Plus, we have a bonus market of faculty and staff. 63% of faculty and staff said they read The Daily Collegian in the last seven days (refer to marketing packet). *REMEMBER: This line is usually just an excuse. It is hard to believe a business exists in State College and ignores the 42,000 consumers living nearby. Give them an answer they can’t refute.

3. “I have had trouble with my prior Collegian reps. I can’t rely on you guys.”

RESPONSE: “I am sorry you had an unfortunate experience with The Collegian. I will be your account executive this semester and I can guarantee that you can rely on me.”

REMEMBER: Listen to their problems and resolve any outstanding problems. Work with the client to rebuild the relationship - take him/her a paper everyday, build a personal relationship, think of ways our paper can help their business.

4. “I don’t have time.”

RESPONSE: “We will do it for you. Our creative services are free and ads are created by rising stars in the business. I can have our creative department create an example for you. It’s that simple!”

REMEMBER: According to studies within the industry, a client will say “no” 8 times before saying “yes.”

Be persistent, in a tactful way. Bring a spec for them to see and they will see how easy it is to advertise!

5. “My business is doing great. I do not have a need to advertise.”

RESPONSE: “It is great to hear that your business is doing so well! Why do you think sales are up? Are you doing anything different? (Use this conversation to suggest they promote whatever is successful, etc.) It is important to use this momentum to continually reach the student market. It is a fickle market…students are constantly graduating, spending semesters abroad or at an internship, coming from branch campuses or

Example page from Selling Skills: The Sales Conversation There are all kinds of things one can do to stay in the sales conversation even when things are looking negative. All the methods are based on using well-developed listening skills. To be a good listener, you need to take your clients’ needs seriously and to try to identify with their concerns.

Active Listening According to sales experts, the best sales people are the best listeners. If you have studied your clients’ businesses, you will know the right questions to ask. Then REALLY listen to the answers. Many people are not very good listeners; they are so busy thinking of the next thing they are going to say, that they are barely paying attention. Is this you?

This lack of attention makes for unnatural conversation and inappropriate responses on your part. Not too impressive.

Clarifying Statements This is a way to prove to the client that you have been paying attention. If the client says something about a particular instance or an ad idea, try to find a way to refer back to it when it’s your turn to talk. This gives the client confidence that you are truly hearing what they are saying.

Checking Back Checking back is especially important when you are in the final negotiating stage of selling some advertising. If the client is discussing their ad idea with you, take some notes. When the client is finished telling you what he wants, go over the details one more time referring to your notes. This will leave you and the advertiser feeling comfortable that there won’t be any unhappy surprises when the ad is published.

Aligning Aligning just means getting on someone’s wavelength. It’s very important for every person in a sales situation to be somewhat of a chameleon when dealing with clients. You also have to be able to understand their concerns and communicate that to them. You need to gain their confidence.

Closing the Sale Something which takes courage, persistence, and practice is the inevitable closing of the sale. All the rapport building in the world won’t do any good if you’re afraid to ask for the sale. From our observations at the Collegian, we have very friendly sales people who design loads of beautiful spec ads, but they are nervous about the close.

Here are a few non-obnoxious ways to try to close the sale: ♦ Ask, “What do you think?” after presenting your ideas. ♦ Ask, “Where do we go from here?” after presenting your ideas. ♦ If you’ve offered a few different spec ad ideas, ask, “Which one would you like to use?” ♦ Very important: When you’ve actually asked for the sale, SHUT UP!! There may be an uncomfortable silence while the client is considering what to do. DO NOT try to fill the silence. The ball is in their court; leave it there.

Advertising Training Schedule (Summer)

Sunday August 16 7:00 p.m.

Registration

7:30 p.m.

Dinner

Hear from Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Ernst, Advisor Jason Young and from keynote speaker Derrick Goold, a St. Louis Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

9:00 p.m.

Icebreakers

Get to know your staff, the editorial staff and the FEEP with a few icebreakers.

10:00 p.m.

Go over the schedule for the remainder of the week, begin discussing expectations and goals for the semester, year.

Meeting UNews ad office

Meet and mingle with FEEP participants before dinner

Monday August 17 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast

@ The University News office

9:45 a.m.

Procedures

Review the business procedures for The University News, including handling the necessary paperwork when selling an advertisement, collecting payment, etc.

11:00 a.m.

Newspapers101

Hear from Jonathan Ernst, editor-in-chief, to learn newspaper-specific lingo and more about The University News.

11:30 p.m.

Lunch

Enjoy three distinct and local pizza selections.

Noon p.m.

Delivery

Deliver newspapers.

5:30 p.m.

Dinner

Eat at Gries.

6:30 p.m.

Meet

@ Grand Metro Station. Train departs at 6:33 p.m.

6:40 p.m.

Arch

Explore the riverfront.

8:00 p.m.

Meet

@ Lacledes Landing Metro Station. Train departs at 8:09 p.m.

8:45 p.m.

Tour de Office

Get to know where all the important stuff is: fax machine, contracts, rate cards, phones, etc.

9:15 p.m.

Computer Science Learn how to use the computer system at The University

News, from passwords to the server system.

9:45 p.m.

Review

What’s on your mind? (If you have nothing, we have plenty.)

10:15 p.m.

Reflect

It’s been a long day; let’s sit back and ask ourselves why?

Tuesday August 18th 9:15 a.m.

Breakfast

10:30 a.m.

UNews 101

Learn what The University News has to offer perspective business partners ­— from how spot color can make their ad “pop” to special sections to payment options.

12:10 p.m.

On the quad, weather permitting, otherwise @ Boileau Hall

Lunch

@ Cafe Venanta

1:00 p.m.

Organization

Establish office hours, learn how to balance school, a social life and The UNews and how to work with Joe and Jason.

2:00 p.m.

