Sell More Books Profitably to Companies

Brian Jud

My article in the May issue of Ron’s Newsletter described different ways in which companies can use books. Now, it is now up to you to contact the prospective buyers and convince them to buy your books. Unfortunately, some people feel they do not have the skills for this task. The good news is that the old-fashioned, hard-selling techniques do not work among today’s savvy buyers. All you really need is an understanding of their business, knowledge of your product line, and some creative ideas for ways in which you can use your books to help them solve their problems.

The selling process begins with a need – your prospect’s need. If you can show the buyer that your book can satisfy that need you are likely to make the sale. A little research into the prospect’s industry and business will help you do that. You become a consultant to potential buyers, a marketing partner who has their best interests in mind. And if you need help, there are companies that can assist you.

Know your prospect’s industry

Some informal research should give you ideas for ways in which your prospects can use your books as a premium. As you become more familiar with their industries, certain opportunities may become apparent.

· Books do not have the liability that some products carry. Some toys and products oriented to children may come apart or be swallowed, leading to negative publicity and legal problems.

· Books are tasteful. “Their high-perceived value does not demean the sender or recipient. In a way, a book defines the taste of the giver,” says Mark Resnick, partner in FRW Company. “People like a premium that flatters their intelligence, and books do that.”

· A title may be coordinated with a season or holiday. For example, Nestles, Betty Crocker or Pillsbury might seek a title as a premium offering recipes for Christmas cookies.

· Independent publishers may have an edge over larger publishers because a company may not want a bestseller as a premium. If everybody already has it, it would be less desirable as a sales promotional tool. A less known, but equally applicable title may be preferred. For similar reasons, your prospect may want an exclusive on your title. It will not want to waste its marketing dollars if someone else is offering the same title in a promotion.

Know your prospect’s company

Frank Fochetta (VP, Director of Special Sales and Custom Publishing at Simon & Schuster) feels that the path to successful selling in the Commercial-Sales segment is to “understand the business first, then provide content.” You are not selling books but solving problems, so begin the sales process by asking questions to find out how you can help them in some way.

Before calling on a potential buyer, learn as much as you can about the company and make a list of the reasons why your content will benefit it. Review their website, or go to trade shows and talk with its sales people. If your prospect is nearby, go there to pick up their literature and study it to discover more reasons why your titles will help them become more profitable.

Know the individual buyers

Learn about the person on whom you will be calling. It many cases it will be a product manager (a brand manager in a consumer-products company). In either case, he or she usually has profit-and-loss responsibility for a particular line of products. Therefore, it is in his or her best interest to maximize the unit sales and profitability for their product line.

Before calling on these buyers, develop a selling strategy. Plan how you will approach, interest and persuade each person in the selling process. Learn as much about the individual as possible. If the location is nearby, make an appointment to meet with the prospect personally. If not, perhaps you could arrange to meet at a trade show, or send a copy of your book, cover letter, press release, fact sheet and ideas.

Close the loop

Enter the negotiations with an open mind. Companies want to use the information in your books to help them sell more of the products or services they offer. Show how your content can be re-purposed as a premium, as a fundraiser or other device. Demonstrate how you can help the company increase its sales — a problem common to most businesses. A creative tie-in between your title and their product may be the solution. A company that makes cribs may be open using your children’s bedtime story book as a premium. Or perhaps the character in your book could be licensed for use on a similar company’s line of children’s sleepwear. Your travel book might help a luggage company sell more suitcases.

Frank Fochetta also says that, “the primary reason companies are interested in using a book as a marketing tool is to re-purpose its content. And there are three areas in which they look for this opportunity.”

1) Value for the customer. Your potential customers should be able to use the information in your titles to help them improve, educate or entertain their customers in some way.

2) Re-packaged content. When selling to a business, the starting place for your negotiations is the content that you can provide. If your prospect decides that your content has value, then you settle on the form in which it will be disseminated. This may be as a book, booklet or DVD. Even if you choose a book as the final form, it can still be customized by 1) changing its size (an abridged or miniature book packed inside a box of cereal); 2) reducing the weight of its paper to lower shipping cost; 3) creating a custom version using the client’s product as the hero of the story; or 4) publishing it in softcover if it is only available case bound, or vice versa.

3) Brand association. A book should have the same image as the item with which it is associated. A book provided as a premium at Dollar Stores will be much different than the one offered with a $200 suede coat at Eddie Bauer.

Demonstrate to your prospects that you understand their objectives. After your initial negotiations, create a prototype of the final product. Work with them to design the theme, cover, layout style, and physical attributes of the product. Make them part of the solution and they are more likely to buy it.

Rely on others to help you.

Sales-promotional agencies and premium rep groups exist to help you reach buyers who may be likely to purchase your titles. Many of these companies will rarely take on single-title authors/publishers, but the promotional reps might include your titles as part of their entire line. You could also hook up with other publishers with premium divisions, such as Workman, Penguin/Putnam or Simon & Schuster, to sell your books.

For a source of people who buy books as premiums (and for agents selling them), contact Karen Renk at the Incentive Marketing Association, karen@incentivemarketing.org, 630-369-7780. The Incentive Show (http://www.piexpo.com/) is another source of premium companies. Other sources of assistance include:

Corporate Events is a full service, convention and trade show management firm. They specialize in the planning and execution of conventions trades shows, special events, and incentive programs worldwide. Reach them at 7431 114th Avenue North, Suite # 102, Largo, Florida 33773; Phone: 727-548-7200 Fax: 727-546-1956; e-mail: CorporateEvents@worldnet.att.net website: http://www.corporate-events.com.

Lifestyle Vacation Incentives is the largest leisure travel agency in the country, is one of the nation’s top sales promotion and fulfillment companies specializing in consumer incentives. Reach them at 220 Congress Park Drive, Delray Beach, FL 33445; (800) 881-1900, Fax (561) 330-3369;  

Maritz, Inc. is a source of integrated performance improvement services with six operating units dedicated to improving their clients’ measurable business results in critical areas, such as sales and marketing, quality, customer satisfaction and cost containment. Reach them at 1375 North Highway Drive, Fenton, MO 63099; Phone: (636) 827 4000; their website is http://www.maritz.com; you can find vendor information at http://www.maritz.com/maritz-contact-us-vendor-inquiry.asp.

Sell through their stores. If companies have stores for employees, either on the premises or online, they may purchase your books for resale. Majors Internet Company provides a service called The Company Bookstore. This is a business-to-business solution for selling books to employees of corporations. In effect, Majors puts a bookstore inside the corporation. Purchasing Managers, Corporate Library Professionals, and Information Service Managers can link to a customized version of the company bookstore to offer employees access to a comprehensive database of titles.

Majors customizes The Company Bookstore for the corporate intranet, processes credit card transactions, picks, packs & ships, and provides management reports. Majors is a vendor for the corporate employee as well as for information centers, training and development, and research departments. J.A. Majors Company, 4004 Tradeport Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30354; Phone: 404-608-2660, 1-800-241-6551, Fax: 404-608-2656, You have an enormous opportunity for selling books to businesses, both large and small. And you will be more successful in tapping into these markets if you learn your prospects’ industries and businesses as well as the individuals with whom you will be negotiating. Work with experts who can help you reach your prospects and you should soon experience significant results.

Brian Jud is the author of Beyond the Bookstore (a Publishers Weekly book), The Marketing Planning CD, and the series of booklets, Proven Tips for Publishing Success. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001; (800) 562-4357; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or visit http://www.bookmarketing.com

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• Focus on Non-traditional Marketing - April 17th, 2008
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• Practice Makes Permanent - October 22nd, 2007