Do your people do what prospects ask them? I hope not!
I became an advertising prospect a few weeks ago when I launched an exciting new product called SoundAdvice.
I called four different trade magazines and asked for their rate cards, and they sent them. That’s the good news.
The bad news? That’s all they sent rate cards or media kits….. no one followed up, no one made a presentation.
There was a fifth trade publication that found out about my SoundAdvice through the grape vine who has followed up three times. Each time he had a great story about his publication but he has yet to send a rate card.
Hello! Until you find a need and fill it, why would you send a rate card? I have the utmost respect for this fifth suitor.
Okay, so that was magazines. What’s that have to do with radio?
The bottom line is we’re not much better in radio. When someone calls for a rate card, we assume they’re going to buy. Many of us only put half the effort into those inquiries as we do trying to turn cold calls into warm calls.
This is NOT an opinion, it’s a fact.
At ENS Media Inc., we do marketing audits which include, among other components, mystery shoppers asking for rate cards and media kits.
I’m sad to say, 86% of my friends in radio will send rate cards or media kits and never follow up.

Do you have a clear policy and expectation when it comes to following up on bona fide leads?

          The dictionary defines coaching as ‘a vehicle to transport a valued person to a place where they want to go.’

          Let’s examine the key phrases;

‘A vehicle to transport’– that’s you, the coach. You are simply there to facilitate the transportation of your people to another level.

‘A valued person’– in the past, only valued people, like Kings and Queens had access to coach transportation.  The commoner traveled on foot or by horseback.

To make the best possible use of your coaching time, make certain your recruiting techniques only attract ‘valued’ recruits; people who have it in them to succeed.

‘To a place where they want to go’ – Different people want to go different places, we all have different goals. You cannot coach successfully without first understanding where each individual on your team wants to go. Once you understand where they want to go (in other words what motivates them), the coach then simply demonstrates how meeting the company’s goals will help the valued person get to where they want to go.

          There is much more to coaching than these basics. Managers who recognize that coaching skills will help them get where they want to go will read books or attend workshops to enhance their coaching skills. 

          I had the opportunity to interview a bright, young sales manager candidate just before Christmas who had worked for three distinctly different broadcasting cultures.
          One of his employers was programming-driven, one was sales-driven and the other was customer-driven. The only cultures he had not worked in were a bottom-line or share-holder focused organization.
          I asked which of the three cultures he would cultivate if we hired him for our sales management position. Without hesitating he said “the customer-focused culture.”
          Right answer!
          Organizations with a customer-focused culture are by far the most productive and profitable.
          In the course of consulting broadcasters, I have the privilege of being exposed to the confidential figures generated by all cultures; programming-focused, sales-focused, profit-focused, shareholder-focused and customer-focused.
          I can state unequivocally that the top and bottom lines of the customer- driven broadcasters are always superior to the results generated by the other cultures.

          The companies I have seen that focus on super-serving the three customer groups ALWAYS outperform competitors who focus on programming, profits or sales.

          Every week I hear sales reps or sales managers complain that their bosses are “cheap”.
          Your General Manager or station owners are NOT cheap.
          All good owners and GM’s are willing to take calculated risks, but it’s your job to do the calculation and minimize the risk, NOT theirs.
          Here are four tips to make it easier for your GM or station owner to buy something you want:

1.) Share the Risk. If you are absolutely convinced the investment you are asking for is going to help increase sales, put your neck on the line. Offer to forfeit a portion of your bonus or make some other personal sacrifice if the investment does not achieve what you said it would. 

          This tactic clearly demonstrates your confidence in an R.O.I. More importantly, if you are not confident enough to share the risk, maybe the investment isn’t really that sound in the first place.
2.) Timing.  Make sure the climate is right before you make your presentation. If your board has just ordered a spending freeze or if you just experienced your worst ratings ever, maybe it would be more prudent to present your request on a brighter day. Also, choose your battles carefully and only fight for ones you are passionate about. Running the idea-of-the-week up the flag pole every week becomes tiresome.
3.) Make Your Request Fit Your Manager’s Objectives.  Treat your request like a sale, because it is. Make a full presentation outlining why the investment will help your manager achieve her objectives rather than focusing on your wants and needs.
Consider return on investment.  How does the expense fits the company’s business plan?  How does it fit your corporate culture?   And what is your alternate proposal?
4.) Communicate! Last, but not least, when your company does fill your request, make sure you follow-up by communicating the results. Let them know when they get an R.O.I. on an investment you recommend. I’ve seen many successful projects abandoned because management was unaware of their success.

          We often make our best sales people our sales managers, assuming both professions require the same skill sets. They do NOT.

          It is obvious that sales managers, who have been successful in sales, recognize what makes a good sales person. But recognizing or practicing those traits does not automatically qualify a manager to train and coach those skills.

          While I can’t turn you into a professional trainer with one short SoundManagement tip, I can give you a heads-up to one important skill the best trainers have mastered.

          It’s the skill of helping others to discover that they have the solutions to most problems within them, rather than pontificating about your solutions.

          Managers who have not been trained to train often try to train by saying “This is the way I did it.” Frankly seniors who feel they are already successful don’t care how you did it. And skeptical young rookies are thinking, ‘but that was in the old days, Pops.’

          The best way to train is through a guided discovery process. Plan ahead to develop thought-provoking questions and exercises to help your people to discover ideas and answers themselves.

          This guided discovery approach has the added advantage of staff taking ownership of the ideas and solutions they feel are theirs, rather than yours.

          Craft your sales meetings and training sessions to allow senior sellers the opportunity to share their experiences with newer sellers. This is a great ego boost for seniors, reminds them what works for them and allows less experienced reps to learn from their peers.

          In addition, you can bolster the confidence levels of your rookies by encouraging them to share their thoughts and ideas. Very often they will discover that they have the answers to sales problems within themselves if they are given the opportunity to think creatively about solutions.

          And occasionally they’ll come up with a great idea that you, and your seniors, have never thought of!