2005 August

Trial Closes Can Open Doors To More Sales

By John Foust
Raleigh, NC

I met a sharp sales person while shopping for a pair of athletic shoes. She asked informal questions to determine the activities in which the shoes would be used. Then as I tried on several pairs in varying styles and widths, she analyzed each fit. Noticing that I kept going back to one particular pair, she smiled and asked, “What do you think?”

“They’re more comfortable than the others,” I said.

She took a closer look. “I can’t help but notice that these shoestrings are too short to tie a good loop. If you like this pair better than the others, would you like longer shoestrings?”

Then I agreed, she put the shoes back in the box and said, “I’ll take care of that and meet you up front.” Ka-ching!

The interesting thing about the transaction is that she didn’t ask me to buy. She closed the sale by asking if I wanted longer shoestrings. In the selling business, that’s known as a trial close.

A trial close is a comment – usually in the form of a question – which can help determine whether a customer is willing to buy. Like some sales people are reluctant to ask for the order, some prospects are hesitant to interrupt a presentation by saying, “Stop talking. You’ve convinced me. I’m ready to buy. Where do I sign?”

A trial close is a low risk technique. If I had given an unfavorable – or neutral – response to her question about shoestrings, that sales person wouldn’t have seen it as a deal breaker. But as soon as I gave a favorable response, she stopped talking about shoes and moved toward finalizing the sale.

Let’s examine what made her approach so effective:

1. She took a low key approach. While an order-asking question asks for a decision, a trial close asks for an opinion. From her own experience as a consumer, she knew that most people resist hard sell tactics (“So, are you gonna buy?”), but don’t mind expressing opinions.

Opinions help sales people get in step with their prospects. Sometimes all it takes is a general question like... “How does that sound?...or “What do you think?”

2. Then she focused on a minor point. She asked (with good reason) about shoestrings. In selling advertising, you might ask...“In your opinion, does this coverage area include your target audience?” or “What do you think of this idea of using a photograph instead of a drawing?”

3. She emphasized “if.” This is a magic word that should be in every sales person’s vocabulary. “If” is indirect and, therefore, non-threatening.

For example...“If you ran this campaign, would you want to start it next week or the week after?” or “If you used a testimonial, do you think you would feature a long-time customer or one of your newer customers?”

A trial close is a little thing that can make a big difference in your sales presentations. Just like the right shoestrings can make your shoes fit better.

(c) Copyright 2005 by John Foust. All rights reserved.

John Foust conducts on-site and video training for newspaper advertising departments. His three new video programs are designed to help ad managers conduct in-house training for their sales teams. For information, contact: John Foust, PO Box 97606, Raleigh, NC 27624 USA, E-mail: jfoust@mindspring.com, Phone 919-848-2401.

Getting To Know Cindy Still, UPA’s Newsearch Supervisor

My life started in Wenatchee, Washington (that was a spelling challenge when I was young) and at around age six my father was transferred and my family moved to Utah. I have spent most of my life in Salt Lake with a couple of short stints in Las Vegas and St. George. My family circle is right-down small, you might call it a “One” family, I have one brother who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, one Mother - Ollie, here in Salt Lake, one husband - Ernie, one son - Taylor and one dog - Maggie. My extended family is spread from Minnesota to Washington state. I went thru school here in Salt Lake and I am an alumnus of The University of Utah (Go Utes!). Now, after finishing my education and not having any idea what to do with a history or art major I switched gears and went into the retail business. Between my husband and myself we have worked for almost every major retailer in Salt Lake City, in fact my husband and I met at Auerbach Department Store shortly before it closed and we’ve been living happily ever after since. When time permits I like to spend time in my garden or playing with Maggie the dog. I love cooking, reading and my husband and I try travel and see new areas in Utah that we’ve never seen before every chance we get.

I am the person who most of you hear saying “Good morning, Utah Press Association” yes, answering the phone at the Utah Press Association is one of my responsibilities. When I was hired at UPA my job description was to read newspapers, answer the phones and general office work, I thought to myself, I can do that! I had never worked in an office before and knew nothing of computers besides selling on EBAY, so as my duties and responsibilities increased so did the reality of my short comings. But, thanks to Kirk’s kindness and patience and patience and patience, I was trained to take on some different skills and here I am. As supervisor of our new Electronic Newsearch and doing things I never thought I could master, this has been an exciting change from the days of manual reading. Newsearch is truly an incredible research tool and most definitely the way of the twenty-first century. Our clients are thrilled with the new direction we’re going with this system.

