2009 november

V i s i t U s A t w w w . s A p A t o d A y . c o m

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 1

SAPATodayAdvancing the free paper industry by providing resources for success and venues for sharing ideas.

tHE moNtHLy NEwsLEttER FoR tHE FREE pApER iNdUstRy NoVEmBER 2009

Board of DirectorsTh e leadership of SAPA is in good hands. Th e board of directors, director, and assistant are listed with contact information.Page 3

Watch Th at ClockJohn Foust teaches that time management not only involves our own time but our client’s as well.Page 3

Conference ScheduleTo follow up the SAPA Slugger Conference in Louisville SAPA will join with IFPA for a Super Conference in Nashville.Page 8

What’s Your Focus?Our featured speaker in Louisville was Joe Bonura. In this article Joe talks about how our focus determines our outcome.Page 5

Set Your Stakes High Richard Clark demon-strates that our point of view has a huge impact on the goals we reach.Page 7

Free Paper Publishers Meet with the USPSDonna Hanberry with the Saturation Mailers Coalition continues her crusade to lower postage costs and represent the free community paper industry.Page 9

By, Landy Chase, MBA, CSP

“They started at once, and went out among the Lotus-Eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the Lotus, which was so deli-cious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching Lotus with the Lotus-Eaters without thinking further of their return.”

From The Odyssey, by Homer

If you are familiar with the works

Land of the Donut Eaters

of Homer, then you are no doubt fa-miliar with the story of the Lotus-Eaters. These lazy derelicts were a tribe of people who lived in an-cient times on the North Coast of Africa. According to the legend, they were fond of eating a type of lotus petal that induced a perpet-ual state of apathy, and thus they lived out their days in happy, list-less indolence. In ancient times, both the Greek and Roman cul-

tures used the expression “to eat the lotus” to denote laziness.

In our modern society, it has come to my attention that our culture, also, has discovered (or rather, manufactured) a food product that seems to induce ex-actly the same state of listlessness in certain sales people as Homer’s infamous lotus. I refer, of course, to the common donut.

Void-of-nutrition breakfast foods such as cruellers, twinkies, and this genre’s Nuclear Option, the notorious apple-cinnamon bear-claw, are standard morning fare at sales seminars. Like the legendary Lotus, these sugary creations cast a zombie-like spell over those

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association

continued on page 2



Land of the Donut Eaterspoor individuals who partake of them and, consequently, come under their sinister influence. As a sales trainer, I have had ample opportunity to observe, with a measure of pity, the addiction of the poor Donut-Eaters.

The Donut-Eaters are easy to spot in a room full of seminar attend-ees. They are about as interested in improving their business skills as in getting a root-canal. It’s a safe bet to assume that, were it not for their boss, they would be doing something else.

A profound transformation takes place in their demeanor, howev-er, when the sensors in their nasal passages pick up the unmistak-able odor of fried, sugared bread! Previously sullen eyes suddenly light up and scan the room with a silent, urgent yearning. FREE FOOD! Now, we have a highly motivated sales person! If only the Donut-eaters could channel their enthusiasm for the Donut into an enthusiasm for career success. In-stead, they get their fix, return to

their seats and munch away in happy, cata-tonic solitude.

Surely the most common com-plaint that I hear from manag-ers is the frustration that they experience in trying to motivate their Donut-Eaters. Because sales people’s performance is direct-ly tied to business production, Donut-eaters here tend to cause more acute problems than, say, accounting or inventory manage-ment. That said, here are a few observations regarding manage-ment’s role in working with Do-nut Eaters:

1) Your job as a manager is not to motivate people. Your job is to create a positive, supportive working environment where mo-tivated people get the coaching and training that they need to succeed.

2) Donut Eaters are not motivat-ed. You therefore cannot get good sales results from a Donut Eater.

3) Twenty percent of sales people in the marketplace have the mo-tivation required to attain out-standing results. Sixty percent are content just making a living. The bottom twenty percent are the Donut-Eaters.

