Phone 714.278.3373 • Fax 714.278.2702College Park Building • 2600 E. Nutwood Ave. • Suite 660 • Fullerton, CA 92831-3110

Email: ads@dailytitan.com • Website: www.dailytitan.com

TrainingManual

2005-2006

Policies & Procedures

Steps to Placing a Display Ad

Administrative Procedures

Media Information

C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y F U L L E R T O N

Revised: 6/6/06

Policies and ProceduresI. New Hires

In order for you to be placed on our payroll system, you must complete the “new hire packet.” These may be obtained from the Daily Titan Business Manager or from the CSUF Foundation Office, Suite CP275

Re-HiresDocuments required as follows:

1. Completed Personnel Transaction Report (PTR)2. W-4 Form3. Affirmative Action Form

II. Compensation1. Payroll

Each Account Executive will earn $150 per payroll period providing you have worked (a) 12 hours per week, (b) have made a minimum of 20 sales calls per week, and 5 “on-the-street” or walk up sales calls and (c) have completed all administrative functions satisfactorily. The $150 payment is to be considered a non-refundable draw against commission earned over the course of the semester. Specific sales goals will be established by the Advertising Sales Director and dis-cussed with you during Training Week. New Hires will be given a one month grace period, before the sales goal becomes effective.

2. Sales CommissionA 10% commission will be earned over the semester on all collected advertising revenue and will be offset against your draw. If the commission earned is greater than the amount you received as a draw, you will be paid the difference at the end of the semester. You are responsible for collecting all advertising revenue.

3. GoalsAs needed, the Advertising Sales Director will announce sales contests wherein each Account Executive will have the opportunity of earning additional compensation.

III. Sales MeetingsEach week there will be a MANDATORY group sales meeting. Primary emphasis will be placed on your progress/success making “on-the-street” sales calls. In addition, each account executive will be required to meet with the Advertising Sales Director once a month on a “one to one” basis for the purpose of evaluating the Account Executive’s work. See Performance Evaluation Form.

IV. Office HoursThe Daily Titan Office is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday thru Friday. If you need to be in the office at night or on the weekend, please make arrangements with the Advertisng Sales Director or the Business Manager. Please give the sales manager a list of the hours you will be in the Daily Titan

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Office or out on sales calls. Please also provide your class hours and your work schedule if you have a second job.

V. TelephoneIt is important to remember the telephone is for BUSINESS USE ONLY! Equally important, is knowing how to use the telephone. Some tips:

1. When you call a client, an assistant will answer the phone most of the time. Make friends with this person! Don’t get frustrated at being put on hold. Make sure you ask the assistant’s name and tell them yours. Remember the name when you call back.2. Leave messages that get results. Instead of saying “tell him I called” try “I’ve lined up some information that would be very beneficial to him.”3. Check your voice mail at least once a day. You may check your voice mail from outside the office by calling 714-278-2525. Return all calls daily, ABSOLUTELY by noon the following day.

VI. MailThe mail is delivered (and picked up) usually by 2pm everyday except Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Like the telephone, postage is for business use only. Each Account Executive will be given a Daily Titan email account.

VII. Equipment and/or Office SuppliesIf any equipment breaks while you are using it, please notify the Business Manager immediately so they can get it fixed. If you require any office supplies, please submit your request to the Business Manager.

VIII. AttireYou may wear whatever you feel is appropriate when you are in the office, but bear in mind that cli-ents may visit the Daily Titan office. However, when you go on a client call, a professional appear-ance is absolutely required.

IX. Comm. 454 – Sales Advertising Class As an Account Executive, you MAY be required, to act as a “mentor” to a small group of students from the class. This includes making “on-the-street calls” as well in-office training. The class is designed to be an “apprenticeship” for potential new Daily Titan Account Executives.

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Steps To Placing a Display AdI. Customer Insertion Order (CIO)

When a client decides to place an ad, fill-out the CIO form in its entirety and fax, e-mail or mail it to the client with the request that they immediately sign the form & return it to you ASAP! The cli-ent should be advised that NO ad can be entered into the “run sheet” unless you have a signed CIO in your possession. If the advertiser is a “first-time” advertiser, they must pay in advance unless waived by the Advertising Sales Manager.

II. Run Sheet (ADPRO)ADPRO is a computer program that helps the office run more smoothly. Once the CIO is signed, an ad must be entered into the runsheet on this program by two business days before the publication date in order for the ad to run. Your Advertising Sales director will give you a user name and pass-word for this program along with an ADPRO user's guide. Please refer to this guide on how to enter customers and ads into the system.

III. Production FormThere are three different production forms: one for the Daily Titan, one for The Buzz, and one for the Summer Titan. Fill out the appropriate ad production form and place in the appropriate shelf above the RUNBOOK.

1. Date Due, Date In, Time In: Place time, date, and due date into appropriate boxes.2. Account Executive: Your name.3. Account Name: The advertising client.4. Ad Number: The number assigned to the ad in ADPRO.The Contact Name: The person who we could contact from an account.5. Address, Phone, Fax, Email: All related information should be written in the appropriate box indicate size.6. Ad Size: Circle corresponding size, or indicate size to the left using columns and inches.7. Color: Check if the ad is black and white, spot color, or 4 color. Make sure to write the spot color or Pantone Color #, if known.8. Slug Line: Usually the main headline of the ad. Whatever distinguishes this ad from

any other ad.9. Instructions: Specify whether ads are new builds, minor changes, or camera ready, and specify whether or not there is a sample layout.

Check All Categories That Apply to This Ad:New Build: Completely new ad. Needs to be built by the Advertising Production Department.

• Follow Layout: All the basic information for the creation of the ad is contained in theenvelope (e.g. logo(s), original photos, headline, body copy, typeface and font size (if known)). Production will follow the suggested layout as closely as possible.

• Create Layout: All the basic information is contained in the envelope. Production willdesign ad at his/her discretion.

• Proof needed by: Specify when you need a proof. Allow at least 5 business days.CAREFULLY and THOROUGHLY check the proof for errors. If you find an error, or

Revised: 6/6/06

require a change of some kind, resubmit the corrected proof with a new Production Form and check the Minor Change box. If the proof is correct, fax it to your client for approval.

• Minor Change: For existing ads that require minor changes.• Camera Ready: Ad is ready to run with NO PRODUCTION WORK.• Special Instructions: Indicate any special instructions.

10. Advertisment Run Dates: Write down every day THIS ad will appear. For each day your ad will run, you must have a corresponding entry in the RUNBOOK (each daily sheet). On the The Buzz and Summer Titan run sheets, bubble in every day the ad is running. 11. Special Instructions: Specify whether there are any special instructions (i.e. ad is on Sage’s desktop.12. Computer Information: Specify the platform, media type, FULL FILE NAME, # of pages, and application ad was created with.

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Revised: 6/6/06

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Administrative ProceduresI. The printed invoices for billed customers will be returned to you for mailing every Friday. Remember to attach your client’s tearsheet to each invoice and to snd out tearsheets to every cus tomer that ran that week even if they prepaid and have no invoice.

II. You are also required to submit a WEEKLY SALES REPORT to the Advertising Sales Director on Friday. These forms shoud be completly filled out and present enough detail to assess your sales effort/contribution for the week.

III. If you receive a credit card number for payment (only MasterCard and Visa credit cards will beaccepted), please give the information to the Sage via the Payments form for processing. The “yel-low” copy of the receipt should be put in your clients folder and the “white” copy should be mailed or faxed to your client without fail. Also, make sure you fully fill out the Credit Card Reference Sheet, if you are the one you runs the credit card through the machine. This form is located on the top shelf of the desk with the credit card machine.

IV. Please do not go through mail. If a check or contract comes in, you will be notified immediately.

V. Every 30 days you will receive “reminder letters” for those advertisers who have failed to pay in 30 days. Please mail or fax these letters to your client immediately. After 3-5 days personally call each of your “past due” advertisers and find out when they will pay. Keep notes, as clients often say one thing (“like the check is in the mail”) and, in fact, do something else. If the check doesn’t arrive when they say it will, call them again. In the media business “ the squeaky wheel” gets paid. This is a business and your income depends on sales AND COLLECTION! Excluding on-campus and national accounts, if your client doesn’t pay in 90 days, you lose the commission. Appeals can be made to the Advertising Sales Director.

VI. The former policy regarding leads is hereby cancelled. If anyone is contacted, by any means, and the account falls into another AE’s territory, give the lead to that AE. If the lead is outside of any known territory, give the lead to the Advertising Sales Director, who will then assign the lead, on a revolving basis, to whomever is next on the list.

VII. All sales calls should be “memorialized” by virtue of “fully” completing a Call Report form andplacing it the appropriate folder for your client

Revised: 6/6/06

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Media InformationI. Media Kit

Each fall, the Daily Titan publishes a Media Kit with complete information on the CSUF market (demographics), circulation, rates, advertising policy, promotions and publication schedule. It is up to each AE to become familiar with all the information within as soon as possible.

The media kit has been designed as a “fax” media kit based on a survey that indicated 80-90% of all media kits were sent by fax. The media kit can also be e-mailed from your computer or a client can download the media kit from the Daily Titan Web site. Media kits can also be mailed.

