Cyndie Sheridan for Book of Lists Sales Tips

Speaker: Cyndie Sheridan, Phoenix Business Journal

Cyndie Sheridan: Hello, everybody. Just a few tips for selling Book of Lists. The first item was the best tips for identifying leads for Book of Lists. I would say the first one is just put yourself in the shoes of a business owner. If you were a business owner, which products and services would you need? And remember there's one off such as janitorial service companies, places where they could host venues at. Also movers that will move an office from one location to another. Also don't always think of somebody needing to advertise or be adjacent to a list that fits their business. And if that list isn't available, then you don't have a sale. That's not true. A lot of businesses will advertise adjacent to a list of an industry that they're actually interested in targeting as well.

Cyndie Sheridan: Next question. What do clients like most about Book of Lists? It's easy. It's always two things. So the first is how many times it's referenced per month per reader surveyed. It's referenced 3 to 4 times per month. That's unheard of in the world of media. So, it's not just here today gone tomorrow, like maybe a billboard that you drive by or an ad that you saw on the TV or heard on the radio. This is actually in-hand referenced 3 to 4 times per month. So great usage. Speaking of other media, how many other media do you know where you make one investment, one ad and it's seen for a whole year? It's really rare. So there's a huge value in that to our readers and the return on investment is outstanding.

Cyndie Sheridan: Next question was actually how to answer an objection. And that objection was, I'm not interested in being in answer Book of Lists because I feel the information is dated by the time the book publishes and I had to stop and think about that for a minute. What information do they feel would be dated? The ads aren't going to be dated. So, are they talking about the businesses that are on the lists in Book of Lists may be outdated? Which would lead to my next question, Are they saying that they think that businesses are going to be out of business by the time the book publishes? That's really not a common occurrence. And even if there were some that were out of business, it would be such a small percentage, it would be totally insignificant to that objection. The fact of the matter is business is always changing. So that's why people are so excited to see who's on the list every year in Book of Lists. And if people are excited to see that, then don't you wanna be where people are looking?

Cyndie Sheridan: I had to put my glasses on for this one because my writing was tiny. So anyway, the question is, what is my strategy for Book of Lists? I don't, I wouldn't say that I have a, a set time frame for when I'm going to call on just Book of Lists. And the reason is I pretty much put it in every proposal. I'd rather get a no from somebody than why didn't I know. So I will put it in nearly every proposal. Obviously, if it's not a fit, I'm not gonna put it in there, but I just figure it's easier that way to sell it throughout the year. But I do put a heavy focus on it during our prebook period, which here in Phoenix, we, we kick that off about August and do a hard push until the end of the year. We also occasionally have incentives so maybe ask your manager or Ad Director if you guys have any incentives that you can include when you're pitching Book of Lists to your clients and leads. I use typically Q1 as more my wrap things up or tie it up time frame. I don't want to try to start selling it then because a lot of people have been away for the holidays. And then they feel it's kind of a last minute push when you're trying to get them to sign by the end of Q1, especially for your renewals, every market's got a different cut off for that. So really be aware of that if you have multimarket clients. So I would say the, the other part of the strategy which I use all the time is the fear of missing out or FOMO. So, you know, first come first serve, that's just the reality of Book of Lists. If there are certain placements that you want, whether it's adjacent to your industry list or an industry list that you're trying to target, you really need to get in sooner than later to secure your placement.

Cyndie Sheridan: The final tip or words of encouragement for account executives who are looking to meet or exceed their Book of Lists goal. First, I would just say keep following up until you get a firm. yes or no. A lot of businesses get so sidetracked by when the deadline is, they forget about the first-come first-serve issues. So if there's a list adjacency that they're wanting, they really need to sign up now, not later. I would say also remember just to keep reiterating that it's one ad that's going to give you an entire year's worth of visibility. I mean, just do some quick math, do a quick return on investment, you know, ask them how much their average net worth is per customer and then look at the ad pricing and Book of Lists for the different ad sizes. How many customers do they need to pay for that ad over the next year? That should be a pretty easy ROI to hit no matter what size ad that they decide to purchase in Book of Lists. Lastly, I would just say, you know, if your market does have any incentives. sometimes it could be something as simple as say a bonus print ad that could run any time throughout the year if they purchase, say a half page. But if they do a full page, maybe they could, get a bonus print ad, but also maybe a couple of tickets to an event, that actually helped close the deal recently. For me, they've kind of been on the fence, they bowed out a Book of Lists last year, but they came back this year because of that. So, have a team meeting, talk to your manager and see what incentives you guys could throw out there. That's it. Happy selling! Hit your Book of Lists goals. You got this!