Dear Potential Sales Manager,

 

The Ferndale 115 News is looking for a commission-based sales manager to handle sales and collections.  Responsibilities include doing sales calls and visits to local and regional businesses, focusing mainly in Ferndale and the surrounding cities.  You will be expected to fill out a contract and help make sure that the ad is designed satisfactory (either by the 115 or by the client).  And though we will do billing for accounts we may need you help reminding customers that don’t pay.  Commission is paid within 5 days of customer payment, although always sooner if we are able to do so. 

 

There is a lot of potential for sales.  The Ferndale business community supports local media and we’ve already had businesses contact us about ads that we’ve just not had the right person to follow up with them.  We started on June 1, 2009 with 184 readers and a publication that came out twice a month.  Now we are online daily, with news divided into sections covering many aspects of the community, and maintaining a steady readership of over 2,000 unique IP addresses each month (not including hits from places that I use such as the Library, AJs, Java Hut, WAB etc).  Readers come an average of 2 times per month, and visit an average of 22 links from within the site.  Our advertisers are happy with the results and the low cost.

 

This position can be done part time or full time, and may be good for a team of people (like an agency) also.  I might also consider hiring someone to exclusively solicit reader support contributions on a commission basis.  If you might be interested in that, please also apply.

 

To apply please write to Crystal Proxmire at editor@ferndale115.com.  Put “sales questions” in the subject line please, and answer the following questions:

 

  1. What is your name and current job?  If I know you, where from? Are we friends on Facebook?
  2. What prior work and/or volunteer experience do you have that will help you with this sales position?
  3. Have you read our rates?  What do you think of the plans we are offering?  Is there anything you’d like to see different?
  4. Do you have a vehicle?
  5. What is your connection to Ferndale?
  6. Are you comfortable going into all types of businesses?
  7. Are you comfortable making sales phone calls?
  8. Are you comfortable and quick about corresponding with e mail?
  9. What do you feel is the main reason businesses should advertise on the Ferndale 115 News?
  10. Are you comfortable contacting larger regional companies or even national companies about advertising opportunities?
  11. What is your schedule like and when would you most likely be working on sales?
  12.  We allow restaurants to advertise in trade for gift certificates.  Would you be willing to accept restaurant gift certificates in commission on those sales only?
  13.  Why do you want to do this and why would you be good at it?
  14.   Contact info?

 

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.  E mails will be considered until July 15, 2010.

 

Sincerely,

Crystal A. Proxmire