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To any former ValPak, Money Mailer, Clipper sales people

by gabluesky
17 replies
If there are any former direct mail advertising sales people out there, I would like to ask how did you gain new advertisers? Did you make cold phone calls or physically go out and call on businesses at their locations? Any insight into the business would be helpful to me, thanks so much in advance.
#clipper #mailer #money #people #sales #valpak
  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by gabluesky View Post

    If there are any former direct mail advertising sales people out there, I would like to ask how did you gain new advertisers? Did you make cold phone calls or physically go out and call on businesses at their locations? Any insight into the business would be helpful to me, thanks so much in advance.
    I sold print advertising for a short time. It's virtually the same as selling any advertising or marketing to business owners.

    My book, Selling Local Advertising covers every way I used to get to see business owners. It also explains how to grab their attention, and get them to ask you for your service. I've bought hundreds of thousands of dollars in local print advertising from reps. And I know what makes them want to buy.

    But yes, you should visit them in person. And don't bother calling ahead. They are running a business. If they are there, they are busy. You just need to give them something they value more than their time.

    And the ideal prospect is someone who is used to buying advertising from direct mail advertising reps. So save the Val-Pak, ADVO, Penny Saver, Town Money Saver, Gold Clipper magazines. The people that advertising in there? They are your easiest sales. That's your first list. And don't call them...just go see them.
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    • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post


      And the ideal prospect is someone who is used to buying advertising from direct mail advertising reps. So save the Val-Pak, ADVO, Penny Saver, Town Money Saver, Gold Clipper magazines. The people that advertising in there? They are your easiest sales. That's your first list. And don't call them...just go see them.
      THIS.

      I used to sell Val-Pak waaaay back in the day. Got damn good at it too. Save advertisements and go visit those people.

      Also, talk to the reps who handle other local territories - find out who their repeat clients are, and how much business they are getting. Then, take that Ad from your company over to your territory, and visit every business in that category - tell the story about their competitor in a different area. Tell them this company might buy their territory.

      And - check this out: Co-op Advertising Programs Sourcebook Home

      This is advertising co-op dollars available from corporate headquarters. This is a good place to start. A lot of your local dealers will be able to advertise almost free.

      Combine the above two tactics, and you have a winning approach.

      Lastly - if you only visit 3-5 stores per day - forget about it. You need to hit 30+ doors daily.

      Honestly - you can hit 30-40 businesses before noon - and relax the rest of the day. There is no reason you can't visit 40 per day. Some might say they don't believe it, but I have done it many times just to prove a point. Get out there.
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by DaniMc View Post

        And - check this out: Co-op Advertising Programs Sourcebook Home

        This is advertising co-op dollars available from corporate headquarters. This is a good place to start. A lot of your local dealers will be able to advertise almost free.
        Huge. I had no idea this existed. Thanks so much.
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        • Profile picture of the author bob ross
          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          Huge. I had no idea this existed. Thanks so much.
          You're about to go down the rabbit hole now Claude, Co-op money is insane. It's free money, literally free money just waiting for people to use.

          I've done numerous webinars on it but I have none of them recorded, I wish I did or I'd send you one.

          Basically the concept is that big national brands don't advertise locally so instead they reward their retailers with advertising money that's built into the cost of the product and accrues based on their volume.

          Pennzoil for example, does a ton of advertising nationally for their brand but obviously doesn't run ads locally that says stop by "Big Jim's Garage" for an oil change.

          However, big jim's might sell $100k worth of pennzoil every year, qualifying him for $5,000 in print advertising for free that he doesn't even know about where he can send out postcards or put up a billboard or run newspaper ads that show he offers pennzoil.

          Believe it or not, FIFTY BILLION dollars of co-op funds go unclaimed per year. Yes that's 50 billion per year of free money never used.

          The small biz owner just doesn't generally know it's available or how to claim it. Us print guys eat this stuff up. This is why a lot of newspapers are actually still in business, because the big boys are spending a ton with their co op money on it.

          See the huge billboards that just show a name brand product and the local business? Almost guaranteed it's co-op money paying for that. A lot from car manufacturers, furnace manufacturers, ATV manufacturers, etc.. but lots of smaller stuff too like jewelry, electronics, sporting goods, apparel, etc.

          Not infrequently my reps will land a new client, we'll dig for co-op, and find thousands of free dollars to spend with just some paperwork and some calls to the products co-op rep. It's literally free money, it's crazy.
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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

            You're about to go down the rabbit hole now Claude, Co-op money is insane. It's free money, literally free money just waiting for people to use.

            I've done numerous webinars on it but I have none of them recorded, I wish I did or I'd send you one.
            .
            Bob;

            Several of my suppliers offer it. And one of the first questions I ask, when being asked to speak at a company function is..."Do you offer your dealers Co-Op funds?"

            My next question is (if they say Yes), "Would my local online service count for advertising in this program?"

            If they say "Yes", the sales are much easier. And allowing me to use Co-Op funds (meaning the company pays for at least half of the cost) is an implied endorsement from the company.

            And then I have to ask if the content has to be approved by the company, and it usually does. That's never a problem, as most of the content just comes from company literature.

