2008 September

SAPATodaySize Does Matter

The Bi-Monthly Newsletter for the Free Paper Industry September & October|2008

In this Issue:

visit us at www.sapatoday.com

by Douglas Fry

What size publication do you have? Broadsheet? Tall Tab? Short Tab? Mini Tab? Flexi? Digest? If an advertising agency wanted to run an ad in several SAPA member papers how many different sizes do you think they would need to produce? We tried to standardize on the SAU (Standard Advertising Unit) but that just didn’t work. So, we won’t even try to talk about everyone using the same size ad units in their print publications.

But we can standardize on our web content. And we need to do that right now! There is no reason we can’t get ahead of the curve by standardizing on the IAB (Internet Advertising Board) units this very moment. We can all have the same size banners, buttons, bars, skyscrapers, and half-pages.

The standardized ad sizes are listed in

the chart above. Your graphics people can either take a finished ad and repurpose it to the sizes above using Photoshop or they can create the ad from scratch using the sizes above. It really is that simple. Decide right now to use the sizes above and not deviate one pixel from the standards.

That way when someone wants to place an ad in our online publications, they will only have to produce one ad. What could be simpler?

Southeastern Adver t i s ing Publ i shers Associat ion (800) 334-0649 (888) 334-0649 fax

page 2SAPA Board of Directors & CAN Corner

page 3The Power of Analogies

page 5Cut Costs - Not Your Throat

page 8Sales Lessons You Have To Learn

page 10Calendar of Events & Getting the Mail Message

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association

To advance the free paper industry by providing resources for success and venues for sharing ideas.

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The Savannah Pennysaver just boosted its CVC© Circulation

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Go to www.jbmultimedia.net/savannah to see a video of J.W. Owens explaining why he chose JB Multimedia to help him build a

bridge to his company’s Digital Future.JB Multimedia has partnered with many free papers across the Southeast to help guide them into a future that goes beyond print. Watch what J.W. says about our ease of use, our exclusive CVC approval, what

his advertisers’ responses are, and much more. For your free demo, call Justin Gerena: 1-888-592-3212 x710

2 SAPAToday 11 SAPAToday

SAPA Board of Directors

Past PresidentMike WoodardTuscaloosa Shopper

& ReporterNorthport, AL205-333-7525

PresidentBill Bowman

Up & Coming Weekly

Fayetteville, NC 910-484-6200

Vice PresidentRussell

QuattlebaumSoutheast Sun

Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

TreasurerTony Onellion

Bargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

Past PresidentGreg LedfordShelby Shopper &

InfoShelby, NC

704-484-1047

Board MemberJW Owens

Savannah Pennysaver

Savannah, GA 912-238-2040

Board MemberCaroline



SecretaryAlan Lingerfelt

The Piedmont Shopper

Danville, VA434-822-1800

Past PresidentGary Benton

Peddler ADvantageParis, TN

731-644-9595

Past PresidentBrenda Finchum

Coffee County Shopper

Manchester, TN931-728-3273

CornerIn each issue of SAPAToday we’ll look at one of the membership benefits you receive from the Classified Ad Network (CAN).

How much is a CVC audit worth? Well, in out-of-pocket money it ranges from $780 to over $2,000 per year - depending on the size of your publication. So, it would cost you not to have the paid-for circulation audit by CVC.

But there is more to it than that. How much would it cost you to have your publication presented to thousands of media buyers? How much would it cost you in lost revenue because you wouldn’t have verified and audited circulation numbers?

Your paid-for circulation audit is one of the biggest benefits SAPA offers its members. In this case, it doesn’t cost... it pays.

SMC’s proposal for simplified addressing as an option for city routes. SMC is asking for any publishers or mailers that have been using the DAL, and will be burdened by this rule, or may find this requirement another reason to take all or part of your circulation out of the mail, to contact SMC’s Executive Director, Donna Hanbery, with your information. �e collective comments and feedback of SMC’s members will be incorporated in our comments to the proposed rule.

Sometime after the comment period ends, the Postal Service is certain to move forward on the publication of a final rule. �e requirements will go into effect within 90 days after the publication date of the Federal Register final rule. �is time is being given to afford mailers

time to exhaust existing card stock of DAL pieces. In its announcement of the proposed rule the Postal Service recommends that mailers work with their local mail piece design analyst to insure that future DALs accompanying saturation mailings meet the new standards. Once the new rule becomes effective, mail that is presented with DALs that are not automation compatible and barcoded will not qualify for saturation rates but will be required to pay the basic Enhanced Carrier Route price for Standard mail mailings.

Publishers or mailers wishing to review the Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rule Making and the text of the proposed amendments can find it at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr, click on Retrieve an FR Page and enter 50584.

