Monthly Archives: August 2026

What Are You So Afraid Of?

Have you ever heard of a salesperson who had to go to therapy because they stopped into a business and asked to speak with the owner? 

Neither have I. 

Yet prospecting can feel strangely terrifying. 

What if they’re busy? 

What if I interrupt them? 

What if they’re having a bad day? 

What if they say NO? 

What if they release the hounds? 

Okay, that last one is probably unlikely. 

But the fear is real. You’re definitely not alone. This fear causes a lot of salespeople to do everything except the thing that creates new business. 

They organize their CRM. Send emails. Research prospects for 47 minutes. Tweak a proposal. Check LinkedIn. Refill their coffee. 

All very productive-looking ways to avoid contacting another human being. 

One thing that makes prospecting less intimidating is knowing what you’re going to say before you make the call or walk through the door. 

Not memorizing a speech. Preparing. 

And know your goal. 

Your goal on that first contact probably isn’t to sell anything. It’s to get 20 or 30 minutes with them later. 

On the phone, keep it simple: 

“Hey Fred, can I steal a minute from you?” 

That’s pretty honest. You are stealing a minute.  

(I remember this from an audiobook I listened to years ago called “New Sales. Simplified.” By Mike Weinberg – and I really like it.) 

Then get to the point: 

“I’m hoping to visit with you for about 20 or 25 minutes next week. I’d like to bring you a couple of ideas, learn a little more about your business, and see if we might be a good fit.” 

Then stop talking. 

You don’t need a five-minute pitch. You need a reason for another conversation. 

Preparation creates confidence. And confidence usually doesn’t come before taking action anyway. 

It comes because of taking action. 

Pick a few businesses. Know who you want to talk to. Know what you’re going to say. Know what your goal is. 

Then make the call. Walk through the door. 

Worst-case scenario?  

They say no. 

Five minutes later, your life looks remarkably similar to the way it did before the call. 

Check your pulse. Still there? 

Good! Call the next one. 

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.

increase radio revenues

One Ad. One Job.

One of the hardest parts of writing a great radio ad isn’t deciding what to put in.

It’s having the guts to decide what to leave out.

Especially when you’re writing a branding ad – one designed to make a business known, liked, trusted, and remembered over time.

Too many radio ads try to accomplish six things in 30 or 60 seconds. And when an ad tries to do everything, it usually does nothing particularly well.

I recently read an article by storytelling coach Phillip Humm that offered a wonderfully simple formula for telling a short story: one character, one challenge, one specific moment, and one clear takeaway.

That translates beautifully to writing radio ads.

One Character.
Give listeners someone to identify with. Your customer. The business owner. The frustrated homeowner standing ankle-deep in something they really don’t want to be standing in.

One Problem.
Don’t try to solve everything the business does in one commercial. Pick a problem people actually care about (or can relate to) and build the ad around it.

One Specific Moment.
Don’t say, “We offer emergency plumbing service.”

Say, “It’s 2:13 in the morning and water is coming up through the basement drain.”

Now I can see it. That’s powerful.

Specifics are sticky. Generalities slide right through our brains like a greased watermelon through our hands.

One Big Idea.
When the ad ends, what ONE thing do you want the listener to remember?

Not six things. One.

That doesn’t mean your client only gets to talk about one thing forever. Write another ad. Then another. Over several commercials, you can tell a much bigger story about the business.

But each individual ad should have a job.

And if you give one radio ad twelve jobs, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t do any of them very well.

Before you send your next script to production, ask yourself:

What is this ad’s ONE job?

If you can’t answer that, your ad probably isn’t finished yet.

Better ad writing makes your clients’ money go further and work harder. Don’t they deserve a little more of your time – and an ad that does its ONE job really well?

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.

increase radio revenues