Relationships

Working with business partners is a lot like dating. Learn how first impressions, making the first phone call at the right time and good eye contact is crucial.

3:00 p.m.

Cold Calling

You don’t want to use the phone exclusively to do your business, but it remains an important tool.

3:45 p.m.

Review

What’s on your mind? (If you have nothing, we have plenty.)

5:00 p.m.

Dinner

BBQ at SLUruba; enjoy sand volleyball, swimming and calm.

7:15 p.m.

Working dessert BSC 170

Enjoy a famous local dessert as Jason leads a discussion about the importance of student journalism on campus.

8:30 p.m.

Movie Night BSC 170

So sit back, relax and unwind with the editorial staff and FEEPers as you watch a movie about journalism.

Wednesday August 19th 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast

@ The University News office

9:45 a.m.

Smile and say cheese!

Group photo

10:15 a.m.

Review

Make certain you know everything you’ve learned, do some mock prospecting, cold calling and be almost ready to go.

11:30 p.m.

Get your account list, confirm your office hours, schedule your first visits and set goals. You’re ready to roll!

Wrap up

Noon

Lunch

@ Gries.

1:00 p.m.

Work

Put into practice all that you already knew and just learned

3:15 p.m.

Meet

@ Reinert Hall lobby. Metro leaves Grand station at 4:38 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

Dinner

We’ll head to Delmar Loop and enjoy Blueberry Cafe.

6:30 p.m.

Meet

@ Delmar Loop Metro station. Train leaves at 6:40 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

Closing remarks

FEEP closing remarks.

Thursday August 19th (All meals are on your own) 10:00 a.m.

Employment

Review and sign Staff Member Appointment Agreement.

10:00 a.m.

Employment

All new University employees go to Lindell Building to complete payroll paperwork, get direct deposit, etc.

10:15 a.m.

Work

Returning employees get a head start on their jobs.

10:30 a.m.

Training

Jonathan Ernst, Joe McKeon meet with University officials.

10:45 a.m.

Work

New employees return from Lindell Building and begin work

1:00 p.m.

Team building

3:15 p.m.

Work

9:00 p.m.

Playtime Olive/Compton

10:30 p.m.

Dessert

Friday August 20 (All meals are on your own)

Learn how to work together with this workshop run by Todd Foley, Director of Leadership and Service.

It’s Welcome Week and it’s time to go dancing. Let’s go square dancing with all the incoming students and have fun.

Ice cream social at Tegeler Field with incoming students.

10:00 a.m.

Work

Noon

Advisory Board

Joe McKeon, Jonathan Ernst, Jason Young only

7:30 p.m.

Fun and game

Billikens Men’s soccer or Midtown Alley Streetfest

Advertising Training Schedule (School year)

First day Times TBD

Icebreakers

Get to know your new colleagues and let them know you.

Procedures

Review the business procedures for The University News, including handling the necessary paperwork when selling an advertisement, collecting payment, etc.

Hear from Jonathan Ernst, editor-in-chief, to learn newspaper-specific lingo and more about The University News

Newspapers101

Computer Science Learn how to use the computer system at The University

News, from passwords to the server system

Review

Second Day Times TBD UNews 101

Learn what The University News has to offer perspective business partners ­— from how spot color can make their ad “pop” to special sections to payment options.

Organization

Organize to be productive and prosperous. We’ll establish office hours, learn how to balance school, a social life and The UNews and to work with work with Joe and Jason.

Relationships

Working with business partners is a lot like dating. Learn how first impressions, making the first phone call at the right time and good eye contact is crucial for both.

Cold Calling

You don’t want to use the phone exclusively to do your business, but it remains an important tool.

Review

You’ve heard a lot of stuff and asked a lot of questions, but it’s a great time to ask more.

Third Day Times TBD Review

Make certain you know everything you’ve learned, do some mock prospecting, cold calling and be almost ready to go.

Wrap up

You’ve heard a lot of stuff and asked a lot of questions, but it’s a great time to ask more. So what’s on your mind?

Get your account list, confirm your office hours, schedule your first visits and set goals. You’re ready to roll!

The University News training for the business department is delivered in a long form (summer) and a condensed form (school year) with both providing the key elements necessary for students to learn the basics of sales and specifically for selling advertising for Saint Louis University’s student newspaper.

The summer version occurs the week proceeding the start of the school year, during which the newspaper staff runs the Freshman Early Entry Program. FEEP allows first-year students to become involved with The University News editorial staff.

While the editorial staff is engaged with the new students, the business staff, both returning and new, go through training. While much of it is repetitive for the returning members, it serves as a refresher course for the students who haven’t worked for the paper in nearly four months. It also allows for enough flexibility that if a business needs arises, a returning account executive can handle the situation while a new employee can continue to learn.

The school-year form lasts about three hours during each of the first two days and two hours on the third and final day. It focuses on the “nuts and bolts” of the account executive position. While the summer session includes meals and outside activities, the shorter version is intended to provide the least interference with the students’ academics and other activities as possible. It still allows for a full understanding of expectations and possibilities for the position, but loses some of the bonding time that the summer week allows.

Regardless of when a student is trained for the business department of The University News, the purpose remains the same: the employee has been offered the tools, guidance and direction to succeed at developing and maintaining a revenue stream for which they are in charge and from which they personally prosper financially and professionally. It’s also paramount at The University News that the students grow personally and learn skills necessary for the “real world” regardless of what profession they choose upon graduation. All of those skills are introduced during training and the expectation is the account executive’s self motivation and consistent mentoring by both professional staff and veteran employees will foster continued growth.

How you measure a student’s growth professionally is simple. The more sales he or she creates, the more new clients or return clients he or she brings in typically means they know the basics and are successful. The experiential measurement is much more subjective but is seen in the students’ ability and comfort to try something that is unique to them and possibly pushes beyond the comfort level of the institution.

