a fifth edition of Media Selling would not have been possible without their insights and expertise. And thanks to Scott Pompe of the Austin American‐Statesman for his multiple insights into best practices in local cross‐platform selling, to John Zimmer of Zimmer Marketing Group for his team’s insights in local cross‐platform selling, to Leo MacCourtney of Katz Television, to Tim Warner (no relation) of WRTH‐TV in Indianapolis, and to Zorik Gordon, co‐founder of Reach Local for being so candid in my interviews with them. Also, thanks to Will Warner for designing some of the coolest graphics in the book.
The book was also guided by the thoughtful reviews of several of my academic colleagues, and I would like to thank them for their efforts and encouragement.
Charles Warner
New York, August 2019
Preface
Updating the fourth edition of Media Selling, published in 2009, has been challenging because of the exponential changes in the media, especially in digital advertising, which in 2016 toppled television as the numberone advertising medium, and in the time since the fourth edition, Google and Facebook have dominated the digital advertising media environment. In 2017 and 2018 the two Internet giants amassed approximately 90 percent of the increase in digital advertising investment over the previous year, leaving hundreds of thousands of advertising‐supported websites and apps struggling to survive by dividing the crumbs of the remaining 10 percent of the digital advertising yearly increase. It is difficult to keep up with accelerating changes in the media and in advertising because these changes are driven mostly by advances in artificial intelligence (AI), but this edition includes many of the changes up until August of 2019. With that in mind, we (the authors) have tried to avoid predicting the future beyond 2019. We have included a list of the most relevant references at the end of each chapter. We have also provided a list of resources that includes the URLs of websites and industry newsletters, blogs, apps, and websites where readers can keep up to date on current information.
Focus of the Book
Media Selling focuses on several basic concepts:
Selling media has changed irreversibly since the advent of Google’s self‐serve Ad Words (called Google Ads from July 24, 2018) and the rise of programmatic buying and selling of media ad inventory. In 2019, over 80 percent of all digital inventory (desktop and mobile) was bought by computer‐to‐computer online programmatic trading. There are now two basic types of media selling: (1) in person, or via Skype or FaceTime, face‐to‐face educating, on which this book focuses and (2) programmatic trading, which is covered in a separate chapter. People selling legacy media (television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and out‐of‐home) today must understand both their own medium and the complexity of programmatic, including a basic knowledge of programmatic’s underlying ecosystem and technology because virtually all of the legacy media, both nationally and locally, are sold on a cross‐platform basis that includes a digital component.
Personal selling without tricks or manipulation – with authenticity – is essential in order to build and maintain relationships based on trust.
The imperative of honesty, integrity, and ethics in selling in this era of government, corporate, and media misdeeds and erosion of confidence in the media, and in this new era of social media in which it is virtually impossible to erase the digital footprint of misdeeds or impulsive comments.
Attitudes control successful sales performance, and attitudes are controllable by using sound goals and objectives to motivate salespeople and help them achieve their dreams.
Developing emotional and social intelligence – self‐awareness, self‐management, social awareness, and relationship management – is necessary for success in educating customers and helping them.
Solution and insight educating and selling means selling solutions to marketing and advertising problems.
Because some of the in‐person business in the media is still conducted by means of negotiating, today’s successful media salespeople must be competent negotiators.
Understanding the basic concepts of marketing and advertising is crucial to developing appropriate solutions and insights.
Unique Features
The fifth edition of Media Selling has several unique features:
A fully integrated and organized selling approach – AESKOPP – that enables salespeople and sales managers to organize and evaluate sales efforts.
A strategic personal selling approach that emphasizes giving customers insight and solving customers’ problems by developing trusting, long‐term relationships using the wisdom of emotional intelligence.
Definitions of the five or six steps of personal selling (depending on the type of selling) that focus on discovering and understanding customers’ and buyers’ personalities, needs, and wants; solving advertising and marketing problems; and, most important of all, getting results for customers.
A thorough chapter on negotiating and closing.
Tips on time management.
A chapter that covers the history and practices of programmatic trading.
A website (www.mediaselling.us) with a Downloads section that contains many useful documents such as ad‐sales ratios, RFPs, and blank planners.
Most books on personal selling emphasize discovery and qualifying customer needs and viability, crafting proposals that meet those needs, and techniques for closing a deal, often by creating a false sense of urgency. In the current era of Big Data, micro‐targeting, and buying individuals instead of broad audiences via programmatic, old‐fashioned sales techniques do not tend to work. Today’s media salespeople must concentrate on educating clients and helping them get results. Rather than being just sellers and closers, media salespeople must be educators and helpers.
Style of the Book
The three authors have attempted to write this book in a relatively informal and personal style. We have used the term salesperson throughout this book instead of account executive, seller, account manager, or business development person in order to be consistent, because they are all virtually equivalent in meaning.
1 The Marketing/Media Ecology
Charles Warner
The Internet and Ad Words: Disrupting Marketing and Advertising
