Yearly Archives: 2026

radio sales ideas and advice blog

Don’t Sell 52 Weeks of Random Ads

If you’re asking an advertiser to commit to a long-term branding campaign, there should probably be a better creative strategy than:

“We’ll write you a new commercial every month or so.”

Otherwise, you may just be selling them 12 different commercials fighting for custody of the same brand.

Advertising trainer and BrandsFormation author Chuck Mefford teaches a a memorable way to build long-term campaigns: Bricks & Mortar.

The bricks change.

Stories. Humor. Customer problems. Situations. Seasonal angles. Different creative ways to earn the listener’s attention.

The mortar stays.

The positioning idea. Slogan. Jingle. Distinctive voice. Music. Sonic signature. Memorable phrases. The brandable pieces an advertiser can eventually own.

Here’s a completely made-up, rough example for our fake business, Northstar Appliance Repair.

Their main mortar is:

“Your appliance broke. Your day doesn’t have to.”

Now watch how we can build around it…

60-SECOND EXAMPLE

[BRICK]

SFX: Washing machine banging violently.

WOMAN: Okay. That’s new.

SFX: BANG. THUMP. BANG.

WOMAN: Honey?

MAN: Oh wow. If you’re wondering whether the washing machine is supposed to walk across the laundry room… I’m gonna say no.

ANNCR: Appliances have a way of breaking at the best times. Like Sunday night. The kids need clean clothes for school tomorrow, and the laundry basket looks like it reproduced overnight.

[MORTAR]

At Northstar Appliance Repair, we give you a realistic appointment window, let you know when we’re on the way, and explain what’s wrong before we start fixing it.

[BRICK]

SFX: Another loud THUMP.

MAN: Good news. It stopped moving.

WOMAN: Yeah, because it hit the wall.

MAN: Ah.

[MORTAR]

ANNCR:  Washer. Dryer. Refrigerator. Range. Dishwasher. When one quits, you’ve already got enough aggravation. You don’t need your repair company becoming another problem.

SFX: Two-note appliance ding

Northstar Appliance Repair. Your appliance broke. Your day doesn’t have to.

Now next month, we don’t throw all of that away and start over.

We change the brick.

One more example. 30 seconds this time…

30-SECOND EXAMPLE

[BRICK]

MAN: Why is the milk warm?

WOMAN: Why is the freezer making soup?

SFX: Short stinger

MAN: I’m afraid to ask about the ice cream.

ANNCR: When your refrigerator quits, you don’t need a lecture about compressors. You need somebody to fix the refrigerator.

[MORTAR]

Northstar Appliance Repair gives you a realistic appointment window, lets you know when we’re coming, and explains the repair before the work begins.

SFX: Two-note appliance ding

Northstar Appliance Repair. Your appliance broke. Your day doesn’t have to.

Different problem. Different story. Different commercial.

Same advertiser. Same promise. Same “house”.

I’m pretty dang sure we could make this fake appliance repair business a household name!

One important note: Bricks and mortar is one very effective way to build a long-term branding campaign. It’s not the only way. Great advertising can take a lot of different forms. Don’t turn a good framework into another formula.

This also gives you a much better way to sell long-term Radio.

Just don’t rush the start date. Take the time to build something great for your new client. If you tell them it may take 3 or 4 weeks to get the strategy and creative right, that alone sends a message: you’re not just trying to get them on the air. You’re trying to make this work!

Keep the mortar. Change the bricks.

Build a campaign – not a pile of commercials.

Something that has a chance to (in the words of Chuck Mefford) turn a good small business into a great local brand!

Would your sales team benefit from having a better reason to contact advertisers every single week? SoundADvice gives your entire radio sales team practical, advertiser-focused content designed to help open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue.

Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details. It costs less than three lattes a week.

Thoughtful doctor illustrating the Peak-End Rule and why the ending of a sales meeting matters

Don’t Blow the Goodbye

A study about colonoscopies is about to make you better at sales.