Because we provide the basics that can propel our students to both objectives, we believe the training schedule perfectly serves the needs of The University News and the students who operate the organization.

Job Description Account representatives are responsible for contracting accounts and assisting clients with advertising in the TCU Daily Skiff, DailySkiff.com, and Image Magazine. The AE is expected to solicit new accounts on a weekly basis. New accounts are defined as businesses that have not advertised within the past calendar year.

Hours Worked Each account executive is expected to work two assigned hours per day and check in each day before 10 a.m., plus visits with clients, servicing accounts, get advertisements proofed and find new accounts. The office activities include setting up appointments, making cold calls, proofing advertisements, responding to inquiries, writing account profiles and daily reports.

If you need to miss an office hour, you MUST switch with someone. Account executives are responsible to be here for at least 10 hours a week. Someone must be in the office during office hours, so it is your job to make sure someone is here during that hour.

Staff Meetings Staff meetings will be held once every week. Staff meetings are great opportunities to have everybody together and discuss the week’s developments, share ideas and solve any problems. Staff meetings are mandatory. More than three unexcused absences may result in termination. Meetings are critical, so tardiness is unacceptable.

Payment Account executives are paid every two weeks. Payment is based on a straight commision system. You earn 15% of the amount sold for the payment period. If quota is made for one pay period, you will earn 18% commission. If you make quota three consecutive times, the commission will be 20%. AE’s do not get paid until the clients have paid their balances. If partial payment is made, the commission will be calculated from the amount paid. If a client is on credit, the AE will get the commission when the client pays. The percentage of the commission depends on whether quota was made when the ad ran and not when the money is received.

Quota Quota is set at the beginning of each payment period. It lasts for a two week period, and it is based on sales from previous semesters. Things considered when setting quota are the number of issues published, special sections and other external things. AEs are expected to meet quota every payment period. Failure to meet quota three times in one semester is cause for termination.

Skiff Advertising Training- Day 1 August, 2010 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m Introduction • Meet and greet; breakfast 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

In The Office • Tour of the office • Important information (office/fax phone numbers, copier password, e-mail password) 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Everything Newspaper • Mechanics of newspaper • Terminology • History of the Skiff • So Why Advertise in the Newspaper?

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Computer System / Ad Design • Usernames and Passwords • Ad Server • Maintenance • Production Requests • Proofs / EPS system • Email and Email Etiquette 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Organization and Time Management • Organizing Sales Materials • CRM Overview • Using a Planner • Office Hours • Tardies and Absences • Communication with Courtney and Bitsy • Balancing Skiff, School, and Life • Account Book and Respecting Other Ad Reps Accounts 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Review • Questions • Scavenger Hunt • Pop Quiz • Trainee Questions and Kerry / Bitsy’s Answers

Skiff Advertising Training – Day 2 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Breakfast and Review 9:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

So What Does the Skiff Have to Offer?

• Rates, Sizes, Color

• • • • • •

Special Sections Discounts Insertion orders Powerbuys Payment Quota System

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Building and Maintaining a Business Relationship • Initial Contact • Professional Demeanor At All Times • At the Meeting • Day to Day Account Service • Communication • Follow Up • End of the Semester 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Cold Calling Turned Warm- Effective Prospecting • New Business Leads • Organization • Phone Etiquette • Reasons to Call • Set Appointments- Don’t Sell Over the Phone/Email • Persistence • Phone Blitzes • Make It a Daily Habit 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Review

Skiff Advertising Training – Day 3 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Review and Expectations 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Distribute and Review Account Lists • Review CRM 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Organization • Review Account Books • Distribute Ad Rep Schedules • Set Deadlines, Goals, Quota, Special Section Contest • Prepare for Semester of Selling • Sign work contract – terms and conditions

TCU Daily Skiff CNBAM Best Training program Training for Skiff advertising representatives begins when they are hired for the position. Each ad rep is given a rate card and media kit to study before returning for training the following semester. As the “face” of the Skiff in the community, it is imperative that we prepare our students properly.

Training begins one to two weeks before the first publication date for the semester. Ad reps spend two or three days in extensive training, then begin supervised calls to set appointments with advertisers. Training includes practice sessions on completing insertion orders, making cold calls, and role-playing on sales calls.

Brainstorming sessions help foster open discussion on different ideas for clients. Topics covered include who to contact for specific events, specific categories of clients and times they should advertise, ways to keep current with events affecting advertising at the Skiff, and sources for information about our clients’ businesses. Ad reps are thoroughly trained on their role as a liaison between the client and the ad designers. Attention to detail and organizational priorities are emphasized as key factors to achieving success in this job.

After time is given to assimilate the information covered, sales reps discuss their account list with the ad manager or business manager. This discussion covers account history, ideas for advertising campaigns, and general information about the business.

Knowledge of a clients’ business is critical to successful ad sales.

At mid-semester, the ad manager and business manager complete evaluations of all ad reps. Ad reps complete a self-evaluation form that is then compared with the ones completed by the managers. The evaluation covers selling, office procedures, follow-up, and team skills. The ad manager meets with the ad rep to discuss strengths and weaknesses identified.

The most integral facet of ad rep training is the weekly sales meeting. At each sales meeting, ad reps are made aware of special promotions, congratulated on recent achievements, and updated on progress towards goals and quotas. Upcoming events on campus and upcoming advertiser events are compared to coordinate advertising opportunities. Contests and bonus opportunities are discussed with reps. Weekly meetings are used to pass along new information from sources such as the CNBAM Advertising Sales Resource Guide, the NAA plan book, Web sites, the Fort Worth Star Telegram and Dallas Morning News(our local papers), and other handouts. Speakers are occasionally brought in to discuss refresher topics for ad reps. These speakers are from the local professional community, and may be in sales, design, or training. Former ad reps are also brought in to discuss how to maximize future opportunities while working at the Skiff. During the week, additional memos and sales materials are circulated in the ad rep mail boxes for reading Two bulletin boards and a calendar are also updated continuously. Current sales for the pay period, current sales for the semester, quotas, deadlines, upcoming events, contest updates and new ideas are here to keep ad reps informed.

