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GONZAGA UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION FOR BEST ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE To the evaluation committee for CNBAM, I am writing to nominate Natalie for the award of Best Account Executive. Natalie has worked as an account executive for the Gonzaga Student Publications Advertising Department since the fall of 2012 and was recently promoted to the position of Business Development Manager for the school year of 2014-2015. I have worked with Natalie since she started at Student Publications as her direct supervisor. Each and every day Natalie inspires me with her commitment to the office and her clients, her drive to continually grow and develop, and the passion she brings to the job.

Every week, Natalie is required to work at least ten hours cold calling clients, attending sales meetings, and developing campaigns. However, on average Natalie works closer to 15 hours a week continually going the extra mile to ensure her client’s receive the best service our office can offer. In addition, she volunteers her time to coordinate with our management team when we are working on special projects such as creating more efficient processes or new products.

Natalie also takes the initiative to make improvements when she comes across a problem on her own. For example, last spring she became fed up with some inefficiencies in our sales database and organized a project team made of up managers and fellow account executives to brainstorm solutions and follow up on the progress of fixing the database. The changes that Natalie made has allowed our office to keep more accurate client records.

During the fall our office develops the Gonzaga Dining Guide - Savor. Our account executives sell listings to local restaurants. This product is a personal favorite of Natalie’s – to sell for and to develop. This was Natalie’s second year being a part of the dining guide project and knowing how intense the project can get she took initiative and started selling listing during the summer so we were ahead of the game by the time school started. Being a veteran, Natalie volunteered her time to help the management team revise the processes of creating Savor as well as our selling materials for the product. This past fall, we sold a total of $11,165 worth of listings and Natalie was responsible for $5,457.

Natalie continually goes above and beyond for the clients she works with. Starting with the first cold call, Natalie makes forming a positive, long-lasting relationship with the client a priority.

She takes the extra time to understand a client’s needs and goes the extra mile to meet those needs. For example, she recognized that some of her clients wanted to reach our digital audience and worked with our marketing team to develop our online and social media outlets so we could offer our clients these digital products. She is a fierce advocate for her clients in the office working with our design and production teams to ensure her client’s artwork is of the highest quality and she is delivering the more effective campaign to them.

Developing positive relationships is also a priority of Natalie’s in the office. She works to build strong working relationships with everyone on the staff. Her drive for self-growth, her enthusiasm for design, and her ability to demonstrate creative problem solving has made all the difference in the level of quality we are able to deliver to our clients. In addition, her positive attitude and commitment to the office creates an upbeat office atmosphere. I enthusiastically recommend Natalie for the award of Best Account Executive.

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION FOR BEST ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Thank you for your time and consideration, McKenzie DonTigny Advertising Manager Gonzaga University Student Publications

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION FOR BEST ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to recommend Natalie Kerns for the award of Best Account Executive for the College Newspaper and Business Manager Conference. I have come to know Natalie over the past 6 months and even though I’ve only known her briefly she has shown to have many admirable characteristics that would make her qualified for the award.

I own and operate a small business located with the Riverwalk building in Spokane, WA just a few blocks away from Gonzaga University. I first met Natalie when her and a few friends came over to the Riverwalk building to have lunch at one of the restaurants located within the building.

However, being the go-getter that I’ve come to know, she stopped in my facility and introduced herself. She concluded to set up a meeting with me the next week to discuss the possibility of purchasing advertisement spots in some of the Gonzaga University publications. The first time I met her I was extremely impressed with how well she carried and presented herself. I was actually so impressed with her that I offered her a sales position in my store.

Natalie is a very confident, well-spoken young woman. Beyond that she has other qualities that make her a leader. Natalie is a very organized, motivated, dedicated, and self-driven individual.

When we first met to discuss advertising, she focused on getting to know my business first to ensure that our partnership would be mutually beneficial. She took a very holistic approach in getting to understand my business and taking the time to not only reserve ad space but to design campaigns that were very effective. She followed up weekly to see what response the campaign was getting and to check what new developments where going on in the store.

More than anything, Natalie is the type of person that can energize and engage people. Her enthusiasm and creativity is contagious. One example of this came from her idea to start a campaign that would increase the number of “likes” on our Facebook page. She coordinated with one of our vendors to donate a few golf bags. The bags were used as prizes for an upcoming raffle drawing that was advertised in store as well through the Gonzaga Bulletin. To be entered into the drawing for a golf bag one had to either “like” our Facebook page or purchase a Sam Adams product. Not only did the campaign and drawing increase the number of Facebook “likes but is also increased our food and beverage sales for the month. Before the campaign ran, we had about 30 “likes” on our Facebook page and now we have close to 200.

