THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994 TAG: 9406040244
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RUSTY DENNEN, THE FREE-LANCE STAR
DATELINE: 940604 LENGTH: STAFFORD, VA.
In their own ways, say Gerhard and Laura Gschwandtner, they are salespeople of uncanny ability.
{REST} The Gschwandtners, (pronounced ``Shwantner') who live in Stafford County, publish Personal Selling Power magazine, the nation's largest business-specialty journal for people who sell for a living.
Over the years, Personal Selling Power has methodically clawed its way to the top of the heap in a competitive industry, with a formula that has worked well: a dash of celebrity, fundamentals and a dollop of how-to tips ranging from dressing to rating the latest sales-motivitation seminars.
Editor Laura Gschwandtner interviewed Cleese, one of the ringmasters of Monty Python's Flying Circus, for a story a few years back.
``He's very tall, about 6-5, professional, bright, incisive,'' she said.
Cleese, an Englishman, talked about his work in the irreverent Python troupe, his TV series, ``Fawlty Towers,'' and movie, ``A Fish Called Wanda.''
With each project, she said, he went beyond just doing his homework. ``He worked on Fawlty Towers scripts for a year and a half'' before they aired, she said.
The point: People in sales can learn plenty from actors: how to look good and be persuasive - and Cleese's specialty, body language.
The actor's U.S. fans probably don't realize Cleese is a heavyweight in the sales-motivation business. A few years back, he sold Video Arts, the training-film company he co-founded in 1972, for millions.
The May/June issue also deals with actors. It profiles Jack Lemmon, Marlon Brando, Michelle Pfeiffer and Daryl Hannah - and how they sell themselves.
There's also an interview Gerhard Gschwandtner did with Schwarzkopf; a profile on Lillian Vernon, architect of the mail-order empire; and the results of the magazine's survey on telemarketing.
The magazine began as an idea in 1978. Gerhard Gschwandtner, a native of Austria, was working as a sales manager for a construction equipment firm when the company closed. He decided to work on his own, instructing others how to sell.
By 1981, Gerhard Gschwandtner Associates' newsletter began drawing paid subscribers. Circulation grew, color and graphics were added, and in 1989, the publication switched to its present format.
Personal Selling Power now has an 83,000 audited paid circulation per issue; 74,000 copies are distributed free. The Gschwandtners' company has 18 employees, and the company is free of debt. Gross sales in 1993 were about $4 million.
You won't find stories on corporate shenanigans, or exposes on the seamy side of sales. But some issues do have an edge. The November/December 1993 issue, for example, plumbed a topic that struck a nerve around the country: women in selling, and why more have not made it to the upper echelons of the business. The package featured women managers from Xerox, Allstate and General Electric.
``We're really in the business of helping people improve,'' said Gerhard, 51, the publisher and business manager. ``We don't want to publish anything that is not received in a positive way.''
Laura, 48, added, ``We've created something that's easy, fun to read. People call to say, `I'm not in sales, but when I finish reading, I feel good that I can do things.'''
by CNB