At the end of the semester, ad reps are asked to complete a job evaluation. This evaluation provides feedback for the ad manager, with possible suggestions for

improvement in the advertising office. This allows us to complete the semester by learning from the ad reps, not just them learning from the management staff.

Additionally, ad designers are brought in before the beginning of the semester.

Their training consists primarily of office procedures and workflow, since they are hired with prior experience in the design programs. Details and spell-check are emphasized in addition to the flow of communication with ad reps and the ad manager. Ad designers are updated continuously with information from trade magazines and Web sites.

Software training is enhanced by bringing in vendor reps and software trainers from the university.

The student ad manager is offered training in peer management from the Human Resources department. The ad manager for the next fall semester attends the CNBAM Student Ad Manager Workshop in Chicago each year..

Our goal in training our ad reps is not only to make them successful at the Skiff, but also to adequately prepare them for post-graduation employment. Whatever professional field they pursue, preparation and training in communication and work skills learned at the Skiff will serve them well both while working at the Skiff and beyond.

CNBAM Entry Best Training Program Tim Gheen UNC Charlotte – University Times When putting together a productive and successful sales team it always comes down to the training and training methods, especially in college newspaper advertising sales. Many of the account executives that come through the Student Media program have very little experience in sales, as many of them are fresh from high school and looking to gain the type of sale experience our program provides. Therefore, I feel it is my duty as sales manager to offer them the tools necessary for success.

I begin by acclimating them with the rate card; this is their main tool, so they will need to know it very well. I brief them on what our main purpose is and go through this with them as I read through the rate card. The rate card has a lot of information about the paper, radio, and website. I discuss with them in detail all our advertising mediums and how we sell each one specifically.

Once I have covered the basics of our program I move on to the column-inch layout and how prices are determined. This is when I usually bring out the insertion orders and show them how to work a few prices out. This way they can see me do it in front of them as they follow along. Then, I have the reps complete several insertion orders for me to review with them. Once they have the concepts of the column-inch and our pricing down, I am ready to move on.

After the basics, I move on to all the inter-office forms and production requests that the new account executives will be required to fill out on a daily basis. I do a

lot of hands-on work for them to get an even better idea of what working with these forms is like on a sales call. Having a deep understanding of the basic office procedures helps set the foundation for success, and prevents costly mistakes in the future.

Once the new account executives are familiar with all the paperwork and pricing I move on to the most difficult part of the job, the sell. The sell is really all about presence and personality, which can be difficult to teach. I do a lot of roleplaying with them because they get a good sense of what a real sales call would be like - whether it be on the phone or in person. I start off by demonstrating an easy sales situation with straightforward advertisement requirements so they can complete the required forms and perform calculations quickly. When they have mastered this level, I move on to the more difficult to sell business and test them on their knowledge even further. This is also an excellent way to gauge for myself what I need to go over in more detail. My goal is to ensure the new sales representatives are confident and comfortable with the sales process when they are finished with the training regiment.

My hope is to continue tweaking the training to accommodate our changing market. I truly want those who come in new to the profession of sales learn something they can use when they move on from UNC Charlotte into their professional careers.

Student Media Marketing Fall Training/New Account Executive Training It is very important that you attend ALL of the sessions. Please try scheduling other activities for different times for this week of training.

We will be moving through the material rather quickly. The information we will be covering will be crucial to your success as an account executive.

Every day is a specific session. If for some reason you cannot attend for the entire session, please resched- ule with the marketing director at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to working with you!

.........................................................................................................

Fall 2010 Schedule Monday, August 23

4:30 - 7:30 pm

SM Conference Room

Tuesday, August 24

4:30 - 7:30 pm

SM Conference Room

Wednesday, August 25

4:30 - 7:30 pm

SM Conference Room

Thursday, August 25

4:30 - 7:30 pm

SM Conference Room

For additional information, feel free to call the Marketing Director at 704.687.7146.

Student Media Marketing Fall Training/New Account Executive Training Session I: General Overview 1. Tour of Student Media

All Offices and Personnel and how they all fit into the big picture NinerOnline

Sanskrit Literary Arts Magazine The University Times

Radio Free Charlotte

Media Marketing including Production Area

Main Office Paper Morgue 2. Overview of Student Media Marketing and Student Media as a Whole 3. Question and Answer 4. Completion of paperwork for employment BREAK 5. Discussion about our publication, how it is produced and demographics 6. Discussion about the Advertising Account Executive Job Description (attached) Session II: Rate Card 1. Rate Card Overview

Have trainee review rate card

Discuss in detail with special attention to deadlines, and publication dates 2. Rates

Difference between on-campus and local open rates

Contract levels

Color Charges Discounts

Special Section rates Inserts

Classifieds Nineronline 3. Column inches using Fake Paper Sales Tool and Rate Card

What are column inches?

How calculations are done 4. Paperwork

Filling out an insertion order calculating column inches Filling out a production request using mock client visit Quiz on both of the above using scenarios Session III: Role-Playing and actual sales call 1. In-depth role playing where new employee is account executive and marketing director is client 2. Actual sales call with a current client Session IV: Sales Meeting - Formal introduction to other account executives with refreshments

University of Arizona Arizona Daily Wildcat Training Program Goal: Attract and retain the best student candidates who will be able to move forward post-college with experience, confidence, and business acumen that will help them be successful in the professional arena.

