Teacher-Friendly Textbook Marketing

Conducted for the Textbook Sales Teams of Ephesians Publishing

Cindy Cruz-Cabreraabout.me/cindycruzcabrera @cindycatz

Professor of English / Educational Therapist / Literacy Consultant / Gender Specialist /

(PhD) Media Anthropologist

Introduction of the Speaker(by the team manager)

• Teacher, educational therapist, band manager, volunteer, writer and mom.

• Taught at premier educational institutions, notably the UP College of Education/UPIS and the Ateneo De Manila University

• Professional and community pursuits include English tutorials and individualized intervention programs, talks and demo-lectures for schools and organizations including the Reading Association of the Philippines and others...

• Literacy project consultancy for Coke and Nestlé etc., adult education, telecollaborative language learning, storytelling and literacy campaigns for urban poor and street children, and literacy work for a women’s NGO.

• A textbook series consultant/editor, also wrote and edited for Petron, Ayala, Landbank, AES and others. She also wrote the international award-winning 2013 sustainability report for Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

• An academic | activist | classically-trained piano scholar with interests and advocacies in literacy, feminisms, media, development, popular culture, counterculture and anthropology,

• Has degrees in Secondary Education (English Literature and Language), Creative Writing (unfinished) and Women and Development Studies - all from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

• Now doing PhD in Media Studies and Anthropology

Workshop and Brainstorming Session

What do you enjoy most about textbook marketing?

What are the challenges of textbook marketing?

What do you think should a textbook marketer be able to do?

QualificationsSkills

Knowledge

What do teachers expect from a textbook?

• A design and layout that is pleasant to look at and easy to use

• A coverage of the subject matter in accordance with institutional mandates

• Correct, accurate and reliable information

• Features that help teachers in planning, teaching, giving classroom activities, and assigning homework

How well do you know your textbooks?

Activity:

Describe the book and its features

Convince your audience to buy!

What do teachers expect from a textbook marketer?

• You know all about your textbooks

• You can properly and adequately describe and discuss the features of the textbooks

• You can understand teachers’ concerns about the textbooks in relation to classroom teaching

• You can understand and relay

their feedback accurately

to the publisher

Your best marketing tool:

YOU

How do you invest in your best marketing tool?

Be PROACTIVE.

• Take an active role in decision-making for effectiveness

• Take control of the things within your control.

• To take responsibility for actions and consequences.

• Are you blame-oriented or solution-oriented?

Be a Professional.• What are the qualities of a professional?

• Be knowledgeable and ready to present it.

• Take the initiative to learn about what you do.

• Know your products.

• Keep yourself informed and updated.

• Be prepared to present your knowledge.

• PREPARE and PRACTICE.

Think WIN-WIN and work with others.

• Envision mutually beneficial solutions and relationships.

• Collaborate with your teammates.

• Plan and practice together.

• Consult with your supervisor / direct superior.

Situations

• During a school visit, the teachers ask for an overview on all the textbooks of your company before the descriptions about the individual books. Brainstorm and create this overview. Prepare to present it.

• You suddenly have the opportunity to talk about your company’s textbooks. However, you do not have the other textbooks with you. Decide on what to do and prepare your presentation.

• You are scheduled to give a short marketing talk to a group of 3 teachers about one textbook. When you arrive at the venue, you discover that there are 50 teachers teaching different subjects. They expect you to talk about the different textbooks after their principal delivers a 15-minute speech. Formulate a plan and a presentation.