• The “Welcome” page is meant to be flexible, in that it can be changed to reflect any new promotion etc. you may wish to highlight. Note the phrase readership rather than circulation.

• The rate card section on “frequency” discounts has been added and the section on “Volume”discounts has been eliminated.

• The price for inserts is dependent on the number of pages in the insert.• Also note that there are more configurations for 1/8, 1/4 & 1/2 size ads. Also spot color

is now $150, 4-color $600 (plus separations).• The Publication Calendar “outlines” all “special sections” as well as indicating each

publication date for the year.

II. CirculationThe Daily Titan prints 4,000 copies each day, Monday thru Thursday. The only exception to this is when the “week long papers” print only 4,000 copies total.

III. InsertsMinimum 4,000. Must be approved by Advertising Sales Director. Must be pre-printed by advertiser and sent at their expense to the printer listed below. Never have inserts sent to our office!

Gardena Valley News15005 S. Vermont Ave.Gardena, CA 90247Phone: 310-329-6351Fax: 310-329-7501(Cartons only, pallets go to a different address—ask Advertising Sales Director)

IV. Advertising Agency RatesMost ad agencies automatically take a 15% commission on ad placements. The Agency open rate listed in the rate card is $9.75 per column inch. This rate is considered a “gross” rate as opposed to the “net” non-commissionable rates you normally use. To raise a “net” rate to a “gross” rate multi-ply the “net” rate by 1.1765 (e.g., $85 x 1.1765 = $100.00). Conversely, multiply $100 x 85% (less 15%) = $85.

Revised: 6/6/06

8 January 2007 Regarding Training Program Dear CNBAM, The Daily Titan prepares students for careers in advertising media sales, including newspapers and the Internet. As media sales people, our job is to help create a critical connection between marketers and markets and help match (or create) the right message for our medium – a message that connects marketers with customers. Our “product” is space and time. The Daily Titan serves as an applicable apprenticeship for a career in many fields including Public Relations, Media, Account Management or Creative Services. As employees of the Daily Titan, through our training program, students will learn to do many things. Students gain knowledge of the media process including basic terms and concepts used for presenting and closing a sale. They also learn how to confidently deliver “cold call” and “walk-up” sales presentations, to work with campus media organization in a sales capacity, and to demonstrate oral and written communication skills appropriate for proposal writing and client presentations. Best Regards, The Daily Titan Staff P: 714-278-3373 F:714-278-2702 ads@dailytitan.com

The Daily Pennsylvanian Business Training Program

The Daily Pennsylvanian’s Business Training Program is based on the concept of continual education. The program focuses on educating by providing broad-based general training, detailed hands-on training, and ongoing continuing training — all designed to provide students the real-world business experience of running a professional newspaper while developing their business skills and providing our customers with exceptional customer service.

The unique aspect about our program compared to most others is the wide range of newspaper operational areas covered. We pride ourselves in our diverse placement of student staff and student managers in six business departments: finance, credit, advertising, ad production, front office (counter sales and ad traffic), and marketing. This specialization in each department provides an opportunity for students with interests in areas other than sales to gain valuable experience. Yet each staff member is also integrated into the newspaper’s operations by being introduced to all aspects of the business.

The training program is accomplished in three stages. The first consists of a general training session. Here, all new staff members go through General Business Training together in order to establish a common background, an understanding of our business, and a network of fellow staff members. During this session, we familiarize the new staff with the fundamental principles and operations of our paper, our history, and their role in the organization. We cover the tools of survival at the paper, from the mechanics of using our phones and copiers to accessing the various computer systems. We carefully trace all the steps in the “life” of an ad, from inception through payment, and how each department participates in pieces of that operation. The sessions mix lecture-style presentations with interactive topics, since we have found that active participation strengthens retention of the training material.

The second stage of training is specialized Departmental Training, where each student department manager establishes an individualized training program tailored to that particular department. New staff members participate in two weeks of sessions with the managers and professional staff advisers of their department. During this time, the new staff members gain the specific skills required for productive work in their departments, plus a detailed picture of their role and the department’s role within the paper. Once they are able to understand their position and responsibilities, they are able to work independently of direct supervision as full-fledged and productive staff members.

The sales department incorporates competition into the training program. The new staff is informed at the beginning of the training that the most qualified reps at the end of the program will receive the best customer lists. This is accomplished by testing the reps at the end of the initial training program. The reps that test the highest receive the best customers. This serves to motivate the reps during training and gives us a chance to monitor the results of the training by seeing how much information has been retained.

The final phase — which is never-ending — is the ongoing education and cross-training that is dispersed throughout each student’s career at The Daily Pennsylvanian. Training of additional skills, techniques, and procedures is provided through weekly or biweekly department meetings. Cross-training is especially important for departments which are directly interrelated; this type of training increases communication and understanding, resulting in more efficient operations and a more cohesive business staff.

During the course of the semester, the staff is evaluated by the managers and given the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences at the newspaper. By evaluating their performance, we are able to assess the effectiveness of their training.

In addition to this staff-level training, we also have a Management Training Program, which is designed to go beyond the one-on-one assistance our professional advisers provide. This program gives student managers the knowledge and expertise they need to run their departments, and enhances the managerial experience they get at the newspaper. Two all-day off-site retreats presented by the professional advisers and the student Business Manager anchor this training program. One takes place before classes begin in January as an orientation to newly-elected managers. The second takes place in August before fall term classes begin, and focuses on reinforcing and building their staff management skills, and planning for their second semester. The program aims to give an in-depth understanding of every department, as well as teach and hone skills necessary to be an outstanding manager. It includes role-playing, game take-offs (“Daily Pennsylvanian Survivor”), and brainstorming sessions. Additionally, 10 to 20 minutes of most weekly Business Board meetings are devoted to ongoing training. Topics include interviewing skills, presentation skills, how to successfully delegate, staff coaching skills, time management, goal-setting, motivation and morale, and planning effective meetings. As managers of The Daily Pennsylvanian, we feel that the Business Training Program combines all elements that develop top-notch staff members. The success of our newspaper comes from the commitment to excellence and service that we convey to all our new staff members — largely through our training program. A solid and concrete knowledge of the basic operations of business functions, coupled with real-life practical experience, creates staff members who are familiar with our business, knowledgeable about our market, and sensitive to our customer’s needs. The end result is that when our training succeeds, we end up with staff members who are well informed about the company they work for and the product they produce every day. They know their role at the newspaper, contribute to a reputable and successful independent college newspaper, and are positioned to greet new challenges at The Daily Pennsylvanian with enthusiasm.

Fall, 2006 Business Training Schedule

DAY DEPARTMENT TIME Thursday, August 31 Business Manager Retreat 9:30 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 19 ALL 3 Departments 6:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 20 Finance 2 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 20 Production 2 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 20 Marketing 2 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Thursday, September 21 Credit 2 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. Thursday, September 21 Advertising 2 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Monday, September 25 Finance 3 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. Monday, September 25 Production 3 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. Monday, September 25 Marketing 3 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 26 Credit 3 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 26 Advertising 3 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 27 Finance 4 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 27 Production 4 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 27 Marketing 4 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Thursday, September 28 Credit 4 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. Thursday, September 28 Advertising 4 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Saturday, September 30 Advertising 5 10:30 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.

Sales Call Role-Play Skit BEN: Hi MARIA, I’m BEN from The Daily Pennsylvanian. I appreciate you giving me

some time today to talk to you . MARIA: Well, I'm very busy, but I did tell you that you could come in. What have you got? BEN: Is there somewhere we can sit down in quiet and discuss this? MARIA: Sure, let’s go to my office. [GO TO “OFFICE” AND SIT DOWN] BEN: [TELL MARIA THE REASON FOR YOUR CALL AND ASK HER AGAIN IF

THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO TALK] MARIA: You're okay, as long as this doesn't take all day. BEN: Great, I'd like to start by asking you a few questions about MARIA’s Designs. [TAKE NOTES] MARIA: [TELL BEN ABOUT YOUR STORE] BEN: [ASK MORE QUESTIONS, INCLUDING HOW HE ADVERTISES] MARIA: [ANSWER BEN’S QUESTIONS, AND TELL HIM THAT YOU CREATE

FLYERS AND PUT THEM AROUND TO PROMOTE YOUR STORE] BEN: Have you ever tried focusing on the student market, especially since you’re so

close to campus? MARIA: The students I do get usually don’t buy. College students, I find, do most of their

shopping with a tight budget, and they’re looking for bargains, and that’s it. BEN: Hmmm, seems like you haven’t had great success with the student market, despite your location. MARIA: That’s about right. BEN: MARIA, if you knew that Penn students had the money to spend, were spending their money on dresses and casual wear everyday — sometimes traveling downtown to do so — and they were willing to spend higher than bargain prices to get the perfect outfit for them — would you consider focusing some of your advertising budget on getting this group to buy from MARIA’s Designs? MARIA: And I suppose your paper is the best way to reach them? BEN: Well, let me give you some facts about The Daily Pennsylvanian [PUT THE PAPER IN HIS HANDS AND TALK ABOUT IT]

Sales Rep Training, Fall 2006Part 1: Ads and Forms

Forms and Special Issues QuizPlease circle the correct answer:

1. Ad is 2 x 3. This local customer has no volume contract. Ad is scheduled to run twice. What is the ad rate?

$11.10 $10.00 $10.10

2.Ad is 3 x 8. This local customer has no volume contract. This same ad last ran 6 months ago. Ad is scheduled to run one time only. What is the ad rate?