Plan: During their first week, account executives are trained by the professional staff and veteran students as part of an intensive training program. The training comprises one-on-one training, selfdirected training, and shadowing veteran AE’s to learn about all aspects of the Daily Wildcat including business functions, their role, and selling advertising. After the first week, one hour training sessions are scheduled weekly once classes start for at least the first month.

Structure: Under the guidance of the Ad Manager, the Student Training Manager works with the Student Sales Manager to set up the training plan for the new account executives. New students are expected to arrive at least five days prior to the first deadline to begin training and be able to commit at least 5-6 hours daily in the first week to the training program.

Measurables: During their first full week of selling, we have a competition using their Daily Sales Activity worksheets and give out prizes for highest call volume, highest number of new account calls, highest number of closed contracts and goal achievement. During their tenure here, the Sales Activity worksheets are required daily so we can continue to measure their growth and identify coaching opportunities. 

Training Outline Day one: o Review the job description and position expectations and responsibilities o Introduce the professional and student staff, explain each role o Housekeeping (parking pass, hours, office etiquette, attire) o Print & Online Products Overview – talk about each print and online product, their role and why they are important to the Wildcat and our customers o Print & Online Products Rate Training – Retail, Classified, Online and Inserts rates, assign sample questions to be reviewed the following day (can be completed before leaving for the day or on their own time) o Shadow Veteran AE



Day Two: o Review sample questions as a group (if more than one new AE) o Meet with Accounting Manager to cover order entry process, AdPro, contracts, insertion orders, payment collection processes, and all other aspects of accounting o Shadow Veteran AE



Day Three: o Review prior day’s training in accounting (highlight important critical topics) o Meet with Production Manager to go over ad flow process, mechanicals, and deadlines o Meet with Sales Manager to discuss account list and begin to prioritize accounts



Day Four: o Review prior day’s training in production (highlight important critical topics) o Begin contacting accounts, introductions, set up appointments o Meet with Training Manager on sales tactics, organizing your day, planning techniques



Day Five: o Meet with Sales Manager to review plan for the day and upcoming week o Shadow Veteran AE o Account executive can continue working on accounts, prospecting and closing sales



Week Two through Five: o Weekly one hour training session to be set up

Sample Training Schedule “Open You Decide” is an opportunity for you to spend additional time working on areas you feel you need the most help in (i.e. rate training, shadowing another AE, organizing sales day, learning about your account list, etc). It is up to you to use this time to your advantage and let us know how we can help you be successful!

Day 1:

9:00 – 10:00 10:00 – 12:00 12:00 – 1:00 1:00 – 4:00

Position Overview, About the Wildcat, & More with Ad Manager Print & Online Products & Rate Training with Training Manger Lunch Shadow Veteran AE #1

Day 2:

9:00 – 10:00 10:00 – 12:00 12:00 – 1:00 1:00 – 4:00

Review Rate Homework with Sales Manager Sales Order/Process Training with Accounting Manager Lunch Shadow Veteran AE #2

Day 3:

9:00 – 10:00 10:00 – 11:00 11:00 – 12:00 12:00 – 1:00 1:00 – 4:00

Review Sales Order/Process Training with Training Manager Ad Flow Process Training with Production Manager Review account list with Sales Manager, Prioritize List Lunch “Open You Decide”

Day 4:

9:00 – 10:00 10:00 – 12:00 12:00 – 1:00 1:00 – 5:00

Review Ad Flow Process Training with Sales Manager Begin contacting accounts, setting up appointments Lunch Sales tactics and planning with Training Manager

Day 5:

9:00 – 10:00 10:00 – 12:00 1:00 – 5:00

Meet with Sales Manager to set up game plan for next week Shadow Veteran AE #3 Continue contacting accounts, setting up appointments, selling

Day 6 – 30

Ongoing Training (dates TBD) 1 – 2 hours each week: 

Online: Lingo, Metrics & Rates



Prospecting: How to find leads and get the appointment



Needs Assessment: What is it and why do we need it?



Answering Objections: 5 Steps for Overcoming Objections



Closing Techniques: Buying Signals, Closing Techniques & After the Close

Training Program

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.” This proverb has, in a way, become the model in which sales, marketing, advertising and design training at The University Daily Kansan is built. No one person learns the same way. While a thick training manual may be best for those who tend to the analytical side, the same method may do nothing for someone who just wants to put it into practice in order to make it their own. So, regardless of the role a student member of The Kansan plays, they need to experience training sessions that are informative, all-encompassing, and most importantly, engaging.

Departments The University Daily Kansan prides itself on providing the KU student body the opportunity to join our 106-year-old publication through several different business departments. While each department has its own specialized training programs, exercises and games, all new hires are welcomed into the tradition and history of our paper and the people who have worked to support it. During training we discuss that tradition, our famous alums and our place in the University community consistently. We want all new staff members to finish training with not only an enhanced set of skills but also a great sense of pride for the next chapter in our history that they themselves may write.

The entire Daily Kansan Advertising Staff meets one week before each semester’s classes begin and take part in the traditional, first week sales and advertising training program. The session week begins with icebreakers, team-building exercises and other get-to-know-you activities. We believe that these activities involve the new hires and give them confidence in a new setting and outside of their normal comfort zones – thus setting the tone for engaged learning and question-asking.

Sales: The sales managers at The Kansan know that before a rep is ready to perform at their best, they need to be confident in four things: 1) our products 2) our clients 3) our audience and 4) the sales process. The Kansan gives our reps the opportunity to sell a variety of mediums to our clients, including daily newspaper, magazine, online display, weekly niche tabloids and a variety of themed special sections. Products are characterized by their purpose to the client: 1) Branding, frequent awareness products 2) Targeting, niche publications and 3) Direct Response, coupons or inserts. The features, benefits and audience of each vary, so it’s a lot to remember. Thus, product training is what we tackle first. By the end of product training, our reps know which audience at KU is reading/viewing each of our products, what its distribution is, how often each product is viewed, where people are going to get the product, etc., and they’re able to translate all of this to how it benefits the client.

