A philosophical debate has broken out at Kelsey’s Directional Media Services conference in Atlanta. At issue is whether Yellow Pages sales people prefer the new third party reseller approach that makes every sales person an entrepreneur, representing the interests of their clients; or the warm embrace and discipline of established Yellow Pages companies.
In this setting, it is not especially surprising that the latter view appears to be more prevalent. Local Insight Media Chairwoman Marilyn Neal called for sales people that would appear at daily 8 am group meetings, and be responsive to management initiatives and pricing, rather than striking their own deals, often at a discount and with fewer sales elements to the package.
Neal isn’t trying to put the genie in the bottle. The Internet and other new platforms are an integral part of the sales mix. But she feels that sales people should have vigorous training, and also organize their time better. There is no reason why every sales call need take four hours, she said. The issue is that sales people are prepping for a sales call in one category, calling on the customer, and then prepping for a call in another area. To operate more efficiently, she feels strongly that sales calls should be done within a single vertical before moving on to the next one.
Executive Recruiter Robert Hawthorne similarly felt that sales people are better off working within the traditional organization. “They must bleed Yellow,” he said. There is always interest in moving towards free agent like reseller companies such as ReachLocal. But salespeople value the training and career development offered by traditional companies–as well as their higher base salaries.
But the choice is ultimately up to the sales people, he added. “They are in short supply compared to previous generations. “The leverage has gone from the employer to the employee. But the core people really don’t want to leave.”
Citysearch Executive VP of Sales and Merchant Services Neil Salvage, however, thinks that the best sales people are probably more independent. “The loyalty factor isn’t there,” he says. “It is really about flexibility. The quality of life is absolutely critical. The best thing you can do is supply your sales people with the information they need to make a sale. ”
What is changing are the success metrics, he argues. You want to move customers closer to a transaction, he said – although actual transactions won’t occur on line anytime soon. “They’ll note, for instance, whether they had a menu viewed, or a map viewed.”