$11.10 $10.00 $10.10

3. The customer wants you to take their ad that’s ran in the Dining Guide and place it in theFinals Issue. For the purposes of the insertion order, is this ad new or repeat?

New Repeat

4. The customer wants you to take their 2 x 4 ad that ran in the DP last semester and place it in the DP this week, but change the size to 2 x 5 and change the expiration date. What typeof ad is it?

New Repeat Repeat with Change

5. Which issue does not have a classified section?

Finals Graduation New Student NONE

6. Which issues have a different circulation or distribution than normal DP’s?

Finals/NS Grad/NS Finals/Grad ALL

7. Which issue is a standard broadsheet size?

Finals Graduation New Student ALL

8. Which issue has a special issue inserted into it?

Finals Graduation New Student ALL

The Program

When most people imagine sales departments, they think of suited yuppies running from appointment to appointment at East Coast pace. Most imagine narrow-minded consumerists that only worry about bringing home the bacon and beating others at the rat race. I suppose these former reasons are why most are baffled to walk into The State News advertising department. A department in which bells are ringing, account executives are hooting and hollering, and their manager is slapping high fives. Most are taken aback when they walk into our sales department and are confronted with buzzing creative energy, drive, and optimistic suspense. It is this kind of energy that has lead to our great success. Encouragement of competition, communication, and teamwork are the engines driving the advertising department at The State News to, well, kick ass. How we do it: Newly hired account executives will quickly find themselves released into a creative escape we call “training.” Here they are encouraged to brainstorm unique selling strategies, develop individual and personal selling skills, and build confidence through consistent practice within the office. In their four weeks of training, account executives will have written a personalized business letter, developed an elevator pitch, publicly confronted objections to advertising, and developed a pure, self-built love for The State News. In accompaniment to training, new account executives are paired up with an L.T.M. (Living Training Manual). An L.T.M. is a more experienced veteran that stands out as a leader within the office. New account executives shadow these L.T.M.s as well as look to them for answers to questions, selling tips, and even stress relief (we promise this does not involve physical contact). To streamline our communication within the entire department, a weekly staff meeting is held to discuss possible updates, crash training sessions, address issues, and encourage selling among the entire staff. Although account executives are meeting outside of required office hours, they look forward to these staff meetings. To encourage office morale, food is usually provided and games are incorporated. Games usually involve team-building activities that teach problem solving skills, selling strategies, and public speaking. In between these weekly staff meetings, account executives meet in teams of 5-6. Each of which have leaders that encourage sales, progress to the next level in our advancement process, keep track of prospecting progress, and build morale. These teams regularly compete against each other in sales competitions. These competitions allow individual sales to add up to team totals with the winning team usually enjoying a free lunch or meal of their choice. Team competitions are not only popular among the staff, but drive them to individually succeed, work as a team, help others make sales and generate revenue. Every team competition held thus far has resulted in an increase of sales revenue over the previous year. To drive individual progress & sales revenue, we offer advancement programs (as mentioned previously) and goal incentives. By accomplishing tasks related to cold calling, establishing client relationships, and creating sales among other criteria, account executives can increase their commission rates (please see supplementary material titled ‘Advance Card’). Further more, each account executive is met with a monthly sales goal. Surpassing that goal results in a bonus worth 3% the difference between their sales goal and actual sales. To encourage teamwork on top of individual sales, we offer departmental bonuses for meeting our total sales goal for the month. Because it takes more than just an initial sale to make the ad department work, this bonus is distributed not only among account executives, but also among graphic artists and traffic managers. Everyone’s job is equally important to the success of the department, be it answering the phone, making the sale, creating the ad or seeing that it get placed in the paper. We place a high value on teamwork and it takes the entire office to generate the positive energy needed to surpass our goals.

The Program

The results: Our four-week training program has sent rookie account executives into the sales world as account executives with experience already under their belt. By pairing them up with L.T.M.’s we’ve found they bust out of the sales door as equals: driven, competitive and comfortable. Every one of our 10 rookies has either recruited a new advertiser or signed a sporadic advertiser to contract within their first 2 months of sales. The introduction of teams has allowed many account executives to step up as role models and leaders in the office. When given the opportunity, they have all eagerly developed individual sales plans, meeting formats, and weekly updates informing management of what their team is up to. It’s also opened up many doors for feedback. We receive 3-4 ideas a week on how to improve things around the office, whether internal communication suggestions or ways to boost sales. Last spring, we introduced a new product, Finals Survival Guide, to be released during finals week. By including a team sales competition & offering free lunch to the winners, we motivated the staff to bring in nearly $14,000 of new revenue. When we repeated this promotion—a tabloid filled with advertising, crosswords and sudoku puzzles—this past fall, we also repeated the competition, resulting in a revenue of $16,350. We sold so much, in fact, that The Finals Survival Guide was 12 pages larger and we had no room for house ads. Our advancement program has been a consistent success. We currently have 3 account executives at our top commission level, 5 at mid level and 16 working their way up the ladder (10 of which are new employees). Most recently, two account executives made a bet between them to see who could advance first. How’s that for drive? Individual goals are being surpassed on a daily basis. Most recently, a rookie account executive asked for a higher goal claiming his current goal would “clearly be blown out of the water.” When challenged with a 250% increase he replied, “Bring it.” Needless to say, he surpassed even the increased goal. Since we’ve implemented individual bonuses and encouraged departmental goals, we’ve hit seven of nine monthly department sales goals. This has resulted in a 10% increase in overall revenue. Number and stats aside, The State News has never seen such a strong staff. They take the creatively driven environment they are given and use it to its fullest. Negativity virtually doesn’t exist (okay that’s a lie, but we assure you it’s an extremely rare occasion of missed meals). Above all, I have never seen a group of so many opinionated, driven individuals put their specializations together to create an unstoppable sales force. Each obstacle overcome is a team success and celebrated thus. As I was writing this, I was informed that we might be the first sales team in State News history to surpass $1,000,000 in local display sales. If it can be done, this is the sales team that can do it. In fact, I challenge you to find a more closely knit bunch of individuals in any department, anywhere. I also challenge you to find a sales force that has been as successful, in numbers, unity, originality and pizzazz.

Training Calendar New Account Executives • Upon hire, employees under go 4 weeks of training in which the following tactics are used

o Week 1: 2 sessions, 3 hours in length each Learning to love our product: market survey data, newspaper terminology,

responsibilities, expectations, opportunities Classified Liners: How to do it, customer service, guidelines, make good policy, scams

• Assignment 1: Classified liner worksheet with computer practice o Week 2: 2 sessions, 3 hours each in length

Exercise: Practice taking liners over the phone. 2 teams take turns in the office taking live phone calls from the opposing team in the boardroom. AEs learn how to deal with customers, possible problems and how to look out for scams

Test 1: Newspaper terminology, Market Survey Data & classified liner protocol tested to measure progress. Once passed, AEs may take live classifieds during office hours.

o Week 3: 10 in-office hours + 2 training sessions 3 hours in length Welcome to retail: terminology, deadlines, advertising options, selling strategy

• Assignment 2: Create unique selling point and pitch it at next session Web & Preprint Inserts: terminology, selling strategy, deadlines “The good, the bad and the ugly” of the week + Q&A session on how to deal How to sell: prospecting, persistence, cold calls & dealing with advertisers

• What to take on a sales call, how to go about it • How to write a business letter & use it as a selling tool

o Assignment 3: Write a business letter to an advertiser by next session o Week 4: 10 in-office hours + 2 training sessions 3 hours in length

Exercise: How to overcome objections • Split into teams, each team is confronted with objection. • Teams work together to develop a solution pitched by one team member • Rated on confidence & accuracy of response

So you’ve sold an ad, now what?! • Steps in completing the ad process, working with production, controversial ads • Establishing credit & signing clients to contract

Test 2: Retail, web and insert terminology, objections, rates, selling strategies • Once passed, AEs begin full AE office hours with full responsibilities

Established Employees • Advancement process (See page 3)

o Commission levels increase with levels of advancement Associate AE: 4%, Account Executive: 6%, Senior Account Executive: 8% Advancement is made possible by completing the requirements on the advance card

• Training Sessions and Staff Meetings o Weekly staff meetings held for crash training sessions and increased communication o Other staff meetings may be scheduled to review in depth topics

• Teams o 3-4 teams meet weekly with team leaders to discuss concerns, updates & deadlines o Competitions held between teams for most sales to encourage competition and teamwork

• Incentives for sales: o Individual goals: Surpassing individual goal results in following

Bonus: 3% of the difference between monthly sales and goal o Departmental goals:

Encourages account executives to operate as a team and encourage each other to accomplish their individual goals

10% difference between monthly revenue and sales goals distributed among account executives, traffic managers and graphic artists

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ADVANCE CARD ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ADVANCE CARD Name: Start Date: Sales Calls Complete more than 30 sales calls a week for eight consecutive weeks. Have the Ad Manager view your calls and sign each week. Week1 Week 5 Week 2 Week 6 Week 3 Week 7 Week 4 Week 8 Reliability On time for all office hours and meetings during 8 consecutive weeks. Have the Ad Manager sign each week. Week1 Week 5 Week 2 Week 6 Week 3 Week 7 Week 4 Week 8 Ride Alongs Each must include a summary of one thing that you learned or taught. Attach these to the advance card. Complete five quality ride alongs with a Senior AE or Ad Manager Location AE 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Complete five quality ride alongs with an AE 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Cold Calls Complete at least 50 cold calls. Cold calls are the first contact with a potential new customer or a customer that has not been contacted in at least 4 months. Attach these to the advance card.

