You Hired a Promotions Manager. Now What?

Promotions Training

On your new Promotions Manager’s first day at the office, they should go through a promotions training program and get certified in sales and strategy for contests and ballots. You should also have your new Promotions Manager visit the Second Street Lab and sign up for the newsletter to get continuous training through webinars and articles full of inspiration and best practices.

Media Training

If your Promotions Manager is new to local media or to your particular media type, they should also be trained about how your particular media company works. Have them shadow a digital salesperson or sales manager for the day. Here are a few things you should be sure to cover:

Local media terminology
Introduction to sales reps and who they work with
The territories of your sales reps
A list of your larger advertisers
A target list of advertisers you don’t currently work with
Your rate card
Current company initiatives
Revenue expectations and goals (broken out by 1st month and 1st quarter in the new role)

Form a Team

More people need to be involved in the promotions process than just your new Promotions Manager. Gather a promotions team composed of people from marketing, sales, the newsroom, operations, and audience development.

Set Goals

Set up a time for the whole team to meet and set goals for online promotions. These should be clear, time-bound, and measurable, so focus on specific revenue, database, and audience growth goals.

Plan a Calendar

Once your goals are set, it’s time to actually plan your promotions calendar. A promotions calendar is integral to your success, as it charts your path to success, keeps your cross-departmental team aligned, organizes your sales efforts, and helps you stay focused on your goals. Take advantage of this planning calendar template and step-by-step guide to get started.

Package & Price

For each promotion on your calendar, work with your Promotions Manager to create a sales sheet and promotional package. These should leverage all of your available assets, including core media, digital, social media, and email.

Create a Prospect List

Once you have your list of promotions and your packages created, it’s time to prepare to sell. Before you start prospecting, check out the following articles and resources for tips: