AMG / Harold Morgenstern — sales call prep
The One Thing
This is a prospect-qualification call you've been chasing for years. ES.tv is part of Allen Media Group — the same company you couldn't crack via Darren Olive in 2018 and 2024. Now the President of National Ad Sales is the one who asked for the meeting. Harold's email made clear he wants a private, customized AMG-only course — not the open enrollment — and he wants to negotiate rate, day, and time. Don't sell the open course. Treat this as a custom-engagement scoping call. Listen for scope, head count, and timing.
What Harold actually said he wants
From his April 8 email to Christine, Harold's questions and asks were specific.
Vetting you
"What is his background, what qualifies him as an expert, what references can he provide?" He's done his homework — already mentioned your website schedule (Mondays 2:30–3:30 ET).
Audience structure
Whether the course is AMG-exclusive or shared with other companies. He wants exclusive.
Format
Open to virtual but flagged willingness to discuss in-person.
Time slot
"Not keen on the 2:30–3:30 PM Monday slot. It keeps us off the street for the majority of those afternoons." He wants flexibility on day/time.
Scale
"I would be interested in the 4 week AI course so all can attend just need to negotiate rate, day time etc." "All can attend" means the entire national sales team, not 5 people.
Who Harold is
Harold Morgenstern
President, National Advertising Sales & Partnerships · Allen Media Group / ES.tv
| Cell | 917.239.9553 |
| harold@es.tv | |
| Office | 1330 6th Ave, 6th Floor, NYC |
Tone in email: Direct, somewhat skeptical, decisive. Used phrases like "what qualifies him as an expert" and "all the fun stuff." Deal guy, not procurement guy. Trusts Christine but doing his own diligence.
Context flag from Christine (4/16)
AMG had a "whirlwind weekend" — their new EVP of Sales (hired in December) just left to return to his old company. Harold may be running things lean. Don't probe, but if he raises team turbulence, listen.
About Allen Media Group / ES.tv
- Byron Allen's holding company. Owns The Weather Channel (where Christine sits), Allen Media Broadcasting (~36 ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX local stations), and the ES.tv cable network family (Comedy.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, Pets.TV, Recipe.TV, MyDestination.TV, JusticeCentral.TV).
- National ad sales sells across all those properties — broadcast, cable, weather, streaming. Linear + CTV + digital.
- Long backstory: You've been trying to crack this company since 2018 via Darren Olive (then at Crackle/Sony, later moved to ES.tv). Christine introed you to Darren in April 2024. Darren ghosted after two follow-ups. This is the second swing at AMG via Christine — and this time the President is pulling the rope.
Christine's role on the call
Christine asked to be on the call ("Yes please!"). She's your inside champion — already vouched for you (cited the Fox News course and Joe Dellegrazie/Discovery as references in her email to Harold). Let her warm-open if she wants. She knows your work. Don't pitch over her.
Email thread substance (Apr 8–28)
Suggested opening
"Harold — thanks for making time. Christine's caught me up on what you're thinking, and I want to use the next 30 minutes to learn about your team and what you're trying to solve, and then we can figure out together whether a custom build for AMG makes sense. To start — tell me about the team. How many sellers, what are they selling, and what's the gap that prompted this?"
Don't lead with credentials. He'll ask. Be ready, but make him ask.
Questions to ask Harold
- How many sellers are on the national team, and what's the mix — linear, CTV, digital, integrated?
- What's the AI gap you're seeing? Are they not using AI at all, or using it badly?
- Who's your toughest competitor right now in the room — who's eating your lunch on pitches?
- If we did this in-person, would you want it in NYC at 1330 6th, or somewhere off-site?
- What's the timeline pressure? Trying to ramp the team before upfronts? Before fall sales?
If he asks about background / references
Christine already gave him: Fox, Disney, NBC Universal, Roku, BET, Paramount, AMC, A&E. Add live: Cadent (current cohort), Hallmark Media (current), Kargo (current). You led the 8-week Digital Sales course at Fox News (Christine's reference). Joe Dellegrazie at Discovery is also a name-drop. Reference offer: "Happy to put you in touch with anyone on that list."
Pricing frame (for your head, not to quote yet)
The open course is $599/person. Harold wants private, custom, all-team. Don't quote a price on this call. Promise a tailored proposal within ~5 days based on what you learn. Typical custom engagements with named clients (Fox, Disney, AMC, Cadent) have run $20K–$130K+ in your historical books. The size of AMG's national sales team will drive the right number.
Materials to have open
- Your AI-Powered Seller course outline (4 sessions, R-C-T-F framework, real-account exercises) — for reference if he asks what gets covered
- Client logo list — Fox, Disney, NBCU, AMC, Cadent, Hallmark, Paramount, Roku, A&E, BET, Kargo
- stevengolus.com/aisales — he's already seen your site
Watch-outs
Don't sell the open course
He's been clear he doesn't want the public version. Selling it would feel tone-deaf.
Don't over-discount
He led with "negotiate rate" — buyer's opening move. Hold your ground; a private all-team session is meaningfully more than 10× the per-seat price.
Don't promise the Mondays 2:30 slot
He told you in writing he doesn't want it. Custom = his time.
EVP-departure context
If he brings up the team being short-handed or in flux, listen. Don't pitch around it. Empathize.
What "win" looks like coming out of this call
- You know the team size and shape (sellers + leaders + planners?).
- You know the format he wants (in-person vs. virtual, where, how many sessions).
- You have a timeline ("we want to do this in June" vs. "no rush").
- You have a verbal yes to send a tailored proposal within a week.
- Christine ends the call still happy — she made this happen and she's your repeat referral channel.