I’m going to share a powerful secret with you which I discovered by observing  successful businesses across North America.
          If your customers don’t like their customers, your advertising campaign won’t work!
          In today’s increasingly fragmented media world, your customers can NOT get a profitable return on their advertising investment if they do not generate happy customers, repeat business, word of mouth promotion and referrals from every customer your campaign generates.
          After studying literally thousands of proprietorships over the span of my career I came to an amazing realization……if the proprietor does not like his or her customers, their customers probably won’t like them!
          If your customers don’t genuinely like their customers and have a passion for serving them they won’t go the extra mile that it takes to make your advertising pay off.
          Ray Crock, of McDonalds Restaurants fame, once said, “You can tell how a business feels about their customers by the way they take care of their customer restrooms”.
          It’s true, everything from a businesses return policies to their staff incentive programs, and from store cleanliness to management access, speaks volumes about the way they feel about their customers. And if they don’t like their customers, they won’t have the patience nor the passion to super-serve them.
          For example, if staff incentives revolve around one-time sales and give no recognition or reward for high customer-satisfaction levels, then the culture the business establishes will be one of high-pressure sales. And as I’ve pointed out before, customer satisfaction levels are decreased directly proportionate to sales pressure levels.
          So what does all of this have to do with selling media?
          The average media rep needs less than twenty-five consistent fifty-two week clients to make a very good living. You don’t need the businesses that don’t care about keeping your audience happy!
            Not only is it more enjoyable and rewarding helping customers who sincerely care about their customers, your campaign will give these businesses a higher return on investment. When the customers you bring to the counter return often and help you spread the word about the business, your campaign will work.
             When you hear a prospect who conveys the attitude that his or her customers are not valued assets to the business, walk away. When you hear expressions like “buyers are liars” or “most of my customers are  _ _ _ holes”…. walk away!
            Your customer’s attitude towards your audience, their customers, should become one of your pre-qualifying criteria.

Lately there has been much written in the trades and in various newsletters about the importance of spec creative. But I haven’t seen or heard much about the other “spec”…..spec calendars.
            One of the reasons spec commercials are so important is that clients need to see and hear what they are buying and what they are saying.
            In my seminar, Making Radio Tangible, I demonstrate that the same holds true for spec calendars. Many clients can’t envision what they would do or say if they did invest in a 52-week schedule. Often when we say “consistency” or “long term” they believe we are only trying to sell them on a long term bill or consistent invoice.
            The spec calendar gives them week-by-week sample objectives for their creative. A car dealer, for example, can’t imagine what she might be saying in her commercials next June. When you outline back-to-back strategic objectives for her, she has the opportunity to revise or agree to the campaigns you are proposing.

Many programmers are against client-voiced commercials.
And…for good reason. Clients are not professional broadcasters and most cannot read a script to save their lives.
          But in today’s quest to be unique in your commercial approach, nothing is more “unique” than a client’s voice. It might be bad, good, or indifferent, but there is no disputing that no one else has your client’s voice.
          In selling, nothing is more compelling than the human voice.
Ask your insurance agent or real estate agent this question. “If you had the chance to send a letter to a prospect or to talk to them on the phone, which approach is more likely to result in an appointment?”
            They will always tell you that voice contact is more powerful and persuasive than a printed letter.
            So how do we utilize your client’s voice to persuade your audience to do business with them without it sounding like an amateur reading a script?  Simple. Don’t give them a script!  Instead, bring the client into your studio for a half-hour interview and make them sell you. Ask the hard questions; “Why should I drive past three of your competitors to do business with you?” or “Everyone claims to give good service. Prove to me you do.”
At the end of the interview you should have some very compelling, natural and believable sound-bites around which you can build an effective spot.
            NOTE: If the client can’t sell you during this interview, she probably won’t be in business two years from now.
            A unique client-voiced quote in your commercial can be more compelling and memorable than the most expensive jingle in the world.
            Remember Chrysler’s, Lee Iacocca or Wendy’s, Dave Thomas? As long as you are choosing client voice for sound strategic reasons, and not just to satisfy the client’s ego, it can be a huge branding tool.
            Acquiring sound bites with passion and sincerity during a casual interview in the acoustics of a professional sound studio should alleviate any concerns your program director has.   Surrounding these bites with professional announcers or jingles should help your cause even more.

It is imperative that you play a leading role in making every new client’s ‘Grand Opening’ grand.
            First of all, as the old saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Your first impression with a new account is the role you play in the success of their grand opening.
            But here is the real key……did you know virtually EVERY Grand Opening is perceived to be successful? That’s partially because the new business owner has no bench marks to measure his or her grand opening sales against.
            The other reason every Grand Opening is perceived to be successful is because the new business owner has usually spent years and their life’s savings in anticipation of this first event, not knowing what to expect. When that first customer walks through the door or makes a phone call the new entrepreneur breaths a huge sigh of relief….their dream of making that first sale is actually a reality!

My wife, Angela, has mastered the difference between selling to fill a need versus selling to fill a want.  Angela sold cars, first for GM dealerships, then Ford, and most recently BMW.
            “At Ford and GM” she says, “most people came on the lot because they neededa car.  At BMW they came with a whole different attitude because they wanted  a BMW.”
            “Selling to wants versus needs is always a more positive, lucrative and pleasurable experience.” she maintains.
            In needs-focused selling, traditional sales trainers maintain that until you uncover a problem and provide a solution, you don’t have a sale. This approach works, and is necessary, at the early stages of building a relationship.
However, the problem with making this your only approach is two-fold;