Richard Plucker, regional classified manager for Eastern North Carolina (ENC), is serious about getting results. It's a desire to achieve goals that he has tried to instill in everyone in his department, and if 2001 is any indication, he has succeeded admirably. He and his team made a significant change in how classified transient (non-display classified advertising) was handled at ENC that resulted in some pretty impressive numbers.
"Transient revenues in 2001 were only 1 percent under 2000—a huge accomplishment considering comparable departments were down in the double digits," said Maureen Saltzer-Gawel, president of Freedom ENC. "And that was just in core product—the three daily newspapers. If you take ancillary products into consideration, the numbers were actually greater than the year before."
According to Plucker, the classified department's success was based on team effort, hard work and a new decelerating rating system that gives customers an incentive to advertise for more days, and an emphasis on results-oriented advertising.
"This is the strongest sales team that I have ever assembled," Plucker said. "To a great extent, the credit for our success belongs to them. They wouldn't take no for an answer. They convinced customers of the benefits of our new approach and the results of that effort speak for themselves."
Stories of Success Listing | Table of Contents | 2001 Annual Report | Freedom Communications, Inc.