How many of you lift weights at your local gym or take yoga classes? The most important thing when you begin lifting weights or practicing yoga is learning proper technique. If you’re not executing the exercises or positions correctly, you’ll never see the benefits of your work…AND you risk injuring yourself. However, once you gain a thorough understand of proper form, it takes complete dedication to lift weights and practice yoga on a consistent basis if you want to generate the lean muscle mass growth, flexibility, and balance you’re looking for.
Mastering professional sales skills is exactly like lifting weights or practicing yoga. As I’ve explained dozens of times to you over the past year, sales is a science. Sales is a systematic series of repeatable events designed to produce a desire outcome. First you learn how to sell using the 6 steps of the sales cycle, then you hit the streets and practice over, and over, and over again until the process has become ingrained. It takes time. It takes dedication. But when it all comes together you will begin to find true success – bridging the gap between transactional salesperson and trusted business advisor. Your territory sales revenues will tick upwards, and with that your personal income will flourish.
One of the many benefits that MNA offers your newspaper is access to high quality sales training through our non-profit arm – the Minnesota News Media Institute (MNMI.) MNMI offers a plethora of training opportunities for not only new reps just learning the advertising sales business, but also seasoned professionals who are looking for that “edge” to close that big elusive contract or successfully sell against local competing media. A calendar of upcoming sales training modules can be found each week in the MNA Bulletin.
Additionally, MNA brings in some of the most respected and highly sought after sales training speakers in the country to present at our annual convention each January. This gives each of you affordable access to some of the state and country’s renowned experts on how to prospect for new business, build relationships, conduct needs analysis, close sales, manage your time more efficiently, direct sales teams, and most importantly MAKE MORE MONEY!
The MNA Annual Convention is taking place in just a few short weeks – January 26-27th at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington. Here’s a snapshot of the sales speakers we’re thrilled to have presenting:
– Steve Kloyda / TheProspectingExpert.com – Steve will be conducting two sessions on Friday, January 27 focusing on the art of prospecting and also the art of organization and time management..two areas that are crucial to achieving sales success
– Kirk Hodgdon / Principal Growth Catalyst at Bolin Marketing – Kirk will be dissecting the affects that social media is having on the newspaper business and explain how we can capitalize on the reach and timelines of this medium to create new sales and publishing opportunities.
– Bill Albrecht / President of The Media Network of Central Ohio (formerly Publisher of St. Cloud Times) – Bill will be leading a session on creating a thriving sales culture, with content geared towards advertising sales managers and directors.
– Scott Schmeltzer / Publisher of the Albert Lea Tribune – Scott will be focusing on past, current and future sales tactics and strategies to increase sales and build trusted relationships with your top clients.
New for 2012, MNA is offering a “First Time Convention Attendee” special 50% off rate. If you’ve never attended in the past, this gives you the opportunity to attend these sales sessions – and any of the other convention programs and activities – at a huge discount. If you’ve attended the convention in the past, then you’re well aware of the tremendous value of the programs offered and we hope to see you again this year!
REMINDER: The “Early Bird” convention registration discount ends THIS FRIDAY, January 13th. If you have not registered, I highly encourage you to fill out the registration form and send it in to us this week.
I look forward to seeing you (or meeting you for the first time if our paths have never crossed) in a few weeks in Bloomington!
Have a terrific week,
Dan
If there are specific topics you’d like to see discussed in a future issue of The Sales Cycle, please contact me at 612-278-0223 or dan@mna.org