            Of course, if we can't use Co-Op funds, I just never mention it to the audience....and if they ask, I say "This program will not interfere with your other advertising, and will not use up any of your Co-Op funds. It's completely separate, and in your control" See how I made that sound like a Plus?


            I was just amazed that there was a directory that listed all the companies that offer their dealers advertising assistance.
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            • Profile picture of the author bob ross
              Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

              Bob;

              Several of my suppliers offer it. And one of the first questions I ask, when being asked to speak at a company function is..."Do you offer your dealers Co-Op funds?"

              My next question is (if they say Yes), "Would my local online service count for advertising in this program?"

              If they say "Yes", the sales are much easier. And allowing me to use Co-Op funds (meaning the company pays for at least half of the cost) is an implied endorsement from the company.

              And then I have to ask if the content has to be approved by the company, and it usually does. That's never a problem, as most of the content just comes from company literature.

              Of course, if we can't use Co-Op funds, I just never mention it to the audience....and if they ask, I say "This program will not interfere with your other advertising, and will not use up any of your Co-Op funds. It's completely separate, and in your control" See how I made that sound like a Plus?


              I was just amazed that there was a directory that listed all the companies that offer their dealers advertising assistance.
              gotcha. recas is the solution, you can search and filter for everythying, including 100% co-op programs, etc.
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              • Profile picture of the author dq70
                Bob's right! co-op programs are insane and make my head spin!!! There are so many and such a structured way to use them, they are trying to fix that tho now........ I have the trade magazine for the free newspaper assn, and recas.......
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                • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
                  Originally Posted by dq70 View Post

                  Bob's right! co-op programs are insane and make my head spin!!! There are so many and such a structured way to use them, they are trying to fix that tho now........ I have the trade magazine for the free newspaper assn, and recas.......
                  There used to be a DOWNSIDE to co op ads.

                  Control of the ad, it used to be all ads needed approval from home office. Too many were reimbursement programs, the merchant still had to pay up front or have a long waiting period.

                  The process used to be to contact the company, and this was done by media reps or media owners, get the details, submit the ad for approval, schedule the ad run period, then a check would be cut, often at the mercy of accounting dept.

                  Not sure what it looks like today online, but both Firestone and Goodyear had huge co op campaigns, and some were 100%.

                  So, just make sure you get the fine print in front of your advertiser, and with ad restrictions, they may not be ale to use much of this internet hype copywriting.

                  Certainly worth looking into.

                  gjabiz

                  PS. Many insurance and realty companies have co op ads. Some just give the rep an account to use, and they must use it or lose it, doesn't roll over, but even then, they still need approved.
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  • Profile picture of the author wentzco
    Many years back I owned an advertising magazine & hired sales reps contacting advertisers face-to-face. I created lists for each sales rep to contact & because I was competing against Val-pak, another direct mailer, local magazines as well as the local newspapers - I handed my rep their ads from those resources as well as example format of my magazine to talk with potential clients.

    I dealt directly with the local advertising agencies who handled multiple merchants advertising (you may get 5-6 sales from a single ad agency). Another thing I did was trade-outs for full-page ads with a local radio station to tell consumers to look in their mailboxes for the current mail-out.
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    • Profile picture of the author gabluesky
      Thank you Larry, would love to hear more about how you found good reps and what pay structure you used. I have tried to hire sales people in the past for another project and it was a disaster and waste of time.
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      • Profile picture of the author wentzco
        Originally Posted by gabluesky View Post

        Thank you Larry, would love to hear more about how you found good reps and what pay structure you used. I have tried to hire sales people in the past for another project and it was a disaster and waste of time.
        I just placed job classified ads in the local newspaper - ad reps need for direct mail company. I did a # of interviews & hired 6 people. 3 left within the 1st month but turnover is normal in almost every sales job. 3 people really is what I needed anyway. I believe I payed 15% commission (It was so long ago - 25+ years).

        By the way - it was a quarterly magazine that was mailed out as well as dropped off at locations (50,000 circulation). I also made additional money in the magazine with my own ad by selling magazine subscriptions.
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    • Profile picture of the author dq70
      How would you approach the ad agency and what is the request your asking for. Who do you represent and I have a 10K direct mail circulation. What am I asking for to get clients for my Direct mail piece?
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  • Profile picture of the author gabluesky
    Thank you Claude and DaniMc, I really appreciate the valuable insight from both of you. Claude, I have that book on Kindle now and will give it a read. DaniMc, this was exactly the kind of clarification that I was looking for on door to door calling. I guess I will just have to go back again and again if they aren't there or too busy to talk.

    I have already been collecting ValPak, Money Mailer, plus others for some time now. Like you said, now I have to get out there.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
      Great thread, guys. Some real-world experience being posted here

      gabluesky,

      What kind of ad project are you working on? Can you give us some of the details?
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      • Profile picture of the author gabluesky
        Sure, going to be selling ad space for my new community newspaper that is going to be direct mailed rather than left in racks so that is directly competing with the mentioned competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author gabluesky
    My question is has anyone ordered this book recently? When you go to the order form, it says the pub. date is Fall 2007.
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