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Justice Equality for All

Justice, Equality and Productivity for All

            Your phones are probably not ringing off the hook with hot new leads these days.   Every new lead, or RFP (request for proposal) you receive, is more valuable than ever in the new media economy.
            In the name of distributing leads ‘fairly’, many stations distribute their leads in equal rotation to all of their reps in turn.  But is this ‘fair’ to your customers or you station?
            Still others distribute their leads evenly among their account executives to avoid making difficult decisions or being accused of showing favoritism towards one rep or another.
            You may have noticed that some reps consistently have average sales that are higher on new leads than others, but assumed those higher average sales were as a result of higher quality leads.
            Not necessarily so.
Here’s the bottom line; not all leads are equal, and not all account executives treat their leads equally.
            If your station is to be truly customer-focused, you need to be fair to your prospects first, and your account executives second. Matching your customers’ needs with the skills of your account executives will ultimately result in bigger sales for your station.
            Some account executives are more knowledgeablein certain business categories than others. Some are better at discussing advertising strategy or ideas than others. And some are too busy to do a complete Customer Needs Analysis to realize a new account’s full potential, and simply take a token order and run.
            When distributing leads, put the customer first! Who is the best rep for that particular lead? Who will give the customer the most time and expertise and generate the best results over time?
 
P.S. In the case of a tie between two reps’ abilities, try giving the lead to the rep who deserves it,as a reward for his or her recent efforts.
 
 
 

Premium Packages

A New Perspective on Packages

 
            Why do so many radio ‘package’ offerings default to offering discounts?
            Smart packagers create premium packages as a way of taking the focus off of their base product pricing.
            Take BMW, for example. When BMW offers their ‘sport package’, customers do not question the basic BMW price, and are left to negotiate on the much more profitable ‘options’ portion of the sport package.
            Each option, like sport wheels, spoilers, tuned suspension, sport seats, steering wheel and low profile tires, by themselves cost a fortune. But as a ‘package’, you get all of them at a discount while paying full pop for the base automobile.
            In radio, our station promos, liners, sponsor credits, on-air contests and other elements of our programming should actually be priced with huge margins because they are not perceived as ‘commercials’ or programming interruptions by the listening audience.
            When you ‘package’ this valuable inventory at a discount rate from the high-margin promo rate, you can take the focus off of the basic spot rates in your ‘package’.
            The packaging guidelines we use at all of the stations we consult include;
1.) All packages should be priced at a minimum of ten percent over your average invoice price. The amount of your average invoice tells you what your clients, the market and most importantly, your sales people think your station is worth.
Why go to all of the trouble of creating a special package if it can’t give you a lift to that value?
2.) All packages include brand sell commercials for the advertiser at full rate, with only the added value being discounted.
            It’s been said that a smart man makes a mistake and learns from it. A wise man hires a smart man and avoids those mistakes altogether.
            We’ve seen lots of mistakes at media companies across North America and can help you avoid them! Our consulting services are guaranteed to give you a minimum five to one return on your investment or we willrefund your investment in full.
            Want to learn more? Contact [email protected].    
 
 
 

Doing What’s Right

     Is There a ‘Sales god’?

           Sometimes I think there is a sales god; someone who watches over salespeople and rewards those who do what’s right.
          Last week I made a very difficult decision.  I had a client that I really liked working with and that I knew I could dramatically increase sales for.  However, they weren’t buying in and taking our proven sales best-practices to the street. They were not receiving full value from our consulting services, so I fired them.
          It was a difficult decision, not only because I liked the client and knew I could do a lot to help them, but because there isn’t a line-up of stations looking to add the expense of a consultant to their ledger these days.
          But a couple of things happened when I made that decision;
1.) I felt better!  I felt like someone had taken a ton of bricks off of my shoulders.  My client wasn’t getting full value for his investment, yet I was cashing his checks…..not a good feeling.
2.) I booked more new business in the days following that difficult decision than I’ve booked in months! 
          Maybe there is a sales god.  Why not do the right thing for your clients and test my theory for yourself?  I’m betting you’ll feel good, be re-energized, and ‘lady luck’ will shine on you!
 
 
 
 

Selling in the New Economy

Selling in the New Economy

 
          By the time your client tells you she’s going to cut back her advertising, she’s laid awake many nights considering other alternatives.
          Advertisers who have made this difficult decision are prepared to counter your standard comebacks and are ready to defend their position when they tell you the news.
          No business owner ever delights in cutting their advertising and every business wants what advertising can deliver; badly needed customers.
          When advertisers talk about cutting their advertising, tell them, “You are right.”   
          Say something like, “You do need to change your advertising in this economy.” What advertisers really want is increased sales, not cuts to the one expense they have that can actually bring them more sales. Opening dialogue to uncover changes in advertising strategies can save the business….yours and your clients’. Your empathy will melt their defensive position and help them reconsider the difficult decision they’ve made. Then substitute the word “cut” with the word “change”.
          The Conspicuous Consumption Economy is over. We are not merely in a recession, we are in a correction. Conspicuous Consumption won’t be displayed like a badge of honor in the new Safety And Security Economy.
          Mutual fund sales people, for example, who used to sell a fund to make their customers rich, now have to sell that same fund by persuading them they’ll be safe and secure in their investment.
          Focus your discussion on changing your clients’ copy to appeal to more nervous consumers or changing their marketing strategy to fit new consumer sentiments. Your prospects will welcome the opportunity to try something new to get a return on their advertising investment, rather than cutting it out of desperation.
          Our Selling In the New Economy sales workshop shows your account executives how to persuade advertisers not to cut their advertising, but to change their advertising to appeal to the new consumer sentiments and new business opportunities.
          We explore eight new strategies and four new business opportunities that are helping stations to increase their sales right now!
          Email Wayne if you would like a free, no-obligation demo of how Selling In The New Economy is helping stations across North America to increase their sales.
 
 
 

Sales Contest Success

 Three Keys to Sales Contest Success

 
          All good sales people are competitive by nature; not fiercely competitive, but in a fun and challenging way.
          Internal sales contests can add focus, fun and excitement to your sales team’s daily activity. Three keys to running successful sales contests are;
1.   Reward activities and effort. Your sales people are already rewarded with commissions and bonuses for results. Rewarding activity, such as written presentations or spec spots, ensures you’ll see more of the activities which you know will produce results.
Rewarding activities also ensures a level playing field where reps with smaller account lists have as much chance of winning as the fat cats do.
2.   Have a jump start prize. Contests that get off to a slow start are never as productive as contests which reward the first person off the mark. Some sales people don’t even get off the mark until they see others do so.
3.   Have visual reinforcements.  Have activity charts on your sales room wall which participants can proudly fill out in front of everyone every day, and make sure they know you are watching that chart and recognizing achievements throughout the campaign. 
 
And of course, always make your contest goals realistic, yet challenging.