Sales Force Effectiveness in 2010: The Yellow Pages

The yellow pages industry has gone through dramatic changes over the past decade as the industry grew from $13.7 billion in 2000 to a high-water mark of $16.75 billion in 2007 before plummeting to a projected $14.92 billion in 2010. In the midst of this economic turmoil the industry has faced a number of challenges but among the most difficult: a sales force dedicated primarily to print sales in 2000 with the professional title of sales reps evolving to full-time media consultants with strong background in the electronic world in 2010.

Sales Force Effectiveness in 2010: The Yellow Pages is an in-depth look at the size of the yellow pages industry and its evolution from the print world into the electronic age with approximately 20% of its revenue coming from online operations.

The overall report looks at the evolving sales force, where it started, its on-going training, its status now and where it is anticipated to go in the future.

Sales Force Effectiveness is designed to help publishers, suppliers and investors understand the challenges facing the industry.

Highlights include:

• The profile of the publishers’ sales staff as it evolves from sales rep to media consultant.
• Meeting the challenges of hiring sales reps in today’s changing industry.
• The ongoing training challenges facing publishers and how they are met.
• The impact on profits as the industry evolves not only from sales rep to media consultant but from print to online.
• A segment by segment look at the industry by revenue, market share, comparison to other media, ad rates and CPMs and national vs. local revenue.
• Profiles of key publishers including incumbent and independent.