The point of the post is that the real advantage of the local media sales force, and Yellow Pages in particular, could be slipping away if changes are not made. Setting the expectation of salespeople as media consultants without proper training is just setting people up for failure. We believe so strongly in this that we recently developed a solution-based multiproduct sales training program to address how online products can be effectively integrated with traditional media products (http://www.kelseygroup.com/salestraining.asp).

The years of product and feature and benefit training has taken a toll on reps and managers who have been left to figure out how it fits into the sales process and how to effectively educate and communicate value and benefits to SMBs. This is a serious issue and one we hope is being addressed by every local media sales force.

As a person who now trains sales reps both in the US and Europe on the SEM sales approach (and been in the yellow pages industry as a sales rep, sales manager, and sales trainer for 25 years), I believe it is the right time to discuss some constructive ways for both yellow pages companies and their sales reps to help improve the sales approach, and very glad that TKG wrote this post.

The Kelsey Group mentioned one of the key drivers of weakness being the shorter length of time of the contracts which would require more contact with the sales reps. This is a change, but if handled correctly, could be a positive change. One of the ways this could be helpful is if the yellow pages sales rep’s approach truly does move from a transactional approach to a more solutions-based approach as TKG suggests is slowly happening. This means that the sales rep is able to truly understand each individual business owner’s needs and objectives by asking the right questions-then as TKG suggests, show the business owner how the right mix of their solutions (print, IYP, and SEM) “will fit together to help my business”.

This also means that the sales rep sets the right expectations and again, as TKG suggests, is truly “platform neutral” when it comes to making the right recommendation…and the right sale. This means knowing how to suggest the right mix of product solutions that will help the business owner achieve their objectives based on the needs of the business owner…not always the pre-packaged solution that was developed before speaking to the business owner.

Anyone who has ever sold advertising to small business owners knows this what they want. A trusted sales consultant who is both knowledgeable about their own products, but also someone who has done their homework and knows how to ask specific and significant questions about the business owner’s business with the goal of “making the right sale” for that business…not just any sale. For more information on what is meant on making the right sale, feel free to read more and comment on this subject at http://blog.matchcraft.com/.

Again, I would like to thank and praise TKG for bringing up some great points here. If the yellow pages companies do the right things in the upcoming months…they could be best choice for small business owners for years to come!