New Advertisers Recruit three new advertisers, print or online. 1- 2- 3- Sales Plans Develop five campaigns or sales plans and present them to a client. You must have Ad Manager approval before presentation. 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- Sales Tip Present a sales tip at a staff meeting. Arrange a topic and meeting time with the Ad Manager and/or Team Leader. Web Ad Sell at least one web ad. (Or two dining guide listings) Contracts Sign three customers to renewed, new or increased contracts. 1- 2- 3- Goal Month: _____________ Goal: _________________ Advertising Manager Approval Receive an above average rating on review Yes No

Revenue ComparisonJuly - December Actual Budget

Advertising Description

July - December 2005/Actual

July - December 2006/Actual

% Comparison

Local Advertising 498,828$ 579,557$ 16.2%

University Advertising 110,709$ 141,770$ 28.1%

Preprints 34,936$ 51,364$ 47.0%

Classified Liners 126,145$ 105,932$ -16.0%

Classified Display 127,992$ 122,178$ -4.5%

On Line Advertising 28,300$ 19,195$ -32.2%

Total Advertising 926,910$ 1,019,996$ 10.0%

Advertising Description

July-December 2005/Budget

July - December 2006/Actual

% Comparison

Local Advertising 538,100$ 579,557$ 7.7%

University Advertising 113,000$ 141,770$ 25.5%

Preprints 34,000$ 51,364$ 51.1%

Classified Liners 134,000$ 105,932$ -20.9%

Classified Display 130,000$ 122,178$ -6.0%

On Line Advertising 29,000$ 19,195$ -33.8%

Total Advertising 978,100$ 1,019,996$ 4.3%

The Daily Collegian – Penn State 3-c CNBAM Training Program Entry

The Daily Collegian Business Training Program – Penn State University

The Collegian Business Division offers students of all majors a chance to explore many different areas of running a business. Training takes place every semester, including summer. We train about 75 students a year in our comprehensive business training program. For Fall Semester 2006, for example, we trained 36 students for Advertising Sales, Customer Service and Creative entry-level positions. We had 80 applications for these 36 training slots. It is competitive to get into our program. (Right now we have about 85 students in the Business Division; about 36 of those are in advertising sales.) We are an independent student newspaper; students do not receive academic credit for their participation. Our goal is to prepare our students for professional business careers when they leave the staff, whatever career path they follow. Through a combination of classroom training and hands-on experience, our semester-long training program is designed to make our trainees comfortable with Collegian operations before they are expected to take responsibility on their own. Trainees are accepted into the training program as either customer service, creative or advertising sales trainees. All groups go through the training together, though they have different requirements out of the classroom. Only after trainees successfully complete the training program are they accepted onto the staff. They are assigned as customer service representatives, creative specialists or advertising account executives. After one semester in these positions, they may apply for management or senior specialist positions.

In addition to the Customer Service, Creative and Sales Departments, we have four smaller departments: Layout, Marketing, Promotions and Accounting. It is competitive to win a specialist position in the smaller departments, and staff members must go through an additional tier of training to become a candidate for specialist positions. Staff members who wish to apply for management positions must complete our Leadership Development Training Program before they are considered for advancement.

The Daily Collegian Business Division also offers continuing development for our

student staff members. We invite faculty members and community leaders to attend Board of Managers and All Staff meetings to educate, mentor and motivate our staff.

We believe that our students give so much of themselves to The Daily Collegian that we

owe it to them to give them excellent training and access to as much education and guidance as possible.

The Collegian Business Division Training Program offers Penn State students the following:

• A Comprehensive Business Training Program:

Our training program is unique in the college newspaper industry. We take a whole

semester to train our staff members before ever asking them to service clients on their own. There is no financial compensation during training. We integrate Collegian institutional knowledge and procedures with a broad range of good basic business practices. We use our Collegian Code of Ethics as a starting point to make sure new staff members are aware that we always strive to be an honest and principled business.

Business Division trainees have two evening training classes a week for ten weeks. In

addition, they are assigned three class periods a week of hands-on training in our business office. All trainees have a two-hour training session to learn our graphics program. All trainees also must

The Daily Collegian – Penn State 3-c CNBAM Training Program Entry

accompany senior account executives on their sales routes. All trainees must produce a specified number of spec ads before finishing training. (see Training Schedule)

The training program is extensive and thorough. It is designed to make the trainee feel

comfortable and through a mentoring system, we attempt to make all trainees feel like an important part of the Collegian. Attrition is very low, and we credit our training program with breeding loyalty and confidence into the newest members of our team. By making sure that our trainees are thoroughly prepared for their staff positions, they are eager, not fearful, to accept responsibility.

• Measuring progress

We measure the trainees’ progress through a point system, which awards points for role playing, quality of spec ads, attendance, attending department meetings, going on sales routes with account executives and extra effort. It is an objective way to assess our trainees and for them to make sure they are staying on target with expectations. Trainees are updated throughout the training on their points. (see Point System example)

• Leadership Development Program We developed a Leadership Development tier to our training program in order to give

aspiring managers some additional education before they become managers. As Collegian managers, they will be part of the Board of Managers, the group of students who run the Business Division. Part of the Leadership Development Training Program allows the potential manager to spend time with every department to learn what they do. They also spend time with professional staff members to get some background knowledge of Collegian and advice on issues facing our organization.

• Continuing Education We invite professors, visitors and community leaders in to address our staff. Sometimes a

guest will just come to a Board of Managers meeting to provide insight into specific issues; sometimes a guest will come to an all-staff meeting to inspire all 100 members of our staff. It is good for the staff to hear from all kinds of people and hear what they have to say from an outside perspective.

• Fun We aren’t all business! Trainees are invited to join in all Business Division social activities.

During fall 2006, for example, trainees went on a hayride, joined intramural football and volleyball teams and attended the formal. This is a very social place and people like to have fun! Our goals

Frequent personnel transitions are inevitable on the staff of any college newspaper. Our training program addresses this issue by making sure our incoming staff members are thoroughly trained before taking on their own clients. They do a lot of shadowing, a lot of role playing and make a lot of spec ads as trainees. They meet their clients by the end of their training semester to allow for a seamless transition. With all trainees and staff members receiving the same training in ethics, selling skills, graphics training and hands-on experiences, our staff is cohesive and we have very little attrition. That builds a strong, dedicated and professional staff. And that’s what The Daily Collegian’s training program is all about!

Sales Trainee Point System Penn State University – 3-c Training Program The Daily Collegian 2006-07

The Daily Collegian Penn State University

Sales Trainee Point System Fall 2006

One thing we’ve discovered along the way, is that sales people like competition. The Point System serves two main purposes: ♦ It allows the business adviser, the managers and the student staff to objectively assess the

Sales Trainees’ performance during this important phase of training. ♦ It allows the Sales Trainees an opportunity to see how they do when all the motivation has to

come from within themselves. The Point System kicks in Tuesday, Oct. 31, and runs until the last selling day of the semester, Wednesday, Dec. 14. There are several ways to accumulate points, and points must be accumulated in all areas. Here are all the details: Ways to get points Attending Sales Meetings: There are six sales meeting which the Sales Trainees are expected to attend. Meetings are every Monday at 6 p.m. The dates are: Monday, Oct. 30 Monday, Nov. 6 Monday, Nov. 13 Monday, Nov. 20 Monday, Nov.27 Monday, Dec. 4 There will be a brief training session following each sales meeting. Two points accrued for each sales meeting. Possible total: 12 points. Creating Spec Ads: Sales Trainees MUST produce a minimum of *6 spec ads on the computer, using Corel Draw. One is due each week. Each spec has specific criteria. Training Specialist Brad Mosier will grade your specs. Your last assigned spec is due Friday, Dec. 8. Point range is from 1 (not good) to 5 (excellent). You may certainly turn in more than six spec ads. You may get points for as many as eight specs. 1-5 points each. Possible total: 40 points. * You will be given guidelines for your specs, which must follow the basics of ad design Learning to create Web ads: Training Specialist Brad Mosier, will run a training session on how to create a Web ad. Part of your training is to use this information to create a web ad. You

