Monthly Archives: October 2012

Does Charlie Need the Money?

Does Charlie Need the Money?

At age 71, famed Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has contracted a masseuse to help him deal with his back pain during the Stones’ upcoming live performances.
Why do you suppose he puts himself through this back pain at his age? Does he really need the money from more concerts? Of course not.
Being a Rolling Stone is part of who he is, and doing concerts is not a job, it’s what drives him. And noted Rolling Stone guitarist, Keith Richards, after more than fifty years of playing guitar says he’s still learning to play guitar. Wow…still learning after 50 years!
Lately I’ve noticed a disturbing trend is radio sales. In the last two weeks alone, I’ve heard more than a dozen sales managers confidentially referring to their salespeople as "lazy" or as one kinder gentler manager put it "they’re reluctant to do the work."
I see and hear about radio salespeople who have "jobs." They get up and "go to work" because they have to, not because they want to. If you call what we do "work" you’re in the wrong business.
Singer-songwriter Kenny Rogers once said, "Find something you love doing, that people will pay you to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life."
Charlie Watts is motivated to endure back pain doing what he loves, and Keith is motivated to keep on learning new licks even though he’s already renowned as one of the best guitar players in the world.
And, I don’t believe front man Mick Jagger has to employ all kinds of incentives or motivational tactics to get the team to hit the road. They do it from sheer inner motivation.
Managers who try to motivate salespeople who do not already have an inner motivation are climbing an insurmountable mountain. In fact, managers cannot motivate people to perform. Managers can only create an environment in which self-motivated people tap into their inner motivation and reach for the stars…always learning, always doing what others said couldn’t be done.
If you have people on your team who are "lazy" or "reluctant" to go the extra mile, you have to ask yourself two questions:

1.) Do you have the right people on board? Or should you be offering some of them the opportunity to seek a new career?
2.) If you do have the right people on board, what are you doing to create an environment within which they can tap into their inner motivation?

The Stones don’t tour just for the money; the money is simply a measure of appreciation and recognition. In sales, and in concerts, the big check is not the goal; it’s only the report card. The big check says how much you are appreciated and how much your customers (fans) love you.
Recognition and appreciation, in radio sales and in rock concerts, have to be part of the success formula. Without cheers and applause, there is no jumping enthusiastically into the show.
Poking and prodding the unmotivated, a.k.a. "lazy," employee simply creates resistance. Here’s the bottom line: Behaviors which get rewarded and recognized get repeated.
You know what behaviors are required to succeed in this business. When you start to recognize and appreciate small improvements in those behaviors, rather than focusing on what is not being done, you’ll be surprised how "ambitious" your team can become.
Wayne Ens is the president of ENS Media Inc. and producer of SoundADvice, the radio e-marketing system and advertiser seminar that is persuading local advertisers across North America to drop their print advertising in favor of a radio-Internet media mix. He can be reached at
[email protected]

 

Trust is a Two Way Street

Trust is a Two Way Street

My business partner blasted me last week for telling one of our employees something in confidence. I respect my partner, so I reflected upon their critique that I was too trusting. I thought back upon my 42 years in business and realized that trust is a two way street.

People don’t trust you until you trust them. I’ve heard the old used car dealer quip that "buyers are liars" and I know what kind of trust most people have in those same dealers.

One time in ten, trusting someone comes back and bites me. The other nine times, trusting people and achieving their reciprocal trust, pays back huge dividends.

I can accept failing one time out of ten!

Besides, it’s just less stressful trusting people than playing Chicken Little and being a skeptic.

 

Hare Krishna Selling Strategy

Hare Krishna Selling Strategy

In his book, The Psychology of Persuasion, Dr. Robert Cialdini identifies psychological reciprocity; ‘the deep-rooted subconscious need to return effort to those who put forth effort for us’, as one of the six most powerful influences on human buying behaviour.

Psychological Reciprocity is one of the most powerful sales levers radio sales professionals can develop.

Even Hare Krishna, the unusual 1970’s group with shaved heads and ill-fitting robes, capitalized on people’s deep-rooted subconscious need to return something to those who give them something.

They discovered their likelihood of receiving a donation from unwilling travelers at the airport increased dramatically, if they first gave the passersby a rose before asking for a donation.

They also learned it didn’t matter if their target donors wanted the rose or not. In fact, the robed team always had one member scurrying about the airport collecting the roses travelers threw in garbage bins, to give them away to another unsuspecting traveler

The effort you put into pre-call planning, customer research, and after-sale follow-up, can generate Psychological Reciprocity for you with your clients and prospects. You’ll be surprised how objections like ‘my budget is spent’ or ‘radio doesn’t work for me’ disappear when your prospects feel a deep rooted subconscious need to do something for you.

 

The ‘Good Ol’ Days are Gone’

The ‘Good Ol Days are Gone’

Remember the good old days when getting a first appointment with your new prospects was relatively easy, and only a matter of math where more calls meant more appointments?

You simply picked up the phone and said things like;

  • I’ve got a great idea I want to share with you.
  • I’d like to learn more about your business so I can find a great idea for you.
  • I have a new station package or special offer I’d like to drop off.

In the new math, quality of calls multiplies the effect of quantity of calls.
Today, your prospects are bombarded with a long list of new media and traditional media sales amateurs claiming they want to learn more about their business or they have a great idea, even though they know nothing about the prospects goals. And with staff cut backs, more competition and way too many sales people calling them, they certainly don’t have time to teach you about their business. Business owners today want to work with sales people who have put in the extra effort to learn about their business BEFORE they call.
And as for your big idea, the skeptical business owner is saying to herself; "I don’t know you, I don’t know what you stand for, I don’t know your company, and what do you know about my business that makes you believe you have an idea that fits my objectives?
The number of ‘special offers’ managers receive by email, snail mail, drop-offs and over the phone, is mind boggling.
To secure an appointment today, you have to prove you have put in a lot of effort for each prospect. Advertisers assume that if you haven’t put a lot of effort into learning about their industry, their specific business, and branding yourself as a credible marketing consultant, you certainly aren’t going to put in a lot of effort on their behalf once you’ve secured the coveted broadcast order.
Effort breeds psychological reciprocity; that deep-rooted subconscious need to do something for someone who has done something for you.
You can begin building your brand and demonstrating your knowledge and effort by sending a few helpful marketing tips like those in our SoundADvice e-marketing system, before you ask for the appointment.
Once you have presold who you are, what company you are with and what you stand for, you can take the next step in securing an appointment; do something specific and relevant to the prospect’s business.
You might talk to a few customers, or the prospects competitors customers, to capture their perceptions of the prospect and offer to share that information.
You might search their website for inconsistencies or improvements you can offer to share in a first appointment. Talking to their staff, their suppliers or reading their industry association website, can also prepare you to share what you’ve learned about their business.
The bottom line? The most important thing you have to sell is trust. And trust is seldom built in one phone call or without time, pre-sell and effort.
Busy decision makers today don’t have time for typical sales people or old school sales tactics. But they will make time to talk to professionals who have branded themselves as marketing experts who obviously understand their industry, know something about their particular business and marketplace, and are willing to apply that expertise to helping them grow their business.
Want to learn more about how the SoundADvice e-marketing system can pre-sell your qualifications? Email
[email protected] for a no-obligation online demo.