Sales Strategy Training

Sales Team Structure Set Goals Sales Training Additional Revenue Tactics Keys to Success Agenda

Kelly Klein: Director of Sales – Today’s Deal The St. Louis Post-Dispatch “We’ve found one of the keys to this program is having a healthy pipeline.” St. Louis, MO Circulation: 383,000 Sunday/208,000 average weekday Launched: June 2010 Deals run per week: five-six featured and one side deal “Dedicated Rep helps keep our pipeline full”

Who’s going to sell? Revenue counts towards online goals Keep compensation simple Traditional rep Deals rep Goal and Bonus plan Sales Team Structure Designate a “Sales Expert” for Deals who can lead and train the rest of your reps

Revenue Establish sales goals Monthly Revenue Goal? Develop list goals and strategy Launch List Size? Set Goals What are your monthly goals for this program?

Set Goals Plan to have at least 3 weeks of deals ready at all times. Deal Inventory At least three weeks of deals secured before launch Does your deal inventory have variety?

Re-run Deals Plan to re-run your top 5-10 deals every 4-6 months. Constantly be looking to “build your bench” with an all-star set of deals. Set Goals

Deal Appeal Make a target list of advertisers located near your subscribers in these categories Always ask yourself “is this merchant deal worthy”? Use “Best Of” winners, Yelp and other deal sites to prospect Sales Training Restaurants Retail Activities Travel Health & Beauty FitnessServices Jewelry Avoid Location Specific & Planned Purchases

Anatomy of the “Perfect Deal” Sales Training Brand Recognition –Is with a well-known, established business. Broad Target –Is one that almost anyone would be interested in, regardless of demographic category. Deal Quality –Is a desired item or service. Pricing –Is priced at (at least) 50% off and higher than $5. Multiple Quantities –Allows for multiple quantities to be purchased. Expiration Date –Has a minimum six month expiration date. Other Factors –Has Seasonality and Adjacency to your market The perfect deal will make money for you AND the merchant!

The Pitch What we “sell” the advertiser Selling against Groupon & Living Social Why choose newspaper deals program? Common Objections Sales Training Guaranteed Revenue Measureable Results Great Word of Mouth New Repeat Customers Local Media Exposure NO Upfront Cost

4-Legged Calls Sales Training Have your “Expert” accompany your other reps as you begin your program

Prospect list (Pipeline) What are daily deals? Anatomy of the perfect deal Common merchant objections ROI calculator Merchant agreement (Sales contract) W-9 form Direct payment information (ACH or check) Merchant Redemption Guide Loyalty program strategy Sales Training Collateral

Approving Deals Sales Training Form a committee to vet whether or not a deal is appealing enough to run on your site Rejection of deals

Side Deals Additional Revenue Seasonal Stores Travel Deals Network Deals Instant Deals Mom Deals Out of area deals

Dedicated “Deals Only” sales rep Revenue counting towards rep online goals Sales Training –The “perfect” deal –The “pitch” –Merchant objections Deals committee Promotion in traditional products Re-running top performers Keys to Success

Aggressive sales force Launched with high profile merchants Merchant Loyalty Programs Focus on categories where our readers can justify spending –Restaurants –Beauty –Entertainment Side Deals/Stores Keys to Success

The Power of Your List 5,000 organic opt-ins 10,000 organic opt-ins 20,000 Organic opt-ins Deal 78% Home Page Ads 10% Other 5% Referrals 7% Daily Deals: It’s all about the list Understanding the revenue value of your subscribers Free WebinarFree Webinar. June 7 th 1 p.m. EST

ROI Calculator

We’re Here for You Director of Affiliate Success Trains your properties on best practices for selling deals Account Manager Guides you through every step of the process Support Team Always here to answer any questions Help Guide Step-by-step walk through of our admin tool Resource Center White-label materials for selling deals, and strategies for boosting revenue