Getting The Message of the Mail Out to Everyone Continued

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Advertising & Billing: Formatted Classified Ads, for print and web Retail Manifests Revenue Forecasts Billing Reminders Scheduling

Circulation Management: Carriers Bundle Top Sheets Truck Drops

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

Analogies can help sales people become more persuasive in dealing with advertisers.

Russ told me about a meeting he had with a real estate advertiser who was thinking about shifting his budget to a new real estate magazine. It was a delicate situation, because he was faced with the task of re-selling a long-time client.

“I knew I shouldn’t say, ‘�at’s the craziest thing I’ve heard all week,’” Russ explained. “And I knew the client might become defensive if I openly criticized the new magazine. So I had to figure out a non-threatening way to compare the two publications. I had a hunch that a direct comparison of rates and readership figures wouldn’t work, so I decided to use an analogy.”

Russ remembered that his advertiser’s hobby was fishing, so he started with a simple question: “You like to fish, don’t you?”

�e client said, “Sure.”

“Let’s say that there are two lakes side-by-side. You’re familiar with the first lake. You’ve caught fish there, and your friends have caught fish there – so there’s no doubt in your mind that the first lake contains fish. But you don’t know if there are any fish in the second lake. So the big question is: would you rather fish in a place where you know there are fish, or in a place where there might be fish?”

�e advertiser said, “I see where you’re going with this. Of course, I’m going to spend most of my time at the first lake.”

“It’s the same in real estate,” Russ said. “You know from experience that people read our real estate section, because it has generated business for you in the past. On the other hand, this new magazine is an unknown entity. Your prospective customers might read it, but then

again they might not.”

Russ told me that the advertiser decided to stay with his paper, and put the new magazine on hold. Although he may have eventually made the same decision without the fishing comparison, the analogy gave him a better understanding of his media choice.

Here are a couple of points to keep in mind:

1. Use the word “like.” By definition, an analogy is a comparison between two unrelated things. In selling, it’s a matter of comparing something which is new or misunderstood to something which is familiar to the client. �ink about how you would finish these analogies:

- Using a testimonial in an ad is LIKE...

- Advertising on a consistent basis is LIKE...

- Leaving the price out of a product ad is LIKE...

2. Use visual images. Close your eyes and think of your best friend. What do you see – a name or a face? Of course, you see a face. �at’s because it’s human nature to think in pictures. It was easy for Russ’ advertiser to visualize those two lakes.

Good sales people understand this trait of human nature and use it to communicate more effectively. �ey use analogies which are easy to see in the mind’s eye.

(c) Copyright 2008 by John Foust. All rights reserved.

E-mail John Foust for information about his training videos for ad departments: [email protected]

3 SAPAToday

USPS MOVES TO REQUIRE AUTOMATION OF DALS

On August 27, 2008 the Postal Service published a proposal to adopt a rule that would require saturation mailings with detached address labels to meet automation compatibility standards of USPS flat sorting equipment. The notice invited public comments on the proposal to be submitted before September 26, 2008. Automation compatibility would mean that mailers using a DAL to address their piece would have to purchase card stock heavy enough to go on the Postal Service’s Flat Sorting Sequence (FSS) equipment. The piece would also need a barcode. For the next few years a POSTNET barcode will be acceptable. In the future, an Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) will be required.

�e leadership of the Saturation Mailers Coalition (SMC) has warned its members that the Postal Service was likely to take steps in the future to require DALs to be automation compatible. As far back as 2001, the Postal Service identified DALs as a cost driver in the mail stream and began to urge mailers to eliminate the DAL and convert to on-piece addressing for city routes and simplified addressing on rural routes.

SMC has consistently told the Postal Service that some of our members need the DAL. Although the Postal Service has preserved the DAL as an option, it began to surcharge DAL use by 1.5 cents in 2007 increasing to 1.7 cents in May 2008. In response to the surcharge, SMC and individual mailers appealed to the Postal Service to relax the rules that limited advertising on the front side of the DAL. In June 2007 the Postal

Service revised its rule to allow advertising on the front of the DAL but conditioned this privilege on mailers preparing DALs with advertising on the front side preparing then in a way where they were automation compatible and barcoded. �e Postal Service Pricing and Delivery representatives told SMC’s leadership at that time that the Postal Service intended to require DALs to be automation compatible in the future.

SMC will file comments with the Postal Service in September. SMC’s comments will recognize the need for the Postal Service to take costs out of the system, but will appeal, once again, to the Postal Service to consider

Calendar of Events

10 SAPAToday

The Power ofAnalogies

Required MailAutomation!

IFPA Conference 2008: Seattle, Washington is the site for the Fall Conference for IFPA, September 24 - 27, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency in nearby Bellevue. A trip to the Space Needle and dinner there promise a great time.

SAPA Publishers Retreat 2009: In the cold month of January SAPA will hold its annual Publishers Retreat and Board Meeting. Where can you go during that month to enjoy a little warmth and sunshine? Orlando, of course. Plan now to attend and be refreshed.

