• by Andrew Ettinger , February 22, 2008

Everyday half a dozen salespeople call me and ask to come in for a meeting. Usually, they have not done their homework on my clients or my agency. If each meeting lasted one hour, then three per day would add up to 15 hours a week. How could I possibly spend two days a week just
taking meetings?

Sad to say, I can't. Unfortunately, I will never be able to meet with every single salesperson. My door is only so wide and not everyone can fit through it. Time is not on my side. Yes, I agree, all of this is unfair.

It fascinates me that we (media people) are so good at selling to consumers but really come up short when selling to each other. Buyers need information, salespeople need leads, yet rarely do we connect with each other in a completely satisfying way. Too often both vendors and buyers feel shortchanged. What a mess. Salespeople will be happy to know that just as often the shoe is on the other foot. Often I can't get information because salespeople are so busy with the people who do call them back!

Perhaps I should not be surprised that I rarely need a media kit until after five o'clock. I begin by leaving voicemails for sales reps and by 5:30, panic sets in. With any luck they will return my phone call by mid morning the next day. More often though, I simply have to send something out today. The second oldest rule in the book? If you can't find a media kit, shift the recommendation to a vendor that you already know.

Publishers, update your Web sites. Why can't Web sites have up-to-date, easy-to-find media kits? I certainly understand that publishers need to protect their rate cards, but still they need to post something of value in their online media kits. Perhaps they can allow access only to people with an agency URL (e.g. @rjpalmer.com). Or better yet, they can establish a 24-hour hotline in India. Maybe the media kits can sit next to the same people who actually program the Web site!

When I am on a deadline, I dread info@example.com more than anything else. E-mails addressed to a generic inbox never get answered. Two months ago I sent a request for information to a major Web portal. Unbelievably, I still have not heard back! Sending an e-mail to info@ is like sending a probe to Mars. You hope something will come back, but you can't count on it.

The advent of e-mail has been both a blessing and a curse. Most of us can't fathom life without e-mail, yet I don't know if it has made me more productive or just busier. To some degree, we all use e-mail as a way of avoiding real conversations. One five-minute phone call can usually replace an hour of e-mailing back and forth. My ex-client Dan Reaume gave me great advice, "E-mail good news, call with bad news." Nonetheless e-mail remains my crutch.

Absurd as it seems, I often receive this brief e-mail from salespeople, "Do you have any money for my company next quarter?" With an attitude like that, no I don't. But I admit, media planners don't make it easy for salespeople. Far too often we drop out of sight after cajoling reps for an immediate turnaround. In the rhythm of buying and selling, we often take and don't give.

To be sure, both buyers and sellers could write encyclopedias of ridiculous stories. My aim is simply to point out that simple solutions can bring real results. E-mails should be answered, media kits should be available and everyone should pick up the phone to convey bad news. Some sellers get it, some buyers don't. Technology has changed our lives, but the process of buying and selling remains fundamentally unchanged. Well, at least we are no longer beholden to the fax machine and its rolls of icky carbon paper.

There are so many opportunities to spend money in today's media industry, yet our ability to communicate seems hampered by the flood of opportunities. My door is only so wide. My goal this year is to return every phone call, answer every e-mail and generally just be more responsive. I am sure I will falter at some point, but I hope the effort makes me a better person.

Andrew Ettinger is the director of interactive media at RJ Palmer Media Services. (aettinger@rjpalmer.com)