AAUP 2016: Maximize Your International Sales (J. Lawrence-Hurt)
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These slides are from Jessica Lawrence-Hurt as part of "Maximize Your International Sales" at AAUP 2016 in Philadelphia, PA.
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AAUP 2016: Maximize Your International Sales (J. Lawrence-Hurt)
- 1. Maximize Your International Sales AAUP Annual Meeting June 17, 2016 Jessica Lawrence-Hurt The MIT Press International & Institutional Sales & Marketing Manager jclh@mit.edu
- 2. Where I’m Coming From…. MIT Press: Publishes 200 books and 31 journals/year London office since 1969 – focuses on marketing/publicity 40% book sales are export Sales rep group with three other UPs for UK/Europe, ME, Africa Commission reps on the ground throughout the world I’ve spent 15 years in publishing; 1.5 in current role
- 3. “International sales” is not one-size-fits-all Decide where you want to start and why Some territories are already large, stable markets, but flat or declining Others have high rates of growth, but are still small (and may require a lot of work) Some regions have multiple high-quality agencies, others have few Every market has different opportunities: libraries, text adoptions, trade books Well-illustrated books are always a plus You’re probably already selling some books internationally – global sourcing is real! 50% of MITP sales through Ingram are international
- 4. UK/Ireland Aside from Canada (you’re selling into Canada, right?), this really makes the most sense to start with intl sales: 5th largest publishing market, speaks English (but don’t think you won’t need to customize your marketing materials!) Multiple, reputable options for rep groups Cautiously optimistic growth: in 2015, for the first time in four years, UK sales of printed books rose slightly, by 0.4 percent, from £2.748 billion to £2.760 billion. In 2015, total sales in the British book and publishing industry rose from £3.311 to £3.314 billion Digital sales flat, unchanged at 17% In terms of categories, academic/reference books hold the lead with 32%, then children’s (24%) and textbooks (17%) Multiple reputable options for representation and distribution Cautiously optimistic growth – as in US, indies are seeing slow growth, even as library budgets continue to decline Bertrams and Gardners largest wholesalers; export all over Europe
- 5. AUSTRALIA Language is a plus! Strong ties to UK book market Shipping hurts financially… POD can help Currency in crisis University bookstores (Coops) becoming like American stores
- 6. Europe Each individual country has own language, culture, education systems – but EU eases import/export Many differences country to country: N. Europe typically reads a lot of English-language books, sales are healthy in Scandinavia and Germany; S. Europe dealing with more economic turmoil and smaller English-reading audience
- 7. CHINA Probably the most exciting market right now – but also the most daunting – market grew 10% in 2014; totaled $8 billion in 2013 1.5 billion people; 300 million learning English; 32% under age 24 ESL, business, computer science, health, self-help most popular categories Essential to have someone on the ground who speaks the language and can travel Have to work with an importer to get books into country: key ones are CEPIEC, CNPIEC, Shanghai Book Traders are largest; will screen materials for “appropriateness” prior to importing – this can slow things down Textbooks still highly used and students will buy them – MITP has had adoption success
- 8. JAPAN Very traditional market, relationship-oriented Relatively small % who buy English-language books Translation of marketing materials a big plus – many buyers don’t speak English Amazon is big player here, but they’ve cut back in recent years Maruzen and Kinokuniya are major bookstores English-language textbooks rarely used at undergrad level Art books work if heavily illustrated; linguistics and neuroscience does well Libraries used to buy HC if both HC and PB available; now mostly buy PB – library budgets being cut, aging population, universities are closing
- 9. SE ASIA Small markets, but growing rapidly English is one of four official languages Malaysia smaller but some success with course adoptions Many book dealers, not always scrupulous Require very high discounts and free freight
- 10. Latin America, or, What happened to Brazil? Brazil was the B in BRIC – high hopes 200 million people Poor infrastructure and book distribution channels Require high discounts, free freight Since World Cup, government not paying its bills – majority of education spending comes from government Mexico is where it’s at!