SAPA Conference 2009: In 2009 we’ll be in Louisville, Kentucky at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. �e hotel is located across the street from 4th Street Live so there will be plenty to do. Mark your calendars now for August 28 & 29, 2009 in Louisville. Please give us a call at 1-800-334-0649 or email: [email protected] if you would like more information.

continued on page 11

by Diane Ciotta

If one thing stays constant, it ’s change! This is true in life, but particularly in the case of advertising sales with respect to customer attrition. As a sales consultant myself back in the early 80’s, during a kindergarten work-study program I was part of, I focused as much on keeping clients as I did on getting new ones. I remember many times feeling the irritation of having signed multiple new advertisers, only to close the week with the same number of customers, as the additional accounts just replaced the ones I’d lost.

Fortunately, I came across an article, right about that same time that resulted in the turning point of my career. Often in training sessions I’ll share that anecdote, about one million customers of Sears buying drill

bits that they admittedly didn’t want. What all of those people actually wanted was a hole! �e moral of this story is not only cute, but it’s also a direct correlation to our business. Our customers don’t want their ad…they want the results of the ad. �e message is the tool, just like the drill bit. I realized then, that to get the right bit, I would need a sales professional to ask me questions about the drill I was using, the material I was drilling into and the width and depth of the hole I needed, NOT which bit I wanted. �erefore it made sense, that to be a professional in selling advertising, I should know details about my potential clients business needs, NOT what kind of ad they wanted.

Since that time I have remained passionate about the fact that the close happens in the need development step of the

process and that improved account retention is a direct reflection of how well we know the details of our prospects’ products & services, customer profile, competition, etc. as opposed to ‘how they want their ad to read’!

Yes, a consultative sales cycle appears to be time consuming yet in reality, it’s a trade-off of more time in the questioning step and less time overcoming objections and trying to close. �ere is just no better time than now to help businesses get a better ROI for their advertising and while consistency is the driving force… needs-focused selling is the key!

Diane Ciotta, President Training Classics

9 SAPAToday4 SAPAToday

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Dear Members,

Ahhhhh! Fall is here and I love it. The days are cooler, the colors are magnificent

and Halloween is right around the corner. I can’t wait. Ghosts, goblins, monsters

and creepy crawly scary things. Wow! Bring em on! No, Halloween is not my favorite

holiday (I don’t even like giving out candy) but after working the last thirteen

months in the newspaper industry I’ve come to the conclusion that “it can’t get much

scarier than this.”

It seems my whole world is being turn upside down by the economy, technology,

industry innovations, rules and regulations and the biggest monster of all, the “world

wide web”.

News Flash! Get used to it, get over it, and get to work. Yes, our industry is changing

so we need to face the challenges head on. I was amazed at all the “deer in the

headlights” looks and sad, glazed over expressions as publishers discussed the state

of our industry. The sky is not falling and the boogie man is not going to pop out of

a Wal Mart computer and put you out of business. Get a grip. Many of us have had it

too easy, too long. The business is out there. We just have to work a little harder for

it. That’s all. We need to do our homework, and keep up with the changing times. We

need to get back to the basics.

We are community publications. Nobody does local like we do. Sure, the market is

tough but we are tougher when we hit the streets. Better times are coming and we

must be ready.

Your SAPA organization is committed to providing you and your company the expert

training and resources you need to compete profitably in these changing times.

Bill BowmanSAPA President

Southeastern Advertising

Publishers Association

Keep Your Dynamo Working

(a) Success Is The Outcome Of Well-Directed Action. Just plain, simple action is, with many people, a difficult thing. �ey view exertion and the expenditure of energy as hard work, and so shrink from it. Too many like ease and comfort without working for it. But to bolster action by giving it principled direction is a task that must be studied. He who learns how to evolve continuous action out of himself, at all times, well directed, has learned the secret of success.

(b) Put Positive Action Under Full Head Of Steam. Not only should you give positiveness and well-directed purpose to your actions at all times, but you must also put driving power behind it. High tension applied to the effort of muscle or brain is what develops them. You must employ gymnastic tactics and train for development and added efficiency. Encourage the growth of your ambitions. Fan these into living flames. Shovel on the fuel. Get up your steam.

(c) Keep Your Head Level. Poise of mind is a most excellent quality. It helps you to judge accurately, decide positively and act wisely. �e attitude of your mind is the weather vane that shows the trend of your thoughts. Your head contains high-powered machinery that can be driven at high speed. Keep the machinery in the best working order. Don’t let it rust out. When properly cared for, it is hard to wear out.

(d) Keep Your Lungs Expanded. Straighten up. Stand up and walk erect. Hold your chin in and your head up. �row your shoulders back and breathe in the fresh air constantly, as if you meant to get your full share of all the good things of life. Do this and your step will become quick and elastic, your eyes will brighten and your brain will be a useful, active part of yourself.

