Yearly Archives: 2025

brainstorming for ideas in radio sales and ad writing

Brainstorm Sandwich

I really like Seth Godin’s daily blog, called Seth’s Blog. He makes me think.
One of his recent articles, titled “A Writer’s Room”, really hit home.

It made me think about how often we try to do it all by ourselves. Armed with caffeine and determination, we lock ourselves in our offices trying to crank out the next great campaign or big idea. But creativity doesn’t thrive in a vacuum – it thrives in conversation.

Gathering coworkers, your production team, or other outside resources for a quick brainstorm can turn ordinary ideas into something remarkable.

Invite a few people for a “Brainstorm Sandwich”. It’s when you pick a quiet area to brainstorm for a client – and you bring the sandwiches.

Whether it’s a whiteboard / storyboard session, or just a focused conversation… it will be well worth your sandwich investment. Take good notes, record the audio on your phone, or better yet – both.

Diverse expertise and multiple perspectives bring more ideas to the surface. One idea brings another and another and another. Then, they feed off each other. The ideas that stick, then get refined and polished. It’s a win for you and a win for your clients.

“Both of us are always smarter than one of us.”

Now go schedule your Brainstorm Sandwich. It’s productive and delicious!

13 Revealing Questions That Win Trust with Your Radio Clients (and Better Radio Ads)

Ever wonder why some people seem to win clients for life – while others can’t get a call back? Well, it’s not because they have a slicker pitch or a better-looking proposal.

It’s because they ask better questions.

What’s the best way to get a new client and keep an existing one?
Earn their trust.
Earn their trust.
Earn their trust.

There are many ways to do that… but one of the best is by asking revealing questions – the kind that go beyond surface-level chit-chat.

When you ask better questions, you send a signal to the business owner’s brain that says, “This person actually gets it. They’re not just here to sell me something – they’re here to make it work.”

And there’s a bonus: better questions give you better answers.
Those answers become the building blocks of smarter ad strategies – the kind that separate your clients from their competition, fill your notebook with fresh ad ideas, and deepen your understanding of how to truly help them succeed.

Try asking questions like these:

  • What’s the most revealing comment you’ve ever heard from a customer?
  • Do people ever get your business confused with a competitor?
  • What’s harder today in running your business versus 5 years ago?
  • Have you noticed any change in your customers versus 5 years ago?
  • What’s one thing about your business that people don’t know?
  • What was the best year you ever had… and why was it such a good year?
  • Have you ever thought that the money you spend on advertising could be more effective?
  • What’s one thing that your top competitor does that you think brings them new customers?
  • What’s happened in your industry in the last 3 years to make things more difficult for you?
  • What do you see happening in your industry over the NEXT 3 years?
  • When you buy advertising, what are a couple of reasons for choosing which media you’ll use?
  • What’s your biggest grossing product or service?
  • What’s your most profitable product or service?

Coming up with better questions just takes practice. Take 45 minutes, undisturbed, and write down ten of your own revealing questions. Then, go through them again and make them better. Keep your list handy. Then, you can customize each question for any business you have in mind.

You might have clients who’ve been with you for years and you’ve never asked them questions like this. Schedule a meeting purely to learn more – not to sell. When you do, they’ll see you differently. They’ll trust you even more.

Anyone can sell an ad.
But only the ones who ask revealing questions become trusted advisors.

You’ll become the rep they look forward to talking to.

Are You Scarce?

There’s a simple law: no one buys anything unless it produces more value than it costs.

That law applies to sneakers, vacations, and yes… to you – Mr. or Ms. Salesperson.

Clients don’t buy from you because you “need to make monthly numbers.” They buy because you deliver more value than the next. And in a world of look-alike proposals and cookie-cutter ads, how do you make sure you’re seen as valuable? Why pick you and not someone else?

One word: scarcity.

When something is scarce, it becomes precious. Gasoline is necessary, but it’s cheap compared to bourbon that’s been aging in a barrel for 20 years. A plain hamburger is easy to get, but people will wait an hour in line for the one legendary burger joint in town. Front-row seats at a sold-out stadium? Scarce. The bleachers at a minor league game? Not so much.

The same is true in our business. A rep who’s easy to replace gets treated like tap water. A rep who’s hard to replace gets treated like single-barrel whiskey.

How do you become scarce?

  1. Bring insights, not just packages.
    Anyone can quote rates or flaunt the latest rankings. Few can connect marketing dots, explain how creative is the biggest factor in ROI, or show how top-of-funnel radio makes every other tactic stronger.
  2. Write ads that don’t sound like every other ad (or like ads at all).
    Generalities are wallpaper. Specifics are sticky. Dig deep, use stories, and create copy that competitors can’t duplicate.
  3. Ask sharper questions.
    Scarcity comes from perspective. If you uncover something about a business that the owner hasn’t articulated before, you become indispensable.
  4. Invest in creative thinking.
    Big ideas are harder to come by than cheap rates. If you bring them, you instantly set yourself apart. Sometimes all it takes is a quiet room and a few thinking caps (don’t forget you have a team who can help).
  5. Genuinely care about your clients’ success.
    Business owners want someone who cares about their success, not just their spend. That genuine care can’t be faked.

Scarcity creates value

The market pays more for what is rare and hard to replace. If you want your career to command “front-row ticket” energy instead of “cheap-seat” treatment, stop being interchangeable. Create value in ways your competition won’t – or can’t.

Anyone can sell advertising (or try). Not everyone can become scarce.