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2009 CNBAM Awards
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To Chris Richert and the Selection Committee: In this letter I intend to show you my true nature as a Sales Representative for the Lumberjack Newspaper. I was not planning on entering into the Sale Representative of the Year award contest; however, I was flattered when my superiors insisted upon it. I have chosen to write this letter not as a manger of The Lumberjack, but using my over the top, friendly personality to show why I was so successful as a sales rep. My style has changed since I was a sales rep, becoming much more professional and organized, but this letter I intend to show you my true side as a sales junkie that made me love my time as a sales rep. I’ve spent the last two years working for The Lumberjack newspaper and other organizations on the Northern Arizona University campus. I started work at The Lumberjack in Fall of 2008 as a Sales Representative. With no experience or understanding of the position, I was hired on to begin immediately. A newspaper can be a slightly scary thing when one has never been exposed to it. But there I was ready to take on whatever task was ahead of me. When I began my time as a Sales Representative I came in with two main goals:
-to build meaningful relationships with clients and ensure their happiness with our publication -to learn the skills necessary to market myself to a future employer
Both of these goals proved to be much easier than I had assumed. I had found my true calling. I have always been the eccentric happy go lucky member of my group and those attributes were my most important tools in this job. I built client relationships with every one of my clients. I spent sometimes hours at a time sitting with them, learning about the way they run their business, and then strategizing about ways to attract the students vs. their usual clientele. I love being able to walk in to most places around Flagstaff and know the owner and their background. The client relationships and networks I have built are shown to me on a daily basis and I maintain those relationships even to this day. After breaking the highest selling record of all time, I considered pursuing a management position at the newspaper. I knew that I would stick to media sales for the rest of my life and I have The Lumberjack to thank for that. I then attended CNBAM 2008 and learned all types of different strategies on client satisfaction and landing that impossible account. I was unstoppable!!! I eventually continued on to receive the Sales Director position, which is the highest position at my newspaper. This was an honor and a burden. I was extremely sad to finish my work with my clients and move on; however, I was also excited at the opportunity to train other students on how to be as successful as I was. I was then awarded outstanding sales rep of the year, as
well The Lumberjack’s most prestigious award, the most outstanding overall staff member which was out of the 110 overall staff. I knew I had found my home at The Lumberjack Newspaper. Although I do not make near as much money as a manger as I did when I was a sales rep, I love this company and will all strive for it’s overall success. All in all, the purpose of this letter was not to beg for an award that someone else might deserve more, but to show you that I loved my job and I will continue reaping the benefits of the skills I learned as a sales representative. If you found this letter to informal, I apologize. But I felt that you could in no way judge my sales ability through a standard professional letter. I needed to show you who I was and why I do what I do. I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter and I will always wish I could have sat down with you and personally convinced you of my overall success as a sales rep and the joy it has bestowed into me. I carry an air of confidence into everything I do that I will always attribute to my time as a sales rep. Thank you very much again and see you in Charlotte!!!
Sincerely, Kyle Porter The Lumberjack newspaper/Student Media Center Sales Director Northern Arizona University
Chris Richert VP/Awards c/o Columbia College Chicago 600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605 Dear Chris and the selection committee:
Please accept this letter of recommendation on the acceptance of Kyle Porter as the CNBAM Sales Manager of the year. Kyle began his student career with The Lumberjack his freshman year as a sales representative and was promoted to the Advertising Manager in only his sophomore year. In his tenure at The Lumberjack, Kyle has exhibited tremendous leadership and poise during a major transformation of the creative process in the publishing of our newspaper. He orchestrated all the new procedures in the development of the communication tools, deadlines, work flows, approvals, quality control and implementation during the transition from a broadsheet to a tabloid. His leadership skills included the development of the written policies and procedures, as well as, the training of the entire staff on these newly implemented policies. His dedication to the research and respect for traditions and history of NAU and their relationship with the student run newspaper was to be admired. This information allowed him to completely understand the 95 years of the newspapers history and he moved forward with confidence and respect to the great many students who traveled before him. Kyle also directed his new sales team to an historic sales record of the 2nd highest dollars ever generated in a single issue of the Lumberjack in 95 years, which resulted in me losing a bet and having my students shave my head! Kyle was also able to create our first published media kit and introduced and sold a Finals Survival Guide to our line of specialty products. Kyle continues to show great visioning skills in every endeavor he undertakes, but more importantly, he does not get lost in the big picture. He has an uncanny ability to take a collective vision and apply the discipline required to see the vision through completion. A skill set never achieved by many of us. As an entrepreneur, recently found in my new academic setting, I would have no hesitation or reservations giving the award to this fantastic student who has nothing but a wonderful future waiting in front of him. Sincerely, Steve Saville Business Development Director Student Media Center NAU 928-523-5007
Sales Director Job Description
1. Accept ultimate responsibility of Advertising and Specialty Publication
division. 2. Manage all media sales within Student Media Connection (SMC). 3. Set aggressive goals with recognizable deadlines and delegate
responsibility within Advertising. 4. Directly manage advertising content and strive for goals and creative
initiatives with content. 5. Manage advertising content with respect to clients and common
advertising ethics. 6. Ensure Advertising division meets deadlines and accomplishes tasks. 7. Address any issues concerning billing, client conflict, personnel, human
resources and payroll. 8. Manage sales representatives that sell in geographical territories as well
as Classifieds representative. 9. Make sure all advertisements are accounted for and assemble dummy
every Friday at 5 p.m. 10. Make sure that every advertising purchase or exchange is accompanied
by an Insertion Order, a signed contract, and material relevant to the specific client.
11. Practice excellent problem-solving and communication skills. 12. Maintain an accurate media kit and utilize demographic profiles. 13. Manage the Specialty Publication division and create new and innovative
products to market the Lumberjack and its specialty publications. 14. Work closely with Creative/Production division to ensure accuracy in
creating ads. 15. Schedule a minimum of 30-hours in the office per week. 16. Attend weekly meetings, including: sales, managers, Best of NAU,
specialty publications etc. 17. Manage human resources through hiring, penalizing and arranging
organizational chart according to the needs of the division. 18. Create innovative ways to motivate sales staff. 19. Maintain weekly numbers on sales reps, and total revenue. 20. Manage sales manager, who will report to you regarding daily sales
representative behavior. 21. Meet weekly with Business Development Director regarding overall sales
division and sales statistics. 22. Work closely with Circulation division to ensure all distribution points are
receiving newspapers each week. 23. Lead sales team to find new ways to bring revenue to the newspaper.
Issue Fall 2006 Fall 20071 $848.25 $1,192.002 $562.56 $1,356.003 $1,158.65 $1,220.004 $928.98 $1,220.005 $470.32 $975.006 $385.56 $875.007 $845.28 $1,255.008 $327.54 $650.009 $1,832.43 $3,809.00 (all time record)
10 $1,242.56 $2,340.0011 $653.42 $1,150.0012 $867.83 $950.0013 $744.36 $825.0014 $1,198.42 $1,560.0015 $1,448.92 $2,685.00
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a letter is intended to explain how I feel about Kyle Porter as my sales representative for The Lumberjack Newspaper. I started working with Kyle in the fall of 2008. Since then he has been the primary representative that I have worked with at The Lumberjack. Before Kyle came in to see me, I had never worked with The Lumberjack or ever planned to. I had advertised many different places around Flagstaff and wasn’t getting the response I was looking for. Kyle came in and met me and we immediately hit it off. He cared about my business and listened closely when I explained why I am in the tanning business. He heard my concerns about the rumors of UV treatments and derived a strategy to help students feel comfortable using my beds. We worked closely to come up with a student special and to build brand awareness associated with my boutiques name. This worked like a charm! I received a great deal of business from my advertising at The Lumberjack. I had students sign up that said they had never been tanning before and were attracted to my business from The Lumberjack. I continued to advertise with The Lumberjack because of the success I was having as well as the customer satisfaction I felt from Kyle.
The ultimate test of this was when Kyle came to me with their Best of NAU publication. He told me that with his help we could win the Best of NAU and receive the award he and I felt my salon deserved. He created an exciting advertising strategy that used traditional colors with modern, sexy designs. With his help my salon won the Best of NAU 2008. I was so excited and proud of this award and I must thank Kyle for that satisfaction.
