According to the National Sales Executive Association, 80% of all new business is won after the fifth contact.

Our own research of SoundADvice member activity reveals similar results; the average size of a first order is four times greater after a prospect has received five to seven SoundADvice contacts.

What are the key take-aways from this research?

1.)  Advertisers buy from account executives they trust, and building trust takes time.

2.)  Don’t expect an order on a first call, and don’t give up too early.

3.)  A call that does not yield an order should not be considered unsuccessful; instead consider it to be an advancement towards success.

4.)  Have a strategic plan in place to generate a minimum of 5 to 7 valid business contacts with your prospect as you advance towards that order. A “valid business contact” is any contact which benefits your prospect and enhances your brand as a helpful marketing professional.

One final point: Never think of getting an order as the end of your selling process. It’s actually just the beginning towards the next bigger order if you plan another 5 valid business contacts immediately following that first order.

P.S. Our SoundADvice system creates valid business contacts for you every week.

Contact [email protected] to learn how a SoundADvice membership can increase your local direct sales.

          You’re fighting for your life, and you see two surgeons who each offer you totally different solutions. The first one shows up at your door unannounced, in a Hawaiian shirt and ill-fitting track pants. He hands you a generic brochure about your illness along with his biography as he leaves to see the next patient.

          The other surgeon makes an appointment, meets you dressed in a crisp white lab coat, and shows you computer scans of your problem on the latest high-tech equipment. He gives you a comprehensive written outline of the procedure he proposes to save your life and discusses any questions or concerns you might have.

          Which solution would you have the most confidence in?

          When you’re fighting for your life, the answer is clear, even though the guy in the Hawaiian shirt might have had a better solution.

          Many businesses today are fighting for their lives too. Their marketing decisions are crucial to their survival. They’ve cut all of the expenses they can cut, and now they are desperate to increase their sales.

          The image you project can make all the difference in whether the worried decision-maker chooses your solution or your competitor’s. It’s all about your brand.

          We know that you create a hard to change impression in the first three seconds a prospect sees you BEFORE you open your mouth or present your solutions. Does your brand create confidence in your solution?

          Do you make appointments like a professional, or drop in like a peddler?

          We sell our ability to make businesses successful. Does your packaging, from your car to your clothes, make you look successful and instill confidence with would-be investors?

          If your competitors show up in a golf shirt, you need to wear a sports jacket. If they show up in a sports jacket, you need to wear a suit. And if your competitors are wearing custom tailored three piece suits, buy a tux!!

          The image you portray can give a worried advertiser the confidence to buy your solution even though it may not be better than the competition’s.

          And last but not least, does your presentation talk about solving your client’s problems, or about how great your station is?

          You are expected to be a branding expert…the best way to start is by looking after your own brand.

P.S. A funny thing happens when you sculpt a better brand for yourself. You not only look more professional, you feel and act more professional!

I am a proud member of the RAB and a huge proponent of any effort to sell radio’s preeminent role in the new media landscape rather than selling one station or cluster against another.

In a recent RAB newsletter, the headline read, “One in Three Social Marketers Dissatisfied with Results.” It was a great read and I always enjoy keeping my finger on the pulse of the advertising industry with these articles.

But I do have a fear that some over-zealous new radio rep will take that article, or one like it, and hit the streets in an effort to engage in negative selling or bashing other media.

The truth is that ever since John Wannamaker quipped “I know half of my advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half”, a large number of advertisers in any media are “dissatisfied with results.”

Don’t shoot the messenger, but there is probably a survey out there somewhere that claims half of radio advertisers are “dissatisfied with results.” Poor copy, bad strategy, ineffective scheduling and a long list of other factors can contribute to that dissatisfaction.

There is no such thing as a media which does not work. There are only messages which don’t work or, expectations or measurements which are misguided.

Here is my point. Those who try to elevate themselves by putting down others are never as successful as those who elevate themselves through positive selling; that is, selling their positives rather than focusing on competitors’ negatives.

It is important to know that other media have dissatisfied advertisers, but taking the positive approach through the use of testimonials and validating radio’s R.O.I. will win more advertisers than opening the “dissatisfied with results” can of worms.

Click here to inquire how our Radio R.O.I. (Return on Investment) workshop can help account executives sell more by positioning radio’s positive R.O.I.