For years, Internet research analysts have scared Newspaper and Broadcast companies into thinking they had to create a separate staff for digital. While it sounds good on paper and some of that strategy works in unique situations like Deseret Media, it’s now being seen as a deeply flawed plan for most local media operators.
Publishers are steamed. They lost valuable time in trying to ramp up endeavors that were not only expensive, but they created internal warfare that local advertisers found appalling; ex: stay away from my client with your Internet stuff !
Thought leaders warned that traditional sellers were incapable of learning new sales skills. We think that’s a large pile of elitist bunk designed to keep publishers & GM’s in the dark and hooked on outside help.
Almost any Newspaper or Broadcast sales rep can become an excellent digital seller. You accomplish that by addressing the core issues: compensation, management culture, job descriptions, product line, in-house market intel and training.
We’ve seen it first hand. Applying old school sales & business principles to digital is much more effective than pouring scarce budgets into tech, manpower, separate divisions, outsourced sales trainers, research firms and expensive conferences.
Read how Morris Communications is reconfiguring its divisions, executive team, and sales operations…..Morris Digital Works (MDW) is being folded back into the main corporate structure at Morris Publishing. They spelled out two specific goals for the company:
1. Turn Morris Publishing Group from contraction to growth by 2013.
2. Change MPG from a newspaper company into a Digital-First media company that publishes newspapers.
