Start the New Year Right!  

            You probably read my ENS on Sales in late November about the debilitating effects ‘holiday head’ can have on your sales.  Equally damaging can be ‘holiday hangover’.
            Your first sales meeting in January is absolutely critical to jump-starting sales and setting the scene for the coming year.
           In a survey we conducted, 89% of sales reps felt that their sales meetings were "usually a waste of time".
            The irony is that properly planned and focused sales meet­ings can be one of the highest-leverage management tools you have.
             We recommend you use this week to planned a New Years kick-off that will achieve four major objectives for you; communication, training, motivation and entertainment…. yes, that’s right, entertainment!
            Planning to always communicate something "new" at every sales meeting dramatically reduces staff boredom and encourages enthusiastic attendance.
            I contact my clients once a week with the proverbial "what’s new?" question.  I’ve learned that if the sales manager goes on and on about the new and exciting things going on in their organization, I know their sales will be on track.  On the other hand, if they talk about problems and have no new solutions, I know I have a problem client.
            In terms of training, everyone can learn from everyone else in an open forum meeting or through role-playing situations.
            The sales meeting is also the ideal place to consistently reinforce and promote the company’s mission statement or the battle cry.
            Last but not least. . . "Entertain".
            Communicating with a client, customer, team, or your own kids, is ineffective if your presentation is boring and lacks interaction.
            You can find our Ten Do’s and Don’ts of Effective Sales Meetings on our website http://www.wensmedia.com/media/free.html.

There IS a Light at the End of the Tunnel!

          There is cautiously optimistic economic news on the 2010 horizon. Even the most pessimistic of forecasters believe we’ll be on the road to recovery, although it may be a slow and jobless recovery.
          But here is the real ‘news’. At the depth of the recessionary trough, it was believed the impact was so severe that all consumer buying patterns would be changed forever. But various new research reveals there will not be one homogenous post-recession buying behavior.
          Decitica Marketing Strategy and Research, for example, has identified four distinctly different consumer buyer types which will emerge from the recession;

• Steadfast Frugalists (20% of the population),

• Involuntary Penny Pinchers (29%),

• Pragmatic Spenders (29%) and

• Apathetic Materialists (22%).

          The Decitica report identifies Pragmatic Spenders as the most attractive group for marketers. This group skews older and towards upper income and has the greatest psychological and financial capacity to resurrect their spending patterns.
         The Steadfast Frugalists, primarily in the 40-49 year age group, are the most disciplined in their behaviors and are seriously committed to self-restraint as a result of their recessionary experience.
         The Involuntary Penny-Pinchers are the most severely affected, financially and emotionally, by the recession and begrudge the fact that their financial situation forces them to always compare prices before buying.   
         The Apathetic Materialists are largely in the 21-29 age group, although some are in the 30-39 demo. Apathetic Materialists are less perturbed by the recession and least changed in terms of their future spending habits. This is largely because of their age and the amount of time they have remaining to recover and accumulate wealth.
          So what does all this mean to radio marketers? You know the best time to capture share of mind and share of market is before the consumer is ready to buy, before the next boom..….i.e. NOW!
          Radio account executives who help their advertisers to promote on the leading edge of the recovery, and who help them strategically target the appropriate buyer group will foster strong, long–lasting relationships as their clients grow.
          This is your last ENS on Sales for 2009.  We hope you benefit from these free weekly tips, and wish you a very happy, healthy and successful 2010.
          If your New Year’s resolution is to lead the pack in the upcoming recovery, contact [email protected] to discuss how we can help you increase your revenues. 

Timing Is Everything

          Killing time can murder your future.
          During the next few weeks, many sales reps will catch the holiday spirit; a spirit that can cause them to ‘kill time’.
          We have all heard the excuses for slow bookings in December.  Excuses like;  “My clients are too busy with Christmas sales to see me” or, “I’m too busy servicing my retailers and making copy changes in December to make long-term proposals.”   There are many more excuses, but let me give you a dose of reality. 
          We monitor thousands of advertiser responses to our SoundADvice radio e-marketing system every week.  Last week, we noticed a marked increase in advertisers requesting proposals (RFP’s) for the period between now and January 8^th.
          We surveyed some of the advertisers requesting proposals and discovered several trends, including;
   ·        72% of non-retail business owners (i.e. lawyers, landscapers, insurance brokers, etc.) said they use the slow December period to plan their next year.
   ·        69% of all of the RFP’s generated by our SoundADvice wanted either;
                  a.) “something different”
                             or
                  b.) “something cost effective”
By the way, if you aren’t super-serving your key accounts, the “something different” they may be considering is be dropping your stations!
          So here is the bottom line.  While your competitors are ‘killing time’ and have ‘holiday head’, the timing is right for you build your future and capture more 52-week orders over the next five weeks!  

P.S. You also need to present NOW or sooner for the Boxing Week sales and January Clearances.  And, what about the New Year’s Resolution Market?  Most consumers will resolve to get fit, quit smoking, eat healthier, take a night course or learn to paint or play guitar between December 26^th and January 30^th.
These are emotional decisions your clients can influence on radio.

P.P.S. If you want your station to generate more RFP’s in 2010 and beyond, click here to arrange a free on-line demo of the SoundADvice radio e-marketing system.  SoundADvice may be the ‘something different’ or something cost effective’ your station needs in 2010.

75% of Selling Occurs After 

the Advertiser Says ‘Yes’

          Last week we discussed the fact that your customers demand value for every investment they make.  And we explained the value equation and how important it is that you manage both the customer’s expectation and the customer’s experience.

.Value = Customer Expectation  +  or   –   Customer Experience

          Make no mistake about it, value is never received, only perceived and you can manage that perception.

          There are so many variables in the marketing mix,  variables like weather,  competitor’s campaigns, sales staff attitudes and more, that none of your clients can say with certainty that a campaign did or did not work based solely upon your advertising.

          It is up to you to create the perception of value by establishing realistic expectations upfront, then over-delivering after the sale.  In our Guided Discovery Selling process, we have proven that 75% of selling occurs after the order is signed.  In other words, always under-promising and over delivering.

          We use two primary tools to manage the customer’s experience after the sale.  One, is our Critical Four Questions.  Once a month, review each of your accounts and ask yourself these four questions;

1.     What is the last Valid Business Contact I had with this client?

2.     When was it?

3.     What is the next Valid Business Contact I am for this account?

4.     When will I do it?

          A Valid Business Contact is defined as anything you do that benefit’s the customer or increases their sales.  If the answer to number 2 or 4 is ‘longer than 30 days’ you are not managing the customer experience.

          The other tool we use to manage the customer’s experience is our Post Campaign Analysis.  Conducting a Post Campaign Analysis places you miles ahead of weak-kneed competitors who do not have the confidence in what they deliver to ask their customers what worked and what did not.

          Of course, the other advantages of conducting a Post Campaign Analysis are;  

          a.) You learn how your client measures success

          b.) You learn how to make each campaign better than the last

          c.) You appear more professional and customer-focused

          If you don’t currently have a Post Campaign Analysis process, you can use the form on our website www.wensmedia.com or click on http://www.wensmedia.com/media/free.html

P.S. Our SoundADvice e-marketing system gives your clients and prospects a Valid Business Contact every week!  Click here to arrange a free on-line demo.   

Lifetime Customer Value

            Our participants in Guided Discovery Selling have told us one of the most productive tools we provide is a system to manage the ‘Value Equation’.

Value = Customer Expectation  +  or   –   Customer Experience

            The reason this equation is so valuable is that both variables in this equation, the customer’s expectation and the customer’s experience, can be managed by your account executives.

            We begin by re-setting the bar for the customer’s expectation, and for the account executive’s expectation, from each campaign. Rather than claiming to be ‘number one’ or reach ‘thousands of consumers’, you can make your customer’s expectations more realistic and achievable, through our Guided Discovery questioning process.

            Begin by researching and developing enough pre-planned questions to establish what the ‘Lifetime Customer Value’ is of each new customer you attract to your prospect’s business.

            Your prospects will discover for themselves how one customer attracted by your station will pay for a one week campaign of 25 commercials!

             At a men’s wear store, for example, you might ask;

“What’s the profit in the advertised suit?”

“What’s the profit in the average up-sell or spontaneous purchase for every suit sold (belts, ties, shirts etc)?”

            “Assuming you delight each new customer, how many times a year can you expect them back? How many years can you reasonably expect that same annual amount of sales from that customer?”

            Keep asking questions until your prospect has an estimate of the Lifetime Customer Value of every new customer your campaign generates

            Your final question is always about word of mouth advertising. “Do you get referrals?” (By the way, if they don’t get referrals then your advertising can’t help them….advertising can’t make a bad business a good business.)

            When you multiply the average Lifetime Customer Value estimate by the average number of referrals your prospect says she can reasonably expect from each customer, that figure is always many times greater than the cost of a one week campaign.

            You’ll discover your advertisers will be happy if you simply attract one new customer per week, once they understand the Lifetime Customer Value of every new customer you attract.

            Next week’s ENS on Sales will address how to manage the other end of the Value Equation; the customer experience.