4) This also means that 80% of all hiring decisions are mis-takes. 5) The best way to avoid problems with Donut-Eaters is to avoid hiring them. This is

why interviewing skills are critical to your success.

I have to believe that, somewhere in the Mediterranean, there still exists a lonely, wind- swept island where people lay like walruses upon a rocky shore, just as they did in Homer’s time. The only dif-ference is that, instead of eating Lotus petals, they are gobbling down Krispy Kremes.

Based in Charlotte, NC, Landy Chase, MBA, CSP is an expert who specializes in speaking to corporations and associations on professional selling and sales management skills. He can be reached by visiting his website at www.landychase.com or by call-ing (800) 370-8026.

continued from page 1



Past PresidentMike WoodardTuscaloosa Sun &

ReporterNorthport, AL205-333-7525

PresidentRussell

QuattlebaumSoutheast SunEnterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Vice PresidentGreg Ledford

Shelby Shopper & Info

Shelby, NC 704-484-1047

TreasurerTony OnellionBargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

Board MemberCaroline

QuattlebaumSoutheast SunEnterprise, AL 334-393-2969

SecretaryAlan Lingerfelt

The Piedmont Shopper

Danville, VA434-822-1800

Executive Director

Douglas FrySAPA Headquarters

Columbia, TN931-490-0400

Board MemberJW Owens

Savannah Pennysaver

Savannah, GA 912-238-2040

Past PresidentGary Benton

Peddler ADvantageParis, TN

731-644-9595

Administrative Assistant

Vickie BeldenSAPA Headquarters

Columbia, TN931-490-0400sA

pA

Lead

ersh

ip Every study of high-achieving men and women proves that greatness in life is only possible when you become outstanding at your chosen � eld.

Brian tracy

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

I was talking to James about his role as advertising manager. “There’s a lot of truth in the old saying, ‘Time is of the essence,’” he said. “I’ve read a lot about time management, but I learned more from the ad manager in my fi rst sales job than I’ve learned from books and articles. To be honest, I learned what not to do.”

James explained that his old manag-er had little regard for time. “He rou-tinely accompanied new sales people on their appointments, at least for their fi rst few weeks on the job. I re-member once when we had a morn-ing appointment at a prospective advertiser’s offi ce, which was a thirty minute drive from our offi ce. I was ready to go forty minutes before the appointment, fi guring that would allow time to talk strategy on the way, plus get there a little early. The manager said he would be ready ‘in

Watch Th atClock

continued on page 4



a minute,’ but we ended up leaving just ten minutes before the appoint-ment. He drove like a maniac all the way, and, halfway there, told me to call the prospect’s receptionist on my cell phone to say we were going to be a little late. He was too focused on weaving in and out of traffic to have any kind of pre-meeting strategy. We walked in cold.

“When we sat down with the pros-pect, I thought the manager would apologize for being late. But he launched right into a sales pitch without a word about our late arrival. Even though I was new in the busi-ness, it was no surprise to me that the meeting didn’t result in a sale.

“It was ironic that later that day, we had a staff meeting which the man-

ager had put on the calendar a few days earlier. A couple of people were a few minutes late, and the manager made a sarcastic remark about wast-ing time waiting for them. Every day was like that. His message was, ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’”

James explained that he learned two lessons from his old manager:

1. Being late shows a selfish lack of respect for the other person. “Time is a precious commodity,” James said. “What’s more important in the long run: Taking one more phone call be-fore leaving for an appointment, or showing other people that you value their time?”

2. Time management is about man-aging other people’s time, as well

as your own. “When we were late for that appointment, it threw our prospect’s day out of whack. About halfway through the meeting, our prospect had to step out of the room to tell her next appointment that she was delayed. There’s no telling what kind of domino effect that had on that other person’s schedule. And all that could have been prevented if we had been on time.”

Woody Allen once said, “Seventy per-cent of success in life is showing up.” James might add a couple of words: “Seventy percent of success in life is showing up on time.”

