An AE has sent this and has given me permission to share it with you - but asked that we not share name, station, market, etc. 

In one of the Selling in a Tough Economy webinars, he'd heard about Mega-Churches as an emerging category and decided to give it a spin. He's in a market with mega-churches on most corners. He did a couple things.

• Searched Yellow Pages and Google.
• Looked them on the web and found which had the largest congregations. (read: Potential Budget)
• He also looked at which were the most aggressive at building membership.
• He also subscribed to www.YourChurch.net and found a goldmine of talking points.
• He developed a script for getting past the gatekeepers. (Mega-Churches have Pastor Protectors - the Executive Assistant. These are Gatekeepers with a capital "G".)
• Saying he's privy to new ideas for building congregations (true) he lined up a dozen calls.
• The first three had tepid results because he didn't know how to package a product for them.
• The next three were much warmer because he could now talk their language and had a better knowledge of their goals.
• Then he had an idea of what they were trying to accomplish and qualified them on budget.(They ALL had enough spending power for us.)
• Because of all that homework above, the last six calls were bona fide Miracles.

$100,000+ from four churches. He told me that there are another three in the warm-to-hot category. Recession?

I'm deluged with resumes and really want to help folks get a gig. However, some of those resumes (even with excellent experience) will actually prevent the authors from ever getting employed anywhere. In the coming weeks I'll share some of the best and worst. By "Best" I mean those that caught my attention and therefore the possibility of employment.

By "Worst" well, here's one, an e-mail with a Word .doc attachment. "I'm one of the victims of the Clear Channel purge. My resume is attached. If you hear of anything send it along. I'd appreciate it."

If you're going to try to get a job in this economy, it's a good idea to use every selling skill and NTR skill you've ever learned. If you send an attachment, make sure it's a PDF not a Word .doc. Print it on different colored paper. If an e-mail, make it fun. Have a link to your video on YouTube. Send a link to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages. Attach a cartoon. Don't bitch about your company or the broadcasting business  - nobody wants to hear it. Better, don't just send just a resume. A resume goes on the back of a Killer Intro Letter. Start with a big, bold, Helvetica headline like this . . .
.
BULLETIN: WHO'D BELIEVE IT? MIRCALES OF MIRACLES. MARY SMITH IS AVAILABLE TO WORK ON YOUR SALES TEAM. MARY WILL BE CALLING YOU TOMORROW. IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY! GO BUY A LOTTERY TICKET. NEVER MIND. IF YOU TAKE HER CALL AND SET UP AN INTERVIEW - SHE'LL BRING YOUR LOTTERY TICKET WITH HER.

There's another where the applicant used Photoshop to put himself shaking hands with Warren Buffett and another showing him getting a pat on the back from Bill Gates. Caption: I Call on Decision-Makers Only. Those were followed by another showing him in front of Fort Knox. Caption: I do so much billing you'll need to rent space here.

If you're going to look for a job in THIS economy - and you don't stand out from the pack - you're chances are mighty slime. Show that you know something about advertising and selling. YOU are the product.