Who would become my husband explain to the national sales

[Joywtome231]

My manager at the time bought a set of Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale on cassette tapes. I went into his office and borrowed each one. And as I drove around Portland, OR on sales calls I listened to them and became a more polished and successful salesperson. I didn’t understand why any of the other ten or so salespeople on the team never listened to the tapes, but I did start to feel a little differently about how I was approaching the profession compared to my peers. I was there to win, and I knew that learning was the key to winning.

At my next job, as Chapel Hill sales manager of The Independent Weekly (now IndyWeek), when the national sales manager resigned, I asked to take over his duties. I was given the green light and then started to try to sell brand advertising into The Independent. I quickly learned from national advertisers and agencies that the Raleigh Durham market was too small to rate national ad placements. I tried a few things, like grouping all the similar weekly papers into the state as one buy and trying to market all the similar weekly papers in different college markets as a “college buy” but met with little success. I knew getting advertising agencies interested in my paper was part of the issue, but I had no idea how to call on an ad agency.

I went to an Association of Alternative Weeklies convention. Both Willamette Week and The bahrain phone number library Independent Weekly were members. As we were sitting around the pool I started listening to the man manager of the Village Voice how he had sold a national ad campaign to Absolut Vodka. I edged my pool chair closer and closer and picked up a few tips. I also learned that at the time, only three member papers of the Association of Alternative Weeklies were selling much national advertising, The Village Voice, The Advocate, and NewCity in Chicago.

By that time, I was dating the man who had expertly sold an advertising campaign to Absolut Vodka. His boss used to work at The Independent Weekly, where I was working at the time. In a strange twist of fate, he told my husband to recruit me to The Advocate. We told him we were dating and he had us both report into him and the next thing I knew, I was living in Norwalk, CT and going into NYC on a regular basis to pitch The Advocate and The Alternative Weekly Network to agencies and clients.

Sometimes, the only way to really learn how to do something is to do it. It may seem intimidating or confusing, but for every client that is unpleasant because you are learning, if you listen, many more are happy to talk to you about their processes, how they like to buy, etc. Learning by doing is incredibly valuable. Learning by doing while your manager can act as a safety net if you make an error is even better.