First milestone

Time flies. I am looking at the first issue of Selling Power, Volume 1, Number 1. This magazine started as a newspaper tabloid that I originally created as a direct-mail piece to sell my audiovisual sales training course. Today, the newsprint looks faded, but the memories are still vivid in my mind. On the back page, we ran an ad the size of a postage stamp offering additional copies of the tabloid for 65 cents. To my surprise, we sold over 3,000 extra copies. Encouraged by the response, I created a second issue, raised the price to 85 cents and sold over 4,000 copies. Encouraged by the demand, in January 1981 we offered a yearly subscription (six issues) for only $12. I remember telling my wife (who later took over the role of editor), “If we get 500 subscriptions or more, I’ll continue. If we get fewer, I will draft a thank you letter saying ‘sorry, this test didn’t work’ and return the money.” Again to my surprise, we received over 1,200 paid subscriptions within five weeks. By the end of 1981, we had 7,500 paid subscribers. Today we have 150,000 subscribers (print and online) in 67 countries.

Fast forward

Last week, Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox TV, (see upcoming story in the January/February 2007 issue) commented, “You’ve done this for 25 years, how come you’re always so happy and full of enthusiasm?” I told him, “Because I love what I do and I am always curious about what makes people tick, what makes ideas click, and what makes companies smart and quick.” As the publisher of Selling Power I see my role as that of a broker of ideas between the many successful people who are open to sharing their blueprint for success and our audience of sales executives who are hungry for leading their teams to their next level of achievement. I am very proud of our ability to innovate and transform to stay in sync with the rapid changes in the publishing marketplace.

Blueprints for growing

As anyone who has ever created a new business knows, growing a company doesn’t always proceed according to plan. We started with a modest newspaper tabloid and very little money. Although we received a steady stream of subscription income, we could barely pay the printing bill and make payroll. I always had faith in quality content and my ability to sell. I thought that if every issue turned out better than the previous one, we’d have little to worry about. When our dentist and our pediatrician offered me money in exchange for a share of the company, I told them, “I don’t think your money is safe with me, because I don’t know what I am doing. I have never run a publishing business and neither have you.” I said, “I need more experience, not more money.”

There was one more asset that, at the time, I didn’t realize I had, which was my ability to learn fast. I went to the library and began studying how other publishing companies started. I learned how B.C. Forbes launched Forbes magazine in 1916. I discovered how Henry Luce started Time magazine. I read how DeWitt and Lila Wallace began Readers’ Digest in 1922. I found out how Louisa Knapp (wife of Saturday Evening Post publisher Cyrus Curtis) had the idea of creating a women’s newspaper supplement in 1883, which turned into the Ladies Home Journal. I interviewed Malcolm Forbes, the son of B.C. Forbes, a few years before he passed away. He said, “Here is the secret to my success in one word: inheritance.” I also had the privilege of interviewing Arthur Ochs “Punch” Sulzberger, the publisher of the New York Times. I learned about his family’s commitment to keep the public trust ahead of the family’s occasional squabbles over money or power issues. I also learned how publishing companies extend their brand through related media.

Innovations

We started with a modest newspaper tabloid and to survive we had to find a new stream of income. The first innovation was a compilation of the best cover stories. The result was a book called Superachievers. The book didn’t make us rich, but it gave us an edge in the market. We later created a series of books; we launched a monthly audio magazine called Selling Power Live for which we won a prestigious award. (Our lobby is filled with awards and statues too numerous to mention).

In 1987 we moved from newsprint to a four-color tabloid. It was a huge step up. In 1990 we went to the standard magazine format; in 1995 we became a perfect-bound magazine. We’ve redesigned the magazine to fit the style of the times and we added a sales training section for sales managers in 2004.

We created our first Website in 1993. We launched our first monthly online sales management newsletter in 2002. We added newsletters to cover CRM, sales meetings, incentives, motivation, presentations, software sales, and pharmaceutical sales. In March 2006 we launched an online edition of Selling Power magazine, which gives our readers worldwide the ability to read and search the magazine online.

Six months ago, I found that a number of our Selling Power articles have been translated into Mandarin Chinese (without our permission) and posted online. Instead of calling our lawyers, we launched a Chinese sales management newsletter, which today has over 12,000 subscribers. (We plan to copy the illegal online translations, have them proofread, and post them on our site.)

In 2005 we launched our first Sales Leadership Conference in Washington, DC. This year we ran three conferences, all of which sold out. On December 4th we’re honoring the top sales achievers and the top-selling companies with our newly created Selling Power Sales Excellence Awards. Over 600 companies and individuals are competing for 50 awards.

Only five weeks ago, we launched an online video program where we broadcast short (maximum 5 minute) interviews with leading authors, CEOs, experts, and sales leaders every weekday. This daily video (www.sellingpower. com/video) has led to an all-time record number of site visitors. We’ve already received numerous requests for the syndication rights.

In January 2007, we’ll be launching a new sales management self-training section. Oh, I almost forgot, Selling Power and McGraw-Hill have teamed up to launch the Selling Power Success Library, a new 17-book series on sales, management, and motivation. Twelve books have hit the bookstores and five more will follow in early 2007. When I went to a Barnes & Noble store last week, I noticed a six-foot shelf in the business book section with my name on every book. I couldn’t help but think back to the humble beginnings of Selling Power.

The highs and lows

Every business has high points and low points. While high points are embellished in PR releases, low points are often shoved into the dark recesses of our memories.

For the record, there were a few low points in our 25-year history. I learned about the first one in a phone call at 6:30 a.m. from a friend who monitored the police scanner for the local newspaper that there was a fire in our office building. I jumped into my car and as I approached the building, I saw heavy black smoke soaring high into the sky. I wanted to rush up to the second floor to get to our office suite but a fire fighter held me back and said, “You can’t go in there, we’re fighting the fire, your suite isn’t burning, just wait here.” After the fire was put out, the firefighter walked with me to our suite and asked me to stand back while he carefully opened the door. I could not believe my eyes. Behind the door was a wall of black smoke and you could not see one inch beyond the door jamb. It took several weeks to regroup and recover. Ultimately, this incident helped me set a new goal to invest in land and build our own office building.

The second incident happened about nine years ago. One Monday, our best sales rep quit to work for a new startup; on Tuesday our general manager resigned; on Friday morning, our creative director announced that he had decided to accept another job. I had to scramble for weeks to recruit and hire three key team members, and during that time I realized that after a company has reached a certain momentum, the departure of a few key players won’t sink the boat.

Many of my high points come from meeting many truly awesome people. I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with Oprah, playing a round of golf with Bill Clinton, and interviewing the secretary of commerce. I’ve met President George H.W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, General Alexander Haig, the Chancellor of Germany, the President of the Dominican Republic, Larry King, Donald Trump, Mary Kay Ash, Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, W. Clement Stone, the legendary Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and many others.

A Selling Power cover story often results in pleasant phone calls, like one from Jay Leno, after we ran a cover story on his success. He was gracious and engaging and invited me to Los Angeles to visit the Tonight Show.

We’ve published cover stories on CEOs, Hollywood stars, and great corporations. We were the first magazine to cover what used to be called SFA, and we’ve continued to write about technology related to sales management. Sales technology has gone through changes that no one could have predicted back in the 1980s when we first wrote about it.

It’s obvious that the Web has had a great impact on selling and we will continue to focus our editorial efforts on whatever innovations affect the management of sales. While technology may seem to rule, we still think that selling is a people business. Without getting your feet on the street, you won’t make many sales.

So I will continue doing what I love doing most – collecting and publishing a wealth of information, so that others can get their fair share of success.