For sales process training, each of our managers and our adviser is given the opportunity to lead a session based on what they feel is a personal strength. For instance, if there is a Zone Manager who feels that their favorite part of the sale is needs analysis, they are given the needs analysis session. It’s important that the new reps know that sales is a process, so we are careful to cover each step. We start with making an initial contact, then move to setting the first meeting, to needs analysis, campaign creation, presenting, proposing, objection handling and closing. After each section we break off into pairs or small groups, led by managers or returning reps, so the new hires can practice their newly acquired skills in roleplay settings. It’s also a time when questions are encouraged.

In addition to the process we educate them on the other departments as well. Everyone sits in as our production staff discusses what are the best practices that will ensure that their ad runs correctly. They are also educated as a whole on the relationship between editorial and advertising oftentimes with the editor in chief addressing them. They learn certainly not to promise stories in return for ad campaigns but also learn that advertising and editorial as a whole form one big team.

We believe that our sales reps should not be out pushing products. They’re not selling an ad in the newspaper, they’re selling the audience who read our products daily. So, we make sure to go into the readership habits of our target audience and how to communicate the habits of our audience to the client decision-makers.

also have created a system to measure how much information people are retaining in training. At the end of each day Training We everyone meets, splits into their zones for the semester and competes in “Zone Wars” where questions are asked to three Program reps at a time, one from each zone as they go to the dry erase board and write their answers. Points are tallied throughout training week with the winning zone receiving a group prize at the end of training.

On the final day of training each new account executive must also go through a half-day of certifiication where they go through a series of mock sales calls with the business manager, sales manager, zone managers and the sales and marketing adviser. Each account executive is graded on their skills and then is deemed worthy or not to be certified and begin selling.

If they do not pass certification then they must undergo additional training until their skills are deemed acceptable.

Creative: The Kansan prides itself on having stellar creative work semester after semester. Creative sells, and clients always appreciate the work. In order to do this, our work starts before training begins. We work hard to recruit bright young talent out of KU’s School of Art and Design. We make sure to hire those applicants who not only have fantastic design skills, but also are natural problem-solvers and idea people. During the initial training week, The Kansan’s Creative Director instructs the new designers on what to expect as an ad designer, how deadlines and production work, and countless examples of ad campaigns that have yielded great results for clients. Creatives spend much of their time during that first week designing spec ads for potential new business prospects. They do this both for practice and in hopes that an Account Executive can take the spec ad to the client and make the sale.

Marketing: We believe our clients should brand and promote their products aggressively. We believe that every idea has an expiration date. So, obviously we believe the same about our own products and ideas. Our marketing team’s goal is to create word-of-mouth about The Kansan and its products and events. For the first week of training, they are given semester objectives, a listing of the release date of special sections and a listing of promotional opportunities. After, they are taught how to conduct research – drafting surveys and conducting focus groups and depth interviews. Armed with this new knowledge, they are able to put together a cohesive campaign to promote our publication to the student body. In years past, the marketing team has generated specialty advertising vehicles such as Daily Kansan playing cards, tote bags, pens, magnets and t-shirts.

Ongoing Training The moment you think you’ve learned it and heard it all is when you’ll be passed by your competition. In order to keep our staff from becoming complacent, we have a system of ongoing training at The Kansan. These sessions are delivered at every weekly staff meeting, and the topics are chosen based on what the managers feel would be most beneficial to the staff at the time they are presented. For example, when we’re nearing late fall, we might do a session on in-depth selling to local retail for the Christmas season – how to prospect, what the benefits timely advertising are to the client and how to set up campaigns. Other ongoing training sessions have included personality quadrants, aggregated audience selling, in-depth full color ad campaign proposing and special section training. Our goal with ongoing training is to keep the staffs’ tools sharp and make sure they’re continuing to set goals for themselves – be it with their numbers or education.

At The Kansan, our goal for each staff member, regardless of their position or long-term career plan, is for them to become professional problem-solvers. We do this by working long before training begins to cover our bases and make sure we’re providing all members with what they need to succeed. Every semester, we learn what worked best and adapt it to a new audience. Hence, the training process is ever evolving, but one factor remains the same – our overall goal. We want every member of The University Daily Kansan to feel they are contributing to something greater than themselves, and they have all the support they need to create their own success stories.

Training Program

The Daily Kansan - First Week of Training Calendar Monday

Welcome the staff, icebreaker/getting to know you, Kansan product training, break off in groups (sales, creative, marketing, classifieds, production), conducting primary and secondary research, aggregated audience selling, needs analysis, takeaway from the day, Zone Wars

Tuesday

Welcome back, Malcolm Gibson (General Manager of The Kansan) introduction, meet the editor-in-chief, online product training, production training, creating solutions (coming up with campaigns), group training, time management and planning, objection handling, closing, takeaway and Zone Wars

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

True colors (personality training), Addie Lingo (ROP, ROI, CPM, broadsheet, tabloid, column-inch, etc.), new business acquisition training, on-campus new biz exercise, office etiquette, Vince Coultis from McClatchy (guest speaker), write your own cold call scripts, rate card training, takeaway and Zone Wars

Announcements, creative best practices, collaborating with your designer, social media strategy, rejection words, Kansan paper trail (call sheets, creative requests, research requests, etc.), writing effective emails, securing the first client meeting, work on certification proposals, takeaway and Zone Wars

Certification and list distribution, client meeting competition, using spec ads, using marketing specialists, full-staff traditional lunch at Old Chicago, setting appointments

Training Certification: The Process Program Newly-hired Account Executives finish their training with a certification test.