Overall, I have completely enjoyed working closely together with Kyle Porter on my advertising in the Lumberjack. Since the point where he took over, everything changed for the better. He is very professional in customer service, has a very pleasant and enjoyable personality to work with, is highly creative and has strong organizational skills. Thank you Kyle for making our ads in the Lumberjack "stand out"! Sincerely, Denise M. Schneider Tanning Time Salon & Boutique 1800 S. Milton Rd. #17 Flagstaff, Az., 86001 928-774-0772 Salon 928-221-1217 Cell
To Whom It May Concern,
I have had the pleasure of working with Charlotte Lilley as the Mustang Daily’s Advertising Coordinator since January of 2008. Charlotte had already been working for the newspaper for a year when I was hired as the full time Advertising Coordinator. Change in an o�ce environment is never easy, but Charlotte was supportive and encouraging. She was an advocate for the changes I was implementing and also gave wonderful ideas to better the o�ce procedures and sales.
As an account executive Charlotte has many success stories. She has sold an outstanding number of di�cult national clients; Staples, Honda, Best Buy, O�ce Max, Styles For Less, Vons, Washington Mutual Bank, Costco, Papa Johns, Supercuts, Tahoe Joes and the US Army. These clients had no record of advertising with us in the past and was especially challenging because of the corporate structure. Her dedication to turning cold corporate clients into contract advertisers is amazing. She visited local managers and gatekeepers who had direct contact and in�uence on the corporate decision makers. Her dedication, persistence and understanding of corporate structure resulted in the �nal sales and multiple contracts.
Charlotte is the poster child for making and exceeding goals. Every goal I have ever set for her she not only makes but surpasses. Charlotte is responsible for more than a quarter of the Mustang Daily’s total revenue with her end of the year sales numbers reaching almost $90,000 for the 2007-2008 year. In my �ve years in college newspapers I have never managed such an exceptional account executive and individual. Charlotte is the type of executive I wish I had ten of!
Her dedication to her sales and clients is exceptional but she is also dedicated to her team and the newspaper. For the newspaper, she gives her extra time to help promote the Mustang Daily through special events and promotions. She is an active participant at all campus and community events and engages students at our booths to ask questions and get involved with the newspaper. For the team, she is a mentor to new account executives and leads training sessions to better everyones sales.
Charlotte is passionate about her job as an account executive and has had an amazing impact on the Mustang Daily advertising revenue and sta�. She has been successful at maintaining a large account list, meeting and exceeding goals, all the while staying extremely organized and positive. I am happy to announce that because of Charlotte’s exceptional work as an account executive she has been promoted to Advertising Manager for the 2009 school year. My highest recommendation goes to Charlotte for the Advertising Representative of the Year Award.
Sincerely,
Jessica LuteyAdvertising CoordinatorMustang DailyCal Poly San Luis Obispo
Mustang Daily [email protected]
January 20, 2009
To whom it may concern,
I have known Charlotte Lilley professionally for over a year. I have dealt
with her on many occasions during this time, in designing and planning the best
way to advertise my business.
When I first met Charlotte she came in with a smile and was prepared for
our meeting. She had an ad already made that was beautiful and that I approved
right away. Before working with her, I had another Mustang Daily sales
representative who always suggested I do the same thing. After my first meeting
with Charlotte, she recognized the flaws in my previous plan and came up with
new ideas on ways for me to advertise. This is how all of our meetings have
gone. Charlotte has come up with many ideas for my ads and I have seen more
business because of it. Since then I have signed a contract for every quarter and
participate in almost every special edition. I get about 10 Sudoku coupons a
week in my coffee shop and have a manila envelope filled with hundreds of these
coupons. As an ad designer and sales representative for her universities’
newspaper, she took a personal interest in the success of my business.
Charlotte is dedicated to her job, she devotes many hours to my
advertising needs and she doesn't quit until she knows we have it right. I have
been extremely pleased with the results of her hard work and will continue to
work with her as much as possible. I find Charlotte to be a very intelligent,
devoted, open minded, and responsible young women.
Sincerely,
Craig Stewart Owner and President Stewjanz, Inc.
I have never thought of myself as a salesperson. Instead, I like to think of myself as a consultant at best, a pool of information at worst. When I first began working at the Mustang Daily and I told people that I was in sales, to my surprise they always responded, “I can see that.” My initial reaction was to be offended. I would go through the ‘typical salesperson checklist’, thinking: “I’m not annoying, persistent maybe. I am not cut-throat, maybe competitive. I don’t lie and cheat and money isn’t what consumes my thoughts! What I am is persistent, able to connect with people, honest, thankful, patient, positive and I have a sense of humor.” So why did people say that they could see that I was a salesperson? Well, maybe they knew more about sales than I thought. Over time my desire to avoid this salesperson stigma developed into a unique personal sales philosophy, which encompasses relationships, hard work and confidence. I am happy that I came to this realization because as a manager, I can now pass this perspective on to my account executives. There are many true things that I could say about being a salesperson that would be completely cliché. However, the goal of this paper is to show you the world of sales from my point of view and what makes my part of that world unique. As it turns out, this sales philosophy is a very strong one. I know this because I have seen it work first-hand.
When I started at the Mustang Daily we didn’t have much of a training program. What we did have seemed to be based on the sink or swim approach. My first day on the job I was handed a list of about 160 clients and was told to go sell our biggest issues: Week of Welcome (WOW) and Back to School (BTS). So, I took my list and hit the pavement. I learned very quickly that when dealing with business owners and their time and money, what you say and how you present yourself is very important. When selling, there is no time for schmoozing the client into accepting a certain deal. Brutal honesty is always the best policy. This extends to suggesting to clients not to advertise in certain issues. I have often said, “Why don’t you save your money now and put it towards something that will truly benefit you, such as…” The result of these honest relationships is that poor returns don’t come back to bite you, and you gain higher sales in the long run.
I believe a great salesperson must truly care about their clients and have a working relationship with them. I knew right away that some sort of interaction with each one of my clients that didn’t involve ‘selling’ them was very important. I realized that the way to do this was not only to respect their time and give useful information, but also to get to know them personally. Do they have children? What do they do for fun? Who is that in their picture? Many of my meetings have turned into two-hour conversations about life. As I look back, I know that connecting with people is what I like and what I am good at. Many of my clients are more like friends. Out of five sales reps working for the newspaper that summer, I accounted for 33% of the total sales for those big issues. Since then, I have kept my relationships strong by getting to know my clients as people and working together on the task at hand, which is making their businesses more profitable. I always tell my clients: “If you aren’t seeing a result, then I am not doing my job.” As manager, I am still able to see my old clients and it always puts a smile on my face when a rep says, “Bob told me to tell you hi.”
Some of my client relationships have paid off in big ways. Quite a few clients on my list, such as Art’s Cyclery, had problems with past account executives and had stopped all advertising with the Mustang Daily. By patiently visiting the client and establishing a rapport with the owner, Scott, I was able to renew his confidence in the services I was offering. Because of relationships like that one, I have brought many ‘lost’ accounts back to the Mustang Daily. My client relationships have also paid off in regards
to making sales when they counted most: at deadline. For one of our biggest issues, the Housing Issue, we had a $15,000 goal to make with a ski trip as a reward. On deadline day, we were about $4,000 off. I love skiing, so I was determined to make this goal. That day, I took off my classes and started making phone calls to all of my clients who I had already seen and who had said no to advertising in this issue. I ended up making 10 consecutive sales to put us $400 away from the goal. I was starting to get nervous that we didn’t make it. Literally 2 minutes before the five o’clock deadline I called my last client. This was our last chance and everyone was in the office to see if we would make it. He answered and said, “Talk fast because I am going to lose service.” So I gave him a 10-second spiel on the issues and ended with “please?” and he agreed to do the issue. I hung up the phone and jumped on the conference table and did my victory dance. The ski trip was a blast.
Although client relationships are extremely important, they alone will not get the job done. Hard work and sacrificing part of yourself is important. To achieve high results, a salesperson must be willing to go above and beyond even if it is out of their way. I always give my clients my all; whether it means waiting for 45 minutes for them to finish with a customer (Tropics), meeting at dinner-time (Higher Groundz), or driving half an hour for a face-to-face meeting (Esteem). What I mean by sacrificing part of yourself is that you actually mold your interactions around the client’s personality. I have a very strong personality, but when making a sale my opinions and interests take a back seat to those of the client. A great salesperson has to know a little bit about everything. This allows smooth interactions with any client. A whole relationship can be built on one small connection.
