Allow me to stand on my soapbox for a minute and speak to something I am very passionate about, or should I say, very passionate against!
Regardless of what size market we drive through, while listening to the radio we still hear the dreaded seven-digit, or worse yet, ten-digit phone numbers.
Yes, it is still happening! Is it happening on your stations?
The ONLY thing that could possibly be an even bigger waste of breath is when they do the unthinkable and repeat the ten-digit phone number.
In recent weeks while driving to see clients, I went through small, medium and even a major market. I would guess that approximately 15-20% of the ads I heard included unmemorable seven and ten-digit phone numbers. Why?
I realize that the business owner is usually the one that says, “I need my phone number in the ad, that’s how people reach out to me”. As media reps, it’s our job to explain to them how our medium is used and instead show them a better way to use those, seven, ten, or twenty words.
The listeners of your stations do not stand by, pen in hand, waiting to write down a phone number from an ad they previously heard that may or may not air again in the next commercial break. It’s simply not how people listen to the radio.
If the message is strong enough and creates enough desire, the interested consumer will find them. Nine times out of ten they will google the business name or speak into their phone and simply say, “Call Joe’s Pizza”.
There are only 5 times we should use phone numbers in radio or TV ads:
1) When the number is very easy to recall –
Example (prefix) – 1-2-3-4 or (prefix) – 20-20 (I’m still skeptical)
2) It’s said in a unique way that makes it very easy to recall –
Example 541- twoooo – sixxxx….seven – eight! (Still skeptical!!)
3) A vanity number –
Example 541–BEDS, or 1-800 – GOT JUNK
4) Direct Response ads – The rule of thumb is to repeat the number 4-6 times.
5) When a business doesn’t have a website or social page. (Shame on them)
Let’s make the world a better place and eliminate phone numbers in radio ads!
O.K., I am now off my soapbox! Thank you for allowing me to vent!
When selling a new prospect advertising on your station, how long should it take to make the sale?
The correct answer is… as long as it takes, to do it right! Too fast or too slow can both have negative effects. But in most cases, moving too fast can have greater long-term negative effects than moving too slow. Patience, more often than not, is a virtue!
Keep in mind that media sales are different than automotive, furniture, or insurance sales. In advertising sales, if we lose the sale to a competitor or don’t make the sale today, there will nearly always be another opportunity tomorrow or in the very near future. In the automotive, insurance and other like categories, the urgency is much greater. They know if they don’t get the sale today, that person may well be out of the market tomorrow. However, even with that said, the best salespeople regardless of what they are selling, nearly always have patience.
In media sales, there are two factors that determine how long you should take:
1) The value of the client. Is it a long-term client or short-term? The more potential value the client has, the more patience you should have. Don’t rush in with ideas and plans that aren’t well-thought-out. Make sure you play your cards correctly.
2) How much time does the client/prospect need to trust you? Trust, takes time and if they trust you at the point when they say yes to your plan, the chances are much greater that they will give your plan the time it needs to work.
Even if they don’t trust you, they may buy from you once or twice, but without trust, the chances of them being with you long-term are very slim.
In my experience, most of the medium to large, long-term contracts my team wrote took a minimum of 3 months to close, and more often than not it took 6 months or more. But once they bought into the ideas and plans that we had taken our time to create for them, they were committed and stayed with the program.
18th-century Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said it best, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”. It takes time to reap the rewards.
When you find a potential client that has value, be patient with them. Take the time to come up with great ideas. Ask deeper questions. Show a keener interest in their business and use that time to build trust and rapport. Once they say yes, you’ll have them for a lifetime.
Patience is a Virtue!