“It’s no secret that radio has reached the Critical Visionary Point in the Business Revenue Lifecycle  outlined in this graph.

Of course the enemy of Critical Vision is, “This is the way we’ve always done it.”
As consultants, we introduce new ideas at the Critical Visionary Point. No one hires us to keep doing things the way they’ve always been done.
Admittedly, consultants represent “change” and “extra effort”… two factors that create discomfort for people who are in their comfort zones and content in the Sustaining stage of the Revenue Life Cycle.
But lately, we’ve noticed increased resistance to change and effort at the Critical Visionary Point.
On one hand, we’re hearing that the local-direct radio business is “getting tougher” or is “flat”. Yet on the other hand, when we introduce new visions or proven revenue development systems we’re hearing, “We don’t want to do that much work to increase local sales”.  Huh? … Really, I have had people actually say that!
We’re often told, “Reps are too busy” to utilize new revenue-generating strategies and tactics. Too busy doing what?
If sales are flat, and we’re “too busy” to increase them, aren’t we simply replacing “productive” with “busy”?
“Busy” generally means we’re frantically-focused on this month’s budget and this short term thinking is fostered by our measurement and compensation systems.
Ironically, this month’s results are seldom a result of this month’s efforts, but rather the result of the work we did 90 to 120 days ago.  Closing seems to be the only task in the revenue development chain that gets recognized and rewarded.
Seldom is there recognition or compensation for completing new tasks which can lead to improved results 90 or 120 days from now.
With all due respect, most radio account executives do appear to be willing to do some “extra work” in addition to closing, like collecting some generic research, facilitating a typical customer needs analysis, writing custom presentations and some even put almost enough valuable insights in their Creative Briefs to produce some reasonably good copy.
But if your competitors are also doing these same basics, where is your competitive advantage?
What are you willing to do for your prospects that your competitors say is, “Too much work”?

When you’re ready to go the extra mile to increase your sales, contact  [email protected] to discuss the various proven revenue development processes we have at ENS Media Inc.

Did you hear the huge click of radios and TVs around the world being turned off forever?
It happened on August 6, 1991, when the World Wide Web became a publicly available service on the internet.
If you didn’t hear that resounding “click” that signalled the end of broadcasting, you’re not alone….I didn’t hear it either!
But the total absence of any discussion about broadcast’s role in the new media landscape is leading some advertisers to think that’s exactly what happened causing them to shift their advertising dollars accordingly.
The last time I checked, well over 90% of consumers are exposed to broadcast messages every week.
The problem lies in the business-to-business world’s appetite for news, or the latest shiny new thing. The root word of news is “new”; stories have to be new to make news at your clients’ annual conventions, in the blogs being read and in the articles chosen by the trade publications.
Frankly, TV and radio aren’t new enough to make headlines.
The problem with broadcast’s profile in the ad community is compounded by so-called “surveys”.  I read one such survey this morning that asked businesses: “What are the most effective SEO Tactics your company uses?”
The multiple choice questionnaire revealed that:
57% chose quality content
46% chose key word management
34% chose frequent website updates
34% chose social media integration
28% chose blogging
25% link building
17% local search optimization
9% chose mobile search
(The reason the total is more than 100% is that respondents could choose more than one tactic.)
Your clients are seeing information like this which leads them to believe that radio and TV play no role in optimizing traffic to their websites or in creating a preference for their business over their competitors.
But these surveys typically leave out the option where respondents may choose the power of branding to drive better search results.
Even internet gurus like Seth Godin admit that it is “Better to be sought on line than it is to be found.”  Our surveys in 126 markets across North America validate Seth’s wisdom.
We asked more than 25,000 consumers, “When you search for a business on line, are you more likely to click on the first business your search engine reveals if you have not heard of it, or are you more likely to click on the first business you have heard of or are familiar with?”
The overwhelming majority will prefer the business they’ve heard of, with some choosing to click on the first name and the one they recognize. Less than 6% go exclusively to the first name revealed by the search engine if they’ve never heard of it.
But who is telling the story to your clients about the powerful role radio and TV play in creating awareness, business preference and search engine optimization?
We have been letting all things digital bask in the limelight to the exclusion of radio and TV. It’s time your clients and prospects were exposed to the truth and the synergistic power of a broadcast and online media mix.
It’s the age of electronic media; anything that’s on-air or on-line is electronic media. In this electronic age, it is ludicrous to incur the high production and delivery costs of cutting down trees, paying for lumberjacks, pulp and paper mills, truck drivers, and printing press operators to deliver your marketing message!
Next week’s ENS on Sales will reveal an action plan you can engage to ensure broadcasting claims its rightful role in the new media landscape. Don’t miss the plan that will help you increase your broadcast revenues.