(c) Copyright 2009 by John Foust. All rights reserved. E-mail John Foust for informa-tion about his training videos for ad de-partments: [email protected]

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What Is YourFocus?by Joe Bonura

HOCUS-FOCUSCan you remember the fi rst time you used a magnifying glass to burn a hole in a leaf by focusing the sun’s energy through the lens? Th e same thing can happen in selling: What we focus on is what we ex-perience.

GO SOUTH, YOUNG MANTh e late Wayne Smith once told me how he got into the banking business. He was hired as a calling offi cer by a northern Ohio bank, and his fi rst assignment was to head south to make sales calls. He set out on a Monday morning, fully focused on having a great sales week. Wayne made calls Monday through Friday, without great success.

REAL COLD CALLINGBy the time Friday arrived, a cold front had arrived too, with ice and snow-covered streets, causing great diffi culty driving. Around ten in the morning, he noticed a meat packing company, so he drove to the front gate where a very surly guard, who took his job a bit too seriously, greeted him: “Yeah, what do you want?” When Wayne replied that he wished to visit with the comptroller, the guard growled, “Not in; won’t be in till late this aft ernoon.” Wayne thanked him,

and said that he would return.

MAKE THE RIGHT TURNAt 4:00 pm, Wayne was headed to the In-terstate and home, when he noticed the meat packing company on his right. Th e guard was still there, stone faced, and an-gry at the world. Wayne asked himself, “Do I turn right, face the guard and try to see the comptroller, or do I head home to the warmth I have been missing? Aft er all, it has been a tough week, and the weather is even worse than it was earlier?” Wayne Smith decided to take the right turn -- the gatekeeper grumbled and allowed him to pass through.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU

He entered the building and asked for the comptroller. When the head accountant discovered that Wayne was with a bank, he remarked, “Th is must be my lucky day. We are having trouble doing business with our present bank, and we are consid-ering a new fi nancial partner.” Wayne got the business, which became one of the bank’s biggest accounts, and Wayne was promoted to Vice-President of the bank. Later in his banking career, Wayne be-

came President of Central Bank in Ken-tucky until his retirement in 1995.

KNOW YOUR FOCUSWayne Smith was focused on what he was sent to do in southern Ohio. He didn’t focus on the weather, he didn’t focus on gett ing home early, and he didn’t focus on the mean old block of granite guarding the gate. He was rewarded for his eff orts, as you will be, if you focus on success.

PERSONAL MAGNETISMSimilar to a huge magnet, we att ract what we expect, and the secret is to expect the right results. If you mention your focus today, I could predict your success or fail-ure in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.

POLLYANNA HAS THE RIGHT IDEA

Whenever I make a call or a presentation, I say, “We are going to get this one!” I am not right all the time, but it beats reacting with a defeatist att itude. In the end, I win more than I lose. My wife said that I re-mind her of PollyAnna with rose-colored glasses.

MAKE IT HAPPEN TODAYWhat are you going to FOCUS your mag-nifying glass on today?

© 2009 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.

Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. Website: www.bonura.com, 407 Landis Lakes Court, Louisville, KY 40245, (800) 444-3340 toll free. E-mail: [email protected]



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Lesson 12: Set Your Sights High

(a) Establish High Ideals For Yourself In Your Work. Unless you set sail for a definite and desirable port, you will never reach one. You can count on never being able to make salesmanship profitable for yourself until you give it a tone and quality of a high order. You will succeed! Excellence alone forms and controls your goals, as well as your inspirations. It is a question of getting the right viewpoint in the beginning. It is also important that you continue your vision of the best. Set your stakes high and never lower the standard. Chip your way through to your ideal.

(b) Make The Goal You Set For Your-self - A Difficult One To Attain. As-sign a hard task to yourself. If you lower the value of the prize to be won, you will lower your estimate of your-self. People who do big things must

get and hold onto visions of big things. You shape and make according to the model you take. You must be your own architect. Your life work will take on the beauty and usefulness that your plans provide. Use your imagination. You win, or lose, as you choose.

