Welcome! Introduction Best Accounts to Choose Common Mistakes Gathering Info Securing Artwork Determining Ad Size Attention Grabber Benefit Headline Copy Other Elements Producing the Ad The fastest way to increase sales! Participate in this award-winning, newspaper-specific ad sales course on-site or in a Webinar.  • Get past upfront stalls and objections without any pushing  • Make the account believe he really needs you  • Get better information from your prosepct  • Develop quick ad strategies that work the very first time  • Eliminate size, frequency, content, cost and most other objections before they ever arise  • Get dramatic responses for all kinds of advertisers  • Never have to push an advertiser to run again click here

Back in 1984 when I began selling advertising, I was taught that a spec ad was primarily used as an icebreaker, something to present to a prospect at the beginning of the very first meeting (the cold call) to demonstrate how eager I was to help.

The theory was that they'd be so impressed by the initiative I showed that much of their resistance would disappear. It was even better, I was told, to present a spec ad with an error in it. The prospect wouldn't be able to resist making the change and once involved in correcting the ad, they would get caught up in the process and feel ownership. Before they knew it, they'd be running the ad.

I was never a big fan of sales tricks like these, mainly because they don't work all that well and don't focus on what really motivates a business to run an ad–making a profit.

If a business' primary motivation is to make a profit, and you're there to show them how you're uniquely qualified to make them a profit (through your own ad effectiveness expertise and the advertising vehicle you represent), then why would anyone create and present an ad to a prospect before getting to know what that business is all about? It doesn't make sense, but it happens all the time by even the most experienced ad reps and managers.

Virtually every sales theory out there subscribes to this idea of consultative selling–that by far the most successful sales approach involves basing your recommendation on the information the prospect gave you in an earlier meeting and not just relying on assumptions.

So never create a spec ad simply based on the information in an old ad. If nothing else, you may find it hard to explain why the ad is effective.

Instead, go out and introduce yourself and get some information from the business first, then return to the office, consolidate the information into the key issues, and give your artists a rough sketch to work with.

Later you can return to the potential advertiser on a second call and present the spec ad, explaining why the new, well-thought-out ad strategy is perfectly suited to their business and the specific challenges they shared with you earlier.

Next: Gathering information