Hi. I’m Doug Lessells. On behalf of everyone at SalesFuel, we welcome you to this month’s featured Sell Smarter Award, where we honor excellence in media sales.

John Canfield of The Olympian is no stranger to success. After having won a Sell Smarter award in Q4 of 2018, he recently went on to close a sale with an even bigger payoff. Canfield approached the largest real estate company in the area in an effort to increase their online presence. In the past, the company had struggled to rein in print advertising costs, spending upwards of $5,000 a month. According to Canfield, they were already “very engaged and eager to explore new digital advertising options.” 

Canfield pitched them on targeted digital advertising that promoted local open houses and showed them how to utilize email blasts to drum up more interest from new and existing clients. In doing so, the company would not only cut costs on traditional modes of advertising, they would also have a more targeted, efficient way to reach their audience. 

The campaign consisted of targeted digital display ads, along with targeted digital, Tru-​View, and Facebook videos. It also comprised search engine marketing and monthly email blasts to 65,000 recipients. As a result, the client agreed to a deal totaling nearly $101,000 over 14 months. 

According to the company, the ROI has been well worth the investment, with already noticeable results from the email blasts. In fact, the client was so pleased that they’re reportedly looking to redo the contract with an all-​digital platform.

Congratulations to John, along with the other Sell Smarter Award recipients: Cota Walls of the Statesville Record & Landmark, and Leah Harrelson of the Hickory Daily Record.