In order to become a certified Account Executive for The Kansan, the reps are required to “make the sale” to the mock clients. Clients are played by the student Advertising Director, Sales Manager, Zone Managers and the Sales and Marketing Advisor. On Thursday of the first week of training, they are introduced to the mock clients. They are expected to perform a full needs-analysis, just as they would a real client.

They are graded based on the strength of the questions they ask and how they conduct themselves professionally. Thursday night, they are to work with their Zone Creatives and Zone Managers to create a campaign that speaks to the needs of the mock clients. On Friday, they have to meet with the clients again and sell the campaign.

Examples: Client: Jetlag Bar Assignment: More traffic on Thursdays, awareness of Monday night burger baskets Audience: Male KU students Budget: $300 per month Client: Campus Court Apartments Assignment: Fill 80% to capacity by the end of December Audience: KU seniors, graduates, faculty and staff Budget: $8,000 per semester We are able to give each rep valuable feedback on both their selling skills and their individual campaigns.

We are also able to gauge what needs to be addressed in ongoing training.

Ongoing Training Topics Ongoing training is a vital part of the comprehensive Kansan Training Program. Based on certification performance, feedback from Zone Managers, observations the managers make on a daily basis and feedback from clients, we are able to assess what we need to focus on. During our weekly staff meeting, we address one topic to train on, and we hold such a session every week.

Sample topics include:

*Audience-based sales

*Personality quadrant training

*The ‘Red-Pen’ close

*Follow-up process after sale is made

*Cold-call techniques

*Selling full color ad campaigns

*Closing techniques

*Power of positive attitude

*Setting up a media mix

*Selling special sections

Training Program HOW PEOPLE BUY

CLIENTS NEED: To reach potential customers who are unaware of their products/services

BRANDING

To reach those specifically looking for the services they offer

TARGETING

To reach those in need of their services RIGHT NOW

PURCHASE

DIRECT RESPONSE

PURCHASE

THE KANSAN PROVIDES:

BRANDING SOLUTIONS

BRANDING TARGETING SOLUTIONS

TARGETING

DIRECT RESPONSE SOLUTIONS

DIRECT RESPONSE

PURCHASE These visuals are slides taken from the fall 2010 training session: “A Solution For Every Client”.

This product training session highlighted the features and benefits of each of our products, as well as the different audiences the products reached. We ended the session by creating fake businesses and advertising assignments and posing them to new members of staff. For example, if a sports bar just opened downtown and they wanted to reach loyal KU fans, males and alumni, which product(s) would be a good solution? By involving them in the process, we were preparing them to think on their own and build unique campaigns based on audience and client need.

The Daily Pennsylvanian Business Training Program

T

he Daily Pennsylvanian’s Business Training Program is based on the concept of continual education. The program focuses on educating by providing broad-based general training, detailed hands-on training, and ongoing continuing training — all designed to provide students the realworld business experience of running a professional newspaper while developing their business skills and providing our customers with exceptional customer service.

The unique aspect about our program compared to most others is the wide range of newspaper operational areas covered. We pride ourselves in our diverse placement of student staff and student managers in six business departments: finance, credit, advertising, ad production, front office (counter sales and ad traffic), and marketing. This specialization in each department provides an opportunity for students with interests in areas other than sales to gain valuable experience. Yet each staff member is also integrated into the newspaper’s operations by being introduced to all aspects of the business.

The training program is accomplished in three stages. The first consists of a general training session. Here, all new staff members go through General Business Training together in order to establish a common background, an understanding of our business, and a network of fellow staff members. During this session, we familiarize the new staff with the fundamental principles and operations of our paper, our history, and their role in the organization. We cover the tools of survival at the paper, from the mechanics of using our phones and copiers to accessing the various computer systems. We carefully trace all the steps in the “life” of an ad, from inception through payment, and how each department participates in pieces of that operation. The sessions mix lecture-style presentations with interactive topics, since we have found that active participation strengthens retention of the training material.

The second stage of training is specialized Departmental Training, where each student department manager establishes an individualized training program tailored to that particular department. New staff members participate in two weeks of sessions with the managers and professional staff advisers of their department. During this time, the new staff members gain the specific skills required for productive work in their departments, plus a detailed picture of their role and the department’s role within the paper. Once they are able to understand their position and responsibilities, they are able to work independently of direct supervision as full-fledged and productive staff members.

The advertising and marketing departments are combined into a Marketing/Advertising Internship. For the first semester, interns are given extensive sales and marketing training. They are required to so some selling (prospecting) and some marketing (flyering, testing the online readership survey). At the end of the first semester, interns are asked to decide whether they want to be Advertising Specialists or Marketing Specialists. Both specializations require the intern to do some level of both sales and marketing.

The final phase — which is never-ending — is the ongoing education and cross-training that is dispersed throughout each student’s career at The Daily Pennsylvanian. Training of additional skills, techniques, and procedures is provided through weekly or biweekly department meetings.

Cross-training is especially important for departments which are directly interrelated; this type of training increases communication and understanding, resulting in more efficient operations and a more cohesive business staff.

During the course of the semester, the staff is evaluated by the managers and given the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences at the newspaper. By evaluating their performance, we are able to assess the effectiveness of their training.

In addition to this staff-level training, we also have a Management Training Program, which is designed to go beyond the one-on-one assistance our professional advisers provide. This program gives student managers the knowledge and expertise they need to run their departments, and enhances the managerial experience they get at the newspaper. Two all-day off-site retreats presented by the professional advisers and the student Business Manager anchor this training program. One takes place before classes begin in January as an orientation to newly-elected managers. The second takes place in August before fall term classes begin, and focuses on reinforcing and building their staff management skills, and planning for their second semester.

