Comments on: Forbes Moves On Print/Web Merger; Wall Comes Down For Sales Teams; Editorial Combo Completed By ’09 http://paidcontent.org/2008/11/18/419-forbes-moves-on-print-web-merger-wall-comes-down-for-sales-teams-editor/ The economics of digital content Fri, 13 Dec 2013 18:54:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Brian Quinn http://paidcontent.org/2008/11/18/419-forbes-moves-on-print-web-merger-wall-comes-down-for-sales-teams-editor/#comment-64769 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:59:19 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2008/11/18/419-forbes-moves-on-print-web-merger-wall-comes-down-for-sales-teams-editor/#comment-64769 Tim,

Not sure what your background is, but your take on this is just wrong. Most ad sales organizations pay their reps (digital or print) based on what % they grow their business, not on the overall revenue of their existing assignment. So, a magazine with a growth budget of +5% and a companion web site with +20%… should pay their respective reps the same amount if they achieve those specific growth goals. Also, there has been a lot more pressure to pay digital reps more in this environment, since they are being recruited more heavily.

As for this move by Forbes… it's so very 2004!!

BQ

]]> By: Tim http://paidcontent.org/2008/11/18/419-forbes-moves-on-print-web-merger-wall-comes-down-for-sales-teams-editor/#comment-64768 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:50:07 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2008/11/18/419-forbes-moves-on-print-web-merger-wall-comes-down-for-sales-teams-editor/#comment-64768 Combining sales forces is admirable, but given a weak market overall, how do you solve the discrepancy between print and online rates? That's been the problem all along — who wants to sell online when the commissions on print are soooooooo much greater?

This move would seem to push online toward a permanent "value add" situation, which doesn't bode well for its future.

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