Laurie Laykish, Managing Partner of Local Life Magazine, preaches a sales strategy that focuses on long-term advertising contracts. We sat down with her to learn why building relationships with advertisers is important, and to find out how magazine sales teams can start doing it better.
Ditch One-Time Ad Sales Opportunities
Adjusting your sales process to focus on long-term contracts can be hard to swallow, especially if you're an established publication. Yet, according to Laurie, turning away one-time opportunities pays off big over time.
Local Life's unique approach to sales is partially a pragmatic one. As a young publication with a lean and mean staff, they don't operate at the scale needed to chase down incremental month-to-month advertisers.
"We consciously made the decision to not create one-time sales opportunities. Sure, it’s easier money to go short-term, but more sales reps would be needed to chase down the next deal," says Laurie.
Take the Focus Off of Special Issues
However, size isn't everything in this equation. Additionally, Laurie notes that much of the competition in local publishing focuses on special issues, like top doctors or financial services. Laurie's team focuses on seeking out year-round advertising opportunities for their lifestyle publication aimed at homeowners in Hilton Head, South Carolina,
Per Laurie, "[we] wanted to eliminate waiting [for certain issues], so it’s always the right time to advertise." By taking single-issue sales off of the table, Local Life's team can focus on the bigger picture.
"The conversations our reps have with clients are not about the next 'right issue', they're about how your campaign is going to unfold over the next 6-12 months."
Rethink Your Typical Ad Sales Processes to Go Long-Term
If you're selling advertisers on 6-12 month contracts, you must start selling your magazine and your audience, first and foremost.
"The way Local Life works, it’s a lifestyle publication with home, fashion, and other types of content that works year-round. If you’re confident that your book has something [for advertisers] every month, it bolsters your sales reps’ mindset," says Laurie.
Ultimately, this allows Laurie's sales reps to compartmentalize their approach into two buckets: prospecting and relationship building. "For the sales reps, they aren’t stop-start, stop-start. They’re trying to build out their portfolio to make sure they have advertisers who should be advertising all year around. They build a client base that’s not theme-based, or only good for 1-2 issues per year."
Should You Discount With Long-Term Advertising Contracts?
It's best to avoid discounting altogether, says Laurie. The reason is simple. If one of her advertisers finds out they're paying more than someone else because of negotiation, it harms the relationship. "It’s hard to enforce no discounts at first, but it’s fair and it works better in the long run."
Value adds are on the table, though. "Our extra products, our newsletter, and programmatic, and our B2B publication are some of the value adds that Local Life uses," she says. Additionally, if someone is advertising for more than three months (which is most often the case), her team handles the creative. Many of her advertisers see this as a big bonus for staying on longer.
Start Small With Long-Term Advertising Contracts
Laurie's advice to any magazine sales team interested in starting a long-term sales approach: start small. "Dip your toe in. Try it with a rep, or try it with a category of advertiser." If you're a larger, more established publication, you can make the move gradually.
Yes, it's natural to worry about advertisers' reactions to longer-term contract commitments. But just like a real relationship, the right ones will stick around. Just take it from Laurie. "We have people pre-paying!"