Another aspect of this hard work is creativity. And nothing takes creativity like working with corporate accounts. Corporate accounts are a whole different beast and they take some major patience and diligence. That’s the way I tackled them and it actually worked! Staples, for example, took two years of many face-to-face meetings and phone calls to get them into our WOW issue, but the general manager and I finally got through to corporate and they ended up doing two half page full-color ads. A lot of times it takes thinking outside of the box to get through to the decision makers on corporate accounts. Honda was a client of mine, and nobody at the Mustang Daily had gotten them to advertise. So when I had an appointment for my Honda, I called and spoke with the owner and said something along the lines of, “Well, since I am coming in for an oil change, I was wondering if you had some time to meet. . .” He responded with, “I would usually just hang up on you, but since you will be here …” He is now one of those clients with whom I talk about life (well, mostly golf). A unique and unexpected approach can be the key to many locked doors.
Now that you have had a glimpse of my world, I hope you feel like you know me better. I can confidently say that when it comes to university newspapers, I have mastered the art of sales. But in all seriousness, working for the Mustang Daily has been the best and most rewarding learning experience of my college career. Now, when I tell people that I am in sales and they say, “Oh, I can see that.” I give them a big grin and say, “Thank you.”
Thank you for considering me for the honor of Sales Representative of the Year.
Appendix Overview
The following nine pages include the following:
1) Account Executive Job Description for the Mustang Daily. I have added a few aspects of the job that I think pertinent on this document. I was an Account Executive from June 2007 – August 2008. I was then promoted to Advertising Manager in September 2008, a role I am extremely happy to have.
2) Resume. Please find my resume here.
3) Sales Record Overview. This is a brief overview of my sales record, including dates and total dollar amounts. This overview also provides my percentages on special issues sold, which you will not find on the actual sales record. This overview is provided because I know numbers can be tedious .
4) Actual Sales Record. This document is the detailed report with dates, issues, and exact
numbers.
5) My goals for the current 08/09 year (previous year on sales record). Now that I am manager I do not have specific personal goals, but I set them for my team (Golden Pirates). Here you will find the concrete goals set for my team. I posted it on our team board in a creative way so my team has a collective goal to strive for.
The next documents, 6 – 9, are examples of my work. I wanted to demonstrate to you my efforts I put in to creating ads/campaigns for my clients. I always wanted my clients to have ads they were proud of and ads that worked.
6) Examples of ads that have real client photos in them. I frequently took a photographer with me to capture the uniqueness of each store/restaurant/etc. I believe this helps convey the right message to the customers/ potential customers.
7) Examples of ads I conceptually designed. For each of these ads, I came up with the basic design behind it and worked closely with the designer to make my idea come to life. I am hoping to illustrate that each ad was thought of with a different goal in mind. I am happy to say that they were all very well received and ran in our paper.
8) Examples of campaigns ideas I created. As mentioned above, each ad has a different
story and the client’s reactions were positive! Also, each client wanted something that would be effective – they worked!
9) Examples of campaigns continued. This Sushiya campaign is actually nominated for
Best Color Ad Campaign. Wish it luck!
Advertising Account Executive JOB DESCRIPTION: *with some personal notes added Basic Function: Primary responsibilities include introducing the Mustang Daily to businesses in our marketing area, and through relationship sales techniques, introducing advertising opportunities for them in our publication. Primary goal is to increase advertising sales revenue in your territory *and maintain a working relationship with the client. The Account Executive must be prepared for every client by doing client research and meeting with clients on a weekly basis. The Account Executive must team with the client to create ads that will ultimately drive customers to the business. Basic Functions:
1. Maintain contact with all accounts on your list on a regular (weekly) basis. 2. Look for new accounts to target. 3. Research competing media to find new accounts. 4. Use sales techniques to persuade accounts to place ads in Mustang Daily. 5. Making return calls to customers who say no…look for opportunities to say
yes. 6. Meeting and communicating with many different types of people and
personalities in a professional way. 7. Giving and explaining rate card and media kit information to customers. 8. Creating spec ads. 9. Filling out insertion orders. 10. Collecting payments on pre-pay advertisements. 11. Showing advertising proofs to clients. 12. Servicing walk-in clients, faxing information, handling phone inquires. 13. Attend weekly team and group meetings 14. All other duties as assigned. 15. Responsible for signing in and out of all scheduled office hours.
Hours:
10-20 hours per week *Realistically, around 30 hours per week Must be able to work every day, Monday through Friday *(and weekends), and must attend all sales meetings and be present for all deadlines.
Advertising Account Executives have to report all days off to Advertising Manger and Advertising Coordinator. Frequent absences will not be tolerated.
Pay:
Hourly and commission based. Bonus and incentives are based on sales.
Charlotte Lilley PO Box 14946 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 • 831.601.6429 • [email protected]
Objective
To assist a creative and challenging company in sales and marketing, which allows for personal growth and career advancement
Education June 2007-June 2009 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Marketing Concentration • Cumulative GPA: 3.4, AMA Member, Dean’s List Spring 2008, Fall 2008
2007- 2009 Sales/Marketing Related Conferences
• CNBAM Conference, San Antonio, TX 2008 • CNBAM Conference, Charlotte, NC 2009
June 2003- June 2007 Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society Experience 2007-Present Mustang Daily Newspaper, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 Sept 2008 – Present Advertising Manager
• Lead team of 6 Account Executives: Aid in training of new executives, assist on sales calls, track progress, monitor and supervise accounts
• Innovate team incentives, boosting team sales by 20% in first quarter • Maintain clients and contribute 17% to team sales • Generate new clients, develop sales contests, create new revenue
June 2007 –Aug 2008 Account Executive • Responsible for maintaining 100 local/ corporate accounts • Made 26% of all sales out of 11 sales reps • Consistently achieved or exceeded quotas, lead sales for special issues • Increased territory sales by 20% • Responsible for the acquisition of large, strategic accounts, such as US Army and Staples • Shaped and maintained excellent relationships with advertising accounts
2006-Present India Inc., Solo Press, Carpinteria, CA 93106
Office Manager/ Editor/ Marketing • Maintain marketing plan: coordinate events, maintaining up-to-date subscription list • Edit and market new poetry journals • Market Solo Press nationally through ongoing communication and correspondence with
university and public libraries • Worked on the production of Total Immersion, Solo Café 4&5 (2008), Solo Café 6 (2009)
2006-2008 The Studio Fitness for Women, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Sales Counselor/ Marketing
• Establish and maintain client relationships • Generate sales leads thru cold calls and networking events • Maintained 70% close rate
Technical Skills / Honors
• CNBAM Student Representative of the Year 2009 • Nominated CNBAM Sales Representative of the Year 2007 – 2008 • Proficient in Microsoft Office 2008, Microsoft Excel 2008
References
• Paul Bittick, Mustang Daily, General Manager 805.756.2537 • Jessica Lutey, Ad Coordinator, Mustang Daily 805. • Julian Varela, Equilibrium Fitness for Women, Owner 805.541.1100 • Elizabeth Carmo, Account Executive, Alloy Media & Marketing 805.441.7832
Sales Record Overview In chronological order
1. Made 33% of all sales for Week of Welcome (WOW) and Fall Back to School (BTS) issues, which ran in September 2007.
2. Total sales for Fall 2007 quarter (including special issues) were $36,463
3. Made 16% of all sales for Best For Cal Poly issue, which ran in February 2008
4. Made 36% of all sales for Housing Issue, which ran in March 2008
5. Total sales for Winter 2008 quarter (including special issues) were $26,106
6. Total sales for Spring 2008 quarter (including special issues) were $26,672* *This quarter there weren’t as many special issues, so my regular numbers increased
7. For the 2007-2008 school year, my grand total in sales was $89,241
8. Made 26% of all sales out of 11 people for year 2007 – 2008
Charlotte’s Goals for the remainder of the 2008/2009 year.
It is my goal for my team to hit $30,000 before the end of the school year!
Business: Chilie Peppers, promoting Taco Tuesdays and breakfast
Plus, incorporating real pictures from their business makes their ads stand
out from the rest.
I directed the photographer on what images to capture then worked
very closely with the photographer/designer on the production of these
ads from start to finish.
These are some examples of ads with photos that I had a photographer take for my clients.
Bringing in a photographer is a very nice touch in letting the client know that you care about their business and their ad quality.
