Advertising can be very costly so it is imprtant that you are fully aware of what exactly it is that you are paying for, so here's a short atrticle about what to watch out for in case you happen to be so lucky as to get that not so truthful sales rep.
Advertising sales representatives offer a special type of service that is intended to generate client demand through advertising.
Advertising medias may take any number of forms, including print, television, radio, and the fasted growing media of them all, the internet.
Its up to you of course to decide which of these will work for your business but really, with a little trial and error you should figure it out pretty quick.
The key to knowing where to spend your advertising dollars is to constantly ask the customer,, Hey, Where'd You Find Me?
Advertising Red Flags
& The Sales RepsThat Wave Them
As a business owner you have to be prepared to do a couple of things to protect you from the many unknowledgeable and unscrupulous sales reps out there that are gunning for your signature on that long term contract
One thing you can do is try to NEVER sign anything on at the first meeting. When I say never, I mean never! These guys will tell you things like "this is the last day for this deal" or something like this to persuade you but don't fall for this. 99% of the time its a lie. I know because I have seen and heard others do this. I've seen this happen and watched it backfire on the rep and just had to laugh when the customer was a little more savvy then the rep gave them credit for. Often time these reps don't last but even if that's the case, its usually to late for you the advertiser once that contract is signed.
The best part about not signing anything at the first meeting is that you have time to let the ether wear off and you can think clearly and reflect on everything the rep has told you. When this happens and you replay the conversations in your head you may just come up with some more questions or realize that the rep may have given you conflicting information that you may need to investigate and dig a little deeper..
Make sure you always get referrals and then call these referrals. You might get lucky sometimes and have one of these referrals backfire on the rep and tell you something that the rep may not have wanted you to know. I worked for a large advertising company and had what I thought was a legitimate list of customer references provided by my company and I would share the call counts and traffic reports and show the sample advertising pieces to potential new clients.
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One time I showed this client a mail piece we did for a pool construction company and it had a call count report attached showing how many calls we were able to generate for this client. Well the client called the phone number on the mailer and put the phone on speaker. When he introduced himself and asked her opinion she just went off! She told him how the rep basically screwed her and lied to her. How the call counts were false and how she will never do business with us again and advised him to run. Now I wasnt the rep that sold her and I assumed the information I received from my company was accurate but boy did I find out that day. Actually I just started laughing, packed my gear and told my now ex potential customer, "I'll never do that again and walked out"
We both got a good laugh out of it but that sale was dead. Its really sad but these bigger companies charge hundreds of dollars a month and dont even come close to the results they promise. I know, Ive been there.
My advice would be to always proceed with caution and remember that its NOT what they tell you, its what they dont tell you. So ask a ton of questions and check with your friends and other business owners in the area. Unless you already know and trust your sales rep, I hate to say it, dont trust them until proven wrong.
You can read more business tips and advice on www.highdesertyellowpages.com.
