More questions are popping up about whether and how to sell social media services. Several local companies such as Knoxnews.com, Chron.com are moving into this new realm. Ways to incorporate Twitter into web sites as advertising products are also underway (see our first story on this trend here.), but the two initiatives are very different: Twitter-based products allow sites to incorporate feeds as either as advertising content, or as an news-like widget on an advertiser-determined (and sponsored) topic. Re-selling Google adwords, Facebook fan page development or advertising is largely a service play. It brings up larger issues of what business are we in, what is an appropriate margin and who should be our frenemy. Most companies see Facebook as more of an irresistable force, and more of a frenemy than Groupon, which has a number of viable white lable knock-offs. But beyond that, selling Facebook looks like business issue to them, how much resources will reselling Facebook absorb for the margin it provides, and how to re-organize yet again to accommodate this service. But the real question we ought to be asking is this: Are we selling what advertisers want? Facebook - and reputation management in general - has the kind of intense interest by local businesses that is game-changing. For the sales force redeploying as an agency model, it's the kind of strategy that might just crank the ship over the 180 degree mark. Most local media sites envision their sales teams as morphing into digital marketing experts enabled (with support from specialists of one kind or another) to strategically sculpt integrated marketing campaigns for advertisers with only hundreds, not thousands, of dollars a week to spend. Very little use research is used on what advertisers are doing with "the rest" of their money. more

In the past month I've interviewed 15 of the most successful local interactive executives around the country in conjunction with a soon-to-be-released study on sales force insights for American Press Insititute and ItzBelden. In the process, we've spent a lot of time talking about what the benchmarks are and/or ought to be for using the "agency model" in a legacy media sales organization. Some of the questions go deeper than sales strategies. Here's my take, with a quick way to rate your own organization's progress on a scale of one to ten: •The sales department has been re-named and branded as offering media agnostic products and services. ____ •Sales representatives strive for for "share of customer," providing a variety of products and services owned and not-owned by the company.____ •Reorganization of sales teams and compensation has been adjusted to support digital sales.____ •Stand-alone local niche sites and channels that serve hyper-local constituencies are deployed at the rate of a few per year per market. ____ •On-going digital training programs incorporate full-day classroom-style training, short reveiws at sales meetings, testing and four-legged calls.____ •Sales representatives know expected conversion rates and ROI for most of their customers. ____ •Creative services for digital advertising and e-mail services report through the revenue side of the company._____ •Digital campaign statistics are routinely shared in joint meetings with Sales and Creative Services to increase collective intelligence about "what works" in design, ad types and offers. ____ •Direct anecdotal evidence and regular field surveys are used to match investment in digital initiatives with demand from advertisers and customers.____ •Publishers and interactive directors feel empowered to create and deploy digital initiatives in a reasonable time period. ___ Bonus question: Long term strategies seek to create or invest in high growth media businesses which are not under the agency services umbrella._____ There's a total of 110 points, but count the score as against 100 potential points, since one is a bonus question, and give your company, roughly an A, B or C for 90+ points, 80+ points, and 70+ respectively. Where do you plan to be on this scale by the end of 2010? This site supplies tactical tools, new initiatives and products. These will be here every week for you to use and share. One last note: we are pleased to be getting some great Top Performing Digital Ads on this the site where they can be shared collectively other sales teams. If your organization wants to participate in this program Top Performing Digital Ad Campaigns, please send me an e-mail at alisacromer@gmail.com. more