If you go to McDonalds and order a slice of pizza, to send a runner out the backdoor to the pizzeria next door, and then run back…. Well it just isn't the best way to do business.

Sales folks hate it because commissions are low (compared to good old print) and it pulls more time away from what they do best (sell). Managers hate it because their not sure how to sell it themselves, or motivate people to sell it (e.g. how do the results factor into a Presidential Achievement award ranking?). And production obviously doesn't need anymore headaches because even if they did manage to make a sale, the processing and paperwork for that sale has to follow a completely different path and is usually not trackable through their production systems.

Sounds like someone at AT&T corporate needs to ride with a sales rep for a day or two…

There are very few examples where a print YP sales force has consistently and profitably sold other types of media. The possible exception is the current bundle of search marketing that many publishers are touting.

What most people fail to realize is that YP sales is hard work. Really hard. The thousands of premise reps earn every dollar because small businesses don’t easily fork over cash for advertising without a fight.

Throw on top of this several half-baked, confusing, and complicated rich media products, and it’s a matter of time before the sales force revolts.

The article didn’t mention that the various products have different production cycles, billing cycles, renewal cycles, etc.

If I were an AT&T print YP rep, I would be appalled at the implication that I have time on my hands to mess around with new media when the core products are facing stiff competition.