Business: Higher Groundz, promoting student special
Business: Wedding Gallery, promoting ‘Love Kit’
Business: Sushiya
Business: La Palapa, promoting student special
These are examples of campaigns that I conceptually designed for some of my clients.
My relationship with my clients got to a point to where they would give me free range on coming up with ideas for their ads. They told me to do what I thought was best for their business, so I did! My clients really enjoyed all of these ads and they ran in the issues stated below each ad.
Valentines Day Issue ‘08St. Patrick’s Day Issue ‘08
Best For Cal Poly Issue ‘08
The students voted Chilie Peppers #1 in the Best Mexican Food category. There is a double meaning behind this ad, which is that ‘C.P.’ (Cal Poly) loves Chile Peppers and ‘C.P.’ Chilie Peppers loves Cal Poly.
Campaign examples continued
Finals Week Special ‘08
This was a campaign for the last week of classes. The cat represents the student’s life of studying, falling
asleep while studying, getting good grades because they studied so hard, completing the quarter, and
celebrating at Sushiya, the client, for dinner!
These are some examples of ads that I conceptually designed.All concepts for these ads were loved by the clients and ran in the issues stated below the ad.
Their logo is the High St sign, so the handwriting signifies a student who
voted them #1
Open House Issue ‘08
This is another big issue. Higher
Groundz ran regular ads, but this was an addition for
the special issue. I wanted it to stand
out, hence the white space in the
background.
Before: Their ads always had a
person in them, which is great for catching the eye,
but the rest of the ads were pretty boring.
After: I wanted the viewers to be involved in the
advertisement. SESLOC was putting another ATM on campus therefore, that is the ending point on the
‘journey.’
Best For CP Issue ‘08
January 16, 2009
FastFrame#193 1115 Santa Rosa Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Re: Jessica Schroeder To whom it may concern: It has been our privilege to have Jessica Schroeder assist us in her capacity as advertising account executive for the Cal Poly Mustang Daily newspaper since the Fall of 2006. She is a highly motivated college student, and has secured our advertising business with her publication each and every quarter through summers until now, the Winter quarter of 2009. We have been a locally owned San Luis Obispo business for eighteen years. We have advertised on a regular basis with the “Mustang” since Jessica Schroeder introduced herself to us and showed her skills. We have found Jessica to be thoroughly competent, most reliable, highly organized, and, above all, always professional. We are impressed with her attention to detail; and her consistent follow through about any questions or concerns on our part, is always timely and efficient. Jessica has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that she also works well with others. We have observed this talent in our business and it is evident from her results in communicating with the graphic department at her publication. She makes sure everything is right from all aspects. As clients, we feel we have received the best possible service from Jessica Schroeder, what with her personalized on-site friendly and professional demeanor. She delivers each edition our ads appear in, in order to make sure we are satisfied, and is eager to get feedback to insure future ads are up to par. This is not the case with most ad reps. When we were contacted by Jessica to write a recommendation, we were completely receptive. She has always given us 100% and performed her job at the highest standards. We are convinced that she could maintain an advertising account executive position with our local mainstream daily newspaper and perform admirably. We consider her skills better than reps we have dealt with from national yellow page accounts, local television, radio, direct mail and magazines. We are so confident in the skills Jessica possesses, we would sign an advertising contract with her for any publication or media group she should choose to represent. Jessica Schroeder has proven her consistency and conscientiousness in her position with “The Mustang Daily”, while at the same time juggling school work, social life and her varied other extracurricular activities In closing, it has been our absolute pleasure to have Jessica as our account executive. She performs her duties above and beyond the highest expectations. We both enthusiastically recommend Jessica to receive the National College Newspaper Sales Representative Award. She richly deserves both your consideration and this honor. Please feel free to call us anytime at (805) 541-3455. Yours Truly Susan Warren and Joe Empey FastFrame#193
Statement of Personal Selling Philosophy Jessica Schroeder
When I was first hired at the Mustang Daily, I had no idea I could have so much passion for a job. As a business major with an interest in marketing, it turned out to be the best job I could ever ask for. My two and a half years at the newspaper has taught me how to be a professional, how to set goals and manage my time effectively, and how to build and maintain relationships. These are all skills that I can carry on throughout my career and personal life. My personal philosophy includes always remembering that I am representing the Mustang Daily, always being professional in every aspect of my job, and always believing in myself and what I sell.
The first thing I always try to remember when on the job is who I am working for. Remembering that I represent the Mustang Daily and that I must always act in their best interest seems simple, but sometimes it is the easiest thing to forget. Being an Advertising Representative is different from a lot of other college jobs. Although I do work closely with the other staff, it is a very personal job. I deal with my clients on a one-on-one basis and the commission from sales is my source of pay. I constantly remind myself that I am working for the Mustang Daily as a whole, along with a huge staff, toward a common goal. I contribute to this by doing things like taking new hires out on sales calls and taking care of in-kind advertising in trade for promotions for the Mustang Daily. I am constantly taking a take a step back and reminding myself that while my clients are a high priority, I also need to be focused on working with my co-workers to put out the best daily paper possible.
As a sales representative, you are the link between the client and the paper. It is
most important to remember that every time you go see a client, you are representing yourself as well as the newspaper and professionalism on all levels is required. The worst thing you could do is lose respect from a client. Giving them a chance to lose respect for the paper could close all doors to any future advertising, and this in no way benefits their business or the newspaper. It is important to never forget that being professional is required at all times at work, whether facing clients or in the office talking with co-workers. If I show that I am professional and will handle their business needs with respect and care, they will show me that same respect.
Throughout my third year with the Mustang Daily this philosophy of
professionalism and client relationships has proven itself effective more then ever. On two different occasions I have received business referrals from my current clients. The first example is of Fast Frame, a client that I see on a regular basis and a business that has been my client since I first started. Because of the good relationship I had established with them, during Fall 2008 they gave me a lead on another business, Costume Capers that had moved locations. The owners of Fast Frame thought that since Halloween was approaching and Costume Capers was no longer in the same location as they were last year, it would be ideal for them to advertise. The reason they gave me the lead is because I had been consistently in their business for two years presenting them with new promotions and information and they new that I would follow up on the lead just like I
always follow up with them. The second referral I received was from a chef at another client of mine. I would go to the restaurant, Marti’s, every week to talk to the manager about advertising and to drop of whatever new promotions we had going on. Sometimes the manager wouldn’t be there but the chef, Casey, would frequently talk to me and ask if there was anything he could pass along to the managers. Because of my repeated on site client visits, when Casey moved to work at a brand new restaurant opening downtown he gave my business card to the new owner, who called me to set up advertising. Because of this referral they are now running an advertising campaign with the Mustang Daily.
My time at the Mustang Daily has shown me that I am a very self-driven and
motivated person. By setting goals for myself and with the goals set for me by my managers, I feel I accomplished a lot in the past year. My personal philosophy is that if I believe a business should advertise, I will not take no for an answer. When someone tells me the Mustang Daily isn’t for their business, I come back with a spec ad to show them why it is. When a client says their advertising isn’t working, I will do all that I can to make their ads effective and prove to them that it will work. It’s not all about getting new ads and new clients either; it’s about maintaining those strong and well-established bonds with local businesses. My biggest accomplishments are not the double-truck ads that show up in some of the daily papers, they are the weekly ads from my clients that signed up on a yearly contract. Even when the local jewelry store wasn’t interested in running any advertising because business declined at the end of the year, I know it is important for me to be in the store every week reminding them that advertising creates awareness and gets people in the store. I am confident in telling my clients the Mustang Daily is the best form of advertising in San Luis Obispo. I believe in what I sell and that shows through my persistence and my confidence with my clients.
Whether it is a 9pm client meeting on a Thursday night, cold calling Job Fair
businesses for advertising, or taking new hires out on sales calls, I will always do whatever it takes to represent the Mustang Daily. Growing up I have always strived to be the best at what I do, and this job is no different. I take great pride in what I accomplish and in representing the Mustang Daily. I know that until I graduate I will keep working hard for my clients and striving to make the Daily better than ever. I have so much passion for what I do and I have never taken my job for granted.
Thank you for considering me for the award of Sales Representative of the Year.
The simple fact that my managers even thought of me for this nomination gives me a great sense of pride and accomplishment.
Respectfully,
Jessica Schroeder Advertising Account Executive Cal Poly Mustang Daily
Appendix Contents
1. A copy of my current resume, which includes a summary of my skills, current GPA, awards and accomplishments, and other leadership positions I have been involved with.