Yes. Colonoscopies.

Researchers Daniel Kahneman and Donald Redelmeier studied how patients remembered unpleasant medical procedures. Interestingly, people’s memories weren’t simply an average of the entire experience.

They were heavily influenced by the most intense moment – and how the experience ended.

It became known as the Peak-End Rule. Later research even found that patients given a slightly less-unpleasant ending remembered the overall procedure more favorably.

No, I’m not suggesting your sales presentations resemble a colonoscopy.

Hopefully.

But think about how many good client meetings end like this:

You’ve spent 30 minutes asking questions. You uncovered something important. You shared a great idea. The client is engaged.

Then…

You start gathering your papers.

“Well, I’ll put something together and email it over.”

You shake hands.

And… scene.

Don’t waste the ending.

Before you leave, remind them of one important thing they told you, connect it to one idea you’re excited about, and establish one specific next step.

Something like:

“You told me getting more qualified applicants is probably your biggest problem right now. I’ve already got an idea rattling around in my head for that. I’ll work it up and bring it back Thursday.”

That feels different, doesn’t it?

It shows you listened. It creates anticipation. And it gives the meeting an ending worth remembering.

We spend a lot of time worrying about how to open a sales call. Maybe we should put a little more thought into the last 60 seconds, too.

Because apparently, the goodbye matters.

Even with a colonoscopy.

Would your sales team benefit from having a better reason to contact advertisers every single week? SoundADvice gives your entire radio sales team practical, advertiser-focused content designed to help open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue.

Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details. It costs less than three lattes a week.

Radio’s Secret Weapon is Still Human

Coleman Insights recently sat down with ten radio listeners between the ages of 24 and 46 and asked what they like, dislike, and value about Radio. 

Ten people certainly don’t represent 200 million-plus weekly listeners. But what they said is worth paying attention to. 

One word kept bubbling to the top: 

Connection. 

They like Radio because it’s easy. Turn it on. No searching. No scrolling. No deciding which of Spotify’s millions of songs you’re emotionally prepared for at 7:13 in the morning. 

They appreciate hearing weather and traffic instead of looking at another screen. They like trivia, celebrity gossip, funny stories, everyday conversations, and hearing a song they forgot they loved. 

Several said Radio also gives them an escape from the heavier stuff going on in the world. 

There were complaints, too. 

Song repetition? Every listener mentioned it. 

Too much heated political talk? A turnoff. 

Bad commercials? Yep. 

One listener wished commercials “got a little help from the radio channel, because some of them just aren’t that good.” 

Ouch. 

Interestingly, listeners didn’t say they hated commercials. One even said they liked them because they made Radio feel current. 

There’s an important distinction: 

People don’t necessarily hate advertising. They hate advertising that wastes their attention. 

Then there was AI. 

Listeners overwhelmingly preferred real human personalities. One liked hearing little imperfections—even a cough—because it proved somebody was actually there. 

Another said if Radio replaced its people with AI, “at that point it’s a streaming service.” 

Exactly. 

Radio doesn’t beat Spotify by trying to become Spotify. 

Radio wins by being what Spotify can’t be: 

Local. Live. Unexpected. Useful. Entertaining. And wonderfully human. 

Now, I’ll add one of my own Radio pet peeves. J 

Some stations tease an interesting local story or fun fact… then say, “For the rest of the story, visit our website or app.” 

Just finish the story! I’m listening right now! 

If I’m driving, I’m not going to remember to look it up later. And I probably don’t want another reason to stare at a screen anyway. 

You had my attention. Then you sent me somewhere else. How do you suppose listeners feel when that happens? What do they murmur under their breath? 

Whether you’re a manager, salesperson, copywriter, or the salesperson who also has an air shift at 2:00… 

Protect that connection. 

It IS Radio’s greatest competitive advantage. 

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.

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