I have been with the Utah Press Association for five years now and this is truly the best place I have ever worked.
Reading newspapers has given me a new insight and appreciation for the State of Utah that I never had before. I must say “Life is Good” so many of my friends hate going to work, but I look forward to going to work! Working here at UPA is a joy each and every day and I have never worked with a team of people who work so well, so hard and have such loyalty to the company they work for.

Utah Press Association Opposes A New Tax

By Joel Campbell
UPA Legislative Monitor
Analysis

Legislative leaders don’t appear interested in removing Utah’s sales tax exemption from newspapers, but a leader of a legislative tax subcommittee says the issue will still get consideration.

Based on conversations between publishers and key legislators, leaders in the Utah House and Senate said they aren’t ready to remove the tax exemption from newspapers. The statements by leadership are good news, but that doesn’t mean UPA shouldn’t remain vigilant.

UPA is in a position to trust these leadership commitments as members of a task force study overhauling Utah’s tax structure. Of course, while legislative leaders can bottle up legislation, if there is enough support for an idea it still may move forward.
Tax Reform Task Force members continue to speak of removing many sales tax exemptions and then expanding sales taxes on services. Those studying the sales tax exemptions want to drop the state’s overall tax rate and then need to raise about $4.4 billion in taxes each year. That could be accomplished by repealing sales tax exemptions except those that benefit businesses as “business inputs.”
While lawmakers want to increase taxes on consumer services, an exemption for medical services could be a deal killer. Without medical service taxes, the state isn’t likely to raise the needed $4.4 million. Many analysts see change ahead for Utah’s income tax system, but predict any sales tax change may stall. The Tax Reform Task Force is feeling pressure to have some reform proposals ready for the 2006 Legislature.

The Sales and Use Tax working group and Tax Task Force will meet on Aug.10, Aug. 25, Sept. 7, and Sept. 1. UPA publishers should continue talking to task force members about the need for a newspaper sales tax exemption. A revised copy of the talking points is below.

While a tax force considers tax changes, another is also considering changes to Utah’s Government Record Access and Management Act. The news there is not good. Legislators appear to support new restrictions on public records based on concerns about privacy and appear moving toward a “commercial rate” for providing information to certain records purchasers.

The GRAMA Task Force will meet Sept. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov. 8. UPA will be asking interested publishers to contact key task force members and speak about concerns during August

UPA Opposes A New Tax On Newspaper Sales And Subscriptions

Revised Aug. 3, 2005

Since at least 1937, Utah, like more than 30 states, has exempted newspaper sales and subscriptions from state sales tax. Newspapers sales tax would be paid not by newspaper publishers, but by the more than 667,000 members of the public who purchase or subscribe to weekly and daily newspapers throughout Utah.

The circulation tax on newspapers is a bad idea whose time should never come. Such a tax would essentially be a levy on the free flow of information in our society, and is therefore contrary to the public interest. Utah’s newspapers are critical to a democratic society. Newspapers are not manufactured “outputs” or “products.” Newspapers are the information source for in-depth coverage of local government, politicians, school boards and public issues, as well as job openings, housing, and transportation. In addition, Utah statute mandates publication of hundreds of legal notices in local newspapers. Taxing public access to such vital information is unwise.

In 1990, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled an exemption in Iowa was justified. Among other reasons, the court said that the state of Iowa could exempt newspapers from the sales tax since local newspapers were the only source for detailed local news and that those newspapers served the citizenry by providing information and enhancing the literacy of the population.

To require newspapers to pay a tax for distribution of its product would be discriminatory since other media would not have to pay a similar tax. This would put newspapers at a distinct competitive disadvantage since radio, television and free newspapers would not have to pay a similar tax. To single out newspapers as the only source of news and information to be taxed is unfair and possibly unconstitutional.

A newspaper sales tax will have a disproportionate impact on Utah’s 48 rural, weekly newspapers. These newspapers simply are not in a financial position to absorb the tax or pass it along to their readers. These “little” newspapers are not little to the communities they serve. They are a cultural resource and the lifeblood of these communities. Even in the best of times, however, they are financially marginal operations. The loss of these editorial voices will be a loss for Utah.

