Indy Sales Team Zooms into a New Normal

Name: Sarah Sinclair
Title: Sales Director

How has the Indy sales staff been adapting to this very weird new normal? What have been the biggest challenges? Any silver linings?  The ad reps are an outgoing, gregarious bunch. Ordinarily, we conduct a lot of our business in person, so this has all been a 180-degree turn, with each of us locked in our own cocoon rather than mingling with our clients and each other. But everyone adapted immediately and admirably. We’re Zooming all the time and on the phone constantly.

And yes, there are so many silver linings. The obvious, like being home with our kids and dogs more. Also, hearing about some of the positive things that our clients are experiencing. Last week, for example, Tom from Santa Cruz Markets told us about one of their regular customers who anonymously bought over $500 worth of groceries that his staff assembled into gift bags and delivered to the Rescue Mission.

As their leader, how have you helped the sales team through this?  We’ve been meeting virtually a lot, and every time we do, we mix in a little fun. We’ve played show and tell and Family Feud, and we even made a rainbow for our colleague Emily on her birthday. 

You and other staff recently put out calls to readers to help the paper. How can readers also help our advertisers?  Read every issue. See who is open and patronize them. It helps us, helps them, and helps their employees. We’re all local. We really are all in this together.