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How is the new business development team working at other Lee papers. The Post Dispatch has a group of salespeople working from home calling on businesses in other salespeoples territories that have not advertised in the past 18 months. A $100 stipend is given for home office expences and a printer and laptop is provided. Kinkos is used to fax and copy items. A drop box is set up in the loby for ad copy and internal communications, sales meetings which you are never made aware of are optional and special Retail department sales incentives (rate discounts) can not be used-RATE CARD PRICING ONLY. Sales goals are set and call information is required to be emailed nightly and is subject to disipline and loss of job if not sent. Since this is a new department I am wanting to know how the New Business Development teams are set up at other Lee papers. Some salespeople feel threatened with someone else in their territory, how are things working out there in other Lee new business ad depts. For some reason this whole concept was presented individually to each salesperson in a negative way by our Ad VP. Its like she dosent want us to do well. Is this set up all across Lee the same way. Since we all work from home I believe we can communicate with each other and all benifit sharing sales projects and sucesses giving each other suggestions with difficlut clients and help each other drive revenue.
Hey Blitzer –Sounds like a great assignment. Nothing out here to compare to that. I heard all the way out here in the West that advertising management has made massive changes, severed relationships with many advertisers resulting in significant revenue losses. Word out here from people that used to be on the inside there is that you can buy an ad for whatever you want to pay for it. The product value has really taken a slide with heavy rate discounting encouraged by management. Lee corporate has no idea what is going on there because of the spoon feed info they get– I guess they don’t check the billing to see how much ads are selling for. St. Louis is pulling the whole company down making it harder on all of us. If that’s the case ad management there will be held accountable for their actions all the way up to Mary and the stockholders.
In advertising we always have to meet our inflated goals or else. Why try? Doesn,t my ad director realize if goals are not realistic salespoeple
well, you know, like Oh Hum. When corporate reports their numbers they say there was one less Sunday in the month or a grand opening last year not there this year and here look a rabbit comes out of a hat. I want a rabbit. I want a hat. I want to know where my commissions are at. Oh look, another stock option just went out.
I work in advertising with good success. One of the blitzers told me, people at Lee will find if they work with their sales manager they can be very helpful. My territory was struggling and my manager and I made some calls together. Later we took a proposal out and sold a new account that will max my commissions for an entire year. Even though the account is not in my territory she is letting me keep it because I worked so hard with her and the person who has the territory should have known to call on the account. I really think we work well together and she appreciates my effort. People should just focus on selling and not get caught up in negative things.
Amanda - I’m glad to hear ad sales are working out for you. I have a question. If sales boundaries are not respected, what is the point of having a territory at all?
If you have a territory, what would be your reaction if one of your sales friends landed a big new account in your territory?
What did your manager say about working someone else’s territory?
While you got a new account, which is great, but in someone else’s territory, it seems like cannibalization of a fellow salesman.
I’m not in sales, but this does not seem like a healthy long term sales practice.
I know I’d be HOT if I found out you got a new account in my territory and my sales manager, who I assume would also be your sales manager, knowingly undermined my territory and helped you. Your success came at my expense. Yikes! (And yes I should work my territory harder since obviously there was a new account to be acquired and you got it.)
If the person whose territory should “have known to call on the account” didn’t, then the sales manager should help that person to recognize potential accounts.
Do sales managers ever looked at people’s terriotries and see what kind of obstacles or potential a given territory has? And does the sales manager work with the person to develop accounts in their own territory?
How many accounts are in your territory that you “should have known to call” but haven’t and could be worked on by one of the other sales people in your office?