- 11. Middle East MITP sells mainly through textbook adoptions, and in more advanced subjects Some libraries have received massive amounts of funding to grow large collections, which some UPs have benefited from Continues to grow, although still relatively small Many differences country to country: Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt all have relatively stable book distribution infrastructures Censorship is an issue
- 12. Africa While book markets are more robust than many think – Nigeria’s is in the billions of dollars – the distribution infrastructure if very different – sellers will spread out their wares on sidewalks – and very low prices are required – 60-65% discounts South Africa a small, isolated market Libraries seeing modest budget growth
- 13. India Large, and young, population with desire for education Currently, library funds haven’t been released from central purchasing (new government, desire to stem corruption), so core market for UPs is hurting Require 60-65% discounts at least Piracy and reimportation are significant issues
- 14. It’s a BIG world Start small and build over time Match your list to the country’s interest and English-speaking abilities Ask questions of other UPs – we like to talk! Contact multiple rep groups, if possible, to interview: you will learn a lot
- 15. Maximize your international sales - a checklist Stephen Lustig: Business Development Director, Eurospan Group stephen.lustig@eurospangroup.com www.eurospangroup.com www.eurospanbookstore.com AAUP Conference, Philadelphia 17th June 2016
- 17. Five key components of an international sales strategy 1. International interest in my books 2. Marketing to end-users and resellers 3. Sales: end-users, resellers and sales reps 4. Distribution 5. Revenue Contract everything out? – or do all, or some, of the above myself?
- 18. International interest in my books 1. Is the content too US-centric? 2. Benchmarking and comparisons 3. Co-editions and foreign language rights
- 19. Marketing – it’s all about discoverability 1. Promotion and publicity 2. Metadata 3. Authors 4. Reviews 5. Textbook adoptions 6. Conferences 7. Trade book fairs 8. Imprint profile
- 20. Sales: end-users, resellers and sales reps Resellers 1. Terrestrial and online booksellers 2. Title information 3. Cross-border selling 4. When is a US sale not a US sale? 5. The “A” word Sales reps 1. Title knowledge 2. Feedback to the publisher 3. Critical mass of titles in a subject 4. Publisher’s expectations 5. Management
- 21. Distribution 1. Consignment or firm purchase 2. Currency and payments 3. Shipping 4. Print on demand
- 22. Revenue 1. Currency 2. Discounts 3. Bad debt risk 4. Business models: agents, reps and distributors
- 23. • The market for University Press titles can read English • They will only buy my books if they know they exist • The buying process for end users and resellers has to be easy
- 24. Maximize Your International Sales: How to launch or revamp your international sales program Brian MacDonald, University of Toronto Press June 17, 2016
- 25. My background / My press University of Toronto Press • Founded in 1901 • Largest and oldest university press in Canada • Publish 200 books a year in humanities, social sciences, & business • US warehouse opened in 1968 in Buffalo, NY • International sales = 63% of total sales (13% overseas sales) Me – Sales and Marketing Manager • MBA grad majoring in marketing and international business • Been working in marketing and sales management for over 5 years (when hired) • First job in book publishing
- 26. How to launch or revamp your international sales program • How to evaluate current reps • What to focus on – what territories? • How to find sales reps • How to evaluate prospective reps
- 27. How to launch or revamp your international sales program • Replacing stagnant reps • How to manage international sales reps • Other resources – AAUP, Livres Canada Books
- 28. What we did • Improved sales rep responsiveness • Expanded sales coverage • How your sales reps can help beyond presenting your titles
- 29. How well did it work? • International sales results (2012-2016) • International Sales – increased by 57% • Overseas Sales – increased by 83% • UK and Europe Sales – increased by 38% • China – CNPIEC – sales increased by 3,700%! • China – CEPIEC – sales increased by 44,000%!! • What worked / what didn’t work
- 30. My Background/My Press NYU Press Founded in 1916 (it’s our centenary!) Publish 120 titles/year in humanities and social science International sales = 10% overall sales in print, 7% digital Me: Sales and Marketing Director With NYU 6 years Previous international sales at OUP (10 years), CUP (3 years), Random House (3 years) NYU international sales 2% in 2010
- 31. Unforced Errors Titles matter Price and discount do, too Don’t forget about Canada! Make your titles available Find a good partner
- 32. Questions? Jessica Lawrence-Hurt: jclh@mit.edu Stephen Lustig: stephen.lustig@eurospangroup.com Brian MacDonald: bmacdonald@utpress.utoronto.ca Mary Beth Jarrad marybeth.jarrad@nyu.edu
Editor's Notes
- In this presentation, I would like to share my experience with revamping our international sales program, what I learned from it, and what came out of it. So I think this presentation will be most useful to anyone new in the role as sales or marketing manager, or for marketing managers at a smaller press that is looking to expand their international sales coverage.