(e) Keep Your Heart Pure. While you think with your mind, the purposes of the heart are the guiding factors. Your motives are heart qualities. “As you think in your heart so you are,” as a statement of fact, demands more than your passing notice.

(f ) Think! Turn on the Battery Of Enthusiasm. What you do depends on you and you alone. You yourself must turn on the power that makes things move. You may double your producing powers. You can increase the effectiveness of your work by keeping up your enthusiasm. Turn on the battery at full power.

�e original cores of these lessons were first espoused by Basil Smith in 1912. Current version © Copyright 2007 by Richard Clark -- Classified Development.

Richard Clark offers great low-cost online ad-taking solutions, as well as sales and management training that pay for themselves, guaranteed. Find out more and see the demo at www.classifieddevelopment.com.


Sales Lessons You Have to Learn Sometime: #4 of 12 by Joe Bonura

The sky is not falling. One of my favorite stories as a child was the story of Chicken Little, who was walking down the street when an acorn fell from a tree and hit Chicken Little on the head.

DO NOT BE ALARMEDAlarmed by the acorn, Chicken Little began to panic everyone by shouting, “�e sky is falling. �e sky is falling.” Before long, others began to believe that Chicken Little was right.

PERCEPTION BECOMES REALITY

Sound familiar? Everyday, we are bombarded by the prophets of doom who are more than willing to let us know that the sky is falling on our country, our economy, our way of life, you name it. If enough people believe it, the perception starts to become reality.

THE NOT-SO-GREAT DEPRESSION

I read once that the Great Depression was caused by speculation more than reality. A little bad news, carried to the extreme, became really bad news. If everyone just took a step back and looked at the reality of the situation, perhaps our parents and grandparents would not have had to suffer through the depression.

LIE, LIE, LIEAdolph Hitler said that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. He proved his point, and it resulted in World War II. Enough people believed him so that perception became reality.

ARE YOU A PROPHET?Your attitude can actually create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Before a young sales person of a large manufacturer made his first sales call, his boss met with him to acquaint him with the client histories. �e boss told him that client A was a very tough cookie and that the company failed to sell them anything, but he should try anyway. He said that client B was a real pushover and that he would surely get a sale every time he called on them.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY�e next day, the sales person returned from a sales call with a large order. He told his boss that he was right about customer A: he was a real pushover. �e boss said that it was B that was the easy-sell, not A. So the sales person, thinking client A was the easy-sell, had actually sold the hard-sell.

DO NOT START ON THE WRONG FOOT

I recommend to clients that new sales people should not speak to the other sales people about the prospects that they will be calling on because they will have preconceived ideas of what to expect.

DO NOT HOLD BACK�e real estate industry has taken a big hit in the last year, some of it real, and most of it created by bad news. �e bad news influences consumers to refrain from purchasing a home because the market is bad. I have seen areas in the country where sales were going well because they didn’t know any better.

HERE HE COMES�en Chicken Little came to town, and the market went south. People must realize that purchasing a new home is a long term investment.

WHAT DO I KNOW?What do I know? Well, in the past six months, I bought a home, and I sold a home. I saved money on the home that I bought, and I made money on the home that I sold.

CREATE YOUR OWN ECONOMY

In sales, we create our own economy. I could have said that I would wait until times are better, but I became proactive, instead of reactive, and I created my own economy.

THE TEN PERCENT SOLUTIONWhen there is a slowdown, increase your efforts about ten percent. And if you do so, you will not only experience success, but you will experience very positive growth on the bottom line.

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE POLITICS

As I write this, our nation is going

through the Democratic and Republican primaries. Rather than report the news, the pundits and pollsters are trying to make the news conform to what they want. Unfortunately, many people are like Chicken Little’s audience: rather than think for themselves and investigate the acorn effect, they will go along with Chicken Little.

THINK FOR YOURSELFIt is time that you think for yourselves and make your own decisions. It is time to wake up and make your own future, rather than allowing the loudest voice to determine your destiny.

REFUSE TO PARTICIPATERefuse to participate in the gloom and doom that is constantly paraded before us as truth. Make your own economy and your own future. Beginning today, make a commitment to increase your efforts by just ten percent. Stop whining and start winning. Exercise your greatest power, and chose success over failure. You fail when you give up. And not giving up is your best option.

THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD

Another favorite children’s story is “The Little Engine That Could,” relating the story of a little train that proved he could play in the big leagues by pulling cargo up a steep hill. He did it by repeating the phrase, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” And he did.

KNOW YOU CANWhen you are tempted to be negative, do the following:

1. Look up and see that the sky is not falling. 2. Increase your efforts by 10%. 3. Read a chapter of a motivational book. 4. Visit with the most optimistic person you know. 5. Remember that in every adversity, there is a seed of a greater or equivalent benefit (W. Clement Stone). 6. Repeat the phrase, “I know I can, I know I can, I know I can.”

