Last week, 28 year out of home veteran Jonathan Graviss talked about 3 traits of high performing out of home sales reps.  Today he talks about about two out of home sales wins.

What out of home sales are you proud of?

I think back to my very first sale to Davey Crockett’s Roadhouse.  This was a wood pole bulletin structure on I-24 in Manchester, TN that was one of the furthest locations away from my office in Chattanooga.  I knew that nobody was heading out there to make calls so I focused on this unit.  I knocked on most every door between the two exits that the board was positioned between and finally came across a new restaurant that was being built.  I found the general contractor and got the name of the person opening this new establishment.  I called and got an appointment with the man and found out he was actually building two locations.  The Manchester location was going to draw visitors from the interstate and the Tullahoma location was going to draw from the local community there.  I knew that OCI had coverage in both areas and that I needed to act quickly.  I was able to secure an annual agreement from the customer.  I used to keep a picture of the Davey Crockett’s Roadhouse billboard in my office to remind me of that sale but I have not been able to find it since our last move.

Another sale that comes to mind is one that was made by one of my “new” sellers in Knoxville when I was the GSM there.  Ernie had been a seller and manager for Creative Displays and Lamar through the 1970’s and 1980’s before starting his own on-premise business in Knoxville.  Ernie had decided that he wanted to simplify his professional life by coming back to OOH sales and selling his company.  It took Ernie a couple of weeks but he was able to secure a meeting with a business owner that was interested in an open unit.  I tagged along as the sales manager to see how Ernie worked.  He did a fantastic job.  Ernie was able to pull out a one call close and secured an annual agreement.  I don’t remember the name of the company but what I do remember was walking out of the front door of the business with a very excited sales rep.  Ernie couldn’t help himself and let out a cheer and gave me a high five.  Then we sheepishly looked around to see if anyone was watching from the business we just came from.  I get as much satisfaction out of the success of my people as I have ever received from one of my own accomplishments.

Jonathan Graviss is exploring opportunities in sales leadership and general management both inside and outside of the OOH industry.  He is also looking into buying out of home assets.  You can email Jonathan at jgraviss12@gmail.com

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