Re: Come off it guys... lets get real!
 

> As I say to advertisers who approach me...
> "If you are so sure this will earn me
> as much revenue why dont we profit
> sahe...you'll get more bu I wont have to pay
> up front"...very few even *consider*
> it.... yet most would recognise this
> logicallt as a true win/win proposition

Hi guys! New poster here....had to respond to this as a former yellow page advertising exec! :)
We actually "partnered" so to speak, with the phone company and did a Guaranteed Ad Program with our customers....they would be assigned a # that would only appear in the phone directory that we published; the calls to this # would be tracked and the customer could actually SEE how many calls they were receiving from our directory every month. If they did not receive the agreed upon call count, they were prorated a refund...win/win!

Thanks!
Lisa


Website not finished but ready for biz!!!

Oh my God... what is "Total Quality Management" sounds like...
 

> Hi guys!

Hi Lisa!

> New poster here....

Welcome. Put on your thick skin... text writing has no tone and can easily be mis-understood :o)

> had to respond
> to this as a former yellow page advertising
> exec! :)

Advertising Exec? What is that? Is that a fancy term for someone who sells Yellow Pages advertising? Or is that someone who "manages" the salesmen and women? (BTW... we - me in particular - don't believe on PC.)

> We actually "partnered" so to
> speak, with the phone company and did a
> Guaranteed Ad Program with our
> customers....they would be assigned a # that
> would only appear in the phone directory
> that we published; the calls to this # would
> be tracked and the customer could actually
> SEE how many calls they were receiving from
> our directory every month. If they did not
> receive the agreed upon call count, they
> were prorated a refund...win/win!

Let me get this straight... YOU (as in the YP) teamed up with the phone company to track the client's phone calls. IF the number of calls received by the client did not match the mutually agreed upon number (agreed upon number based on ad size, I assume) then the client would get that month's worth of advertising refunded. Is that right?

The people offering the guarantee were also the ones doing the monitoring? Oh gee. Excuse me for my doubt... but can't you just see it... "Hey guys, Bob's Meats hasn't received the agreed upon call numbers for the month... quick... make some calls to bump his numbers up so we don't have to refund the money."

I suppose they paid extra for the "guarantee" too, right?

Don't get me wrong... performance guarantees are great. In this case, however, there are some serious issues. After all, the YP was in partnership with the phone company.

Anyway. Looked at your sorta-website. What on Earth is "Total Quality Management"? Sounds like a load of high-falut'n corporate gobble-de-gook to me. I'm serious... what is "Total Quality Management"?

Michael Ross


Please click here

Re: Come off it guys... lets get real!
 

Actually, there was a bit of a twist.

The guy I first met was dead keen to advertise, thought it was a great idea. He's the state manager although I knew he had to defer to the MD, with whom I could not get contact. Since it was impossible to get to the decision maker, I ran with what I had.

It was the MD who made the statement I quoted. Sure I take what Andy's saying - I'm merely amused at the mindset of some business people.

Actually in the second example I quoted, the situation was identical. This time the state manager just shook his head at the attitude of HIS boss. Didn't make sense to him either:-)

All the best

Philip

Re: Oh my God... what is "Total Quality Management" sounds like...
 

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the welcome! Glad to be a part of this forum.

Hope you put on your extra layer of skin today as well!

"Advertising Exec" was merely a generalized term I used in order to get my point across, which, by the way, was not supposed to be a discussion of my former title. But, hey, I'm game for any discussion!

Total Quality Manager, which I'm sure does sound a bit "high-falut'n", but then don't most things in the corporate world?? The idea behind Total Quality Management is mainly "continuous improvement" both internal & external. In other words insuring that things run as smooth as possible both for the customer and inside the company, ie. workflows of all departments, etc. The TQM generally answers only to the President, or in my case, the GM, and therefore has the responsibility of everyone below him to different extents. Hope this clears it up a bit for you.

Now, on to the issue of the ad guarantee. These monthly reports could be accessed by the customer at any time during the month. Any call that came into his business by the assigned telephone # would be on that report. We only "counted" calls that were over a certain # of minutes long, meaning these were most likely ones that were customers or potential customers. So, if the report total was, say, 63, we only counted ones that were over 3-4 minutes long. I think that shows the fairness to some extent. The report shows the name & number that called, the time of day & length of the call, whether or not the call was answered or if the business line was busy and also showed the zip code of the incoming call. Kinda hard to rig that! Oh, and no....the guarantee & the monitoring were not coming from the same people. WE, as in the yp company, gave the guarantee; the phone company sets up the # and anyone, including the customer who has the passcode, can monitor the calls coming in.

My "sorta" website is still in the building stages. I went with one design, then after lots of researching and taking advice from others, I decided a different design would work better. Hey, thanks for visiting it though!!!