If you do the above, you will turn Chicken Little into chicken soup!

© 2008 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.

The Sky Is Not Falling

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Keep Your Dynamo Working

(a) Success Is The Outcome Of Well-Directed Action. Just plain, simple action is, with many people, a difficult thing. �ey view exertion and the expenditure of energy as hard work, and so shrink from it. Too many like ease and comfort without working for it. But to bolster action by giving it principled direction is a task that must be studied. He who learns how to evolve continuous action out of himself, at all times, well directed, has learned the secret of success.

(b) Put Positive Action Under Full Head Of Steam. Not only should you give positiveness and well-directed purpose to your actions at all times, but you must also put driving power behind it. High tension applied to the effort of muscle or brain is what develops them. You must employ gymnastic tactics and train for development and added efficiency. Encourage the growth of your ambitions. Fan these into living flames. Shovel on the fuel. Get up your steam.

(c) Keep Your Head Level. Poise of mind is a most excellent quality. It helps you to judge accurately, decide positively and act wisely. �e attitude of your mind is the weather vane that shows the trend of your thoughts. Your head contains high-powered machinery that can be driven at high speed. Keep the machinery in the best working order. Don’t let it rust out. When properly cared for, it is hard to wear out.

(d) Keep Your Lungs Expanded. Straighten up. Stand up and walk erect. Hold your chin in and your head up. �row your shoulders back and breathe in the fresh air constantly, as if you meant to get your full share of all the good things of life. Do this and your step will become quick and elastic, your eyes will brighten and your brain will be a useful, active part of yourself.

(e) Keep Your Heart Pure. While you think with your mind, the purposes of the heart are the guiding factors. Your motives are heart qualities. “As you think in your heart so you are,” as a statement of fact, demands more than your passing notice.

(f ) Think! Turn on the Battery Of Enthusiasm. What you do depends on you and you alone. You yourself must turn on the power that makes things move. You may double your producing powers. You can increase the effectiveness of your work by keeping up your enthusiasm. Turn on the battery at full power.

�e original cores of these lessons were first espoused by Basil Smith in 1912. Current version © Copyright 2007 by Richard Clark -- Classified Development.

Richard Clark offers great low-cost online ad-taking solutions, as well as sales and management training that pay for themselves, guaranteed. Find out more and see the demo at www.classifieddevelopment.com.


Sales Lessons You Have to Learn Sometime: #4 of 12 by Joe Bonura

The sky is not falling. One of my favorite stories as a child was the story of Chicken Little, who was walking down the street when an acorn fell from a tree and hit Chicken Little on the head.

DO NOT BE ALARMEDAlarmed by the acorn, Chicken Little began to panic everyone by shouting, “�e sky is falling. �e sky is falling.” Before long, others began to believe that Chicken Little was right.

PERCEPTION BECOMES REALITY

Sound familiar? Everyday, we are bombarded by the prophets of doom who are more than willing to let us know that the sky is falling on our country, our economy, our way of life, you name it. If enough people believe it, the perception starts to become reality.

THE NOT-SO-GREAT DEPRESSION

I read once that the Great Depression was caused by speculation more than reality. A little bad news, carried to the extreme, became really bad news. If everyone just took a step back and looked at the reality of the situation, perhaps our parents and grandparents would not have had to suffer through the depression.

LIE, LIE, LIEAdolph Hitler said that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. He proved his point, and it resulted in World War II. Enough people believed him so that perception became reality.

ARE YOU A PROPHET?Your attitude can actually create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Before a young sales person of a large manufacturer made his first sales call, his boss met with him to acquaint him with the client histories. �e boss told him that client A was a very tough cookie and that the company failed to sell them anything, but he should try anyway. He said that client B was a real pushover and that he would surely get a sale every time he called on them.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY�e next day, the sales person returned from a sales call with a large order. He told his boss that he was right about customer A: he was a real pushover. �e boss said that it was B that was the easy-sell, not A. So the sales person, thinking client A was the easy-sell, had actually sold the hard-sell.

DO NOT START ON THE WRONG FOOT

I recommend to clients that new sales people should not speak to the other sales people about the prospects that they will be calling on because they will have preconceived ideas of what to expect.

DO NOT HOLD BACK�e real estate industry has taken a big hit in the last year, some of it real, and most of it created by bad news. �e bad news influences consumers to refrain from purchasing a home because the market is bad. I have seen areas in the country where sales were going well because they didn’t know any better.

HERE HE COMES�en Chicken Little came to town, and the market went south. People must realize that purchasing a new home is a long term investment.

WHAT DO I KNOW?What do I know? Well, in the past six months, I bought a home, and I sold a home. I saved money on the home that I bought, and I made money on the home that I sold.

