Billboard Insider asked out of home sales exec Charlie Callari about what he’s learned in the course of a 30+ year career in media sales.
How did you get into out of home?
It was 2017 and I was just getting out of the yellow pages business. I had previously spent the last 26 years in the YP business as sales rep, sales manager, marketing manager, regional manager, and divisional manager. In all honesty……I probably stayed a couple years too long!
We lived in Chattanooga, TN at the time and the local billboard company at the time was Fairway Outdoor (now Reagan Outdoor). I interviewed several times with Heather Nelson, Scott Hibberts, and Scott Lafoy. Somehow, I convinced them to take a chance on me with no billboard experience, and the rest is history!
Where all have you worked and what did you learn?
I have been fortunate to work at several different companies. Each company had their own unique cultures and values. At each stop, I learned valuable life, and business lessons. I will include a few…
The Berry Company – ahhh, this one brings a smile to my face. This was my first “real” job out of college. For my first 3 weeks, I had to go to Dayton, OH to go the “Yellow Pages Boot Camp”. Boy was this challenging, but also rewarding. They expected you to memorize, learn, and apply the information they were teaching in various selling situations. What I learned: Learning does not stop at school. We should ALWAYS be learning.
Yellow Book USA – The Mavericks of the Yellow Page World. In the later 90’s I started taking notice of this yellow pages company that was setting the world on fire! They were a true competitor to the phone company yellow pages, and kicking butt! Their mission was to be a true NATIONAL company, from coast to coast. I wanted to be a part of this momentum. So I was hired as the Regional Manager of an office in Asheville, NC that was not doing too well. In a matter of 18 months, I along with the team, were able to turn around results, and were a viable competitor to Bellsouth in the market. What I learned: Have fun, keep score, and win!
Blood Assurance – blood and blood component provider to hospitals – As I got out of the Yellow Pages world, I was looking to do something completely different. This was my entry into the non-profit world and into the world of blood collections. Wow, these folks work hard, and provide life saving products to hospitals every day. Almost every day, we faced urgent blood level needs from the hospitals and met them. Creativity was key, and a positive, can-do attitude was required by everyone. What I learned:Someone needs blood every 2 seconds. One unit of blood can save 3 lives. Donors are critical. And you have to come up with new and creative ways to get new donors all the time.
Horton Outdoor: Fast forward a couple years to my second entry into outdoor. I love the visual aspect of billboard advertising and the “7 words or less”. Horton was a smaller outdoor company, but growing. The culture had a “family” atmosphere, and all were invested to make this the most successful place possible. At the end of 2021, Horton sold to Trailhead Media, where I started as an AE, was promoted to Regional Sales Manager a few months later, and VP of Sales – Trailhead West in April 2023. But I will always remember my time with Horton and the “Close knit” culture. What I learned: Having a good culture matters. And having a culture where people are rowing in the same direction, committed to the end results, is very important.
We’ll run more columns with Charlie’s thoughts on the out of home business. You can reach Charlie at 423-618-8635, charlie.callari@gmail.com.
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