2. A copy of my job description as Advertising Account Executive.
3. A summary of my 2008 yearly sales, compared side by side to my 2007 and 2006 sales. It includes special edition goals and increases.
4. Cisco’s: Ad Creation and Design, Increased Sales Through Spec Ad Creation
5. Crazy Jays: Consistent Sales and Advertising Campaigns
6. Food and Drink Guide: Directory Idea, Increasing Total Sales for Regular Daily Editions
7. Coverings: An example of selling premium placement at a premium price to a local clothing store.
8. Bowl for Kids’ Sake: Taking care of in-kind advertising, a thank you letter
JESSICA SCHROEDER 1760 Johnson Avenue • San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 • (805) 704-4096 • [email protected]
OBJECTIVE To win the CNBAM National Sales Representative of the Year award. SUMMARY
• Over three years of sales and customer service experience • Skilled in effective sales presentations and negotiating contracts • Adaptable to new environments and assimilate information quickly • Effective communication and group facilitation skills through campus leadership training
EDUCATION California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo Bachelor of Science: Business Administration, expected June 2009 Concentration: Finance
Major GPA: 3.35 Cumulative GPA: 3.26 WORK EXPERIENCE Mustang Daily Newspaper San Luis Obispo, CA
Advertising Representative October 2006 – Present • Manage over 70 accounts with local businesses • Nominated for CNBAM National Sales Representative of the Year, 2008 • Nominated for CNBAM National Sales Representative of the Year, 2007 • Mustang Daily Top Sales Award, 2007-2008 • Mustang Daily Advertising Representative of the Year, 2007-2008 • Increased sales 31% from previous year for Fall 2008 Back to School special editions • Assist in creating and designing advertising campaigns for local businesses • Maintain close and friendly relationships with clients
Starbucks San Luis Obispo, CA Barista January 2006 – October 2006
• Provided quality customer service in high volume store • Responsible for in-store promotions • Maintained cash drawer
LEADERSHIP/INVOLVEMENT UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference, 2008, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
CNBAM Conference, 2007, Portland, Oregon Week of Welcome Orientation, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
• Sustainability Project and Workshops, April 2008 – September 2008 • TEAM Leader, September 2006 – September 2007 • WOW Orientation Leader, April 2006 – September 2006
Relay for Life, Susanville, CA • Team Captain, August 2006
SKILLS
• General accounting • Account management • Assimilate information quickly
• Group facilitation • Planning and promotion • Sales planning
Computer Skills Proficient in Microsoft Office Beginner in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign
REFERENCES Paul Bittick, Mustang Daily General Manager (805) 756-2537
Jessica Lutey, Mustang Daily Advertising Coordinator (805) 441-6524 Elizabeth Carmo, Previous Mustang Daily Advertising Manager (805) 441-7832
Mustang Daily – Advertising Account Executive Job Description: Primary responsibilities include introducing the Mustang Daily to businesses in our marketing area, and through relationship sales techniques, introducing advertising opportunities for them in our publication. Primary goal is to increase advertising sales revenue in your territory. Basic Functions:
• Maintain contact with all accounts on your list on a regular (weekly) basis. • Look for new accounts to target. • Research competing media to find new accounts. • Use sales techniques to persuade account to place ads in Mustang Daily. • Making return calls to clients who say no, looking for opportunities to say yes. • Meeting and communicating with many different types of people and
personalities in a professional way. • Giving and explaining rate card and media kit information to customers. • Creating spec ads. • Filling out necessary office paper work. • Collecting payments on pre-pay advertisements. • Showing clients advertising proofs. • Servicing clients through walk-ins, phone, email, and fax. • Attending weekly team and group meetings and assigned office hours. • Responsible for signing in and out of all scheduled office hours. • All other duties assigned.
Hours: 10-20+ hours per week. Must be able to work every day, Monday through Friday, and must attend all sales meetings and be present for all deadlines. Advertising Account Executives have to report all days off to Advertising Manager and Advertising Coordinator. Frequent absences will not be tolerated. Pay: Hourly and commission based. Bonus and incentives are based on sales.
Jessica Schroeder - California Polytechnic State University San Luis ObispoMonth 2006 Sales 2007 Sales Special Editions 2008 Sales Special Editions
January $1,834.00 Back to School $5,816.00 Back to School Special Edition Increases:$566.00 $1,846.00 Goal: 10% Increase from previous year$460.00 $344.00 Increases:$734.00 $518.00 Winter Back to School 217%
February $1,984.00 Job Fair $546.00 Spring Back to School 152%$590.00 $1,688.00 Open House 18%$416.00 $464.00 Spring Graduation 17%$326.00 $3,694.00 Best for Cal Poly Holiday/Graduation Edition 185%
March $970.00 $1,676.00$4,464.00 Best For Cal Poly $2,318.00 Housing
April $1,647.00 Back to School $4,155.00 Back to School$552.00 $1,994.00
$3,184.00 Open House $3,768.00 Open House$272.00 $1,012.00 Green Edition
May $930.00 $1,948.00$680.00 $1,006.00$568.00 $954.00$944.00 $954.00
$1,589.00 $929.00June $1,428.00 $1,174.00
$2,156.00 Spring Graduation $2,517.00 Spring Graduation$120.00 SUMMER EDITION
July $334.00 SUMMER EDITION$334.00 SUMMER EDITION$334.00 SUMMER EDITION$320.00 SUMMER EDITION$320.00 SUMMER EDITION
August $320.00 SUMMER EDITION$320.00 SUMMER EDITION$320.00 SUMMER EDITION$320.00 SUMMER EDITION
September $6,853.00 Week of Welcome $6,908.00 Week of Welcome$7,251.00 Back to School $8,272.00 Back to School$2,059.00 $1,041.00
October (start date) $1,699.00 $1,233.00$143.00 $2,904.00 $1,031.00$50.00 $2,580.00 $1,318.00$360.00 $1,956.00 $1,145.00$124.00 $2,522.00 $1,218.00
November $110.00 $1,540.00 $1,736.00$50.00 $3,165.00 $1,012.00$286.00 $694.00 $291.00$106.00 $1,717.00 $993.00
December $1,871.00 $414.00 Holiday/Grad $1,180.00 Holiday/Grad
Sales Total: $3,100.00 $61,648.00 $69,741.00 13% Increase from previous year for total 2008 sales
Week of Welcome and Fall Back to School Special Edition Sales: $10,603 - 2007 Sales for assigned Client List Increase Goals: $11,663 - 10% Increase $12,724 - 20% Increase Achievement: $13,889 - Personal 2008 sales - 31% increase from previous year
To Whom It May Concern: I nominate Lauren Prewitt for CNBAM’s Advertising Representative of the Year. Lauren has been on the Collegian advertising staff for a little over a year now and has a great track record of meeting sales goals. In the 2008 spring semester, Lauren worked in the campus desk position. The sales representatives in that position work with all the student organizations and university academic departments. The person in this position must be extremely organized because they share this responsibility with another student. At the end of the spring semester, Lauren was offered the one promotion we had available to start in the fall. When Lauren was promoted into an outside sales territory, she exceeded her sales goals. One of the first things she did at the beginning of the semester was put together media kits for potential clients. Then she spent a Saturday afternoon going to different shopping centers distributing the media kits she had made. Lauren would then follow up with varies meetings and phone calls. These efforts paid off greatly for Lauren. The new accounts she gained helped Lauren to reach her goal three out of the four months that made the fall semester. This is quite an accomplishment because the campus health center pulled a great deal of their advertising. The health center made up about 29% of Lauren’s goal for the semester. The health center’s reason for not advertising was they were changing their name and didn’t want students to learn and be familiar with their old name. However, the health center didn’t have a time frame for this change, so Lauren had no idea when they would start advertising again. Lauren did convince them they should still advertise their services, and the health center did advertise, but nowhere near the amount they were doing the previous semester. Lauren has a good amount of clients who are high maintenance. For example, Lauren also works with the campus recreation center. There are about four different departments within the recreation center, so Lauren has so be sure that the proper department gets billed for the proper ad. This takes a lot of organization. At any given time, multiple ads can be running for multiple departments. It is Lauren’s responsibility to make sure the billing and ad placements are done correctly. Lauren’s best quality is her positive attitude. This is an extremely powerful quality to have as a sales person. When Lauren faces set backs, she does not dwell on them. She has an incredible power of getting over the problem, and finding a solution. Lauren’s positivity affects her coworkers in a great way as well. When they see and feel Lauren’s upbeat attitude, it helps them to also feel the same way. Lauren is very professional in the office and with her clients. She has excellent phone skills, writes concise emails and is very confident with face-to-face meetings. For these reasons, I gladly nominate Lauren for this award. Sincerely, Eric Melendez Assistant Director of Advertising and Marketing Rocky Mountain Student Media Corp.