It is without any doubt of confidence that Natalie fully deserves the award of Best Account Executive.

Richard Souza Owner/Operator Virtual Fold Spokane, Inc.

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION FOR BEST ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE PERSONAL SELLING PHILOSOPHY I recently saw Wolf of Wall Street. It tells the true story of Jordan Belfort, an investment broker who works his way to the top by lying to his clients and making false promises that he knows he can’t deliver. He becomes filthy rich while his clients lose the last of their savings.

Many people found the movie entertaining, but I left the theatre feeling physically sick to my stomach. Working in the business of sales and having the same responsibility that Jordan had to do right by his clients, it hit really close to home. While most sales people carry a higher moral compass than Jordan, the story of his selfish greed reminded me just how much society has conditioned us to see wealth and riches as something to truly aspire to, above all else. For some salespeople, their sales numbers are what drive every decision they make. This isn’t the case for me.

My selling philosophy is simple. I strive to establish great relationships with people.

Whether it’s with clients, friends, family or a clerk at a store I always strive to leave that person with my very best. And what I mean by that is, I listen, I support, I serve, I care and sometimes I simply give a smile back. By focusing on relationships, my sales have naturally and consistently been at the top of our sales organization. When I pick up the phone to call on a potential client, my sole focus is to make a connection with that person so that our relationship can grow into one that can foster understanding, trust and collaboration. By focusing on the relationship aspect, my clients feel assured that I am on their team, doing what’s in their best interest, and I can feel sure that I know their needs and their limitations, and that I am meeting them.

My personal investment in my clients’ success can be easily seen. I genuinely celebrate victories with my clients, and when a goal isn’t reached, I’m the first to problem solve and come up with a solution with only my client in mind, regardless of the effect on my sales numbers.

Many of my clients are small family owned businesses who have limited money to spend on advertising. Although their budgets are tight, they choose to put their trust in me and advertise with the Gonzaga Bulletin. When clients choose to run, they are giving me their hard-earned money and their trust in return for my expertise and my promise to do the best I can to get results. Often times in sales, you’ll hear people plot on ways to upsell their clients and increase their commissions and this works in the short run. With the focus of relationship I am looking for long term associations with people.

In selling advertising my major concern is to choose a campaign that is most effective and efficient, regardless of the commissions in my pocket. For a small furniture company wanting to advertise to students, I could have easily sold them a half page ROP ad for $600.

However knowing that our Facebook posts can target juniors and seniors looking to furnish homes off campus instantaneously, I suggested a $60 sponsored post on Facebook. I prioritized my relationship with the client over the size of the contract and worked in their best interest. The small furniture store owner was pleased with the results and now plans to run in some of our other publications later in the year.

Being selfless and putting others before you might not cash out immediately, but the relationship that you build fosters trust and repeat business in the future. The world is a small place and when I leave my job here at Gonzaga I know that the relationships and goodwill I have nurtured in my clients will come back to me in more ways than just money. People and relationships bring meaning and richness to my life and it is what I value more anything.

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION FOR BEST ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE GONZAGA UNIVERSITY ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE JOB DESCRIPTION Account Executives are charged with the task of developing and maintaining positive, mutually beneficial advertising relationships with local and national clients while adhering to the Gonzaga University Mission and Ethos Statement. Account Executives work to provide innovative marketing solutions to each client’s unique challenges.

Duties and Responsibilities • Attend all required meetings and trainings • Complete minimal reading or other assigned tasks • Fully engage in sales simulations, trainings and one-on-one evaluations.

• Maintain accurate client list • Schedule and complete sales meetings with clients • Design comprehensive advertising campaigns for clients • Provide excellent customer service and communication with clients • Work with accounts receivable to ensure timely payment • Work with graphic designer to create and place advertisements • Maintain updated client records and information • Participate in team meetings and strategy sessions • Provide feedback to advertising manager and or advisor • Meet weekly deadlines and achieve established goals SALES

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School Year 2013-14 Goal* Current Sales 21,510.00 $ 23,559.70 Product Sales thus far Newspaper $ 13,221.00 Online $ 201.70 Dining Guide $ 5,457.00 Parent Guide $ 1,080.00 Campus Directory $ 1,400.00 Student Planner $ 2,200.00 *Recently increased to $30,000 since the annual goal has been reached

School Year 2012-13 Goal Total Sales $ 18,000.00 $ 15,348.70 Product Sales total Newspaper $ 12,393.70 Online $ Dining Guide $ 2,955.00 Parent Guide $ Campus Directory $ Student Planner $ -

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY SUBMISSION FOR BEST ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE