Structure, training, compensation help can boost classifieds teams
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December 1, 2004 12:23 PM
RESTON, Va.— Personnel management is a big part of classifieds sales managers' jobs, from putting the right people in to the right jobs, to helping them build customer relationships and set priorities. It's a good opportunity for HR professionals to add value, suggested media executives at a seminar held here Nov. 14-19 by the American Press Institute.
"That's what keeps me up at night—thinking about the HR side of what we do," said speaker Lucy Talley-Chapman, publisher of North Carolina's Salisbury Post.
Staffing levels are a significant challenge, said seminar speaker Robin Smith, director of customer relationship marketing at Gannett. A media company may want to grow sales, for example, but can't (or won't) necessarily hire more full-time employees in order to do that. "Everybody wants to do more with less," Smith said. "And they want to add more to the bottom line."
HR can help classified sales managers with input into such issues as:
Team structure. Organizations must ensure that their best people are put on the best opportunities where they can get the most return, said Talley-Chapman. One way to gauge this, she suggested, was in the use of talent review tests that can provide tips about individuals' suitability for jobs, as well as the best way to motivate and train them. "When I first started using these I was [skeptical], but I have never had one go wrong," she said.
You may also want to help your organization look at ways to reallocate resources temporarily if personnel is scarce and specific opportunities require staffing, said Smith. "It's a roll of the dice, but it's better than nothing." At one publication, he said, the company moved some people away from private party sales in the months that are traditionally slow, instead having them prospect for new business.
Finally, discussion leader Cheryl Phillips, corporate sales development vice president for Sun Media, suggested arranging sales teams by key "verticals"—such as employment, real estate and automotive—to help them develop relationships and expertise. This can aid in the battle for market share, she noted, since non-newspaper competition often directly targets specific markets.
Training, Both seminar attendees and speakers expressed concerns about salespeople's abilities—for example, understanding how to sell value rather than price, communicating clearly the breadth of the product mix, and making the sales processes simple for the customer.
"Have we trained them to profile a customer? To get on the phone and be put in touch with the right person?" asked Smith. And "What happens when a sales rep leaves? It's almost sad." The challenge, he said, is preparing new staff to work efficiently quickly—particularly because many find themselves immediately thrown into high-output positions.
A formal and consistent training program may better enable your organization to attract and keep talented employees, Phillips said.
Compensation. Commissions are intended to motivate salespeople, but speakers at the seminar suggested that compensation can also be used to reinforce desired strategic behaviors.
HR professionals can help establish incentive programs that reward sales teams for lowering customer churn, Phillips said, or for customer service that goes above and beyond the norm and helps better develop relationships. In service, she said, "that 'wow factor' is so important."
In the end, a team that feels prepared to succeed and supported by their managers is the most likely to deliver results. "You know you have a successful classifieds organization if you have a satisfied workforce," Phillips said.
