Short Answer:
Hell no.

Long Answer:
This summer, Borrell Associates posted an article advocating a dedicated online salesforce for traditional media companies also selling online advertising. I adamantly disagree, and am shocked by their reasoning. They give two core justifications for their recommendation. I think both are invalid.

Assuming Cause & Effect
They say research backs up the two team theory. "Of those with reps dedicated exclusively to selling online products, 46% of the sites were making $1 million or more. Of those that relied solely on their print or broadcast reps, 14% of the sites were making $1 million or more." This is assuming cause & effect. A dedicated team means more revenue. But elsewhere in the article they say that those with a dedicated sales force can fire reps who don't make their sales goals. Meaning those with one team struggle with incentive and accountability. Hmmm. So is it a dedicated sales team that increases revenue or a good commission plan and real accountability? Did anyone actually ask that question?

First Step to Revenue Has to Be Compensation & Accountability
I absolutely agree with the concept that sales revenue is influenced by sales compensation and accountability. I realize it's not easy, but over the long run I think it makes more sense to build that into a current team's plan, rather than build a seperate, and according to Borrell, competing team.

Who Doesn't "Get It"?
The second justification Borrell gives for their dual competing team model is that traditional media sales people "don't get it". While they comment on the workload of the teams (quite right, actually), they go on to say this about the traditional media reps, "Our vice president of sales training, Bill Caudill, tells us that, after a training session, 30% of the reps “get it” and actually go out and sell online advertising. After three months, he says, half of them forget it." So,  2/3 of the traditional media reps who go through Bill's training still don't understand online advertising as they walk out the door. Wow. I agree that that is a huge problem. And of the 1/3 that do "get it" during his training, 1/2 "forget it" within a quarter. Oh yeah there's a problem, but probably not with the poor trainees. In my experience, if something is working for a sales person and it's putting money in their pocket, they don't mysteriously "forget it".

Traditional Media Reps CAN "Get It"
I will say though, a few reps are unwilling. And if there is already compensation and accountability in place, there isn't much a trainer can do. In my experience however, almost all reps are willing. The problem is more about fear. A good many of them are afraid they can't "get it". And THAT is absolutely on the trainer to overcome. Training should do more than provide information, it should build skills and confidence. Confidence is key. If they don't believe they can get it, and the trainer doesn't believe they can, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The trainer doesn't try very hard and the rep is too intimidated to pull it out of them.

80% of What They Need to Know is Already There
20% of selling online advertising is technology and terminology. And not many people know how to teach that stuff very well. The other 80% is salesmanship, media knowledge, and marketing/advertising understanding - all of which your current media team already has. Training should reinforce what they already know and build upon it. With a lot less technology mumbo jumbo than you'd think. I've worked with a LOT of successful pure-play internet sales people and not one of them was a rocket scientist (no offense intended, my friends). Many were shockingly clueless about much of the technology. There is NO REASON why a willing sales person who has mastered television, radio or newspaper advertising sales can't master online advertising.

What They DO Need
The one point I really like from Borrell's article was about how busy traditional media sales people are. They had a full time job before the internet component was added. And learning something new when you've already got a full plate can be hard. So I actually agree that adding staff is a good idea. But I think adding an online specialist to co-sell, and administrative staff to help with the back-end paperwork and reporting (for online only or all media) is important. The reporting alone for online advertising adds hours to the job - but using additional staff to free the sales people to sell makes more sense to me.

And What About The Client Perspective?
Most local media is sold as a consultative sell. How consultative are you going to look at Joe's Furniture Chain with two sales people calling on the same person, trying to steal dollars back and forth? How is that customer service? Ridiculous.

Final Word on "Competing"
Borrell suggests your two sales teams be competitive. And they will be regardless. But online advertising isn't always competitive against the traditional media you're already selling. It absolutely WILL BE if you have two competitive teams. Sure, even with one sales team you'll have advertisers that just go online or divert funds from the traditional media to online, but if you have one team, your sales people will focus on taking from outside competitors.

Bottom Line
No amount of training can substitute for a strong compensation and accountability. That MUST come first. But you don't need to build a whole new team for that. Your current traditional media team can absolutely be successful selling online advertising. Structure their commissions and work out your accountability, then get in some training that builds confidence as well as skills. And don't doubt your current team for a minute. They got you this far, they can take it all the way.