- First, for context, I thought I would provide you with some background information about me and my press. University of Toronto Press was founded in 1901 and our US warehouse opened in 1968 in Buffalo, New York, so the press has been actively marketing and selling our books internationally for a long time, many decades before I started working at the press. As a Canadian publisher, international sales are very important. In fact, 63% of our total sales are international sales, if you include sales to the US. Not including sales to the US, 13% of our total sales are overseas sales (comprising sales to Europe, Asia, South America, and so on. So international sales is critical to the success and survival of University of Toronto Press. As for me, I started this role as Sales and Marketing Manager about five years ago now. I came to this role with an MBA in marketing and international business, so I saw an opportunity when I started to increase our international sales. Although this was my first job in book publishing, I had been working in marketing and sales management for about 5 years at that time, and I was excited to apply my education and experience to overhauling or revamping our international sales program.
- How to evaluate current reps – Sales performance – growing, steady, or shrinking? Check sales reports - getting orders for your new frontlist titles? Communication – how often do you hear from them? Once a week or once a year? Are they hard to reach? How long does it take for them to get back to you? Do they send you reports on their activity and the state of their territory? What to focus on – If no international sales reps – start with biggest opportunities – UK, Europe, Canada/USA. Or, look for fill holes in current coverage – Asia, Latin America, etc. How to find sales reps – Look at your peers, other university presses. Look in the back of their catalogues. Call or email other UP sales managers – ask their advice. Ask your sales reps for their recommendations. Go to international book fairs – Frankfurt, London, BEA – set up meetings with prospective reps. How to evaluate prospective reps – What is their online presence? Do they have a website? – is it 10 years old or more? How long have they been in business? How big is their team? Check their references – talk to their client publishers. Are they are good fit for your list – other scholarly publishers? How many clients do they have – too many? Ask the sales reps how well they think your books will do in their territory. Most sales reps will be pretty frank and honest about the prospects for your books in their territory. Most reps will tell you if they don’t think your list in a good fit for their agency or that territory.
- Replacing stagnant reps – Dig out their sales representation contract with you. Plan ahead – you may need to provide notice as per your contract – 4-6 months. Can you reach them? How to manage international sales reps – Meet them in-person regularly, at least once a year. If you can’t travel to them, arrange meetings at an international book fair – BEA, Frankfurt, London, AAUP. Review the sales reports closely, by transaction. Keep them updated on publicity news, big ad placements. Supplementary materials – subject catalogues, etc. Other resources – AAUP – guide to Hiring and Evaluating Sales Representatives, Livres Canada Books – guide to Exporting Academic and Scholarly Books, country guides, etc.
- Finally, I’d like to give an overview of how we overhauled our international sales program at University of Toronto Press and how well it worked. Before starting this initiative we had some international sales reps that had totally fallen out of communication with us. We couldn’t reach them by email, by phone, they had no online presence at all. Our sales in those territories were very low. Those reps were listed in our catalogue but we knew that they were basically not making any efforts to promote our titles. All of those stagnant reps are gone now. we added new sales reps in China, new distributor for India, and replaced reps for Australia and Southeast Asia. All our international sales groups now are actively promoting our titles and stay in regular communication with us. Our best sales reps we hear from on a regular, almost weekly basis. In my experience, the best sales reps do more than just present your titles to their local accounts, rather they work to solve problems that may be impeding our sales in that territory. For example, help with setting up local POD, metadata feeds, publicity, delinquent accounts, etc. In our case, …
- International sales results – Overall, from 2012 to 2016, our international sales increased 57% and our overseas sales (not including the US) increased 83%. Over the same period, our sales to the UK and Europe increased 38%. In China, our 2 biggest customers are CNPIEC and CEPIEC. Over that period, our sales to CNPIEC increased 3,700% and our sales to CEPIEC increased 44,000%!! What worked – focusing on China. Hiring a new sales rep for China providing a big boost to our international sales. In addition to regularly meeting with my China sales rep at Frankfurt and BEA, now I regularly meet with representatives from CNPIEC and CEPIEC. This year, we will be exhibiting our books at the Beijing International Book Fair for the first time (through our local sales rep). What didn’t work – our Australia sales rep fired us as a client. We were left with no representation there for over 6 months. Australia is still a market that’s a struggle for us. Our Middle East sales rep fired us as a client. The Middle East is still a territory where we don’t have any sales coverage. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into boosting sales in some international territories and didn’t see much return. So, overall, focusing on our international sales was totally worthwhile. I strongly recommend focusing more effort on this, particularly to the huge and growing Chinese market.