Sales Trainee Point System Penn State University – 3-c Training Program The Daily Collegian 2006-07

need to turn your ad in to me in a printed version, and post on your account. Points: 10 Must be turned in by Wednesday, Dec. 6. Going out on Routes with Account Executives: You MUST get familiar with going out on the routes. This is critical for all Sales Trainees. Every time you go on a route with an account executive, you will fill out a Daily Activity Report detailing your adventure! Each DAR counts as one point. This where it becomes obvious who are the real “sales people” and who is not particularly self-motivated. Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 25, there are 33 selling days left in the semester, meaning 33 possible Daily Activity Reports. I expect a minimum of 5 DARs from any Sales Trainee who wants a route! The Daily Activity Reports are very detailed and we expect you to go on routes where there will be active selling!! Important point: Plan your time. We only want ONE trainee to go out with a designated account exec at a time. Possible points: 33. Mandatory points: 5. You must go on several routes before your role playing exercise. You must go out with at least four different account execs. HINT: Do NOT cram all your routes into the last week of the semester. This is no way to learn, and does not impress the managers when they are assigning routes. Role Playing Assignment: You will receive your role playing assignment at the sales meeting Monday, Nov. 6. You will have time to prepare for this event. Role plays will be on Monday, Dec. 4, and Wednesday, Dec. 6. You will need spec ads, an ad plan, first hand knowledge of the client’s business and a well-thought-out recommendation for the client. Points will be assigned from 1-10 based on your performance, product knowledge and preparation. Possible points: 10 The advertising manager, the sales managers and the business adviser will decide on points for this. Additional points may be earned by servicing clients when account executives are not available due to job interviews or other unforeseen circumstances. If one of your spec ads is sold and used in the paper, you get an extra point! If you cover a route for an a.e. who is out of town you get an extra point. In addition, the advertising manager may ask you to do tasks which may be used to add points to your total.

The Daily Collegian 3-c CNBAM Training Program Entry 2006-07 Penn State University

Daily Collegian Business Division Training Schedule for Fall 2006

Training is on Mondays from 7-8 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. Training begins on

Monday, Oct. 9, and goes until Wednesday, Dec. 6. You will also be required to attend some sales meetings, creative department meetings or customer service staff meetings. Part of the mandatory training requires you to schedule three periods a week in the Collegian office for “hands on” training (during the day). All trainees will be required to schedule graphics training sessions and must go out on sales routes with our account executives to get a first hand picture of active selling.

You will also be assigned checklists and spec ad assignments. This comprehensive training program ensures that you will be successful as a Collegian staff member.

Here are the exact dates:

Customer Service, Creative and Sales Training October Monday, Oct. 9 – 7-8 p.m. - All managers - Get Acquainted Night

Wednesday, Oct. 11 – 6-7 p.m. - Introduce our publications, ad sizes & prices Monday, Oct. 16 - 7-8 p.m. - Code of Ethics, Legal Issues Wednesday, Oct. 18 – 6-7 p.m. - Creative session - spec ads, house ads, promos Monday, Oct. 23 - 7-8 p.m. Brad - Design Seminar - Part 1 Wednesday, Oct. 25 – 6-7 p.m. - Brad - Design Seminar - Part 2 Monday, Oct. 30 - 7-8 p.m. - National advertising, Preprints, Credit Issues November Wednesday, Nov. 1 – 6-7 p.m. - Selling Skills - Basics of Selling, using marketing information Monday, Nov. 6 - 7-8 p.m. - Selling Skills - Collegian Specific Selling Skills, Ad Plans Wednesday, Nov. 8 - 6-7 p.m. – Objections, Closing the Sale, Role Play Monday, Nov. 13 - 7-8 p.m. - Customer Service - The Perfect Insertion Order and more Wednesday, Nov. 15 - 6-7 p.m. - Customer Service - Simulation Session Monday, Nov. 20 - 7-8 p.m. - Layout & Promotions - what they do Monday, Nov. 27 — 7-8 p.m. - Ad plans, manager role playing, marketing info Wednesday, Nov. 29 - Odd & Ends - all the things we might have skimmed over! December Monday, Dec. 4 - 7-8 p.m. - Role Play Night - Sales Wednesday, Dec. 6 - 6-7 p.m. - Role Play Night - Sales

Training is mandatory, so please do not apply unless you can attend the training sessions! We’ll give you everything you need to know to be successful in both customer service and selling skills.

Training ProgramSubmitted by:

The Daily Tar Heel

At The Daily Tar Heel , we place top priority on quality training programs because that isthe main focus of our mission statement.

Our metropolitan area includes three major cities - Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill - socompetition for ad dollars is fierce. Of course we are the chosen paper on campus butour clients are constantly bombarded with other media choices. The bottom linemandates that our sales representatives must be trained professionals to compete inthe marketplace.

To this end, all sales representatives and sales assistants must attend mandatorytraining sessions the week prior to the fall semester, regardless of years of service atThe Daily Tar Heel . (A sample of our back-to-school training agenda is attached.) Ingeneral, we cover job responsibilities, rate and market data, goals, trends, salestechniques, proposals, time management and handling objections.

To enhance training, we often have one to three guest speakers (other than the addirector, business manager and production manager) leading sessions. Past speakershave included trainers and ad directors from the following local daily papers: The Newsand Observer, The Herald Sun , and The Greensboro News and Record.

We like to augment training with professional development speakers as well. In the pastfew years we have had speakers on a wide range of topics - from creativity to sexualharassment, from customer service skills to assertiveness training. This year ChrissyBeck, the Associate Director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, shared acustomer service seminar with the staff.

Our back-to-school training is also filled with team bonding opportunities. We eat mealstogether, play games (rate card jeopardy, scruples...) and enjoy a nice dinner out on ourmain drag - Franklin Street.

Training does not stop in August, however. Weekly sales meeting are an opportunity toshare sales tips from newsletters and trade magazines or to talk about specific marketor client problems. We periodically have guest speakers come to speak to the sales teamas well - generally former DTH sales representatives, current DTH editorial or productionstaff representatives, UNC professors or other sales professionals in the area.

Frequent individual performance reviews allow for ongoing training opportunities. Theadvertising manager conducts mid-month evaluations with each sales representative.Each evaluation assesses the success of the sales representative, the advertisementsplaced and management of The Daily Tar Heel. Furthermore, every 4 months theadvertising director conducts a comprehensive evaluation of each sales representative.

In addition, we offer to take each representative on staff to our regional sales trainingconference in September. This year The Virginian Pilot was our host in Norfolk, Virginia.They provided a two-day training conference filled with basic sales skills, innovative ideas,inspirational speakers and a tour of their facilities.

Once or twice a year, depending on the quantity of graduating senior representatives, wehire a group of sales assistants and put them through a similar training program to ourAugust session. Once they have learned the basics, they are assigned to a senior salesrepresentative for at least one semester, and often two semesters, for on-going trainingin the field. This system allows us to have a seasoned representative out in territory atall times.

A sample of our program follows.

DTH Advertising Staff Training AgendaFall 2006

Monday, August 14Chamber of Commerce (Estes Road behind Caribou)Dress casual

12:00 Box lunch, introductionsTerritory discussion, re-cap of summerChanges & updates on the market

1:00 Pre-call planning - Kevin Schwartz, General Manager2:00 Closing skills – Chrissy Beck, Associate Director-Chamber of Commerce3:00 Situation game/Jeopardy – Chrissy Beck4:00 Customer service plan – Chrissy Beck4:30 DTH product lineup – Kevin Schwartz5:00 done for the day!

Tuesday, August 15DTH office – Bagels!

9:00 Time management...the first days – Jorie Gripman, Advertising Managerplan for the first few days, contracts,goals & special sections

9:30 Billing & credit issues – Lisa Reichle, Business Manager10:30 Layout, design & classifieds -Penny Persons/Beth O’Brien, Productionstaff11:00 Recap-expectations – Kevin Schwartz

Workday in the office

Wednesday, August 16Workday in the office- deadline for first DTH is tomorrow

Thursday, August 17Deadline for first DTH today at 3:00 pm

Friday, August 18Deadline for first day of class today at 3:00 pm

Monday Aug. 21Sales meeting DTH office - 10:30 am- bagels No deadline today!

Tuesday August 22Normal 2-day deadlines begin (deadline for Thursday)

** Normal Sales Meetings begin Monday, August 28 at 1 pm in room 3408

The Daily Tar HeelSales Assistant Training Schedule

* training will take place over the next 4-5 weeks* during training assistants can attend sales meetings

Monday’s 1:00, they usually last 20-30minutes* assistants will be added to the daily proofing schedule

starting in the next week or twousually ready by 1:00usually takes 20 minutes - will take longer in the beginning

* media kitsyou will be trained next week with Jorie

*after training is complete assistants will be assigned to sales repsyou will have input, so start figuring out the territories

Training Session #145 minutes overview & tour:

phones, supplies, office flow, meet other professionals,

photocopy, tax forms...go over training agenda

Training Session #2 appointment proofing and media kits

Training Session #31 hour rate card & paper

Training Session #4 1 hour forms & rate card jeopardy game (review)

Training Session #5 appointment paperwork in office

Training Session #6 1 hour sales calls & handling objections

Training Session #7 1 hour layout & design

Mid-Month Evaluations

AE:_________________________ Goal:_________________________

Month: NOVEMBER Make Goal:_____________________

Today’s date:_________________ 10% over?_____________________

How are weekly call sheets going? Turning them in on Friday?

Paperwork? Any questions, problems or suggestions?

Office hours:Have you given your clients your tentative office hours schedules?How did the clients respond?