Most stations are not prepared to capture the growth caused by the pent up demand created by a long hard winter.
Are you planning to grow substantially?
The problem with planning is it’s often based upon forecasts, which in turn are based upon statistics. Statistics, however, are only a rear-view mirror picture which has been impaired by a long hard winter.  The forecasts which spring from that rear-view can actually become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Broadcaster Allan Waters once said “Our problem isn’t that we aim too high and miss, it’s that we aim too low and quit when we hit our target.”
Are you planning to help your advertisers capitalize on the pent up demand created by a long hard winter? All of the stars are in alignment to do so.
Consumer confidence around the world is on the rise, unemployment continues a steady, however slow, decline, interest rates continue to be very attractive, and most of the leading economic indicators are inching forward. In terms of pent up demand in the U.S., home building is far behind the needs of the population, and resale inventories are getting low. Many consumers who have been driving clunkers can now afford to move into a newer vehicle.
All of this, coupled with longer days of sunshine, combines to create a brighter future than you may have forecast. Cautious optimism is understandable considering the battering of our weather and our economies in the past, but we shouldn’t let history cloud our windshield view.
Enthusiasm can be contagious and can drive the growth that is sitting there waiting to happen. As Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you are right!”
I, for one, know we can finish this year with a bang and I’m planning for growth. Will you join me?

Do you remember how you felt when you scored your first radio job? Your friends couldn’t believe you were in “show biz”. You were in the mass communications business, working with well-known personalities, getting back stage passes, creating ideas for clients, and learning something new every day. It was FUN and you got paid for it!
And what about the first broadcast order you filled out? Was it more exciting than the daily grind today?
I happened to be at a client’s station the other day when a listener came in to pick up a prize they had won. One of the station’s staff asked if the winner wanted a tour of the station.
I couldn’t believe the response. You would think they were just offered an all-expense paid tour of Europe! “Really?!” she said excitedly, “I’ve never been in a radio station before!”
At that moment I quietly admitted to myself that I had become so close to the forest that I wasn’t in awe of the trees anymore.
Maybe it’s time for all of us to revisit our careers with the same enthusiasm that I witnessed in that radio listener.
Sure you’ve got budget pressures (you used to call them “challenges”) and your clients are cutting back or demanding competitive proposals and rates. But there’s a lot of sizzle to selling radio that many of us have forgotten.
Are you using the emotional power of music or the compelling sound of the human voice in spec spots to put the excitement and sizzle into your presentations?
Have you offered the services of your personalities to M.C. events at your client’s club? Is your station aloof or do you offer your audience station tours like the station I was at?
Do you offer your clients opportunities to sponsor exciting on-air contests?
While you might think all of the buzz today is around new media, there’s a lot to be said for local people being able to call their favorite station and talk to a real live person.
Your music inspires them and your information, contests and humour still evoke conversations around the water cooler. Radio advertising is just as effective today as the day you started in the biz. For you to be as effective as the media you represent, you may have to mentally fire yourself, and start over with a whole new attitude. Enthusiasm is contagious, and adding new-found sizzle to the steak you sell can make you the winner in an over-crowded new media landscape.
P.S. While you’re having fun again, I’m betting you’ll also make more calls and more sales.

Many of the biggest business success stories have sprung from models more focused on adding value to peoples’ lives than on the dogged pursuit of profits.
Henry Ford’s mission, for example, was to create a car the masses could afford. Google’s mission was to make information universally accessible and useful, and of course the profits followed.
While profits are a great gauge of the value delivered by a company, I submit that the heart and soul and attitudes within any business must spring from a greater purpose than the almighty dollar.
This particular ENS on Sales blog was sparked by the co-incidental number of heart-felt thank you calls I’ve received recently.
One person who I hadn’t been in touch with for years called me out of the blue last week. He had simply called to thank me. He said that even though he’s not in our industry any longer, he is a leader in the food service industry; his success in that industry stems from what he learned from me in radio sales years ago.
Shortly after that call, I was gratified to hear a regional radio and TV manager tell me “you were the one who taught me to sell 52-week campaigns, a skill which still serves my company well today.”
After several of these calls back to back, I thought about the indebtedness I have to these successful sellers.
I estimate that only 20% of sales people really aspire to our message and principles. But, it is that 20% that is responsible for 80% of the success at their respective companies, and it is that 20% that makes what we do at ENS Media so rewarding.
So thanks for the memories and thanks to that 20% for “getting it.” Seeing you succeed makes everything we do worthwhile!