Selling an urgent care facility

Too often doctors can't see how to create a direct response ad that works right away without looking unprofessional, so they resort to ads like this. Good thing the Daily Inter Lake was there to help.

This one's about an urgent care facility--you know, those places you can go for treatment of the flu or minor fractures if you don't want to wait for hours in a hospital emergency room--and how it went from feeling print had failed them in this recession to becoming a born-again convert to our client's newspaper, the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, MT. No doubt you have a similar prospect in your market.

With Walmart about to open a similar service (do they have their hands in everything or what?) across the street and an area hospital running their own urgent care facilities throughout the area, they clearly needed help with their ad strategy and Joel Brann at the Daily Inter Lake expertly used our Response Oriented Selling techniques to help turn them around (and into a major advertiser).

As mentioned in my previous post, the Daily Inter Lake's 17 ad reps (plus associated designers, managers, and business community members) recently completed our course and sold every presentation (we got them started by helping them create and practice a presentation before setting them loose).

As you can see, their first try was a pretty typical medical ad. Many businesses like this, where the people are the product, believe they're stuck in an all or nothing scenario--either run like a retailer with a 50% off sale or simply put little more than their name, picture, and logo in the ad.

The trick here, especially in this economy, is not only having a solid method to coming up with a reliable ad strategy, but being able to change the way the prospect views print and Web ads, including why a major jump in size and frequency was needed to succeed.

The new ad got the right target customers seeing, reading, and responding. Exactly what they needed to compete with Walmart and the area hospital.

First, the strategy. As always, the key to a more effective ad wasn't discussing what they're good at, but recognizing and addressing why people in need of an urgent care facility actually do choose one place over another.

In this case, the reasons are pretty obvious, but of course, it would be best for the ad (and the outcome of the sale) if it came from the account.

Here's the list in order of importance:

1. Good doctors
2. Good facility
3. Fast

4. Affordable

5. Convenient

So once we determined that, the ad came together very quickly. The picture grabbed the attention of those in need of these services, the benefit was simply what the prospects cared about, and the balance of the ad gave enough evidence that even the most skeptical prospect (who was all set to go to their competitors') would believe it and respond each week.

Now on to the bigger issue of getting the prospective advertiser running a dramatically larger ad--a 6.7" x 14" ad--after the failure of (what they considered) a perfectly good strategy, and how to get them running at a higher frequency, too, in this case twice per week.

Anyone reading this who has taken our Response Oriented Selling course knows exactly how to prove this strategy will work the very first time and consistently afterward, as well as how to convince the advertiser to run it week after week, so go get 'em (and let us know if we can help)!

For the rest of you, the trick is to change the underlying incorrect theories that lead an advertiser to run like this, and do it long before the prospect is staring at the huge spec ad at the end of the presentation, when their resistance is typically at a maximum.

In fact, teaching this "Response Model" at the beginning of the first sales call lowers resistance and immediately and firmly establishes the ad rep in the "partner mode", ensuring smooth sailing from the outset. Since it uses the Socratic method of teaching, buy-in is always there.

Once this is accomplished, any objections that arise when the ad is presented, be it about size, frequency, or content, are then just traced back to the part of the Response Model the advertiser agreed with during the first meeting. No pushing, no pressure. In effect, you do the only thing the advertiser is hoping for in the first place, which is to prove to them they'll get a response.

If you or your own staff isn't using this approach, chances are you're leaving a ton of money on the table and, even more importantly, are hurting your advertisers and your newspaper (and not doing your career any favors, either).

Why not give us a call at (631) 647-0445 and we can tell you more about this approach and perhaps even show you a few of them in a Web meeting? You've got nothing to lose and hundreds of thousands of dollars to gain.

"Every ad contract we present is selling!"

Last year, our Response Oriented Selling newspaper clients drove some serious ad revenue in the recession. One newspaper has been consistently up 18-20 pages per day and $100,000 per month since early fall and shows no signs of slowing down, which is the idea.

This year looks like it will be more of the same for these as well as the newspapers we've been working with in January and February in South Carolina, Minnesota, Montana, and Delaware.