January 27, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
I am happy to write this letter on behalf of Lauren. I have worked with her this past year
and she is a dynamic, persistent young woman who is easy to work with. She come to
the table with good advertising suggestions ideas and is always willing to assist us in
developing new ideas that stay within our budget. I have no hesitancy that she is worthy
of this award.
Pam McCracken, MSW
Director of Communications, Outreach and Prevention
University Counseling in Center
Colorado State University
Lauren J. Prewitt
2305 W Mulberry Fort Collins, Co 80521
Cell (970) 390 3902 Work (970) 491 6834
Personal Selling Philosophy: Everybody in the marketing and advertising business has their own way of selling. Although there isn't one particular way to be the most productive sales person, I believe there are a few simple ways of making a sale. If you can develop a tactic that's personal to each client, develop a product presentation plan, and have pride in your professional image along with strong moral standards, you can greatly increase your chances of having a positive impression on that customer. Having a happy customer will lead to more sales.
To develop a personal customer tactic, you have to understand the buyer. By knowing what the buyers need and wants are, the selling process goes much smoother. After the process of getting to know the buyer and the type of business they run, you start to build an acquaintance with the buyer. It then becomes your job to keep the relationship strong. This means you have to do what you say, follow up with the client, and make sure they're happy with what you're doing for them. I personally try to relate to the customer and understand what they are selling so I can make the marketing plan that is the best fit for them.
When developing a product presentation plan, you must know every aspect of the product. Learning the details of the product makes it easier to tailor the plan to your customers needs. By knowing the product so well, you can then sell on specific benefits and values. When I go on a sales call, I always make sure my customers understand the benefits of having an ad in our paper. I explain that not only does the large demographic of college students read our paper, but majority of the community does too.
Even though every sales person follows the same basic selling standards, I try to set myself apart by not being your run of the mill sales woman and making the customer feel that I'm there for them.
The Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation supports the mission of Colorado State by enhancing the undergraduate experience through education, training and hands-on experience in media, management, ethics, responsibilities and community service.
The Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation’s goals are to create and maintain: (1) co-curricular educa-tional and training programs; (2) a learning community that is enriching to students and staff and integrates academic and professional journalistic skills, values, ethics and responsibilities; (3) a welcoming environment for staff and visitors; (4) an organization that demonstrates belief in student capability and potential; and, (5) a development program that recognizes students’ individual needs for personal accomplishment as well as connections with peers, staff and faculty.
Job Description:Sales representatives for the Rocky Mountain Collegian serve as a liaison between Fort Collins merchants and the university community. They report to the Advertising Manager and are responsible for handling every aspect of a retailer’s advertising from soliciting and conception, to publication and post-publication follow-up. Sales representatives generate 90% of the Collegian’s budget, it is the goal of the department to provide sales representatives with the skills they need to accomplish this task and to gain valuable experience in the areas of business and marketing.
Responsibilities: •Devoteaminimumof15hoursperweektotheCollegian.Salesrepresentativeswillnotengagein other employment without the knowledge of the Advertising Manager.
•Attendweeklystaffmeetingsandothertrainingprograms.
•Strivetomeetmonthlyandspecialsectiongoalsandsellallissuesandproductspublishedbythe Collegian.
•Giveresponsibleadvicetoclients,makethebestpossibleefforttounderstandourmarketandour competition and be knowledgeable of all information found in the training handbook and on the Colle gian rate card.
•Consistentlyinvestigateterritoryfornewbusiness,monitorcompetitivepublicationsforleadsand maintain regular contact with active clients.
•Provideadvertiserswithaproofand/orprooftheadyourselfforerrors.Salesrepresentativesare responsible for seeing that corrections to ads are made prior to publication.
•Maintainanup-to-datefileforeachclientincluding: •NameofBusiness •Nameandphonenumberofcontactperson •Anyotherhelpfulinformation(prepay,bill,besttimetocall,etc)
Advertising Sales Representative Job Description
Lauren J. Prewitt
2305 W Mulberry Fort Collins, Co 80521
Cell (970) 390 3902 Work (970) 491 6834
Sales Numbers Fall 2008: Month: Goal: Actual: Percentage: August $9,000 $11,305 126% over September $4,250 $8,161.95 192% over October $10,140 $11,847.21 117% over November/December $10,650 $8,264.27 78% Semester: Goal: 34,040 Actual: $39,605.53 116% Over
Foothills Bistro: Budget: $900 or less Semester Proposal: The best option for you business would be to get on a schedule in order to gain repetition in the paper. One great option that we offer would be the sudoku spot. It is a 10% premium, but this page has the highest readership in the paper so it would get the best exposure. Another option that you might like to take advantage of would be the back to school specials that we are offering, such as the 5 for 4 or the 9 for 7. Dates Running: Price: Size: Notes: 08/21/08 $40 2x2 5 for 4 8/25/08 $40 2x2 5 for 4 8/26/08 $40 2x2 5 for 4 8/27/08 $40 2x2 5 for 4 8/28/08 $0 2x2 5 for 4 09/02/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 09/09/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 09/16/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 09/23/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 09/30/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 10/07/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 10/14/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 10/21/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 10/28/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 11/03/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 11/04/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 11/11/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 11/18/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 12/02/08 $44 2x2 Sudoku 12/09/08 $4 2x2 Sudoku Totals: Times ran: 20 Total Price: $820
Foothil ls Bistro Foothil ls Bistro located in n. food court in Foothills Malls
Great Value, Great Value, Best Quality! Best Quality! 10% discount to
CSU students
$1.00 off $1.00 off any whole sandwich
expires 12/30
Lauren J. Prewitt 2305 W Mulberry
Fort Collins, Co 80521 Cell (970) 390 3902
Work (970) 491 6834 [email protected]
Education: *Battle Mountain High School Diploma May 2006 Minturn, Colorado 81645
*Colorado State University Anticipated Graduation May 2010
Human Development and Family Studies Major Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
Work History:
*Rocky Mountain Collegian South East Fort Collins Advertising Representative January 2008-Present Fort Collins, Colorado 80521 *August/September Sales Representative of the Month
*Vail Recreation District
Camp Counselor/ Educator June 2007- Present Vail, Colorado 80657 *Bagali’s Italian Kitchen Waitress January 2006-Feburary 2008 Vail, Colorado 80657
Extra Curricular: *Spanish Club 2006-2008
*Volunteer Girls Basketball Coach Fort Collins Recreation District 2008-present *Volunteer at National Jewish Hospital, Child Life Specialist Staff *Nanny/Babysitter 2000-present *Tri-Delta Sorority 2006-2008
References: *Eric Melendez, Manager at Rocky Mountain Collegian 9704913529
*Chantelle Sessa, Manager at Vail Recreation District 9703791219 *Kim Burmhardt, Manager at Rocky Mountain Collegian 9702192017
January 5, 2009 To: CNBAM Re: Category 6a: Sales Representative of the Year It is with great enthusiasm that I write this letter of recommendation for Helen Sim, Account Executive for California State University, Fullerton’s Daily Titan newspaper. In my four years with The Daily Titan, I can confidently say that Helen generated one of the most successful semesters in sales through her outstanding communication, selling, and organization skills. Helen is known to be very thorough and consistent with following up on clients. Many times I have heard positive feedback from clients, whether it is in person or via email. In and out of the office Helen maintains a professional and friendly relationship with the entire staff. If a peer staff member needs help Helen always steps up to the plate to go above and beyond her job requirements. The Daily Titan would not be standing where it is today without Helen’s hard work, positivity, and dedication.
Best regards,
Sarah Oak
Advertising Manager, The Daily Titan
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
The duties of an account executive at the Daily Titan Newspaper at California State
University of Fullerton include making a minimum number of calls a week to local businesses in
Orange County that have yet to advertise with the Daily Titan, meeting with different clients face
to face in order to establish contracts, and following up with previous clients to renew their
contracts. The account executive is responsible for the sales revenue of his or her own respective
zones and must be an actively cooperative team member of the Daily Titan.