Initiative:How did taking our chocolate treats go over with your clients? Do you feel like thatappreciated the gesture? Let’s show our clients that we care about them by juststopping by to say hi and forming a positive relationship!

New clients in your territory/potentials?

DTH Deals: don’t forget, the 7th one is free!

Housing?

Exam Survival/Holiday Gift Guide?

Contract Issues? Make sure to keep your clients up-to-date on contracts….

Any mistakes/problems in your clients’ ads?If so, how was it handled?

Any problem clients? We can go visit them together!

General questions/concerns?

The Student Media Marketing Sales Training Program is a four-day interactive series

of training sessions that incorporates product knowledge and customer service to enable

account executives to offer the best solutions for clients’ advertising needs. Sessions are held

in August for new hires, as well as any time of the year that account executives are hired.

The sales manager and marketing director, both of whom provide a wealth of knowledge in

the advertising arena, lead the program in a one-on-one setting.

The program is intensive, yet the session leaders do not overwhelm session attendees.

They take the program step-by-step, answering questions that attendees may have and

explaining the answers in easy-to-understand detail. The first day, which includes Session I,

is a general overview, where session leaders explain Student Media and its departments.

They show attendees how the sales department fits into a much bigger picture. Session

leaders give a tour of the offices, explaining where the most important tools are located and

explain how to use them. The emphasis is on the sales office, as that is where executives

spend much of their time, and areas of interest are pointed out. After the tour, attendees are

introduced to the staff of professionals and students from other departments. This is when

attendees are encouraged to use professional staff as a resource and ask questions as needed.

After a short break, students review materials that explain what a college newspaper

salesperson is and their responsibilities as outlined in the job description. Roles and

responsibilities are outlined clearly at this time. To wrap up the day, attendees are given a

rate card to review in their own time in preparation for the next day’s session.

Day two, which includes Session II, is more intense, as attendees are formally

introduced to the rate card as it is discussed in detail. Attendees familiarize themselves with

the rate card and how it is laid out, and they learn the difference between on-campus and

local rates. In addition to traditional run of the press display advertising, session leaders

explain classified advertising, inserts, color charges, discounts and special sections.

Attendees learn how to calculate column inches and how to easily explain this to clients.

They find samples of sizes in issues and are required to complete quizzes to familiarize

themselves with these calculations. Session leaders give attendees scenarios and have them

fill out paperwork as deemed necessary for the type of advertising presented in the scenario.

Role playing occurs at this time, and attendees are able to imagine an actual sales call. To

wrap up the day’s activities, attendees review the publication dates and deadlines for space

reservation and ad proofs. Day two of training is intense, although session leaders are in a

comfortable setting where they can answer questions attendees may have and pinpoint areas

of concern that may need more attention. Attendees leave with more materials on hand to

review and complete during their own time.

Day three, which is comprised of Session III, features a pre-arranged sales call where

the session leader accompanies the account executive. The advertiser has already been

contacted and knows what to ask. The session leader makes the introduction and allows the

account executive to take it from there. The session leader only interjects when it is

absolutely necessary and gives constructive criticism in private when the sales call is

finished. This is the point when the account executive knows if the position is something he

or she will find enjoyable.

The final day of training, Session IV, is when the new account executive attends the

sales meeting. He or she is introduced the sales staff and allowed to see how they interact

with each other and with management. This is a great experience for the new executive, as he

or she gets to hear about good experiences and concerns of other executives.

The sales training program is intense, yet organized and detailed. Attendees are

comfortable asking questions and session leaders are always prepared to answer them.

Feedback from the program has been positive, and new account executives feel prepared to

meet with clients and offer superb customer service with their wealth of product knowledge.

Student Media Marketing Fall Training / New Sales Executive Training

Session 1: General Overview

• Overview of Student Media Marketing and Student Media as a whole • Question & Answer • Tour of Student Media

o All offices and significance of each o Paper morgue o Introduction to employees

Student employees and full-time staff BREAK

• Discuss What is a college newspaper salesperson? • Discuss Advertising Account Executive Job Responsibilities (see attached)

Session 2: Rate Card (accompanied with recent newspaper issue)

• Overview o Have trainee glance over rate card o Discuss in detail

• Rates o On-campus, off-campus, and national rates –which clients qualify o Classifieds o Inserts o Color charges o Discounts o Special Sections

• Column Inches o 1-6 column inches o How column inches are calculated o Give sample questions with a quiz to follow at end of session

• • Publication Dates and Special Sections

o Difference in issues – Tuesday vs. Thursday content o Deadlines!!!

Space reservation Ad proof deadlines

Session 3: Pre-arranged “fake” sales calls

• Group sales calls o Each returning sales rep and trainee will have a different client to go

see and try and sell an ad to for the fall semester Session 4: Sales Meeting

• Trainees are inducted into the marketing department • Complete paper work for employment

~ It is very important that you attend all of the sessions. Please try scheduling other activities for different times for this week of training. ~ We will be moving quickly over the material and the information we will be covering is crucial to your success as a new and successful account executive.

FALL 2006 Student Media Training Schedule

Monday, August 7 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM SM Conference Room

Tuesday, August 8 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM SM Conference Room

Wednesday, August 9 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM SM Conference Room

Thursday, August 10 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM SM Conference Room

~ Every day is considered a specific session and if for some reason you cannot stay for the whole duration of the session or need to miss a session you will need to schedule a time with either the Marketing Director or Sales Manager to cover the material you missed. You will not start working until you have completed ALL your training. ~ We look forward to seeing you!

JOB DESCRIPTION ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Student Media Marketing The Account Executive shall call on and meet with clients to sell advertisements for the publications and service such accounts on a regular basis.

Distinguishing Features of the Job: Each Account Executive is hired on a permanent basis and is required to meet all standards and goals. Each Account Executive shall have specified monthly sales quotas to meet. Responsibilities and Duties: • Keeps at least 10 office hours a week between the hours of 8:00 and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; these

office hours will be posted in the office. If, for some reason, he/she cannot be in the office, he/she must inform the Advertising Sales Manager;

• Daily phone calls should be made to his or her voice mailbox in order to check phone messages from their clients.

• Must maintain weekly and monthly sales quotas established by Advertising Sales Manager; • Attends sales workshops when advised. These workshops will be held upon notice of the Advertising Sales

Manager and will be conducted by the Advertising Sales Manager and Marketing Adviser; • Attends all sales meetings; • Logs all calls in account log binder. Each Account Executive will have an account log binder to record all

phone conversations with their clients. Under any circumstances the account log binder shall never leave the office;

• At the end of employment, he/she must return his/her copy of the Student Media Marketing Handbook and his/her account log binder. The Office Manager will hold the last paycheck;

• Proofs his/her ads before the set deadline. Once the ad is proofed he/she should fill out an ad revision/correction form and turn in for the Creative Director. All correct ads, upon proofing, shall be placed in the bin in the Creative Director’s office;

• Dresses in a professional manner when meeting with clients or when an occasion deems it necessary and proper;

• Maintains open communication between client accounts to insure proper service; • Helps with any walk-in or call-in clients; • Sell a complete line of UTimes products (Special Sections, U-Times, and NinerOnline) • Keep clients informed of any special issues or promotions; • Correctly complete all necessary paperwork; • Adheres to department deadlines; • Monitor contract status of accounts to stay on target; • Adhere to billing and credit policies as posted by the Business Manager; • Provide support and help to other Account Executives • Does related work as needed. Required Knowledge and Skills: •Must be a student currently enrolled at UNC Charlotte; •Must possess and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0; •Must be in good disciplinary and academic standing with UNC Charlotte •Must work well with others; •Must have good communication skills and project professional image.

The Account Executive reports to the Student Media Marketing Advertising Sales Manager and /or Marketing Director. Questions about this position and its responsibilities should be directed to your supervisor. Grievances may be taken to the Student Media Board and/or Student Media Adviser.

For further information, contact: Kelly Merges, Marketing Adviser, Cone University Center, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 Phone 704/687-2663

The University of North Carolina is composed of the 16 public senior institutions in North Carolina. An equal opportunity employer

10/6/04 By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above job description which outlines the responsibilities as well as qualifications for the position stated. I also understand that by not fulfilling the responsibilities listed above, I can face termination from the position stated. _____________________________________________ _________________________________________

The University Daily Kansan

Category 3c: Best Training Program

The University Daily Kansan’s core training program is an intensive 40-hour

week at the beginning of every semester. The goal of the program is to effectively train

our salespeople to be the best possible sales consultants to their clients. The program

consists of three parts: product training, sales training, and establishing pride in the

Kansan among the advertising staff members.

Product knowledge is key to the credibility and success of any salesperson, and

product training is spread throughout the week so each person can get a solid grasp on

each product. Each day, a new product or two are introduced to the new salespeople.

Throughout the week, we review the products so that they fully understand rates,

deadlines, audience, which advertisers are best for each product, etc. Their knowledge of

products is tested during the rate card competition and during certification at the end of

the week to ensure that each salesperson is a credible, knowledgeable source for their

clients.

