MIKE BLINDER IS SPEAKING IN YOUR AREA.

Click for programs, schedule and sample videos.

Answers to all your questions about what we do.

Power One Affiliate Beaver (PA) County Times Generates Tens of Thousands of New Online Revenue, Sold by the newspaper Ad Reps!

The Challenge
With a daily circulation of over 42,000, Calkins Media owned Beaver County (PA) Times is one of the most respected newspapers in their region. Utilizing the resources of the United States largest provider of newspaper Web platforms Power One Media, TimesOnline.com reaches over 365,000 unique online readers, viewing over 1.7 million pages of information each month. The challenge for this suburban Pittsburgh media company was to explore new ways to leverage both their print and growing Web audience to generate new revenue from local advertisers. More specifically, a strategic plan needed to be developed, that would allow the newspaper's local sales department an easy to sell method, that would utilize the online audience as a means to increase their share of business in the marketplace. TimesOnline.com Interactive Media Director, Pat Bingle contacted with The Blinder Group to consult on the project. The Blinder Group met with senior management from both the print and online divisions to help craft a program that would meet the challenge. A new sales program was developed called "Maximum Impact Advertising" that offered newspaper advertisers the ability to extend their newspaper message to more "eyeballs more often," with the assistance of the high traffic audience of TimesOnline.com.

Program Overview
TimesOnline.com allocated four hundred thousand online ad impressions each month located in their "in-story" ad position for exclusive sale by the Times traditional advertising sales department. Ad positions appeared "run-of-site," on all available pages of the Web site.

The actual online ads being offered for sale were to be designed and developed by the newspaper's traditional production department. All ads were developed as a means to augment an advertiser's newspaper campaign, using "copy" from their current ad. Only newspaper advertisers were able to participate in this program. The ads once placed on the Web page were programmed to offer a link to the advertiser's Web site, or for a nominal charge to the advertiser's current newspaper ad. The TimesOnline.com Web department would also develop an online marketing page for the advertiser, if so requested.

The "package" offered each advertiser a minimum number of 20,000 monthly ad impressions for a fee of $249/ month. Only advertisers with a weekly traditional newspaper ad could participate in the program. The content of the online ad would be changed each time the advertiser placed a new newspaper ad in the Times. The program was offered for a full year's commitment.

Specific lists of advertisers to be called on, were developed by the newspaper's sales managers targeting:

Current larger newspaper advertisers with high levels of spending on competing media who should be targeted for" up-sell" into this program, as a means to acquire more "market share."

Non-weekly newspaper advertisers who advertise on competing media who would benefit from a new ongoing, weekly bundled print/online program.

While on site at the Times, The Blinder Group conducted a proven, highly effective initial training session with the traditional newspaper ad reps entitled "Multimedia Sales 101." The focus of this training session is to assist in shifting the paradigm of conventional sales people to break down their fears of the internet and help them increase their understanding of the role interactive media can play as a viable marketing solution for their advertisers. This training is also designed to educate traditional sales people on how to easily and effectively sell multimedia products and services. These training sessions have proven to be an effective way to educate sales and sales support people in the value of online products in the local advertiser's media mix. "Multimedia Sales 101" takes no more than one and one half-hours. The meeting was conducted prior to The Blinder Group's return visit, in which 4-legged sales training/closing calls were be performed to re enforce the training. Sales people were urged and encouraged during the training, to set up a large amount of appointments, with qualified "decision-makers" of area businesses, so the new sales program developed during the planning session, could be "taken to market" effectively. A customized appointment setting script, along with re-enforcing support information was given to the sales people in the form of the "Blinder Group Success Kit" to help them set up the pending calls.

The Blinder Group also crafted an easy to use "PowerPoint" sales support presentation for the traditional ad reps to use in explaining the program to advertisers. Too often, media companies do not understand the need for high impact, easy to present, sales support materials as a means for showing interactive marketing elements to potential advertisers. The Blinder Group believes that traditional ad reps can offer online products and services WITHOUT the need for computers, as long as they are "armed" with effective sales collaterals.

One of the key elements in ensuring sales success of this initiative was garnering advertiser approval of meeting attendance as well as the validity of the concept in general. Too often sales reps set up appointments with "non-decision makers," without meeting with the person who can offer a final decision. Also, some advertisers are wary of trying new ideas. One of the most effective means of accomplishing attendance and acceptance is to introduce the advertiser to an industry respected "outside" consultant who has had success with similar programs, with similar businesses, in similar markets, all across North America. That is why many media companies contract with the Blinder Group to perform "4-legged" sales training/closing calls with traditional ad reps, to assist in the launch of programs like the one defined in this document. It also proven that as a direct result of these "4-legged" sales calls, where the sales rep witnesses the most effective way to present the product from an experienced trainer, the traditional ad rep adopts a more stronger belief in the concept.

Results

The Blinder Group returned to the market with for four full days of assisted sales training/ closing calls, on targeted advertisers, with the Times sales reps. After each day of the training calls, the Blinder Group consultant issued newspaper senior managers a daily update on the progress of the program. This detailed daily report offers information about every meeting, the result of the call, along with useful information about each advertiser.

The result of the entire training program was over $40,000 of new online business generated in the 4-days, with an additional $20,000 likely to close in the weeks to come. In many cases these new dollars came as a direct result of the advertiser reallocating their spending levels from competing media. In some cases, advertisers increased their print advertising commitments in order to take advantage of the program. "Our goal is to integrate online sales into the daily operation of the newspaper. With the help of the Blinder Group, we were able to motivate a print sales staff and get them excited about selling online products, stated Patrick Bingle, Interactive Media Director of the Beaver County (PA) Times. "The results were most impressive with tens of thousands of dollars in new online revenue for the company!"

"We were most pleased with our latest online sales effort, said Bob Woelfel Times Ad Director. "The Blinder Group took the time to meet with us 1st and assist in crafting a program we could take to market that would help us gain new dollars for the newspaper. After team training, the Blinder Group returned to work with the reps and show them how to sell it. The results were great!"

Contact Information

For more information about the sales strategy and program deployment of this product, contact:

Bob Woelfel, Ad Director,
Beaver County (PA) Times
724-775-3200 Ext. 141
bwoelfel@timesonline.com

Patrick Bingle, Interactive Media Director,
Beaver County (PA) Times
724-775-3200 Ext. 236
pbingle@timesnet.net

Lead consultant for The Blinder Group:

Mike Blinder
(917) 865-4827
mike@blindergroup.com

The Blinder Group
Tampa Offices: 6139 Fjord Way
New Port Richey, FL 34652 USA
(727) 847-2464 ~ (727) 847-5959 (fax)
profit@blindergroup.com

SPEAKING PROGRAMS, seminars and workshops

CONSULTING/TRAINING: Strategic Planning ~ Basic Sales Training
Multimedia Sales Training ~ Assisted 4-Legged Closing Calls

inquire now ~ case studies ~ clients ~ who we are ~ home