An account executive must have various skills, which allow him or her to make sales
with new and returning clients efficiently without any complications. One must be attentive at
every staff meeting in order to thoroughly understand his or her tasks. Since an account
executive makes numerous contracts with different clients, it is imperative that he or she stays
organized to keep track of all transactions and sale revenues. When meeting any clients, he or
she is required to act friendly and professionally because an account executive represents the
whole newspaper as well as the university.
December 31, 2008
To Whom It May Concern:
Please accept this letter of recommendation for Helen Sim, Account Executive, for
The Daily Titan Newspaper. I have worked with Helen for the past 2 years and she
has always been a pleasure to work with. She has been able to balance her class
work load with her job responsibilities at The Daily Titan, and remain an attentive
account representative. She is very knowledgeable about her product, has excellent
follow through and is very timely in her communication.
I highly recommend her for the award of Best Sales Representative for the College
Newspaper Business &Advertising Managers organization.
Sincerely,
Aurea Victoria
Marketing Assistant
Yard House Restaurants
HELEN SIM [email protected]
1922 E. Tyler Ct. Placentia, CA 92870
714..458.8016
EDUCATION
August 2007-Present California State University, Fullerton Communications: Advertising, BA
Expected graduation: May 2011
EXPERIENCE
June 2007-December 2008 The Daily Titan NewspaperFullerton, CA Account Executive
• Employee of the month August 2007
• Employee of the month October 2008
• Most improved award for Fall 2007
• Certificate of achievement for exceeding my semester sales goal by 2%
SKILLS
• Proficient with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, AdPro
• Speak and understand Korean
• Good communication skills
2008 Sales Records for Helen Sim
The Daily Titan: $16,201.09
*see attached for AdPro Summary Statistics
January23,2009
Subject:LetterofRecommendationforCaitlinHancock
ToWhomItMayConcern:
ItismydistinctpleasuretowritethisletterofrecommendationforMs.CaitlinHancockinsupportofhernominationasSalesRepresentativeoftheYear,fortheCollegeNewspaperBusinessAdvertising&Managers.IamtheDirectoroftheCareerCenteratIndianaStateUniversity,andMs.HancockisourassignedadvertisingrepfortheIndianaStatesman,ourstudentnewspaper.Historically,theCareerCenterhasusedtheIndianaStatesmanasanimportantpromotionalsourceforthevariousprogramsandservicesweoffertostudentsandemployers.However,ourapproachwassomewhat“over‐used”anduninspired.WhenCaitlinwasassignedasouradrep,thatallchanged.FromtheverybeginningofourrelationshipwithCaitlin,shewasmuchmorethanjustanadsalesperson.Shetookonagenuineconsultantrole,assistinguswithourannualadvertisingplanandshowingushowtoeffectivelyintegrateadvertisingintoouroverallpromotionalforecast.Additionally,sheworkedwithusonindividualadsaswellascampaignsdesignedtopromoteourmajor“flagship”events.Inbothcases,herideaswerefreshandpowerful.Plus,shesharedavaluablestudentperspectivethatopenedupallkindsofnewapproachesandideaswehadneverpreviouslyconsidered.Assumingtheroleasan“adjunctCareerCenterstaffmember”,Caitlinroutinelyfollowsuptoensurewearepleasedwithhersupportandthequalityoftheprintads.Shehasakeeninsightintothepuzzlingworldofmarketingtotoday’scollegestudentsandregularlymakessuggestionsandrecommendationstohelpensuremaximumeffectivenessoftheadswepublish.Sheisengagedandaggressivewithoutbeinginsistentorbothersome.Sheroutinelygoesbeyondwhatisexpectedofasalesrepandparticipatesmoreasateammember.LastsemesterIservedasasalestrainerforalltheIndianaStatesmansalesstaff.Eachoftherepsparticipatedinamocksalespresentationwheretheywereevaluatedontheirperformancewithanemphasisonhelpingthemimprovetheirpersonalsellingskills.Caitlin’sapproachtothistrainingwasuniqueamongallthestudentsImet.Shewasgenuinelyinterestedinherprofessionaldevelopmentasasalesrepresentativeandtookfulladvantageofthetrainingopportunity.Herpreparationanddeliverywereexemplary.Forexample,duringCaitlin’spresentation,sheofferedanactualadvertisingproposalwithsomecreativeideasneverbeforeconsideredintheCareerCenter.Shecarefullyandthoroughlytiedthebenefitsof
theadvertisingtothesuccessoftheCareerCenterinreachingourstudentpopulation.Infact,shewassoeffective,weactuallyacceptedherproposalandincreasedouradvertisingbudgetfortheyear.Additionally,Caitlinwasrecentlyinvolvedinhelpingusdevelopafullyintegratedweb‐based/print‐basedapproachtopromotingourspringCareerOpportunityFair.Sinceweb‐basedadvertisingwasanewmediumforusandweweresomewhatconcernedaboutitseffectiveness,shealsowasinstrumentalinhelpingusdesignawaytoempiricallymeasuretheeffectivenessoftheweb‐basedadvertisingwithaviewtowardfutureelectronicadvertising.Insummary,CaitlinHancockisatrueadvertisingsalespersonprofessional.Herdedicationtoherclientsandtheirsuccessisobvious.Shethoroughlyunderstandstheneedsofherclientsandthemarketsinwhichtheyoperate.Thisisaveryraretalentamongstudentadvertisingsalesreps.Itisforallthesereasons,thatIhighlyrecommendCaitlinHancockbeseriouslyconsideredforawardoftheAdvertisingSalesRepresentativeoftheYear.Sincerely,//singedhere//KentR.WaggonerDirector
1
My Personal Selling Philosophy
By Caitlin Hancock, Indiana State University
My personal selling philosophy is based on three different factors; having strong
relationships with my clients, seeing “eye-to-eye”, and truly knowing the product I am selling.
Incorporating all three factors into each sale will hopefully result in happy clients who are able to
increase their revenues, benefiting both the businesses and the Indiana Statesman itself. Selling
is a learning process, and it is different for every person, so it is important to find the special way
you can serve your clients that is unique compared to other places they can take their business.
In order to be a good advertising representative, it is crucial to have a strong relationship
with the advertiser. If a customer is upset about the appearance of their ad, at the Indiana
Statesman we make sure to solve the problem on their terms. We ask them what they think is
fair, whether it is getting a free ad or discount in the future. We realize that losing $100 now is a
much smaller loss compared to the potential hundreds of dollars of future advertising. I make
sure to call my contacts every few weeks, even if they have not run anything for a while. In our
current economy, newspapers are suffering around the country to get enough funds to keep their
paper running. At the Statesman we make sure to make advertising an affordable way to reach
our students. We run specials on a fairly regular basis, and I make sure to let each contact know
about all of our offers.
Seeing “eye-to-eye” with my clients is also very important, in more ways than one. I
believe it is always best to put a face with a name. Therefore, I do my best to personally visit all
of my contacts at the beginning of the semester. I have many clients that I only do business with
on visits. Many times, we can accomplish the same by speaking on the phone, but I think
personally going to the businesses shows you care about the client and truly want to help them
2
advertise their business. To be a successful advertising representative, you must be able to
accommodate each different client according to their personal needs, so you must get to know
them on a personal level. Some clients only run during specials, others run fairly regularly, some
need to be reminded over and over again to email the ad; whichever the case, it is important to
know the best way to contact your client and make sure they are happy how business is being
conducted. It is important to see “eye-to-eye” and be on the same page as the advertiser so when
I turn the idea over to our production team, they are able to create an ad that is exactly what the
advertiser is looking for.
In order to best accommodate your clients, it is extremely important to be confident with
what you are selling. It is embarrassing and unprofessional to be asked a question on a personal
visit and not be able to answer it. I make sure that I know the most about each business that I
can. I have made sure I know our rate card forwards and backwards so I am able to answer any
questions a client may have. It is hard to sell something you know nothing about because you
are unable to answer questions and explain the reasons why your product is a good fit for your
client.
Once you have completed these steps, you are able to focus on ways to attract new
advertisers. When I have contacted all of my current clients, I turn and focus on finding new
businesses to run. Although I have only been selling for a little over one year, I feel like I can
successfully work with all my clients and keep them content and satisfied with the Indiana
Statesman while successfully obtaining new advertisers. My personal selling philosophy has
changed and grown over time. I hope to pursue a career in sales and will take everything I have
learned working at the Statesman and apply it to my job.