Lawmakers and policy makers have voted to keep the exemption. In late 1994, the Tax Review Commission conducted a comprehensive study of the newspaper sales tax exemption and, for many of the reasons articulated here, concluded that it should remain in place. Similarly, during the 1999 Legislative Session, the Utah House of Representatives overwhelming rejected the imposition of a newspaper sales tax by a 2-1 margin. In 2000, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee killed a similar bill.

A sales tax on daily newspaper sales will be a nightmare to administer, collect, and fairly enforce. It is simply not feasible to require thousands of independent contractor carriers, most of whom are boys and girls, ages 12 to 14, and who have an annual turnover rate in excess of 100 percent, to collect and remit this tax. Nor does an approach proposed in earlier legislative sessions -- moving the collection obligation back to the wholesaler or publisher level -- solve the problem. Wholesalers and publishers do not keep books on an independent carrier’s retail collections, and therefore have no means of gathering and reporting the tax. A substantial portion of many daily newspapers’ circulation is based on newsbox sales. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to adjust coin boxes to collect the tax. Consequently, newspapers would have to “eat” the tax.

For More Information, Contact the Utah Press Association, 801-308-0268

Uploading Legal Notices VS. A Maintenance Free Legal Notice Website

CAN YOU IMAGINE NOT HAVING TO UPLOAD YOUR LEGAL NOTICES ANYMORE AND STILL HAVE THE SAME CONTENT AND THE SAME ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC AS BEFORE. NOW YOU CAN WITH THE NEW UTAH NEWSEARCH SYSTEM. YOU, THE NEWSPAPERS, DON’T NEED TO DO ANYTHING BUT PLACE A SMALL CODE A COUPLE TIMES ON EACH LEGAL NOTICE PAGE OF YOUR PAPER, THE NEWSEARCH SYSTEM DOES THE REST.

UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION
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NOTICE OF INTENT TO CHANGE TO HASSLE FREE MAINTENANCE

www.utahlegalnotices.com
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Utah Press Association is announcing it’s intent to keep public notices where they belong... in the Newspapers. Every year we fight the battle to keep Legal Notices in the paper - and not just published on government websites. With the implement of www.utahlegalnotices.com several years ago, we had one more arrow in our arsenal. But the time consuming process of uploading legal notices is obvious by our nearly 30% non-compliance. The system currently in place is not working to the level that we, as a group of fighting newspapers, need.
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UPA has found a quick, easy solution that will need no maintenance by the newspapers. Last October UPA launched it’s new and exciting service called Newsearch. We can now take the pages being scanned and extract just the legal notice sections and post there content on a separate website. The only thing that you, the newspapers, need to do is place a small 6 digit code on your legal notice pages. This notifies the Newsearch system to place that in the legal notice database as well as the regular database.
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With the advent of pagination we feel this will be a simple process of placing the code in the template and forever have the code on the legal notice pages, therefore having every page added to the Legal Notice Website.
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It is imperative that we keep up with the Legal Notice Website. We, as a state, cannot afford to loose legal notices in our newspapers. This website is a major leverage point in that we can rebuttal every year that “We are already doing that, so there is no need to change anything”. We’re happy, they’re happy and legal notices stay where they were intended to be, in the hands of the public, our subscribers.
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The code to be placed on the legal notice pages of your newspaper is: UPAXLP and needs to have the following:
Appear at least 2 places (top and bottom of page), 10 point type or bigger, uppercase, san-serif (Helvetica, Arial, etc.), non-negative kerning, non-scaled horizontal and/or vertical and no characters on the either side of the code.
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For this to work seamless, we need to get compliance from every newspaper in the state. UPA will be contacting you soon to discuss the implementation of this process. The very minute we get all the papers placing the code we can stop uploading legal notices. This should save quite a bit of time for everyone involved.
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To sum things up, we need this legal notice website to help keep legal notices in newspapers, we also need compliance, which means we need a simple way get the notices posted. UPA is using a system already in place to make this happen. UPAXLP printed twice on each legal notice page and it’s done, vs. the hassle we’ve been having with uploading.
Thank you for your help in this. We will be contacting you soon to get started.
- UPA Staff -