By the way, Michael, just for kicks....what is your title??

Lisa

> Hi Lisa!

> Welcome. Put on your thick skin... text
> writing has no tone and can easily be
> mis-understood :o)

> Advertising Exec? What is that? Is that a
> fancy term for someone who sells Yellow
> Pages advertising? Or is that someone who
> "manages" the salesmen and women?
> (BTW... we - me in particular - don't
> believe on PC.)

> Let me get this straight... YOU (as in the
> YP) teamed up with the phone company to
> track the client's phone calls. IF the
> number of calls received by the client did
> not match the mutually agreed upon number
> (agreed upon number based on ad size, I
> assume) then the client would get that
> month's worth of advertising refunded. Is
> that right?

> The people offering the guarantee were also
> the ones doing the monitoring? Oh gee.
> Excuse me for my doubt... but can't you just
> see it... "Hey guys, Bob's Meats hasn't
> received the agreed upon call numbers for
> the month... quick... make some calls to
> bump his numbers up so we don't have to
> refund the money."

> I suppose they paid extra for the
> "guarantee" too, right?

> Don't get me wrong... performance guarantees
> are great. In this case, however, there are
> some serious issues. After all, the YP was
> in partnership with the phone company.

> Anyway. Looked at your sorta-website. What
> on Earth is "Total Quality
> Management"? Sounds like a load of
> high-falut'n corporate gobble-de-gook to me.
> I'm serious... what is "Total Quality
> Management"?

> Michael Ross

Re: reality!
 

You stated -

> But, so far, I've not seen a sea change in
> either people or the methodology by which to
> build a successful appeal to them.

> There are new techniques of breaking through
> the noise and overcoming skepticism, in
> response to what is happening. But, having
> done that, at the end of the day you are
> still face-to-face with a human being.

You are correct. It takes very similar ideas and creativity to sell a battery powered hand fan with the customer's logo on it today, as it did to sell the old "Funeral" fan of a century ago.

But, thanks to the internet, I can sell both of those products to customers all across the US and beyond. And, I can email their digitized logo to the supplier across the US or across the Pacific in the same hour, cutting the delivery time needed.

Very few special products have disappeared completely, but some, including ashtrays, book matches, and ice picks have dropped to serving only niche markets. Meanwhile, the old hand fans are more popular than ever.

Dennis Bevers


Promo products for businesses large and small at great savings!

Re: Want to expand your options on your new site?
 

Lisa,

I checked out your website. Looks like it should have some good potential.

If you'd like to offer additional products to the same business customers, you could add use your knowledge of advertising and increase your earnings.

The Kaeser and Blair dealership, selling promotional advertising operates similar to an online affiliate. As an independent agent, you are only responsible for sales and marketing. K & B handles all the credit, billing, sales tax collection and reporting for you.

And since the dealerships are free, it wouldn't cost you a penny to "test market" the opportunity and prices online or off.

Just a thought.

Dennis Bevers

Re: Want to expand your options on your new site?
 

Hi Dennis,

Thanks so much for your comments! The website is slow-going as i am learning as I go where HTML is concerned! But it will get there!

Interesting idea you have concerning the advertising idea! Where can I get more info on this?

Thanks, again!

Lisa

> Lisa,

> I checked out your website. Looks like it
> should have some good potential.

> If you'd like to offer additional products
> to the same business customers, you could
> add use your knowledge of advertising and
> increase your earnings.

> The Kaeser and Blair dealership, selling
> promotional advertising operates similar to
> an online affiliate. As an independent
> agent, you are only responsible for sales
> and marketing. K & B handles all the
> credit, billing, sales tax collection and
> reporting for you.

> And since the dealerships are free, it
> wouldn't cost you a penny to "test
> market" the opportunity and prices
> online or off.

> Just a thought.

> Dennis Bevers

Title Schmitle
 

Hope you put on your extra layer of skin
today as well!

I don't have skin. I am a computer generated interactive cyber personality programed with fuzzy logic. I "live" in a mainframe that takes 32 terrabytes to store all of me. You could think of me like "The Matrix." I am everywhere and nowhere.

> "Advertising Exec" was merely a
> generalized term I used in order to get my
> point across, which, by the way, was not
> supposed to be a discussion of my former
> title. But, hey, I'm game for any
> discussion!

Well... what is an Advertising Exec? Or doesn't that "title" actually exist. Is it something you made up? Maybe to... impress us all? Hmm? :o)

So what was yout title there? We don't play silly title games here. But seeing as your brought up titles first...

> By the way, Michael, just for kicks....what
> is your title??

I don't believe in titles. But if I must have one, then the one I've previously mentioned on this board will do fine. It is...

