After a hectic day there is nothing better than settling in on the couch with a big blanket, a hot cup of tea and an “Antiques Roadshow” marathon.

Did that statement just age me 100 years? I don’t care, it’s the truth. Listen, I love to work hard and play harder, but as I inch into my 40s that’s not possible without at least one “Antiques Roadshow” night a week.
Fellow viewers of the show can attest how much fun it is to watch people learn the history — and value — of their treasures. Sometimes family heirlooms, sometimes random estate or garage sale finds, the items featured vary greatly as does the value of these items. I especially like the re-run episodes that update the viewer on the current value of an item in comparison to what it was estimated at during filming. It’s fun to see what items hold their value and what items fluctuate with time.
I thought of this concept during our sales meeting last week as the team talked about building value. Advertising Director Pete Clinton asked the group prior to meeting to watch a video on the topic by Ryan Dohrn, a well-known, Emmy-winning sales professional and speaker.
In the video, Dohrn breaks down his three steps to building value when working with clients, especially price-driven clients. After all, price and value are different things — a lesson easily learned on “Antiques Roadshow.” The price of an item is what someone paid for it. The value is what they actually got. They may have paid $30 for a ripped movie poster, but the value is much higher given that they received a King Kong poster done by a well-known Italian graphic artist, making it valued at $6,000.
Building value is a vital step in building your brand. Each interaction you and your team have with a client is a chance to grow and strengthen your brand. Even if a client doesn’t buy from an initial interaction, the seeds of your brand have been planted and, with the right care, can grow.
Keeping that in mind, here are Dohrn’s three steps along with our team’s thoughts on applying these steps and, in turn, building the value of print advertising in a View Newspaper Group product, sponsoring one of our events or joining us as a brand client.
Dohrn explains that when talking to a client about your product you will first, Give the feature(s).
Features of a View Newspaper Group newspaper include that it’s locally-owned, locally-connected, trusted, includes local news, features, sports, photos and is delivered for little or no cost into a reader’s mailbox. It’s a tangible product and, thanks to our company’s growth, our clients can reach readers in 13 counties throughout the state of Michigan through our 21 newspapers.
In addition, our team produces signature fundraising events and we specialize in branding, writing, graphic design and direct-mail, providing our clients lots of avenues in which to deliver their brand and message to consumers.
Dohrn warns that a lot of sales professionals stop there, hoping to close a sale by features alone. Don’t stop there.
Instead enact the next step, give the bridge to value. You’ll hear a bridge to value phrase a lot on “Antiques Roadshow.” After an appraiser gives his or her initial description of an item they’ll say “what this means is …” That’s a great bridge to value.
Here’s another one: “Our community newspapers are locally-owned, direct-mailed and full of local content, and what that means to you is …”
Next is where Dohrn’s final step comes in, it’s time to explain the benefit(s) of using or buying your product.
Putting a marketing message in our one or more of our newspapers means a client’s message will be seen by our readers who have disposable income, are engaged in their community and want to buy from local resources. That marketing message is next to informative and entertaining content and, thanks to the nature of a newspaper, a customer can absorb the advertising message in a more natural way versus a pushed, invasive message via a digital platform.
Sponsoring one of our events connects a client’s brand to a fun event supporting a worthy cause in our community.
Whether through a newspaper advertising message, an event sponsorship or branding project, the biggest benefit our clients get when they work with View Newspaper Group is a chance to work side-by-side with our team. We are experienced experts in our field, we’re resourceful, we’re prompt, we’re polite, we’re professional and we’re a lot of fun. (Don’t let my “Antiques Roadshow” fandom fool you.)
How do you build value for your customers? Email me at ecaswell@mihomepaper.com.

Emily Caswell is the Brand Manager for VIEW Group, the branding division of View Newspaper Group.