(c) Their Struggles Are What Make People Strong. An easy life is not a desirable one. The greatest pleasure in living is learning how to overcome and accomplish what you set out to do. “There is more pleasure in seeking than in possessing.” The more people do, the more they find they can do. There is no limit to progress. Take a look at successful people, and see what has made them strong and successful. “The lives of great people all remind us that we can make our lives sublime.”

(d) The Top Places Are Worthwhile. There is plenty of compensation for you at the top. Salesmanship, like all professions and trades, affords greater opportunities as you reach the higher heights. Up there you will find less competition and larger pay. The gain for you is worth the grind that it takes.

(e) Look Down Upon The Crowds Below You. There is a satisfaction in knowing that you are above the mass-es. Your exalted position is evidence of your better mettle. You show your-self as an example of humankind’s pos-sibilities to the crowds below you.

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Super Conference Sept. 23-25, 2010: Plan now for a great conference in 2010. IFPA will join with SAPA in Nashville, Tennessee at the beautiful Hilton Downtown. We selected a hotel right in the heart of downtown, located next to the Country Music Hall of Fame. You will experience the energetic, unique nightlife as well as a trip to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel if you haven’t

Conference Schedulesbeen there before. You’ll sample some of the best the South has to offer as well as an educational, entertaining, and exciting schedule of events. Now, more than ever, you’ll benefit from attending this upcoming conference. Call Douglas Fry at 1-800-334-0649 for more info.

Publishers Summit February 27, 2010: IFPA and SAPA Publishers

will join at the memorable Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, FL. We will be discussing topics of importance to you chosen by you and your fellow publishers in a roundtable format. What a great opportunity to discuss matters of business opportunities or concerns with other like-minded publishers. SAPA and IFPA have a tradition of sharing ideas. This will further that legacy.

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On September 30, 2009, a delegation of representatives from the Saturation Mailers Coalition met with top officials of the USPS to discuss SMC’s Postal Platform and request for a more partner-like approach in the Postal Service’s pricing for program mailers like free papers. SMC’s delegation was well represented with Pete Gorman, President and CEO of Harte-Hanks Shoppers, leading the SMC delegation and Dick Mandt, Carol Toomey, Chet Cleaver, Steve McKinnon, Dean DeLuca and Bill Cotter there to represent the free paper industry. Postal Service Officers at the meeting included Deputy PMG Patrick Donahoe, Robert Bernstock, President of Mailing and Shipping Services Steven Kearney, Senior Vice President Customer Relations Maura Robinson, Vice President Pricing and Steven Forte, Senior Vice President Operations.

Bob Bernstock led the meeting on behalf of the Postal Service. He said he appreciated the efforts SMC and the industry made to bring a group of people and ideas to him. He explained the Postal Service’s first-ever volume incentive program had been attempted to meet our needs. Since then, the Postal Service has tried other programs and sales to stimulate business. Bernstock

stated that his advisors told him that the saturation mail industry was gaining market share and doing better than other standard mailers that were losing business and volume.

Gorman, and others in the group, stressed that they wanted the Postal Service executives to have a dose of reality with what was happening in the marketplace. Gorman, like most of the other mailers in the room, described painful cuts and reductions they were making in household counts or staffing to combat the pressures of high fixed postal costs and customers demanding lower prices.

Gorman stated that businesses like Harte-Hanks Pennysaver were the Postal Service’s best customers. “In terms of volumes and dollars, we do a great deal of business with you at a very high markup. Over 248%, well above the system average of 171%.” Gorman described how program mailers serve as the Postal Service’s sales force. We bring Main Street businesses to the Postal Service. These businesses provide growth opportunities for the Postal Service.

Gorman also stressed the partnership his company had done with the Postal Service in the past to cut costs and improve operations. Great time and expense and

jumping through “flaming hoops” was done by publishers to eliminate the DAL and convert to direct labeling. “We felt we would see a payback or return on investment from the Postal Service from that effort. We still have not seen it.”