Caitlin Hancock Email: [email protected]
1211 Spruce Street Apt #7 4517 Lake Road South Terre Haute, IN 47809 Scottsburg, IN 47170 (812) 595-0441 (812) 752-5383 Objective To obtain an internship in the field of Marketing and/or Operations Management Analysis that would allow me to contribute to your company’s success Education Bachelor of Science: Marketing, Minor: Operations Management Analysis Indiana State University, May 2010 Cumulative GPA: 3.68/4.00 Dean’s List Spring 2008, Fall 2008 Coursework includes: Buyer Behavior, Channel Structure Strategy, Product Pricing Strategy, Statistics III, and Business Report Writing Experience Marketing Intern: Your Community Bank May 2008-August 2008
• Worked full-time during summer break in New Albany, Indiana • Developed a demographic study to measure Share-of-Wallet in each county YCB
serves • Researched competitors’ products and services to enrich product profiles • Completed variety of advertising design products and assisted with planning of the
Grand Opening Event Advertising Representative: The Indiana Statesman January 2008-Present
• Fall of 2008- Began work as Assistant Advertising Manager; responsible for laying out pages and assisting other advertising representatives
• Sell ads to current advertisers and pursue new clients Customer Service Representative May 2006-January 2009
• Worked full-time at The Scott County State Bank • Opened new customer accounts, set up certificates of deposit, helped customers with
any problems concerning their accounts • Bookkeeping department- filing checks and pulling statements
Leadership PR/Marketing Director, College Mentors for Kids October 2008- Present -Mentor since September 2007 Member, APICS September 2008-Present Secretary, National Society of Collegiate Scholars August 2008-Present -Member since September 2007 Member, American Marketing Association September 2007- Present Member, University Honors Program August 2006- Present Computer skills Microsoft Office, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe InDesign, Minitab, SPSS
Indiana Statesman
Sales record for Caitlin Hancock
Monthly Team Actual Team Personal Personal Contest Sales Total
Sales Goal monthly sales Goal Sales Bonus Bonus Bonus
January-08 $13,500.00 $16,537.60 $1,900.00 $1,974.61 $50.00 $50.00 $100.00
February-08 $24,000.00 $24,085.96 $4,800.00 $6,033.00 $30.00 $50.00 $80.00
March-08 $18,000.00 $13,860.06 $3,600.00 $4,291.65 $25.00 $25.00
April-08 $28,000.00 $25,509.27 $5,600.00 $5,309.58 $0.00
May-08 $0.00
June-08 $0.00
July-08 $0.00
August-08 $0.00
September-08 $17,000.00 $21,360.44 $2,900.00 $5,285.68 $25.00 $25.00 $50.00
October-08 $31,800.00 $30,503.00 $2,300.00 $4,582.45 $50.00 $50.00
November-08 $18,200.00 $16,964.40 $3,640.00 $3,439.28 $50.00 $50.00
December-08 $8,500.00 $4,833.25 $1,700.00 $921.20 $0.00
Yearly Yearly
Personal Personal
Goal Sales
$26,440.00 $31,837.45
Indiana State UniversityIndiana StatesmanAssistant Advertising ManagerJob Description
The Assistant Advertising Manager is responsible for providing sales leads to all sales rep on a daily basis and following up on the call reports to see if contact is made, or attempted.
The AAM is responsible for providing a good example of dependability, punctuality, communi-cation, customer service, and good sales habits.
The AAM is responsible for keeping an active account list.
The AAM is responsible for assisting the Student Ad Manager and Promotions Assistant in the creation, execution, and evaluation of sales promotions.
In the absence of the SAM, the AAM must be able to dummy the paper immediately following the space reservation deadline. Dummies are to be done in a timely fashion so that the pro-duction team and editorial staff may begin their duties as soon as possible.
The AAM is to serve as a “substitute” while the SAM is not in the office. The AAM is to field any questions that advertising sales and production staffs may have. Any major problems with staff or advertisers are to be immediately noted for the SAM. In the absence of SAM on pro-duction days, AAM is to check that each ad is proofed by rep or by AAM.
The AAM is to hold a set schedule of no less than 12 hours a week. Any time the AAM cannot be present at scheduled time due to an emergency, the AAM must call and make direct con-tact with the advertising manager or assistant director.
Additional duties may be added as circumstances require.
Promotions AssistantJob DescriptionThe PA is responsible for initiation and organization of sales promotions by working with the SAM, AAM, and Assistant Director to create, execute, and evaluate all sales promotions and promotional materials.*
The PA is responsible for providing a good example of dependability, punctuality, communica-tion, and customer service.
The PA is responsible for keeping an active account list.
The PA is to serve as a “substitute” in the absence of the SAM and AAM. The PA is to field any questions that advertising sales and production staffs may have. Any major problems with staff or advertisers are to be immediately noted for the student advertising manager.
The PA is to hold a set schedule of no less than 8 hours a week.
Additional duties may be added as circumstances require.
*Promotions procedures
Promotion concepts will be developed through a team brainstorming session, during which the promotion will be named and scheduled. These promotions will be developed at the beginning of each semester and more specifically defined one month prior to their execution.
PA will than delegate the following tasks between SAM, AAM, Assistant Director and PA:• compiling mailing list• typing and printing labels• designing flyer• making copies or having them made• folding copies and affixing labels• briefing and preparing staff for promotions.• motivating staff throughout the promotion.
At the conclusion of each promotion, the promotions team will jointly evaluate the project for future reference.
RyanKrepp
AdvertisingManager
IndianaStatesman
IndianaStateUniversity
ToWhomItMayConcern:
ThisletterisstronglyrecommendingCaitlinHancockforthecategoryofSalesRepresentativeoftheYear.Aswellasbeingoneofthetoptwosalespeopleeverymonth,shealsohasthetitleofassistantstudentadvertisingmanager.Sheservesbothrolesverywellandshecontinuestoexceedourexpectationseverydaysheisintheoffice.Besidesbeingoneofthetopsalespeopleeverymonthandhavingtheresponsibilitiesofassistantstudentadmanager,sheisalsointheofficeconstantlytryingtohelpherclientswithwhattheywantorhelpingothersalespeopletrytoreachtheirgoals.Whensheisnotintheoffice,sheisonpersonalvisitswithexistingornewclientstryingto,andmostofthetimesucceedingin,sellingourservices.
Achievement:Caitlinhasincreasedrevenuesonheraccountlistgreatly.ShehasworkedwiththeCareerCenteroncampustoreachadvertisersthatwewouldmostlikelyneverreach.Caitlinparticipatesandmotivateseveryonearoundherwhenwehavesalescompetitionsandisalwaysatthetopoftheleaderboardattheendofthemonth.
Interaction:Caitlinhasamazingrelationshipswithhercoworkersandclients.Shehastheupmostrespectfromallofhercustomers.Theytreatherlikeanequalandlovedoingbusinesswithherbecauseofherprofessionalattitudeandapproachtosellingadvertising.Caitlinexertsgreatleadershipskills.Whenshehasanideaoraskssomeonetodosomething,shereceivesnothingbutrespectbecauseofherprofessionalismandrespectforothers.Caitlincontinuestoexceedtherequirementsofherjobdescription.Shehasagreat,positiveattitudetowardseverythingshedoesandiswillingtogotheextramileforanyofherclientsorcoworkers.
Innovation:Astheassistantadmanager,Caitlinisresponsibleforcomingupwithnew,creativewaystosellourprintadvertising.Shedoesthisverysuccessfullybyhelpingcomeupwithnewpromotionsandadvertisingideaseveryday.
PersonalPhilosophy:Caitliniscommittedtobeingveryprofessionalatalltimes.Shereallydoesperformtothehighestofherabilitieseverymonthandisdevotedtoalwaysbeingoneofthebestsalespeople.Caitlinhasatrue,genuineconcernforherclients,thenewspaper,theadsshesells,coworkers,andsuperiors.Alsobeingagreatstudent,shedemonstratesanimmenseunderstandingforprofessionalsellingandadvertisingthatisunparalleledbyhercoworkers.
CaitlinwouldcertainlybeagreatchoiceforSalesRepresentativeoftheYear.Ifchosen,shewoulddefinitelynotdisappointandCNBAMwouldbeveryproudoftheirselection.
IamhappytorecommendCaitlinHancockforthisgreathonor.
Sincerely,
RyanKrepp
AdvertisingManager