CREATE YOUR OWN ECONOMY

In sales, we create our own economy. I could have said that I would wait until times are better, but I became proactive, instead of reactive, and I created my own economy.

THE TEN PERCENT SOLUTIONWhen there is a slowdown, increase your efforts about ten percent. And if you do so, you will not only experience success, but you will experience very positive growth on the bottom line.

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE POLITICS

As I write this, our nation is going

through the Democratic and Republican primaries. Rather than report the news, the pundits and pollsters are trying to make the news conform to what they want. Unfortunately, many people are like Chicken Little’s audience: rather than think for themselves and investigate the acorn effect, they will go along with Chicken Little.

THINK FOR YOURSELFIt is time that you think for yourselves and make your own decisions. It is time to wake up and make your own future, rather than allowing the loudest voice to determine your destiny.

REFUSE TO PARTICIPATERefuse to participate in the gloom and doom that is constantly paraded before us as truth. Make your own economy and your own future. Beginning today, make a commitment to increase your efforts by just ten percent. Stop whining and start winning. Exercise your greatest power, and chose success over failure. You fail when you give up. And not giving up is your best option.

THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD

Another favorite children’s story is “The Little Engine That Could,” relating the story of a little train that proved he could play in the big leagues by pulling cargo up a steep hill. He did it by repeating the phrase, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” And he did.

KNOW YOU CANWhen you are tempted to be negative, do the following:

1. Look up and see that the sky is not falling. 2. Increase your efforts by 10%. 3. Read a chapter of a motivational book. 4. Visit with the most optimistic person you know. 5. Remember that in every adversity, there is a seed of a greater or equivalent benefit (W. Clement Stone). 6. Repeat the phrase, “I know I can, I know I can, I know I can.”

If you do the above, you will turn Chicken Little into chicken soup!

© 2008 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.

The Sky Is Not Falling

by Diane Ciotta

If one thing stays constant, it ’s change! This is true in life, but particularly in the case of advertising sales with respect to customer attrition. As a sales consultant myself back in the early 80’s, during a kindergarten work-study program I was part of, I focused as much on keeping clients as I did on getting new ones. I remember many times feeling the irritation of having signed multiple new advertisers, only to close the week with the same number of customers, as the additional accounts just replaced the ones I’d lost.

Fortunately, I came across an article, right about that same time that resulted in the turning point of my career. Often in training sessions I’ll share that anecdote, about one million customers of Sears buying drill

bits that they admittedly didn’t want. What all of those people actually wanted was a hole! �e moral of this story is not only cute, but it’s also a direct correlation to our business. Our customers don’t want their ad…they want the results of the ad. �e message is the tool, just like the drill bit. I realized then, that to get the right bit, I would need a sales professional to ask me questions about the drill I was using, the material I was drilling into and the width and depth of the hole I needed, NOT which bit I wanted. �erefore it made sense, that to be a professional in selling advertising, I should know details about my potential clients business needs, NOT what kind of ad they wanted.

Since that time I have remained passionate about the fact that the close happens in the need development step of the

process and that improved account retention is a direct reflection of how well we know the details of our prospects’ products & services, customer profile, competition, etc. as opposed to ‘how they want their ad to read’!

Yes, a consultative sales cycle appears to be time consuming yet in reality, it’s a trade-off of more time in the questioning step and less time overcoming objections and trying to close. �ere is just no better time than now to help businesses get a better ROI for their advertising and while consistency is the driving force… needs-focused selling is the key!

Diane Ciotta, President Training Classics


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Dear Members,

Ahhhhh! Fall is here and I love it. The days are cooler, the colors are magnificent

and Halloween is right around the corner. I can’t wait. Ghosts, goblins, monsters

and creepy crawly scary things. Wow! Bring em on! No, Halloween is not my favorite

holiday (I don’t even like giving out candy) but after working the last thirteen

months in the newspaper industry I’ve come to the conclusion that “it can’t get much

scarier than this.”

It seems my whole world is being turn upside down by the economy, technology,

industry innovations, rules and regulations and the biggest monster of all, the “world

wide web”.

News Flash! Get used to it, get over it, and get to work. Yes, our industry is changing

so we need to face the challenges head on. I was amazed at all the “deer in the

headlights” looks and sad, glazed over expressions as publishers discussed the state

of our industry. The sky is not falling and the boogie man is not going to pop out of

a Wal Mart computer and put you out of business. Get a grip. Many of us have had it

too easy, too long. The business is out there. We just have to work a little harder for

it. That’s all. We need to do our homework, and keep up with the changing times. We

need to get back to the basics.

We are community publications. Nobody does local like we do. Sure, the market is

tough but we are tougher when we hit the streets. Better times are coming and we

must be ready.

Your SAPA organization is committed to providing you and your company the expert

training and resources you need to compete profitably in these changing times.