At the end of training week, salespeople are expected to have a strong

understanding of the sales process. To prepare each of them, sales training is done with

the Sales and Marketing Advisor each day to cover each step of the sales process:

opening the call, establishing value, handling objections, and closing the call. During the

main sales training sessions, new hires participate in role playing, teambuilding, and

group exercises to begin practicing their new skills and to hone in on their own personal

selling style. Other topics, such as customer service, follow up, and developing new

business are taught in shorter sessions throughout the week.

One of the most important parts of training, though it isn’t written in the training

schedule, is constantly reiterating the value of the Kansan to each new salesperson. Each

person that works for the Kansan must wholeheartedly believe in the power of the

Kansan; not only for our advertisers, but also for their own personal and professional

development. To make sure each person understands this, returning staff members share

testimonials throughout the week in group and one-on-one sessions about what the

Kansan has personally done for each of us, whether it be getting our first choice

internship or becoming a better manager. Also, at the end of the week, former members

of the Kansan ad staff come back for roundtable discussions to tell their personal story

about how the Kansan helped them get to where they are today. They also give tips about

how to be successful in ad sales at the Kansan.

In addition to the intensive week of training before the beginning of the semester,

we have implemented a continual training program throughout the semester to

continually develop our salespeople’s skills and talent. Every other week, hour-long

continual training sessions take place (see attached schedule) on assorted topics that are

relevant to the time of the semester. These main sessions are followed up by shorter,

more personal sessions later in the week to answer questions and develop them even

further.

The Kansan’s training program is a long, intense, and overwhelming week for

new salespeople. It requires a lot of planning and preparation, but at the end of the week,

we have produced some of the best salespeople out there who know the Kansan inside

and out and have a genuine pride in what we do here.

FALL TRAINING SCHEDULE 2006

Training is designed to introduce information throughout the week so that each day the salespeople can build upon their knowledge from the previous day(s). Many one-on-one sessions with a buddy are also incorporated to learn the hands-on processes of the Kansan (sizing an ad, filling out an insertion order, etc.) so that the new salespeople can have a more intensive learning environment instead of in a lecture setting.

Thursday, August 3, 2006 – Friday, August 4, 2006: Manager Training

• Various teambuilding exercises, discussions of strengths and weaknesses of each manager, guest speakers, and preparation for new staff training

Day One – Monday, August 7, 2006 • General Job Expectations • Zone Manager’s expectations for zone sales team • Commission structure and bonuses • Guest Speaker – Communicating effectively: Steve Ligget • Meet with buddy

• General Rate Card Review, sizing and pricing an ad (practice problems) • Sales Training with Jenny Weaver – Sales and Marketing Advisor • Meet with buddy

• More rate card/product reviews, sizing/pricing • Rate card quiz

Day Two – Tuesday, August 8, 2006 • Contract training • Products • Rotations (sessions with managers)

• Special Sections/Jayplay • Classifieds • Creative/Production

• Buddy Time • Rate card, paperwork (IOs, creative requests), credit applications

• Sales Training with Jenny Weaver • Rate Card competition

Day Three – Wednesday, August 9, 2006 • Practicing Ethical behavior • Rotations (sessions with managers)

• Marketing info and how to use it • Prospecting and selling new business • Customer Service/Follow up

• About the News staff with Jonathan Kealing, editor • Product review • Sales Training with Jenny • An introduction to the new Kansan.com

Day Four – Thursday, August 10, 2006 • Review of contracts • Rotations (sessions with managers)

• Addressing Customer Concerns/Objection Handling • Competitive Media • Kansan.com

• Work on certification with Buddy • Sales Training with Jenny Weaver • Rotations (sessions with managers)

• Proposals • Time Management/Organization tips • Client Lists/Files

Day Five – Friday, August 11, 2006 • Roundtables with guest speakers

• Advice from former addies who are out in the professional world • Certification (see next page) • Wrap up with Jenny • SELL!

CONTINUAL TRAINING SCHEDULE

Week 1: Customer Service/Follow Up

• Tips and ideas on how to effectively service clients after initial meetings and first sales.

• Follow up: Personal experiences of great customer service

Week 2: New Business

• Prospecting and finding leads and the differences between selling to a new business and selling to an existing account

• Follow up: Questions/success stories about new business

Week 3: Guest Speaker: Client personality quadrants

• Adapting your selling style to the personality of your client • Follow up: Where do your clients fall?

Week 4: Guest Speaker: Keeping momentum up at the end of the semester

• Don’t let the mid-semester slump slow you down. It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.

• Follow up: Finishing up this semester and looking ahead to next

Week 5: Student holiday spending; Helping your clients finish the semester strong

• Statistics on how much students spend in various categories during the holiday season and how this relates to advertisers and the Kansan

• Follow up: More holiday spending facts

CERTIFICATION

Certification is a set of three mock client calls meant to test each salesperson’s sales/product knowledge skill set after the first week of training. Each call should include a variety of products and may be an easy or difficult sale. They must come prepared with proposals, spec ads, calendars, etc. Scores are based on objection handling, closing the sale, needs analysis, and product knowledge. Scenario 1

You have just spoken to the owner of a new video rental store, Jayhawk Movie Express. The owner told you that the store just opened at 31st and Iowa and is interested in reaching the student market. Since the owner went to KU 28 years ago, he/she has a good basic knowledge of the Kansan. He/she is interested in putting some ads in August and September to see how they work. The owner tells you that the budget for the first two months is around $2000 but could possibly be flexible. Scenario 2

Three years ago, Downtown Music Central, a concert hall at 9th and Massachusetts, ran in the Kansan and saw no results. Its rep stopped calling and all faith in the Kansan was lost. Since then, no rep has gotten through to the owner because he hates the Kansan. DMC has ads in the Hawk Sheet on a regular basis. You happened to get a hold of the owner, and he reluctantly agreed to meet with you. You have visited DMC’s Web site and found out that there are daily specials in its bar area and Kelly Clarkson, Ben Folds, and Vanilla Ice are having shows in September. DMC also offers online contests for free tickets.

Scenario 3 Upsilon Delta Kappa fraternity is putting on a weeklong toga party. The president called you to see if he could get some ads in the paper. They have a relatively small budget but want to get a lot of exposure. The party is the first week of September and is located mainly at the frat house, located at 1435 Jayhawk Blvd, Rm. 119.

SALES TRAINING AT THE PITT NEWS

The sales training program at The Pitt News provides the team a professional yet engaging atmosphere where students continually learn about the newspaper industry from the business perspective. The experience of a sales representative at The Pitt News lays a solid foundation for any business or sales position beyond graduation.

Not unlike a traditional job setting, students first interview for the advertising

positions, and those who are hired initially receive a copy of our sales training manual With over 45 years’ collective industry experience, the professional staff continually amends and adds to the manual. Our beliefs in ethical and customer-based sales efforts form the body of this manual, which covers everything from day-to-day procedures to production information to the practice of selling our products and services.

Once we establish the groundwork, we host a series of training sessions. We

believe that just as a professional baseball team begins with spring training followed by ongoing practice sessions throughout the season, our sales team should work in much the same way. As a result, we conduct a 2-day long formal training in the spring. The spring sessions involve departing sales reps, who lend their knowledge and enthusiasm to new reps. Veterans walk the streets and review customer files with trainees. New hires have the opportunity to make an ad, fill out insertion orders and see the rhythm of the paper’s operations before actually acquiring any true responsibility. Classroom training in the spring is a brief preview of fall formal training; reps learn the vocabulary of the business, review and take a test on the rate card, learn the basics of our media kit contents, and most importantly get to know each other. At The Pitt News, teamwork is critical, in terms of compensation and general morale. We stage teambuilding games in the fall, and in the spring have icebreaker activities to get the students comfortable with each other.

Our formal training program commences before the fall term begins, and we

continue to provide ongoing training sessions during weekly sales meetings. Sales reps receive a personalized “Playbook” during formal training, and add handouts to the three-ring binders as the year goes by. All sales-related materials are kept organized this way, and the original training manual becomes a companion resource to the Playbook as reps grow more comfortable with our basic policies and procedures.

During formal training in the fall, trainees participate in discussions about a

variety of topics: Client profiling, partnerships, handling objections, developing sales strategies and the power of attitude. The reps also listen to audiotapes, complete worksheets and participate in role-play situations.

After the advertising representatives develop this in-office foundation, they each

learn to apply theory in a series of individual training sessions as well as hands-on training to his or her geographic territory. Together, we review active and inactive customers, discuss the histories behind accounts, and familiarize the reps with the clients’ profiles. We discuss goals and strategy before meeting directly with customers, then do a

walk-through or ride through the territory, slowly integrating classroom material to the actual customer portfolio.

Upon returning from the field, new reps are encouraged to plan ahead and record

notes of conversations with customers by creating an action plan for their following sales week. In time, each rep begins to comfortably manage the multiple tasks involved in sales, understanding that, in representing The Pitt News, he/she is responsible for the excellent customer service we expect.

Ongoing training takes place at a weekly mandatory sales meeting. Part of this

training includes thought-provoking games, such as creating on-the-spot opening statements, or group activities, such as selling random everyday objects to the group, using feature and benefit statements. Other sessions involve reviewing marketing/rate card information, role-playing, ad-design, hunting for prospects creating formal presentations and proposals, and overcoming objections.