Michael Ross
Pychic. Alchemist. Scholar of the Royal House of St Jumbali. Appointee of the Court of Civil Councils. Entrusted Keeper of the scrolls of Molex. Croc wrestler. International man of mystery. Apprentice Sith Lord. Professional cow-tipper. Part-time Spy. Mouse Pychologist. Computer Potatoe. US Noogie Champion. Ideas Man. Renowned Finger-Painting Artist. Spoon. Astronaut. Astro-Turf Grass Blade Inspector. Stunt Double. Money Grubber. Klingon Translator. Human Divining Rod. Yogie. Human Guinea Pig. And Founder of the Milwaukee Fishmonger's Cult.

BTW... I am really an IRS inspector. Have you filed your taxes?

Re: Title Schmitle
 

Hi Michael,

> You could think of me like
> "The Matrix." I am everywhere and
> nowhere.

Sorry...didn't see The Matrix...does that mean I should just not think of you at all?? :)

> Well... what is an Advertising Exec? Or
> doesn't that "title" actually
> exist. Is it something you made up? Maybe
> to... impress us all? Hmm? :o)

I assure you...if I had nothing better to do than try & impress people, it would not be done by using the words "Advertising Exec"! (besides, seems the words Total Quality Manager did a number on you & I didn't even have that in my post. ;o)

> So what was yout title there? We don't play
> silly title games here. But seeing as your
> brought up titles first...

At certain times, games are great ...especially for those of us that need to...R E L A X...(hint hint). However, to answer your question - again - my title was Total Quality Manager. And, not to be too particular, Michael, but I believe it was you that first mentioned it....

> I don't believe in titles. But if I must
> have one, then the one I've previously
> mentioned on this board will do fine. It
> is...

> Michael Ross
> Pychic. Alchemist. Scholar of the Royal
> House of St Jumbali. Appointee of the Court
> of Civil Councils. Entrusted Keeper of the
> scrolls of Molex. Croc wrestler.
> International man of mystery. Apprentice
> Sith Lord. Professional cow-tipper.
> Part-time Spy. Mouse Pychologist. Computer
> Potatoe. US Noogie Champion. Ideas Man.
> Renowned Finger-Painting Artist. Spoon.
> Astronaut. Astro-Turf Grass Blade Inspector.
> Stunt Double. Money Grubber. Klingon
> Translator. Human Divining Rod. Yogie. Human
> Guinea Pig. And Founder of the Milwaukee
> Fishmonger's Cult.

Guinea pig....hmmmmm....close to what I would've chosen for you..... :)

I look forward to reading more posts from you, Michael!

Lisa

I may have fuzzy logic but that's no reason to make it fuzzier
 

> Hi Michael,

> Sorry...didn't see The Matrix...does that
> mean I should just not think of you at all??
> :)

It doesn't mean anything. Then again... it could mean everything. You take it to mean whatever you like.

Of course, if you don't think of me at all... you won't see my sly little tricks. I'll slip under your radar.

> I assure you...if I had nothing better to do
> than try & impress people, it would not
> be done by using the words "Advertising
> Exec"! (besides, seems the words Total
> Quality Manager did a number on you & I
> didn't even have that in my post. ;o)

Did a Number On Me.

Colorful words. What do they mean in plain speak?

> At certain times, games are great
> ...especially for those of us that need
> to...R E L A X...(hint hint).

Hint Hint. Oh... here we go... this is that... I'm going to say something without saying something game. I get it now.

However, to
> answer your question - again - my title was
> Total Quality Manager.

Well... that's all I wanted. Not so hard now was it.

See... I couldn't put two and two together. It might have been obvious to you. But it wasn't to me because you first said you were and Advertising Exec. The TQM bit on your website does not say it was at the same time as your career in the advertising place. See... you know it is... but it is not stated. Thus, confusion happens.

And, not to be too
> particular, Michael, but I believe it was
> you that first mentioned it....

You know... one thing I cannot stand is when people say... "Not to ________ BUT" and then they go an do/be the thing they said they were not going to.

Like you... "Not to be too particular" and then you go and be too particular.

Why can't people just be brave about their actions...

Lisa... check the thread... you were the first one to tell us all you were an Adverising Exec. You were the first person to use a title.

> Guinea pig....hmmmmm....close to what I
> would've chosen for you..... :)

Ummm... okay. I don't get it... whatever you are trying to hint hint at.

I told you... I am a computer generated cyber person programed with fuzzy logic.

Being fuzzy to me... making me try to guess what you mean... causes my code to enter infinite loops.

Just come out and plainly say what you want to say. I can understand that.

> I look forward to reading more posts from
> you, Michael!

Oh goodie. Another fan. :o)

Michael Ross