Bill BowmanSAPA President

Southeastern Advertising

Publishers Association

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

Analogies can help sales people become more persuasive in dealing with advertisers.

Russ told me about a meeting he had with a real estate advertiser who was thinking about shifting his budget to a new real estate magazine. It was a delicate situation, because he was faced with the task of re-selling a long-time client.

“I knew I shouldn’t say, ‘�at’s the craziest thing I’ve heard all week,’” Russ explained. “And I knew the client might become defensive if I openly criticized the new magazine. So I had to figure out a non-threatening way to compare the two publications. I had a hunch that a direct comparison of rates and readership figures wouldn’t work, so I decided to use an analogy.”

Russ remembered that his advertiser’s hobby was fishing, so he started with a simple question: “You like to fish, don’t you?”

�e client said, “Sure.”

“Let’s say that there are two lakes side-by-side. You’re familiar with the first lake. You’ve caught fish there, and your friends have caught fish there – so there’s no doubt in your mind that the first lake contains fish. But you don’t know if there are any fish in the second lake. So the big question is: would you rather fish in a place where you know there are fish, or in a place where there might be fish?”

�e advertiser said, “I see where you’re going with this. Of course, I’m going to spend most of my time at the first lake.”

“It’s the same in real estate,” Russ said. “You know from experience that people read our real estate section, because it has generated business for you in the past. On the other hand, this new magazine is an unknown entity. Your prospective customers might read it, but then

again they might not.”

Russ told me that the advertiser decided to stay with his paper, and put the new magazine on hold. Although he may have eventually made the same decision without the fishing comparison, the analogy gave him a better understanding of his media choice.

Here are a couple of points to keep in mind:

1. Use the word “like.” By definition, an analogy is a comparison between two unrelated things. In selling, it’s a matter of comparing something which is new or misunderstood to something which is familiar to the client. �ink about how you would finish these analogies:

- Using a testimonial in an ad is LIKE...

- Advertising on a consistent basis is LIKE...

- Leaving the price out of a product ad is LIKE...

2. Use visual images. Close your eyes and think of your best friend. What do you see – a name or a face? Of course, you see a face. �at’s because it’s human nature to think in pictures. It was easy for Russ’ advertiser to visualize those two lakes.

Good sales people understand this trait of human nature and use it to communicate more effectively. �ey use analogies which are easy to see in the mind’s eye.

(c) Copyright 2008 by John Foust. All rights reserved.

E-mail John Foust for information about his training videos for ad departments: [email protected]

3 SAPAToday

USPS MOVES TO REQUIRE AUTOMATION OF DALS

On August 27, 2008 the Postal Service published a proposal to adopt a rule that would require saturation mailings with detached address labels to meet automation compatibility standards of USPS flat sorting equipment. The notice invited public comments on the proposal to be submitted before September 26, 2008. Automation compatibility would mean that mailers using a DAL to address their piece would have to purchase card stock heavy enough to go on the Postal Service’s Flat Sorting Sequence (FSS) equipment. The piece would also need a barcode. For the next few years a POSTNET barcode will be acceptable. In the future, an Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) will be required.

�e leadership of the Saturation Mailers Coalition (SMC) has warned its members that the Postal Service was likely to take steps in the future to require DALs to be automation compatible. As far back as 2001, the Postal Service identified DALs as a cost driver in the mail stream and began to urge mailers to eliminate the DAL and convert to on-piece addressing for city routes and simplified addressing on rural routes.

SMC has consistently told the Postal Service that some of our members need the DAL. Although the Postal Service has preserved the DAL as an option, it began to surcharge DAL use by 1.5 cents in 2007 increasing to 1.7 cents in May 2008. In response to the surcharge, SMC and individual mailers appealed to the Postal Service to relax the rules that limited advertising on the front side of the DAL. In June 2007 the Postal

Service revised its rule to allow advertising on the front of the DAL but conditioned this privilege on mailers preparing DALs with advertising on the front side preparing then in a way where they were automation compatible and barcoded. �e Postal Service Pricing and Delivery representatives told SMC’s leadership at that time that the Postal Service intended to require DALs to be automation compatible in the future.

SMC will file comments with the Postal Service in September. SMC’s comments will recognize the need for the Postal Service to take costs out of the system, but will appeal, once again, to the Postal Service to consider

Calendar of Events

10 SAPAToday

The Power ofAnalogies

Required MailAutomation!

IFPA Conference 2008: Seattle, Washington is the site for the Fall Conference for IFPA, September 24 - 27, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency in nearby Bellevue. A trip to the Space Needle and dinner there promise a great time.

SAPA Publishers Retreat 2009: In the cold month of January SAPA will hold its annual Publishers Retreat and Board Meeting. Where can you go during that month to enjoy a little warmth and sunshine? Orlando, of course. Plan now to attend and be refreshed.