For example, last week we wrapped up our one-on-one follow-up sessions at the 20,000 circ. Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana. After our on-site, we helped 18 ad reps create ad strategies for challenging prospective advertisers and then practice the presentations incorporating our new Response Oriented Selling techniques. Each ad rep left with large ads to present--mainly full or 3/4-page ads--with a recommendation to run once or twice a week.

Every single one has sold. Here's an email I received from ad director Cindy Sease that says it all:

Bob,

I see that Karen has been keeping you up to speed on our success with your program. I want to add my thanks and kudos as well. We have sold every single one of the specs. I’ve been on all the calls, and I’m extremely proud of my people.

After their role plays with you, they continued to really study the infamous page 25 and by the time we were actually in front of the customers they were without exception personable, polished, informative AND following the script to the letter. It really, really works and I’m very excited.

We are on our second round of target accounts for next week, and I fully expect that we will continue along this great path. Thanks again for all you did for us and your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

-Cindy Sease
Advertising Director
Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell, Montana

Once the ad reps learn the new techniques (and I walk them through them one-on-one), it's just a matter of the managers repeating the process each week and closing one account after the other, which is what Cindy is doing now.

I'll be sharing many of these "before and after" case studies in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!

Now's the best time to advertise

The home stretch of this holiday shopping season is upon us, and now may be the best time for your current and prospective clients to do some serious advertising.

While spending may have been somewhat evenly spread out since the spike on Black Friday, there's major, concentrated spending about to start and it's up to you to help your advertisers get a piece of the action.

According to the Consumer Reports National Research Center (yes, the Consumer Reports people), in recent years nearly one-quarter of shoppers surveyed said they wouldn't complete their holiday shopping until December 23rd and later. And 5% said they planned to finish their shopping after Christmas. With money so tight for consumers this year, odds are there are even more holding off as long as they can before spending their limited dollars.

So, don't let your prospective advertisers tell you that most people are done shopping after this weekend. They're not. Explain that 24% of your readership will still be shopping after the 23rd.

If they say their past experience has taught them to not even bother advertising the last week before Christmas, take a look at the ads they ran last year that led them to that conclusion. Without running the right size, frequency, and content, even the biggest spending days can seem slow for an advertiser.

Ads that work well in these last few days usually contain lots of prices and items and a strong discount in the headline. If possible, include a wide range of prices as well. One jewelry store recently said they were focusing on items $20 and under, which he claims were selling like there was no tomorrow.

An ad everyone should be selling right now

Here's an ad that ran last year about this time for a local fitness equipment retailer. Click on it to see a larger version.

You should sell it now--it'll help you end your December on a high note and start your January off strong. Better yet, the ad is good for the advertiser, too.

With the average sale of fitness equipment being so high, even a bad response will generate plenty to make a profit and then some.

The strategy was created by an ad rep at one of our client newspapers, the Medicine Hat News in Alberta, Canada. It's custom made to get people about to buy fitness equipment seeing, reading, and responding to it.

Why sell this ad to run now and into January? According to Men's Health Magazine, 50% of all weight gained throughout the year is done between Thanksgiving and New Year's. And the further along we go in this prime weight-gain season, the higher fitness equipment begins to appear on people's Christmas lists.

Not that this category wasn't strong to begin with--23% of Black Friday shoppers surveyed had recreational or fitness equipment on their list.

Another good reason? Take a look what Sports Authority is promoting this week. They're one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the U.S., with 450 stores in 45 states, so they know what's hot.

If you're a Response Oriented Selling ad sales client or use our DesignYourAd Overnight Ad Production service, you can take this and customize it to your needs. Just ask.

A restaurant running 2 half-page ads per week for a year

This is one of the best restaurant ads I've ever seen. It has a great headline and graphic at the top to grab their target customers and get them reading. It also shows lots of selection and gets into detail about the quality of the food as well as price--three things their target customers feel strongly about. In addition, the images themselves reinforce the quality.