Gorman explained that the Postal Service was the only vendor that was talking about higher rates. Other suppliers, and advertisers, were expecting or offering cuts.

Gorman stated that our industr y appreciated the Postal Service’s efforts to work towards incentives. The thinking is “terrific,” but the programs offered to date have missed the mark for many of our members.

Gorman presented the points of SMC’s Postal Platform as an effort to work in partnership with the Postal Service for rates and operations that allowed us to add business and volume.

Bill Cotter and Dean DeLuca of the Pittsburgh Pennysaver described the struggles their business faced when it launched three separate new products as the economy was sliding downward in late 2008. They explained how they had combined a traditional newspaper with a Pennysaver to add significant new circulation to their footprint. The new product offered their advertisers a bigger display space at the same cost and reached all homes in an outlying area of their market. Although some of their customers, like grocers and food merchants, loved the product, it did not qualify for the volume

Free Paper Publishers Meet with Postal Officials

continued on page 10

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incentive program. With postage topping as much as 70% of the new editions’ gross sales, the new papers could not continue.

Other representatives of the program mail industry, Steve Mitzel, CFO of Valassis, and Keith Klein, of Target Marketing in Maine, described the challenges of attracting large retailers to program mailings. The high pound rate makes the mail less competitive when competing with a private delivery product or a newspaper TMC. Keith Klein gave examples of specific customers he had given sales proposals to be part of his full shared mail package. In some cases his proposed pricing was close to his actual postal cost. In each case, a newspaper with a blended TMC rate was able to undercut his offered price.

Klein and Carol Toomey, publisher of Action Unlimited, described the pressures of program mailers to explore alternate delivery for all or part of their programs. When postage becomes a big part of your fixed costs, you cannot help but wonder “could we do it better and cheaper ourselves?”

Carol described the personal and business hardship of reducing circulation in her market area. The painful decision to cut nearly one-third of her circulation left many of her customers asking “where will we advertise?” Carol, along with Chet Cleaver of the Maryland Pennysaver, and Steve McKinnon of the Carolina Money Saver, spoke about the frustrations publishers faced with the requirement that an address be placed on the piece. Carol described that this requirement made no business sense to her. “It can only add to the carrier’s cost of matching a specific piece with a specific household.” From the standpoint of her business, the addressing requirement slows printing, inserting, and adds to her costs.

Chet Cleaver provided significant detail about the extra production costs, and delays, that were caused by the on-piece

addressing requirement. Printing presses needed to be slowed down to print a readable, individual address. Inserting machines must also run slower. Steve McKinnon echoed this sentiment. He decided his years representing SMC on the issue at MTAC. He said his paper was lucky that most of its addresses were rural. He had been asking the Postal Service to consider a limited, simplified option for regular program mailers for many years. “It seems like this is the umpteenth time we’ve had this discussion and we still need it.”

On the issue of simplified, Carol Toomey summarized the position of SMC. “Leave off the label. It costs you nothing but gains you much. Without the label I can grow and when I and others like me grow, so does USPS revenue.”

On the issue of simplified, it was clear SMC’s presentation had hit a nerve. Bob Bernstock stated the idea, and the earlier indications that the Postal Service would roll out simplified for saturation flats this year, had been stopped by internal debate within the Postal Service executive levels on the policy issues about the mail and the impact of allowing unaddressed mail.

Patrick Donahoe explained the policy issues as fear that a relaxation of the Postal Service’s addressing requirements could lead to backlash in Washington and do-not-mail legislation.

Vince Giuliano, Senior Vice President of Valassis Government Relations, showed samples of mail already going to homes without an address. He stated the most vocal persons and businesses espousing “policy worries” were businesses that sold address lists or mailing services. They oppose changes that make it easier for mailers to do business with the USPS. Giuliano, and others in the room, stressed we were not asking for an elimination of the addressing requirement for all mail or even all saturation flats. Our proposal is limited to saturation program flats with

stated frequency and circulation.