Another highpoint of our ongoing training is our guest speaker agenda. In

September, we welcome adversising management from both the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune, as well as a senior account executive from the Pittsburgh Business Times. We also enjoy annual presentations by account executives from local ad agencies and a graphic designer who recreates some of our ads and discusses ways to improve ad-designing skills. Having professionals visit our facilities has proven to be a motivating experience for our reps and has resulted in the beginning of several post-graduate careers.

As a result of our training program and team atmosphere, advertising revenue has

consistently increased over the past four years, and our team has been complimented by several of our advertisers as being “extremely professional compared to other local media sales reps”. Reps themselves express their satisfaction in our program when given an opportunity to evaluate the formal training session. Analysis of the training survey results in our annual redesign of the training program according to students’ suggestions and comments.

The Pitt News has incorporated a winning program that fosters in our ad rep

trainees a progressive knowledge of the advertising world, and we hope our training developments set a precedent by which The Pitt News will continue to operate. On an individual level, our goal is for the students to learn the art of developing advertising programs, the value of hard work and persistence, the satisfaction of facing challenges head-on, and the joy of surpassing goals. If the adage that “knowledge is power” holds true, then as the training program at The Pitt News continues to expand and improve, its strengths will reflect on the team—a powerful sales force destined for success.

THE PITT NEWS: 2006 TRAINING SESSIONS 1/7/05: Role-play. Listening Skills/Feedback/Asking the right questions. 1/13/06: The importance of knowing your marketplace. Competitive medium, territory familiarity, customers’ pasts, problems and their future plans.

1/20/06: The value of teamwork. Blitzing one territory every week to find new leads, uncover current problems and introduce The Pitt News. 1/27/06: Answering objections with an open-ended question. Role-playing with possible solutions to the most common objections. 2/3/06: Contract policy. Review of consequences and rewards due when customers either don’t fulfill their contracts or exceed them. 2/10/06: Creating a proposal or presentation, Part I. Reps practiced how to draw out customers so that they could build a custom-tailored presentation. 2/18/05: The Formal Presentation. Part II. Based on last week’s mock customer meeting, reps took turns presenting to the group and critiquing each other’s work. 2/24/06: Introductory questions. Whether on the phone or in person, your first words matter. Reps competed for prizes in writing down as many intro questions as possible. 3/3/06: What personal integrity can do for your future. Why working hard matters. 3/17/06: Keeping the momentum going. Striving for customer satisfaction and a good reference even as graduation nears. 3/24/06: Summer Discount/ New Student Guide. How to reintroduce yourself to “dead” accounts and sell into the New Student Guide. 3/31/06: Service with a smile. The contagious quality of enthusiasm, even it you have to fake it at first. 4/7/06: Wrapping up your relationship with your clients. Key Client Profiles, last meetings, passing the torch to the next sales rep. 4/14/06: How to articulate on your resume what you have accomplished at The Pitt News. Resume tips/job descriptions/interview skills. 4/20 and 4/21 2006 Formal Training: Two days of Icebreakers, overviews, expectations, rate card and market research study, the roles of production and editorial, territory review, shadowing veteran reps. 5/18/06: You are your customer’s customer. Give your customers ideas based on who you are, what you and your friends buy, where you spend your time etc. 5/26/06: Closing the sale is opening the door to our relationship with your client. Once you get a signed contract, you haven’t closed…you’ve opened. What is Account Management? 6/1/06: When is NO really the final answer? How to continually approach the prospect who has given a definitive “no”. 6/8/06: Prospecting, and how you can keep your funnel FULL. How to prospect on a daily basis and continually integrate new business to your portfolio. 6/16/06: Communicate through all vehicles: Using voice mail, e-mail, snail mail, phone messages and cards to stay in touch with your customers and prospects. 6/21/06: Objections: The first step toward a sale: Use your customer’s objections as rungs on a ladder. 6/29/06: Shut Up! The Key to Learning how to Listen: How to listen to your customers and prove to them that they matter. 7/07/06: Smile when you say that: When you leave a voice mail, are you smiling? You should be. A smile can be heard over the phone, and it helps your own attitude. 7/12/06: When you are in a slump: How to use your imagination to pull out of a downward sales spiral.

7/20/05: Production notes: What happens to your insertion order once you insert it? How the business staff affects production and editorial staffs. 7/27/05: Welcome Back Issue: The art of organization, especially when it comes to special issues. 8/3/05: Payment for Welcome Back: How your insertion order affects accounting and reporting. 8/16/05: Training the new staff: How to introduce the new reps into their territories/ transfer calls. Fall Formal Training: 5 Full Days: Monday-Friday, August 22 – August 26, 2006 Territory boundaries, maps, contracts, reporting systems, site visits with summer reps, research on largest customers, insertion orders, kill orders, credit applications, computer systems, billing systems, playbooks, organization of time and sales tools, call reports, appointments and what should be researched beforehand, what you should carry with you, client ad campaigns, customer service, Production overview, Editor-in-Chief introduction and summation, common mistakes, games. 9/2/06: Prospecting Systems and how to keep the funnel full. 9/9/06: Payment policies and review of Production: Production Manager Q & A 9/16/06: Role Play Round Robin: Each rep presents the group with the toughest issue of their week and the others role-play to solve the problems. 9/23/06: Reading The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gittomer. Each rep reads one quote and comments on it, round robin style. 9/30/06: Guest Speaker Bill Cotter from the Tribune Review. Sales 101. 10/7/06: Production training. Saving ads in their files, new specs, PhotoShop. 10/14/06: Our Bottom Line: Billing, slow pay, collecting checks, reading bills. 10/21/06: Battling with Voice Mail: How to leave a message they’ll return. 10/28/06: Online Advertising Review. Contracts, insertion orders, how to sell 11/4/06: Guest Speaker Terry Lucas. The Four-Step Sales Process. 11/11/06: Role Playing: scenarios and critiques. 11/18/06: Guest Speaker Natalie D’Antonio, Pittsburgh Business Times. Objections. 12/2/06: The problem with radio. Analyzing our market research on radio listeners

The Pitt News Training Survey Please let us know what you think of our Formal Training Sessions. Rate each session with 1 being not effective and 5 being very effective. Production Overview 1 2 3 4 5 How The Pitt News Works (editorial/production/advertising flow)1 2 3 4 5 Paperwork (Insertion Orders etc.) 1 2 3 4 5

Account Management 1 2 3 4 5 Sales:Objections/Presentations/ Proposals/Prospecting 1 2 3 4 5 Games: Bingo/Family Feud/1 Minute Self-Talk

1 2 3 4 5

Reports Overview (Monthly Contract/Slow Pay) 1 2 3 4 5

What was your favorite part of formal training sessions? Why? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What was your least favorite part of formal training and why? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CNBAM Best Training Program Statement of Qualification A newspaper’s sales representatives are its most visible ambassadors. Thus, the manner in which they are trained and inculcated with the newspaper’s culture is key to not only their success, but the success of the newspaper itself. We at Student Life take great pride in our training program. Our training program is conducted over a three week period. Each week, the newly hired representatives meet for one to two hours to cover a variety of topics (see attached training schedule). Each week includes reading assignments as well as a quiz on the previous weeks material. At the conclusion of the three week program, the trainees must take a comprehensive final exam covering all of topics discussed. In addition to the final exam, the trainees are required to put together a “mock sales presentation” for the Advertising Manager. If successful, they are offered a position selling ads on staff. Our training philosophy is that our representatives should not only understand our business, but also our client’s business and the newspaper advertising business as a whole. Thus, our first step in the training process is to teach new representatives about advertising and specifically, newspaper advertising. This includes a background in the benefits of print media versus television, radio and other media. We also offer a general tutorial in how newspaper advertising is sold. The second step in our training process is to inform new representatives about how Student Life conducts its business, including a brief overview of the editorial side of the paper. This includes such topics as products, promotions, pricing and how the office is organized and maintained. The final step is to teach the sales reps to be good client contacts. That is, we seek to impart them with the necessary tools and knowledge to be strong customer advocates and to consistently offer the utmost in customer satisfaction and dedication. We stress that repeat business is the foundation for our success and that every client, regardless of order size, deserves the best we can offer. We instill the idea that our newspaper is there to serve the Washington University community and this includes offering the fullest representation of local businesses and services. Training, however, does not end with the initial program. We continue to offer additional training opportunities throughout the year. The Ad Manager serves as a partner to new trainees, going with them on sales calls, offering support and advice to help them through their first interactions with clients. Further, weekly sales meetings are used primarily for educational purposes. We also provide additional training materials throughout the year: articles about positive selling and service techniques, clientele management tips, new client development, etc. We at Student Life believe that no training is ever complete; there is always something new to be learned. Thus, we strive to promote an atmosphere of continual growth and education.

CNBAM Best Training Program Training Schedule Week 1 Topics -Overview of Student Life -Newspaper Terminoology -Calculating Rates & Costs -Discounts & Frequency Packages -Scheduling Ads Week 2 Quiz over Week 1 Topics Topics -The Sales Approach -Selling a Campaign -Closing the Sale Week 3 Quiz over Week 2 Topics Topics -Overcoming Objections -Continued Customer/Client Service Tips -Questions Trainees have on program Conclusion of Training Program Comprehensive Final Exam of Topics Mock Sales Presentation