SAPA Conference 2009: In 2009 we’ll be in Louisville, Kentucky at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. �e hotel is located across the street from 4th Street Live so there will be plenty to do. Mark your calendars now for August 28 & 29, 2009 in Louisville. Please give us a call at 1-800-334-0649 or email: [email protected] if you would like more information.

continued on page 11

2 SAPAToday 11 SAPAToday

SAPA Board of Directors

Past PresidentMike WoodardTuscaloosa Shopper

& ReporterNorthport, AL205-333-7525

PresidentBill Bowman

Up & Coming Weekly

Fayetteville, NC 910-484-6200

Vice PresidentRussell



TreasurerTony Onellion

Bargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

Past PresidentGreg LedfordShelby Shopper &

InfoShelby, NC

704-484-1047

Board MemberJW Owens

Savannah Pennysaver

Savannah, GA 912-238-2040

Board MemberCaroline



SecretaryAlan Lingerfelt

The Piedmont Shopper

Danville, VA434-822-1800

Past PresidentGary Benton

Peddler ADvantageParis, TN

731-644-9595

Past PresidentBrenda Finchum

Coffee County Shopper

Manchester, TN931-728-3273

CornerIn each issue of SAPAToday we’ll look at one of the membership benefits you receive from the Classified Ad Network (CAN).

How much is a CVC audit worth? Well, in out-of-pocket money it ranges from $780 to over $2,000 per year - depending on the size of your publication. So, it would cost you not to have the paid-for circulation audit by CVC.

But there is more to it than that. How much would it cost you to have your publication presented to thousands of media buyers? How much would it cost you in lost revenue because you wouldn’t have verified and audited circulation numbers?

Your paid-for circulation audit is one of the biggest benefits SAPA offers its members. In this case, it doesn’t cost... it pays.

SMC’s proposal for simplified addressing as an option for city routes. SMC is asking for any publishers or mailers that have been using the DAL, and will be burdened by this rule, or may find this requirement another reason to take all or part of your circulation out of the mail, to contact SMC’s Executive Director, Donna Hanbery, with your information. �e collective comments and feedback of SMC’s members will be incorporated in our comments to the proposed rule.

Sometime after the comment period ends, the Postal Service is certain to move forward on the publication of a final rule. �e requirements will go into effect within 90 days after the publication date of the Federal Register final rule. �is time is being given to afford mailers

time to exhaust existing card stock of DAL pieces. In its announcement of the proposed rule the Postal Service recommends that mailers work with their local mail piece design analyst to insure that future DALs accompanying saturation mailings meet the new standards. Once the new rule becomes effective, mail that is presented with DALs that are not automation compatible and barcoded will not qualify for saturation rates but will be required to pay the basic Enhanced Carrier Route price for Standard mail mailings.

Publishers or mailers wishing to review the Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rule Making and the text of the proposed amendments can find it at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr, click on Retrieve an FR Page and enter 50584.

Getting The Message of the Mail Out to Everyone Continued

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Advertising & Billing: Formatted Classified Ads, for print and web Retail Manifests Revenue Forecasts Billing Reminders Scheduling

Circulation Management: Carriers Bundle Top Sheets Truck Drops

SAPATodaySize Does Matter

The Bi-Monthly Newsletter for the Free Paper Industry September & October|2008

In this Issue:

visit us at www.sapatoday.com

by Douglas Fry

What size publication do you have? Broadsheet? Tall Tab? Short Tab? Mini Tab? Flexi? Digest? If an advertising agency wanted to run an ad in several SAPA member papers how many different sizes do you think they would need to produce? We tried to standardize on the SAU (Standard Advertising Unit) but that just didn’t work. So, we won’t even try to talk about everyone using the same size ad units in their print publications.

But we can standardize on our web content. And we need to do that right now! There is no reason we can’t get ahead of the curve by standardizing on the IAB (Internet Advertising Board) units this very moment. We can all have the same size banners, buttons, bars, skyscrapers, and half-pages.

The standardized ad sizes are listed in

the chart above. Your graphics people can either take a finished ad and repurpose it to the sizes above using Photoshop or they can create the ad from scratch using the sizes above. It really is that simple. Decide right now to use the sizes above and not deviate one pixel from the standards.

That way when someone wants to place an ad in our online publications, they will only have to produce one ad. What could be simpler?

Southeastern Adver t i s ing Publ i shers Associat ion (800) 334-0649 (888) 334-0649 fax

page 2SAPA Board of Directors & CAN Corner

page 3The Power of Analogies

page 5Cut Costs - Not Your Throat

page 8Sales Lessons You Have To Learn

page 10Calendar of Events & Getting the Mail Message

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association


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The Savannah Pennysaver just boosted its CVC© Circulation

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Go to www.jbmultimedia.net/savannah to see a video of J.W. Owens explaining why he chose JB Multimedia to help him build a

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2008 September

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