Although the policy fears and resistance to simplified by some on the Postal Service Executive Committee seem high, it appeared our meeting cracked open the door. SMC was asked to submit a specific proposal, with a discussion of the pros and cons from both a business and policy standpoint, that would be considered further at the Postal Service executive level.

SMC members received assurances that the Postal Service would continue to allow saturation flat mail to be entered deeply into the system and that there were no plans for program flat mail to be run on FSS automation equipment. Deputy PMG Donahoe showed his understanding of the importance that shared mail programs and free papers have inserts and pieces in the package that were accessible to consumers and would not process well on automation equipment.

On the pricing side, Bernstock and Donahoe explained the extraordinary pressures the Postal Service is facing with the loss of volume, the recession, and the financial burden to prepay health retiree costs. Donahoe stated the Postal Service could not “lobby.” It needs mailers to make the case for relief from the aggressive prefunding schedule for retiree health care. Although the Postal Service was given a short term reprieve from its obligation to make a 2009 $4B prefunding payment, it remained burdened to aggressively prefund retiree health costs. Donahoe stated we need to pay today for employees we have not even hired.

Bernstock invited SMC to submit more specific proposals for rate changes or incentive programs that would present a “total systems business case.”

The following day, SMC’s co-chair, Albert Braunfisch of Mail South, Executive

continued on page 11



Director Donna Hanbery, and Economic Advisor Toni Crowder, met with Steven Kearney, Maura Robinson, and David Master vich, Product Manager with responsibility for saturation mail, to discuss SMC’s platform. Kearney explained it was harder in these tough economic times to do anything different or to justify incentives without a clear case that the Postal Service would see more volume or a “trade-off.”

Kearney elaborated on some of the business constraints that kept the Postal Service

from acting like a business to explore new ways to gain revenue. The need to reduce fixed costs has led to a commitment by USPS executives to pursue 5-day delivery. To date, there is no bill to allow 5-day delivery. The earliest the Postal Service can hope to achieve this goal is 2011.

Braunfisch described that the saturation volume incentive program did help his business. It was important to SMC members to have an incentive that could be earned on a market-by-market basis. Many SMC members stressed that every

market was different and that a program mailer may be forced to leave a market due to loss of a major advertiser or a business downturn that was totally out of the mailer’s control.

In this follow-up meeting, Crowder and Hanbery pushed for SMC’s platform goal to recognize saturation program mail as a separate product. Hanbery stated, “Our members really are your partners. Our survey data shows that free paper publishers used to pay 25% for mail. They are now paying 35% or more. We commit to a market and have to mail whether or not business is good.” Creating a separate product or contract category for program mailers would allow better pricing and operations treatment for program mail.

Kearney and Robinson were responsive to discussing a separate product or contract category. But Crowder stressed the need to proceed with caution. She said SMC’s survey responses showed our members were facing very tough times. Any change in rate structure could have vast consequences. This was a bad time for businesses to experiment or try to think outside the box. SMC members reported the economy was awful. They built their business and made customer commitments around today’s piece/pound rate structure. If changes were considered, the Postal Service should think about adding additional options or products and not eliminating the current piece/pound structure.

SMC’s meetings ended with Donna Hanbery meeting with David Mastervich and his product team to discuss the saturation mail industry, our papers and mail products, and our common interest in bringing large and small customers together in print media and to consumers in their mailbox, or alternate delivery. Hanbery stressed her faith that this business was a growth opportunity for the mail deserving of “partner treatment.”

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OF AMERICA

Southeastern AdvertisingPublishers Association

Plan now for another great conference in 2010. IFPA will join with SAPA in Nashville, Tennessee at the beautiful Hilton Downtown. We selected a hotel right in the heart of downtown, located next to the Country Music Hall of Fame. You will experience the energetic, unique nightlife as well as a trip to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. You’ll sample some of the best the South has to off er as well as an educational, entertaining, and exciting schedule of events. Now, more than ever, you’ll benefi t from att ending this upcoming conference. See you there!

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