Using our ad sales and ad strategy techniques, the Coeur d'Alene (ID) Press made a sale to a Japanese restaurant--two broadsheet half pages per week for a year.

The ad itself was so successful they had to turn people away the very first time it ran. This kind of ad can easily be adapted to almost any restaurant in your market and should be part of every ad rep's tool kit.

Of course, while the strategy is excellent, convincing the advertiser to actually run it and keep the suggested size, frequency, and content--that's where our approach really shines, and what separates a good ad rep from a fantastic one (see post Is Your Local Ad Staff Killing Your Newspaper?).

After this restaurant experienced difficulty getting a response with an ad produced by a local ad agency (which was a little light on the benefit and substance), the ad rep got to work using our Response Oriented Selling techniques, by first eliminating any incorrect theories the advertiser might have relating to ad response, including size, frequency, and content and replacing them with a more effective approach.

This changed the dynamic of the sales call, enabling the ad rep to get some detailed information about the account's products and services, competition, and target customers.

He then applied our logical process for converting the information into a killer direct-response ad strategy which he then passed through to the designers to make look better, which they certainly did.

Returning to the restaurant and presenting the ad is typically the easiest part, since the prospective advertiser has already bought into the ad effectiveness techniques that the ad uses.

It was just a matter of showing how the strategy incorporated into the ad both these techniques and the new information gathered earlier about the restaurant, its competitors, and target customers

And since both the information and the approach to arrange the information was drawn out of the account, the ad rep was able to prove--before the ad ran--that the final recommendation of size, frequency, and content would provide a dramatic response.

It was a truly win-win situation.

Here's the email from the Coer d'Alene Press:

Bob,

Another success story. This restaurant's sales have been down for over a year. We made a McInnis presentation to them and they saw immediate results with the attached ad. After the first ad they had to turn people away the day the ad came out for lunch and had record days the two days following. They signed up for two half page ads per week for a year. I can't begin to thank you for your logical sales approach program.

Warmest regards,

Paul Burke

Director of Advertising
Hagadone Newspapers North Idaho-Coeur d'Alene Press

After a while, too many ad reps start believing current and prospective advertisers when they say larger ads are too big a risk and simply unaffordable, especially in this recession.

The reality is, if they actually run the right ad, including the right size and frequency, they'll get a tremendous response, and thank you for encouraging them to do it. You may even make a few bucks out of the deal.

An appliance ad every newspaper should be selling right now

For many consumers in this economy, the time to buy a new appliance is after the one they own dies, and around the holidays is no exception. If there are local appliance or electronics stores in your market that aren't running, are running too small, too ineffectively, or are about to drop out, here's an ad that you should consider selling them.

Our overnight ad production service created it as part of our Response Oriented Selling course (read more about it on our newspaperadproduction blog).

The advertiser, who had dropped out due to lack of response, initially signed a two-month contract. The ad worked so well, before the two months were up the advertiser called the newspaper and signed a contract to continue the ad for the entire year. Here's the "before" and "after" ad:

The designers found it very helpful to view Best Buy's ads when building the new one. Click on the ads to see larger versions.

Of course, the bigger issue is always how to get an advertiser who has had problems in the past to spring for such a big ad. This involves proving that the ad will generate a strong ROI and that the size and frequency are justified. You can read more about how we do this elsewhere in this blog. I'd suggest starting with this article, "The Key To Driving Serious Local Ad Sales In This Recession Is Eliminating Risk".

For those of you who use our ad production service, ask the designers to rework ad 281-Appliance.

Shop local Web pages done especially well

While many of you may be doing this already, here's a great video about how a merchant responded to a slower economy by creating an especially effective Web site to promote downtown shopping--an idea that translates very well to online newspapers, of course. More than just selling impressions throughout a Web site, these people are grouping local advertisers together on one page and enabling readers to sign up for an e-newsletter offering deals.

Sure, maybe your local merchants are doing this themselves already, but you can do it better. And if your designers can't handle Web ad or email blast production, our designers would be happy to help.

Here's the video as well as a number of screenshots of the site. You can see the site yourself at shoplocalmontclair.com.