Job description: Central America Report (CAR) Sales & Marketing Agent

I. SALES AND MARKETING

Position: CAR sales and marketing agent

Department: Central America Report

Working hours : 8:30 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:30

Lunch break : 13:00 to 14:00

II. JOB DESCRIPTION

Who we are and why our sales and marketing team is so important:

Inforpress Centroamericana and its sister publication Central America Report (CAR) are not-for-profit publications. We have provided independent and in-depth analysis on current affairs in Central America for 35 years. The key to our editorial independence is the fact that we do not sell advertising space and we do not receive any funding from NGOs or charities. We rely solely on our subscribers which is why the role of our sales and marketing agents is so important. Without you, Inforpress could simply not sustain itself, regardless of how good our product is.

Salary:

Your salary will be commission-based, which means that your income will depend on the number of sales you can generate. As your commission is paid in US dollars, if you're good at selling you could earn more than the editorial staff. You will also have free accommodation (a small, furnished room with a private bathroom), use of the office kitchen and personal use of the internet outside office hours .

As a CAR sales and marketing agent you will be expected to:

• Carry out reader surveys to assess whether our readers are satisfied with the products we offer and raise awareness of new products and services

• Use the internet and other sources to compile lists of potential CAR readers in English-speaking countries. This includes research centres, universities, academics, embassies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government departments and agencies, chambers of commerce etc…

• Contact potential subscribers and offer them CAR products and services

• Record names and dates of current customers and potential customers contacted on ther CAR database

• Chase up subscribers who have failed to renew their subscription

• Attend events to promote CAR services and products

• Source new sales and marketing agents to build up a strong sales team.

• Produce weekly and monthly sales reports. These should be brief and should include a breakdown of your activities and results achieved. (E.g. Called 50 subscribers. Emailed 70 potential subscribers. Results: Completed CAR survey/ Obtained 15 new subscriptions – detail price of each subscription)

• Liaise with the CAR coordinator, Louisa Reynolds and InFocus Strategic Business Consulting, a sales and marketing consulting company that has designed a detailed and comprehensive sales and marketing strategy for Inforpress.

What we look for in our sales & marketing agents:

As a CAR sales and marketing agent you must be:

• Well aware of who we are and the range of products and services we offer

• Outgoing, cheerful, confident and enthusiastic. Remember that when you contact a subscriber or potential subscriber you are representing Inforpress so you need to be polite, friendly and demonstrate the ability to build a good rapport with the customer.

• Very motivated. Selling Inforpress is very different from selling mobile phones. You need to appreciate the importance of our organization and be very motivated. Selling our products isn't always easy as you're targeting a niche market. You'll need to be hard-working and persistent.

• Organized and punctual. Remember that you will be required to log all your calls and emails on our database.

Trial Period:

All Inforpress staff have a two months trial period. During this time, you will be closely observed and your ability to meet targets as well as your commitment and hard work will be assessed. The latter is very important. If a sales & marketing agent misses his/her targets slightly but proves to be very dedicated and hard-working (arrives early, makes lots of call, is really keen) then the trial period can be extended in exceptional cases if the employee shows potential.

Translating & Writing for CAR:

Some of our CAR sales and marketing agents are keen to translate for CAR or write their own articles. It is possible to move sideways from the sales and marketing department if a) your Spanish is good enough to handle interviews in Spanish; b) you have met your sales targets and have demonstrated a true commitment to Inforpress by working hard c) you have demonstrated a strong grasp of Central American current affairs. It is therefore very important that you read local newspapers and magazines on a daily basis so that you are aware of what's going on and can pitch good ideas to your editor d) A vacancy arises in the editorial department. Inforpress has quite a high turnover as many of our English speaking staff return to their countries of origin after one or two years.

If we decide that you can move to the editorial department, you will be expected to fill help the CAR editor fill the vacancy by placing adverts on relevant websites or contacting universities that might have suitable graduates for the job.

Freelancing for other publications:

Many English-speaking staff freelance for other publications, translate or teach English to earn some extra cash or to get the opportunity to write while they're working in sales. This is fine by us, provided you do it outside your working hours.

Holidays:

All Inforpress staff are entitled to a one week Easter holiday and a two week Christmas break (usually the last two weeks of December). Guatemala also has many Bank Holidays (Army Day on June 30, the Day of the Ascension of the Virgin on August 15, Independence Day on September 15 and many others). Foreign staff are also allowed a one month unpaid holiday as Inforpress realizes that those who live far from home need to spend time with their families, especially if they're planning to stay in Guatemala for several years. If you are planning to take a month off you'll be expected to a) inform the board of coordinators ( consejo de coordinadores ) in advance and in writing of the dates when you intend to leave; b) either do some work from abroad OR find an intern to replace you; c) choose a suitable time for your holiday. As you can imagine, we can't all go on holiday at once so we all need to take it in turns.

Visas:

When you come to Guatemala you will be given a visa. No need to apply for this in advance, you'll get one when you arrive. After three months you need to go to the migration office and renew your visa. After that, you need to leave the country for 72 hours (you can only travel to Mexico , Costa Rica or Belize ). In practice you can simply cross the border and come back the same day. If you exceed your visa you'll be charged a Q10 per day fine when you leave the country. Please plan your trips in advance to avoid taking time off work.

House Rules:

So that we can all maintain a good working relationship we have established the following rules:

• The use of internet for personal use (checking emails, using MSN messenger, surfing the web etc...) should only be done outside office hours (before 8:30 am, during your lunch break or after 5:30pm)

• Inforpress is strapped for cash and we struggle every month to pay the bills and keep the company up and running. Please don't use the telephone for personal reasons. If, under exceptional circumstances, you need to make an urgent personal call and can't use your mobile phone or borrow a friend's, please make your call brief (2 minutes max)

• Please wash any plates, cups and cutlery you use in the kitchen. This applies to everyone, both day staff and those who live on the premises. This is for your benefit as the last thing you want is to work & live in a place infested with vermin!

• Please keep your room and bathroom clean and tidy. Again, this is for your own benefit. When you vacate the room at the end of your stay, you'll be expected to clean it

• Please look after the office equipment and be careful with the use of our limited resources. For example, use recycled paper whenever possible and don't print lots of sheets unless it's really necessary

• You have a one hour lunch break. Please do not exceed this time. Also, it's important to be punctual in the mornings

• You will be given a set of keys for the office. Please look after them. If you lose them you will be charged for a replacement set

• If you have visitors during evenings and weekends, please keep them in your room, kitchen area and back yard. Visitors cannot use the phone or office computers and should not enter the offices

• If you're ill and can't come to work, please call your department coordinator and the administrator, Ana Lucía Pérez

• If you're attending an event and won't be in the office, please inform your coordinator the day before or leave a message

• If you have a problem of any sort, please talk to your department coordinator, Louisa Reynolds or to the administrator Ana Lucía Pérez. We're here to help.

For further information, contact Louisa Reynolds, editor of Central America Report, louisa.reynolds@gmail.com