Digital Advertising, Part II Nine Things Your Salesperson May Not Want You to Know
By Robert J. Hoglund President and Founder of Hoglund Advertising & Analytics General Partner and Owner of Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, P. L. L. C. Roseville, Minnesota
When sales representatives meet with customers, they’ re the face of their corporation, and they’ re constantly under pressure to perform. Sales reps are tasked to generate the revenue that keeps themselves( and their co-workers) employed.
All too often, digital advertising sales reps may not be disclosing everything. When you hire an advertising agency to run digital ads for your law firm, it’ s good to have some background information. Knowing some key insights can help you make informed choices – and avoid costly errors. Here are nine things your salesperson may not want you to know.
1. Your ad agency may be working with your competitors. When you’ re running digital ads, you want your law firm ads to appear at the top of the search results. You need to grab potential clients’ attention right away. Your agency should be putting their full energy into making your ad appear prominently – while making smart use of your budget. How can an agency use its best efforts to help you, when it’ s also working with your competitor? Surprising as it is, some agencies will work with competing law firms in the same geographic location. In order to avoid this egregious conflict of interest, ask for exclusivity in writing.
2. Your agency might not let you control your website. Many digital advertising agencies can build your website and landing pages, as well as set up your ads. It’ s smart to have a unified look and feel throughout your digital marketing, and your ads and web pages should definitely work together. It’ s also important to find out who really owns your website. Can you log in to your website and make changes when you need to? If you change ad agencies, will you own your website content? If you decide to change your website down the road, will you have rights to the text, or will you need to completely rewrite it to avoid issues? These are questions to ask ahead of time.
3. Sales reps may take advantage of relationships. Once a company or an individual has gained your trust, unfortunately they may use this relationship to sell you products that are not in your best interest( or at a price that is not reasonable). There are many fine individuals in sales who treat their customers honestly and with respect, but unfortunately, sometimes people may sell you products just to make their quota. And that leads to the next point …
4. Many agencies set aggressive monthly quotas for their sales staff. Sales reps are often quota-driven. They may need to sell certain dollar amounts in order to earn a commission or keep their jobs. They may overpromise. It’ s not unheard of for a rep to promise that a product will be able to perform a certain action, only to leave behind-thescenes personnel pulling their hair out later trying to fulfill these promises. To be fair, sales reps are under a great deal of pressure to make their numbers. Of course they want to hit their goals: They need to provide for their families. But be aware that quotas may drive reps to push advertising you do not need.
5. All analysts are not the same. People who have years of practice running digital ad campaigns are in high demand. Finding these skilled Search Engine Marketing( SEM) analysts can be challenging – as well as expensive – for ad agencies. Not all agencies have experienced, well-trained analysts working on accounts, so it’ s important to
52 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL Summer 2017 National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys