Monthly Archives: March 2011

How Did You Do It?

 

How Did You Do It?
 
          If you are a sales manager, you probably started in this business as a sales rep. And it was all about the math of selling. The number of cold calls and the number of ‘packages’ you presented became part of your success formula.
          Now as a sales manager, with probably very little management training, you’re expected to train the troops. Your idea of ‘training’ might go something like this; “When I was on the street I …”.
          Stop it! No one cares how you did it ‘in the old days’.
You know there have been dramatic changes in the world; changing technologies, changing station ownership, changing economies, changing, changing, changing.
          What is it that makes you think the marketing and sales arena is the only thing that hasn’t changed from ‘When I was on the street’?
          Let’s look at old world cold calling as an example.
How do you feel when a telemarketer interrupts your dinner to sell you something you haven’t felt a need for? How do you think your prospects feel when you embark upon a door to door coldcall campaign to sell them a one-size-fits-all package of the week? Most sales people don’t like making cold calls, and certainly most clients view these interruptions to doing business as rude! So why do we do it?
          I’ve focused on cold calls, because traditionally, that’s the beginning of the sales process, but frankly every step in modern strategic selling has changed today. And sales training has changed as well. Training is no longer a manager’s ‘show and tell’.
          Like with all other aspects of your business, you can either embrace the changing world of sales and sales training, or continue doing the same thing over and over. I’m sure you’ve heard what Einstein has called doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
          In the new media world, there is a better way of training and selling. It involves creating warm calls rather than cold calls, using technology to build stronger customer relationships, and it’s been proven to grow your long-term revenues. 
          Business guru Jack Welch says, “There is always a better way. Find it!”. Click here if you would like to discuss implementing our ‘better way’ for 2011.

You Are Not Selling Cars

            You Are NOT Selling Cars

           It never ceases to amaze me how many of the major broadcasters think business to business sales is like business to consumer sales. It’s not. We’re not selling cars. There’s a huge difference between selling cars and selling advertising.
          You see, consumers can only drive one car. So selling cars is a dog eat dog world. If I buy the Ford instead of the Chevy this week, the Chevy dealer doesn’t get another kick at the can for four years.
          But advertising is different. Advertising generates customers. And as long as the advertising is working, businesses can always use more…. more customers and more advertising. 
          Perhaps that’s our problem. We don’t believe our medium works. It’s a question of confidence in radio or TV advertising that causes us to combat other stations rather than combat other media.
          Do you believe a radio ad campaign works better with more stations, more reach and more frequency? Or would you rather be the only station in town on the buy, and see the rest of the ad budget go to other media?
          There are those who believe that radio ad budgets are a finite number, and they have to kill their radio competition to get their ‘share’ of radio budgets.
          But here’s the question; Who creates that radio budget?
If we’re doing our jobs, the person who creates that budget is the person we are calling on!
          And who can make the radio share of the total ad budget larger? That same person!
          To my way of thinking, we must do what’s best for our clients. What is best for the client? To see them dabble in a wide range of different media from an ever-growing list of web malls and social media, to buying every dwindling circulation paper, OR…to see them put a larger share of the budget into one media, radio or TV, with more stations or heavier schedules for better reach and frequency?
          I tell advertisers that a typical station has a reach of at least six radio reps. And every one of them will call and tell the client they bought the wrong station or they have a ‘better deal’ (i.e. car dealer mentality) when they hear them on another station.
          Harassed advertises will find it much less confusing to buy any media but radio as long as we keep telling them the other stations suck or we have a better deal!
          Late in 2010, we embarked upon a campaign to get radio stations to work together in 2011 to improve the profile, image, understanding and revenue for local radio.
          It’s been challenging to say the least. The car dealer mentality has limited our success so far, but I’m not ready to give up.
          I, for one, believe that more radio works! It works for clients, and certainly works for radio.  
          Admittedly, we’re a for-profit organization and our quest to get stations to work together in markets could turn a small profit. But the health of my business depends upon the health of the radio and TV business.
          I believe the broadcast industry’s health is reliant upon radio and TV capturing larger ‘shares’ for the broadcast industry in the face of increasingly fragmented digital competition and over-valued print competition.

Radio Marketing Franchise

A Radio Marketing Franchise

 
Does your sales staff appreciate their FREE radio marketing franchise…that’s right, they have a free franchise!
Think about it, what do you get when you buy a franchise?
  • A recognized name and trade mark…..like your call letters.
  • A protected territory….like an account list.
  • Continuous product or service improvement…like your format and your audience.
  • Training…..like the training you offer your sales people.
  • Proven systems and procedures….like your traffic, ordering and billing systems
  • Advertising and Promotion….like the on-air listener contests you run.
  • Market Research …..like Arbitron, TOMA and other research you pay for.
I have had the privilege of consulting several national franchise organizations and their franchisees, and can tell you that many franchisees pay $50,000 to $100,000 or more just to buy the franchise, then pay for real estate, equipment, support staff and ongoing royalties for life, only to earn LESS than the top biller at your station!
One of the main selling benefits franchisors promote is “You get to be in business for yourself but not by yourself.” Don’t we offer the same benefits?
WOW! A free franchise with all of the benefits, none of the upfront costs or ongoing royalties, and an income potential that is greater than the average small business or franchise! Just knowing this makes the commissioned sales person feel a whole lot better about prospecting and developing new business for THEIR franchise!

Gift of Gab

 

The ‘Gift’ of Gab
        Every once in a while I meet a sales person who proudly proclaims, “I’ve got the gift of gab.” In sales, that ‘gift’ is more aptly described as ‘the curse of chatter.’
        Successful sales professionals know that sales is really more about listening than it is about talking.
        Those with the curse more often engage in product feature speak than they do in providing customer-focused solutions or opportunities.
        Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care….and caring is demonstrated by listening.
        Listening is by far the most important and difficult skill a sales professional can learn and practice. The sales people who annoy and alienate prospects the most are those who claim to be good listeners but follow every customer objection with a “yah, but…..”
        There is no room for the word ‘but’ in a good listener’s vocabulary.
To be a professional listener you need to;
1.) Earn the right to ask questions by learning something about the prospects business before you make a call.
2.) Prepare with open ended questions that encourage the prospect to express their views and feelings.
3.) Demonstrate you are listening by taking notes. (Always ask permission to take notes. “Your input is important to me, do you mind if I take a few notes?”)
4.) Paraphrase and summarize what you hear. Don’t start a debate.
5.) Use the language and needs you hear the customer express when you make your presentation.
6.) Make certain that every benefit you present relates to a need you heard the prospect express.
There is a lot more money to be made being interested than there is in being interesting. So why not shut up and make some money!
SELLING IN A TOUGH ECONOMY: Have you considered having Wayne Ens facilitate this enlightening workshop for your sellers?
 

Cross Examination or Celebration?

Cross-Examination or Celebration?

Walking past a sales manager’s office last week, I overheard this conversation;

Sales rep with enthusiasm, “I’ve got some orders here for you to sign.”
Manager nonchalantly, “I’m busy right now. Just leave them on my desk and I’ll sign them later.”
Sales rep, under her breath in the hall, “I wanted the satisfaction of seeing you sign them.”

Foot note: the rep pretended to be joking, but you know where there is smoke, there is fire.
This really happened!

Every order needs to be a celebration….that’s what all of the training, prospecting, spec spots, presentations and rejections we encounter are all about. To see the outcome of our efforts become anti-climactic is unacceptable.

What does it feel like to your sales people when they bring an order into your office? Is it a cross-examination or a celebration?

Is your first reaction, “Couldn’t you get a better rate?” or, “Why didn’t you sell all of our stations?”
or is it, “WOW! Congratulations, I know you worked hard on this one”?

Sales people face grinding on the streets every day.  You should not compound that discomfort.  That’s not to say you can’t take the opportunity to coach them on how to get better and bigger orders, but the celebration should ALWAYS come first.

&tt;div style=”margin: 0in 0in 0pt”>The next time, and every time, a rep comes in with an order, smile, stand up, shake their hand and congratulate them!