I never think about the negative things you mentioned-Like I said if you focus on selling, good things just happen. You might have to be in sales to understand.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SELECTS RELATIONALS.com -CRM
Customer Relations Management
By Editor & Publisher Staff
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has selected the on-demand customer-relationship management platform from Reltionals.com ,Sunnyvale Calif. to streamiline its sales processes, including lead management and targeting, marketing and outreach, opportunity management and advertiser support.
the largest of Lee Enterprises’ 53 dailies , the Post-Dispatch is the center of a media platform that includes 37 weeklies (the largest U.S. group, with a distribution os 1.2 million copies), specialty publications, a large shared-mail ad-delivery progam, and the Web site stltoday.com.
The Post-0Dispatch sought to centralize sales operations to improve customer retention, identify new and missed opportunities, and streamline reporting.
Lee is always exploring new avenues to help upper management function. Hopefully the cost of this venture will be offset by increased revenue streams and improved customer relations in St. Louis. I’am I the only one wondering why the expensive St. Louis upper Ad Management already in place is obviously defaulting on their assignments creating the need for this seemingly unnecessary expenditure.
Lee recently reported September revenue climeded but by the time I read the entire report I couldn’t determine what’s going on. So much double speak and not knowing what really is net income makes a report like this meaningless. It is so Lee to hold hands and cheerlead around another drop in the bucket. If this is true we should get a raise soon… after the stock options are handed out of course.
Mary said Wall Street does not understand the newspaper business–is this really true? Why WOULD she say that?
In light of the recent stock change that reported a doubling of Lee 4-Q profits she neglected to clarify that much of the gain was attributed to a one time benifit of tax changes and other issues, why would she NOT say that?
This month, as the corporate execs. congratulate each other with stock options for a job well done in 2007, I believe it is a good time for all of us to express a word of gratuide for the leadership at all Lee papers. This would also be a good time to think about how each of us can become more productive in the new year.
I know 2008 will be a much better year for all Lee employees as we turn the corner to increasing revenue and look to higher stock prices.
Top 10- Lee ways to increase revenue “creatively and rapidly”
10- Repeatedly reassign sales responsibilities to sever cumbersome
partnerships with advertisers.
9- Focus on restoring year-to-date revenue and divert attention from
developing new accounts.
8- Grow capacity to drive revenue under duress by providing
salespeople with obnoxious daily irritations.
7- Formulate a sales culture surrounded by hysteria.
6- Monitor sales efforts using morning and evening reporting methods
that consumes sales activity.
5- Maximize individual sales struggle by devising unattainable sales
plan.
4- Encourage salespeople with a successful sales model that adulates
a “Favorite” for achieving goals because of accounts given them
from others territory.
3- Shift focus of all sales activity daily and or hourly, because of
inadequate sales projects.
2- Inspire salespeople to compensate for inexperienced managers as
they misdirect.
1- Enhance revenue by using “Lee Blitzers” contrived method of sales
reporting.
I only have a few shares of stock remaining. Reinvested 90% of my Lee
stock in June. Received year end statement yesterday showing a 16% gain.
The business of Lee is changing. Many smart newspaper owners have sold out for massive profits. Lee leadership has jeopardized the franchise by invested in more companies from the same downside industry and expecting upside results.
In the case of Lee, current stock prices on Wall Street are mostly a reflection of the confidence level in current leadership than in the industry.
