Shortly after joining Automotive News back in the mid '70s (yes, way back then), the sales staff was armed with a slide presentation (Powerpoint was never a consideration) that centered on the book's commitment to “serve the reader” first. Each sales office (L.A., Detroit, New York and Chicago) was given a portable Kodak Carousel Slide Projector that weighed in at about 25 pounds, and each of us would lug this monster out of the building to show it to as many agency and client contacts as possible. At the time, it was a very innovative sales tool and we were more than anxious to get this presentation in front of an audience of one or 21.
The projectors were state of art and featured a sound track that was enabled at the appropriate time. Slides were “cued” and one of them featured a portrait photo of Keith Crain sitting at his desk, and the voice over was Keith speaking of Automotive News’ editorial commitment and making it very clear that Automotive News was the leader in its field and a resource that readers followed. In fact, Keith led off with the statement: “Leaders Lead….They Never Follow!”
One trait that made sales reps successful at Automotive News was the unbridled opportunity to voice ideas to management that would keep us ahead of any market curve. Ideas came from making the calls and listening to what the client was telling us. Customer input led to discussions with editorial staff and helped develop the editorial calendar for the coming year. These suggestions were verified by the Ad Director and/or Publisher who was always available to come along on a client call and confirm the need for us to remain in a leadership position.
Today, there is little doubt that Crain titles are leaders in their respective markets. This leadership results from a continued commitment to the reader and a commitment to serve the needs of the market. As Publishers, Ad Directors and Sales Reps, it goes without saying that being a leader is mandatory in order to succeed, especially in this current economic environment.
The point here is simple: “Lead…don’t follow!” Get your Ad Director and/or Publisher to go on calls with you. Not every call, but certainly those meetings that might lead to an opportunity to better serve the reader who just happens to be a client target. Don’t cross the line. Separation of sales and editorial must be maintained; however, that should not mean that you cannot engage in conversations that reinforce your title's commitment to leadership.
If any Publisher or Ad Director reading this column is not actively engaged in making calls with the sales staff, you need to be reminded that now would be a good time to commit a portion of your weekly duties to find out first hand what’s on the mind of your readers and customers.
Lead…..Don’t Follow!
Keep Making Those Calls,
Tony
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