Book excerpt: This media sales primer serves as a step-by-step manual to assist students in attaining sales proficiency and confidence. The author employs a practical, hands-on approach, enabling readers to develop valuable professional and interpersonal skills and to improve their options for obtaining sales positions. Underwriting 101 covers the activities involved in sales work, such as developing sales kits and presentations, handling objections, writing proposals, closing, and preparing underwriting announcements. Role-playing, sales promotion, résumé preparation, and interviewing are also covered. Special features include: *materials needed to teach the 15 week course, including a syllabus, calls schedule, positioning worksheet, sample proposals, sample résumé, sample cover letter, and course evaluation; *comments from former students who have secured sales positions upon completion of the course; *underwriting announcement guidelines for FCC conformation; and *a guide to Internet research tools for sales presentation enhancement. Intended for upper-level students in radio or broadcast sales courses, Underwriting 101 will be useful to sales instructors with or without sales experience. It is also appropriate for use in college radio stations, as a resource for sales departments.