• by Ari Rosenberg , Op-Ed Contributor, April 1, 2005

Have you ever met Spencer Longshore?

You would know if you had. He is the kind of guy who sticks to you like a middle linebacker with a free shot at the quarterback. Wham - one meeting and he hits you with all he has collected from his 30-plus years in the business selling advertising.

I recently sat through his media sales training seminar. Spencer hovers over his audience in a 6 foot 5 inches tall, 240-pound frame topped with long white hair worn as wild as his years spent in college. He appears to live on airplanes but he resides in Alabama where he built and sold a magazine rep firm empire.

His southern boy charm allows his heavily accented voice to share words that most men would not dare in today's politically corrected environment. He is brash, he is confident, he is immensely successful, but most of all, the presence of Spencer Longshore (if that is his real name) is memorable.

Being memorable may be the single most important quality a media salesperson can have. The good news is that anyone can become instantly more memorable.

All you have to do is start talking with an accent. Southern, Australian, even Brooklyn resonates above the common sales chatter offered up every day. If you go the Southern route, I do recommend you study up on the colloquialisms (anything involving a chicken or a ferret will work).

However, if you are not comfortable changing the way you speak overnight, you can still become more memorable. The key is to identify your own personal accent and creatively enhance this quality so it stands out amongst your sales competitors.

Maybe you enjoy writing. If that is the case, send a weekly letter to your clients with a relevant update on your property. Very few salespeople are sending letters these days so your chances to stand out increase.

A salesperson that used to call on me sent monthly letters out to his clients written in perfect penmanship on toilet paper. His name was Buz and I think he called it his "Buz Report."

His personal accent is his brand of humor. One time, while working for The New York Times Sports & Leisure Group, Buz invited our print buying team over to their offices for lunch and a presentation on the benefits of buying multiple titles.

During a quantitatively rich presentation, he switched to a slide that had a picture of him standing in front of a white easel, pointing to a chart showing the effective reach of buying all of their magazines. His face expressed his focus on the quantitative strength of this combination package. His suit jacket and tie reflected his professional dedication to this message, and his well-shined shoes showed his attention to detail.

Buz however, elected not to wear any pants in this picture. The room erupted in laughter that probably still echoes in that conference room today.

Some media sales people like Buz use humor to be more memorable, but maybe that is not your personal accent. Being memorable starts with being yourself and identifying that part of yourself that makes you different.

Maybe you have a keen eye for trends and research. If that is your thing, then launch a research update communication system that alerts your clients to the very latest news affecting their business.

One time two sales guys who worked for me decided to rent an ice cream stand and show up at a few ad agencies white caps and all, and hand out ice cream all afternoon. Every time they went to make a sales call after that, they were known by everyone as "the ice cream guys."

Whatever it is you identify about yourself that can stand out, lose your inhibitions from showing it off. Sure, it is risky to take a chance like that and not everyone will embrace you, but you are better off putting it out there than playing it safe in the cluttered world of selling media.

The one common denominator between Buz, Spencer Longshore, the ice cream guys, and the many others who have stood out while selling media, is that they appear to have fun doing it. I know this is just a job and it varies in importance for everyone. However, life outside of work tends to be more fun when you find a way to have fun working.