Well now that us pundits have spoken as Mary says and their opinions have proven true and in the case of Lee even more so! I ask myself, why is Mary allowed to continues guiding a company into the ground? The Lee blitzers and their rude, unprofessional, know it all behavior in front of advertisers, disgusted many St. Louis Merchants. St. Louis advertising management is second to every major market newspaper it the country, and they sat back laughing, and showing no leadership when Lee sent blitzers into the market with their unorthodox arrogant selling approach to call on the Pulitzer advertising base. Now that base in diminished and the management that allowed this to happen is still in control of less and less and less advertising dollars. I really don’t like to say I told you so but why could so many in St. Louis see the warning signs that Lee ignored. I only hope I can get paid to work here for one more year.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:07 pm
BLITZER
How is the new business development team working at other Lee papers. The Post Dispatch has a group of salespeople working from home calling on businesses in other salespeoples territories that have not advertised in the past 18 months. A $100 stipend is given for home office expences and a printer and laptop is provided. Kinkos is used to fax and copy items. A drop box is set up in the loby for ad copy and internal communications, sales meetings which you are never made aware of are optional and special Retail department sales incentives (rate discounts) can not be used-RATE CARD PRICING ONLY. Sales goals are set and call information is required to be emailed nightly and is subject to disipline and loss of job if not sent. Since this is a new department I am wanting to know how the New Business Development teams are set up at other Lee papers. Some salespeople feel threatened with someone else in their territory, how are things working out there in other Lee new business ad depts. For some reason this whole concept was presented individually to each salesperson in a negative way by our Ad VP. Its like she dosent want us to do well. Is this set up all across Lee the same way. Since we all work from home I believe we can communicate with each other and all benifit sharing sales projects and sucesses giving each other suggestions with difficlut clients and help each other drive revenue.
September 6th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Hey Blitzer –Sounds like a great assignment. Nothing out here to compare to that. I heard all the way out here in the West that advertising management has made massive changes, severed relationships with many advertisers resulting in significant revenue losses. Word out here from people that used to be on the inside there is that you can buy an ad for whatever you want to pay for it. The product value has really taken a slide with heavy rate discounting encouraged by management. Lee corporate has no idea what is going on there because of the spoon feed info they get– I guess they don’t check the billing to see how much ads are selling for. St. Louis is pulling the whole company down making it harder on all of us. If that’s the case ad management there will be held accountable for their actions all the way up to Mary and the stockholders.
September 7th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
In advertising we always have to meet our inflated goals or else. Why try? Doesn,t my ad director realize if goals are not realistic salespoeple
well, you know, like Oh Hum. When corporate reports their numbers they say there was one less Sunday in the month or a grand opening last year not there this year and here look a rabbit comes out of a hat. I want a rabbit. I want a hat. I want to know where my commissions are at. Oh look, another stock option just went out.
September 10th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I work in advertising with good success. One of the blitzers told me, people at Lee will find if they work with their sales manager they can be very helpful. My territory was struggling and my manager and I made some calls together. Later we took a proposal out and sold a new account that will max my commissions for an entire year. Even though the account is not in my territory she is letting me keep it because I worked so hard with her and the person who has the territory should have known to call on the account. I really think we work well together and she appreciates my effort. People should just focus on selling and not get caught up in negative things.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Amanda - I’m glad to hear ad sales are working out for you. I have a question. If sales boundaries are not respected, what is the point of having a territory at all?
If you have a territory, what would be your reaction if one of your sales friends landed a big new account in your territory?
What did your manager say about working someone else’s territory?
While you got a new account, which is great, but in someone else’s territory, it seems like cannibalization of a fellow salesman.
I’m not in sales, but this does not seem like a healthy long term sales practice.
I know I’d be HOT if I found out you got a new account in my territory and my sales manager, who I assume would also be your sales manager, knowingly undermined my territory and helped you. Your success came at my expense. Yikes! (And yes I should work my territory harder since obviously there was a new account to be acquired and you got it.)
If the person whose territory should “have known to call on the account” didn’t, then the sales manager should help that person to recognize potential accounts.
Do sales managers ever looked at people’s terriotries and see what kind of obstacles or potential a given territory has? And does the sales manager work with the person to develop accounts in their own territory?
How many accounts are in your territory that you “should have known to call” but haven’t and could be worked on by one of the other sales people in your office?
I’m curious what you think.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I never think about the negative things you mentioned-Like I said if you focus on selling, good things just happen. You might have to be in sales to understand.