The program aims to give an in-depth understanding of every department, as well as teach and hone skills necessary to be an outstanding manager. It includes role-playing, game take-offs (“Daily Pennsylvanian Survivor”), and brainstorming sessions. Additionally, 10 to 20 minutes of most weekly Business Board meetings are devoted to ongoing training. Topics include interviewing skills, presentation skills, how to successfully delegate, staff coaching skills, time management, goal-setting, motivation and morale, and planning effective meetings.

As managers of The Daily Pennsylvanian, we feel that the Business Training Program combines all elements that develop top-notch staff members. The success of our newspaper comes from the commitment to excellence and service that we convey to all our new staff members — largely through our training program. A solid and concrete knowledge of the basic operations of business functions, coupled with real-life practical experience, creates staff members who are familiar with our business, knowledgeable about our market, and sensitive to our customer’s needs. The end result is that when our training succeeds, we end up with staff members who are well informed about the company they work for and the product they produce every day. They know their role at the newspaper, contribute to a reputable and successful independent college newspaper, and are positioned to greet new challenges at The Daily Pennsylvanian with enthusiasm.

Fall, 2010 Business Training Schedule DAY

DEPARTMENT

TIME

Business Manager Retreat

9:30 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.

ALL Business Departments

6:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, September 15

Finance 2

4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 15

Ad Design 2

5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 15

Ad/Marketing 2

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 16

Credit 2

4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 16

Ad/Marketing 3

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Monday, September 20

Finance 3

4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Monday, September 20

Ad Design 3

5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

Monday, September 20

Ad/Marketing 4

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 21

Credit 3

4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 21

Ad/Marketing 5

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 22

Finance 4

4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 22

Ad Design 4

5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 22

Ad/Marketing 6

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 23

Credit 4

4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 23

Ad/Marketing 7

6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, September 25

Ad/Marketing 8

10:30 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.

Thursday, August 26 Tuesday, September 14

Management Training Each manager takes a turn reading the scenario aloud and role-playing the scenario with a fellow manager. The manager that is playing the role of the staff member should read his/her instructions silently.

1: MANAGER A friend of yours is a member of the staff. He/she is not taking you seriously, and has not listened to you or taken direction from you. He/she is not performing well and you believe this is because of your personal relationship with this person. You are sitting down with this person now, for the first time, to talk about his/her performance.

1: STAFF MEMBER You’re a friend of the manager/editor, but you believe he/she is taking his/her job a little too seriously. Since you’re friends, you can’t understand why this person is coming down so hard on you. He/she should know you by now and know you’ll get the job done. Your attitude is “Hey, this is me you’re talking to — stop acting like a boss.”

2: MANAGER A staff member has not done their job, not shown up for meetings and has had a bad attitude.

You’ve met with him/her several times before, and he/she has either promised to change or denied there’s a problem. Now you’ve made the decision to fire this person, and you’re ready to do it.

2: STAFF MEMBER The manager/editor has told you before that he/she is not happy with your performance. Even though you agree you could do better, you think he/she is overreacting. Now some tough school projects are over with and you’re ready to make a new commitment. Don’t accept being fired — plead with the manager/editor for your job and promise you’ll change.

3: MANAGER A staff member is enthusiastic and always shows up for work. The problem is that his/her work is consistently poor. The problem’s not commitment, it’s talent. You’re meeting with that person now to: (1) tell him/her that the current job they did must be redone (2) from now on, unless they find a way to get better, they'll have to work with someone else on stories, projects, or accounts.

3: STAFF MEMBER Whatever work your manager is criticizing you about be defensive. It’s yours and you’re proud of it. Be resistant to change and getting any help.

4: MANAGER As an outgoing, friendly and enthusiastic person, you’re finding it hard to deal with this staff member who is shy and introverted. The work this person does is okay, but he/she is overly sensitive and does not take criticism well. You are doing an informal evaluation of the person.

4: STAFF MEMBER Act shy and be sensitive to criticism. Say as little as possible. Give the attitude that this manager/editor is singling you out or picking on you.

Sales Call Role-Play Skit REP:

Hi MARIA, I’m Alex from The Daily Pennsylvanian. I appreciate you giving me some time today to talk to you .

CUSTOMER: Well, I'm very busy, but I did tell you that you could come in.

REP:

Is there somewhere we can sit down in quiet and discuss this?

CUSTOMER: Sure, let’s go to my office. [GO TO “OFFICE” AND SIT DOWN] REP:

[TELL MARIA THE REASON FOR YOUR CALL AND ASK HER AGAIN IF THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO TALK]

CUSTOMER: You're okay, as long as this doesn't take all day.

REP:

Great, I'd like to start by asking you a few questions about MARIA’s Designs.

[TAKE NOTES]

CUSTOMER: [TELL REP ABOUT YOUR STORE] REP:

[ASK MORE QUESTIONS, INCLUDING HOW HE ADVERTISES]

CUSTOMER: [ANSWER ALEX’S QUESTIONS, AND TELL HIM THAT YOU CREATE FLYERS AND PUT THEM AROUND TO PROMOTE YOUR STORE] REP:

Have you ever tried focusing on the student market, especially since you’re so close to campus?

CUSTOMER: The students I do get usually don’t buy. College students, I find, do most of their shopping with a tight budget, and they’re looking for bargains, and that’s it.

REP:

Hmmm, seems like you haven’t had great success with the student market, despite your location.

CUSTOMER: That’s about right.

REP:

MARIA, if you knew that Penn students had the money to spend, were spending their money on dresses and casual wear everyday — sometimes traveling downtown to do so — and they were willing to spend higher than bargain prices to get the perfect outfit for them — would you consider focusing some of your advertising budget on getting this group to buy from MARIA’s Designs?

CUSTOMER: And I suppose your paper is the best way to reach them?

REP:

Well, let me give you some facts about The Daily Pennsylvanian [PUT THE PAPER IN HIS HANDS AND TALK ABOUT IT]