Salesperson, Anchorage
Todd Communications
This is a commissioned position, fulfilling wholesale orders of books, calendars and other printed materials in and around Anchorage, Alaska. The salesperson will be assigned a number of existing accounts as well as developing new accounts. Compensation is directly linked to the amount of effort you put in, with great potential to grow your sales and earnings.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Todd Communications is a 16-person publishing and wholesale book distribution company that has been growing consistently for 37 years. The company specializes in books and other print media about Alaska, including history, hunting, fishing, cookbooks, children’s books, Native lore, wildlife and biographies. The company is the exclusive wholesale distributor of the Milepost. Income is generated at Todd Communications in four major ways:
1. Wholesale sales of books, calendars, notecards, puzzles and other published products to stores throughout Alaska.
2. Alaska Directory of Attorneys – advertising, listings, and circulation, as well as e-mail lists and mailing labels of bar members.
3. International print brokering, consulting and production of custom printed materials.
4. Retail sales of products primarily through the mail on our website and Amazon.
Wholesale sales are critical to the performance and growth of the company. The salesperson’s role is to support and lead in the sales efforts of books and other print materials. Todd Communications warehouses and sells other publishers’ books as well as nearly 100 of its own. Sales in this area have excellent potential for growth. The salesperson should expect his or her role at Todd Communications to grow and develop over time.
Most of the salesperson’s time will be spent selling products published by Todd Communications and other publishers. A Todd Communications catalog showing the 2,500+ products sold by Todd Communications is available to give to customers.
Customers for Todd Communications’ products are diverse and are located throughout Alaska, Canada, the Lower 48 states and many countries throughout the world. Todd Communications has about 600 existing wholesale accounts, most of them located within Alaska. Customers include warehouse stores such as Costco, large retail stores such as Walmart and Barnes & Noble, as well as small gift shops along the highways in the more remote areas of Alaska including Skagway, Petersburg, Sitka, Dutch Harbor, Kodiak and Nome. Todd Communications has full-time salespeople and warehouses in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks. The Juneau salesperson handles sales in Southeast Alaska, while the Fairbanks salesperson handles sales in Fairbanks and Interior Alaska.
SPECIFIC DUTIES
The salesperson will be actively involved in selling to new and established customers. The salesperson will be given established accounts to take orders from and show new product to. The salesperson will be expected to build new accounts by calling on the phone, emailing and visiting in person.
A significant portion of the salesperson’s time should be spent out of the office visiting established customers to see if they require more products, merchandising and displaying those products and introducing them to products they have not carried in the past. Much of the time out of the office should be spent visiting new customers and businesses that do not currently purchase our products. Numerous times during the year, especially in the summer, the salesperson may be expected to take road trips, sometimes overnight, to communities outside Anchorage at times chosen by management so those communities and businesses along the road system can be covered in a timely fashion. The salesperson will be responsible for any expenses incurred during a road trip. These expenses are not reimbursable. Being familiar with stores that can carry Todd Communications’ products is essential and can only be learned if time is spent visiting businesses and staying observant on the road, as well as traveling throughout Anchorage. The normal sales commission of ten percent is liberal enough that it will cover travel expenses.
Todd Communications has a PC computer system and a custom-built database for our products. Each Anchorage-based salesperson will be assigned a computer. Training will be given to help the salesperson learn how to use the computer system/database to maximize their productivity. Salespeople are also responsible for delivering their sales.
COMPENSATION
Salespeople at Todd Communications must be willing to make a minimum commitment to the company of one year. After the end of one year of employment, the salesperson will be eligible to take two weeks’ vacation. After two years on the job, the salesperson will be eligible to take three weeks’ vacation.
Salespeople at Todd Communications will be assigned many accounts upon beginning work and will be paid commissions on revenues of product sales. Most products pay 10% commission but there are some that pay more and some less. Product commissions are all listed in our database. You will be paid twice a month on the 6th and 21st of each month.
Salespeople are hired under a 90-day probationary period during which Todd Communications management will review your performance.
We also have a sales position open in Juneau.