September 19th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SELECTS RELATIONALS.com -CRM
Customer Relations Management
By Editor & Publisher Staff
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has selected the on-demand customer-relationship management platform from Reltionals.com ,Sunnyvale Calif. to streamiline its sales processes, including lead management and targeting, marketing and outreach, opportunity management and advertiser support.
the largest of Lee Enterprises’ 53 dailies , the Post-Dispatch is the center of a media platform that includes 37 weeklies (the largest U.S. group, with a distribution os 1.2 million copies), specialty publications, a large shared-mail ad-delivery progam, and the Web site stltoday.com.
The Post-0Dispatch sought to centralize sales operations to improve customer retention, identify new and missed opportunities, and streamline reporting.
Lee is always exploring new avenues to help upper management function. Hopefully the cost of this venture will be offset by increased revenue streams and improved customer relations in St. Louis. I’am I the only one wondering why the expensive St. Louis upper Ad Management already in place is obviously defaulting on their assignments creating the need for this seemingly unnecessary expenditure.
October 24th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Lee recently reported September revenue climeded but by the time I read the entire report I couldn’t determine what’s going on. So much double speak and not knowing what really is net income makes a report like this meaningless. It is so Lee to hold hands and cheerlead around another drop in the bucket. If this is true we should get a raise soon… after the stock options are handed out of course.
November 9th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Mary said Wall Street does not understand the newspaper business–is this really true? Why WOULD she say that?
In light of the recent stock change that reported a doubling of Lee 4-Q profits she neglected to clarify that much of the gain was attributed to a one time benifit of tax changes and other issues, why would she NOT say that?
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:39 pm
This month, as the corporate execs. congratulate each other with stock options for a job well done in 2007, I believe it is a good time for all of us to express a word of gratuide for the leadership at all Lee papers. This would also be a good time to think about how each of us can become more productive in the new year.
I know 2008 will be a much better year for all Lee employees as we turn the corner to increasing revenue and look to higher stock prices.
Thank You from a greatful Lee employee.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Top 10- Lee ways to increase revenue “creatively and rapidly”
10- Repeatedly reassign sales responsibilities to sever cumbersome
partnerships with advertisers.
9- Focus on restoring year-to-date revenue and divert attention from
developing new accounts.
8- Grow capacity to drive revenue under duress by providing
salespeople with obnoxious daily irritations.
7- Formulate a sales culture surrounded by hysteria.
6- Monitor sales efforts using morning and evening reporting methods
that consumes sales activity.
5- Maximize individual sales struggle by devising unattainable sales
plan.
4- Encourage salespeople with a successful sales model that adulates
a “Favorite” for achieving goals because of accounts given them
from others territory.
3- Shift focus of all sales activity daily and or hourly, because of
inadequate sales projects.
2- Inspire salespeople to compensate for inexperienced managers as
they misdirect.
1- Enhance revenue by using “Lee Blitzers” contrived method of sales
reporting.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Thank You–
I Can’t be as optimistic for you-
I only have a few shares of stock remaining. Reinvested 90% of my Lee
stock in June. Received year end statement yesterday showing a 16% gain.
The business of Lee is changing. Many smart newspaper owners have sold out for massive profits. Lee leadership has jeopardized the franchise by invested in more companies from the same downside industry and expecting upside results.
In the case of Lee, current stock prices on Wall Street are mostly a reflection of the confidence level in current leadership than in the industry.
It cost me dearly to find this out.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Well now that us pundits have spoken as Mary says and their opinions have proven true and in the case of Lee even more so! I ask myself, why is Mary allowed to continues guiding a company into the ground? The Lee blitzers and their rude, unprofessional, know it all behavior in front of advertisers, disgusted many St. Louis Merchants. St. Louis advertising management is second to every major market newspaper it the country, and they sat back laughing, and showing no leadership when Lee sent blitzers into the market with their unorthodox arrogant selling approach to call on the Pulitzer advertising base. Now that base in diminished and the management that allowed this to happen is still in control of less and less and less advertising dollars. I really don’t like to say I told you so but why could so many in St. Louis see the warning signs that Lee ignored. I only hope I can get paid to work here for one more year.