University of ChicagoUniversity of IllinoisIndiana UniversityUniversity of IowaUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MichiganMichigan State UniversityUniversity of MinnesotaUniversity of Nebraska-LincolnNorthwestern UniversityOhio State UniversityPennsylvania State UniversityRutgers UniversityPurdue UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

“We don’t gotta sit here and listen to this”

Mark SandlerCIC Center for Library Initiatives

CharlestonNovember 8 , 2013

Academic libraries have a large inventory of goods and services to move

They have a potential customer base to convert to users

Use=value and value=budget support

Challenge is to increase use/uptake Convert non-users into users Nudge users to increase their use Encourage both users and non-users to

use more stuff sooner and more often

A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing.

Should we be converting our libraries from so-called “learning organizations” to “sales organizations”?

What we can learn about sales—doing sales and managing sales— from our vendor/publishercolleagues?

Are we staffing our libraries—especially our collection development departments— with the right people doing the right work?

PRESENTERSDavid Celano, Vice President for Library Sales, SpringerMelissa Oakes, Sales Manager, ProQuestMarianne Ryan, AUL for Public Services, Northwestern U.Mark Sandler, Director, CIC Center for Library Initiatives

“Coffee is for closers”

David CelanoNovember 8, 2013

Title of the Presentation | 04/12/2023 | 5Springer Market Intelligence & Web Analytics | Springer Journals and eBooks In Aggregator Databases| 5

Starting misc

• Background

• Fit in the industry

• My involvement in sales

• Why am I here?

Title of the Presentation | 04/12/2023 | 6Springer Market Intelligence & Web Analytics | Springer Journals and eBooks In Aggregator Databases| 6

What makes a good sales person/who do we look for?

• “Just looking for someone with good sense”

• Personality traits

• What I could live without

• Bottom line

Title of the Presentation | 04/12/2023 | 7Springer Market Intelligence & Web Analytics | Springer Journals and eBooks In Aggregator Databases| 7

What keeps people sticking around?

• Sales success

• Networks – internal and external

• Potential management opportunity

• Retention without advancement to management

Title of the Presentation | 04/12/2023 | 8Springer Market Intelligence & Web Analytics | Springer Journals and eBooks In Aggregator Databases| 8

Before I pass this along to Melissa…

• All of this stuff takes time

• Incentives

• Sales reputation at Springer

Melissa OakesNovember 8, 2013

My background/experience

• 15 years experience selling same product line to Academic libraries

• Manage group of ‘specialists’• New to sales management but

hired 2 people recently

What makes someone a good sales person?

• Personable & good relationship building skills

• Planning, active listening, asks thoughtful questions

• Understanding how the customer makes purchases and is able to help the selector make a case for the product

• Good follow-up

What makes a sales organization successful?

• Hiring the right people• Training • Communication between sales,

product management and marketing

• Support from organization • Understanding the companies

goals• Good customer information – CRM

Successful sales management

Marianne RyanAssociate University Librarian for Public

ServicesNovember 8, 2013

What’s wrong with this picture?

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (a film by George Lucas, 2005)

The academic library picture• Uphold—or at least allow—adherence to bygone models

• Hire individuals with subject expertise in a particular area, rather than with more versatile skills

• Limit involvement to the few--full-time professionals or PhDs

• Assign a small percentage of a given job to liaison responsibilities

• Struggle to clarify expectations and consistently measure accountability

• Focus on academic departments only

• React rather than be proactive

• Defer rather than take charge

What’s in a title?• Academic liaison

• Bibliographer

• Collection development librarian

• Content contact

• Disciplinary expert

• Liaison

• Outreach specialist

• Selector

• Subject expert

• Subject liaison

• Subject specialist

Leading roles and bit parts

• Responses to department requests • Librarian selection of books and journals • Research consultations for faculty and students • In-class library instruction for students • Faculty participation in collection development and cancellation

decisions• Updates to the department about library services and future plans• Workshops on library resources • Consultation between faculty and librarians to discuss strategies to• integrate library instruction into the curriculum• Representation at department functions • Notices of new publications in the discipline • Representation on department committees or task forces• Information about scholarly communication and open access• Information about copyright

Julie Arendt and Megan Lotts, “What Liaisons Say about Themselves and What Faculty Say about Their Liaisons, a U.S. Survey.” portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 12, No. 2 (2012), pp. 155–177.

Picture this . . .• Partner to identify real needs and new possibilities

• Collaborate to accomplish common goals

• Strategize to reach non-users

• Relinquish control/abandon territorialism

• Develop shared responsibility for training and advocacy

• Involve graduate assistants and undergrad students

• Encourage vendor involvement

• Build real and lasting relationships that add value

Rewriting the script

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (a film by George Lucas, 1977)

How to improve casting• Hire for flexible, adaptable, 21st century skills

• Expect all staff to have an active role in library outreach

• Clarify roles and responsibilities

• Set clear expectations

• Provide training and support

• Identify a cadre of campus partners

• Tap and involve sales reps for unique expertise

• Engage and communicate actively and continuously

• Use the Force

Libraries manage campus outreach with allthe sophistication of a Girl Scout cookie drive

“I’m here on a mission of mercy”

SelectorsSubject SpecialistsOutreach librariansLiaisonsEmbedded librariansCampus engagement

Locate

What do our libraries need?

Measurable goals– what do we want from users and non-users?

Librarians who can and will promote what they purchase

Managers who can hire, train and assess outreach librarians

Tools to monitor and measure inputs and outcomes

Incentives for success and punishments for failure

A sense of urgency!

• Libraries• Books• Reading• Research• GET SMARTER• GET A’S• GET PUBLISHED• GET TENURE• EARN ACADEMIC

RESPECT

Market to the insecurities of your customers

Believe in your product, but define it carefully

“Second prize is a set of steak knives;third prize is you’re fired!”

Libraries are great and useful institutions, but they are only “useful” to the extent that they are used.

Go forth and create users!

“Everyone lives by selling something”

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is an academic consortium of 15 top-tier researchuniversities, including the members of the Big Ten Conference and the University of Chicago.For over half a century, CIC members have collaborated to advance their academic missions,

generate unique opportunities for students and faculty, and serve the common good by sharingexpertise, leveraging campus resources, and creating innovative programming.

msandler@staff.cic.net

1819 South Neil Street, Suite D, Champaign, IL 61820-7271www.cic.net • 217.333.8475 • cic@staff.cic.net