Who has the greatest impact on your station’s revenues and on your personal income, your biggest client or your top sales person?

          I think the answer is obvious….it’s your top sales person.

          Now imagine this. Your biggest client has just issued a challenge. “My management team and I are reviewing all of our media buys with a view to cutting one of them. I need you to attend a meeting to explain to our group what the heck we’re doing on radio, why we should continue, and why your stations are the best choice if we do continue”.

          Now answer this question. How much time, effort and creativity are you going to put into preparing for that client meeting?

          Now answer this question. Will you put the same energy and creativity into preparing for a sales meeting that includes your top biller? 

          Over time, many of us have lost sight of how important, and productive, sales meetings can be. We look at our watches at 8:15 AM and say to ourselves, “I guess I’d better prepare for our 8:30 meeting”. Sound familiar?

          ENS Media Inc. conducted a survey of media sales reps in 2005 which revealed that 89% of sellers thought sales meetings were “usually a waste of time”!

          Do we really want to waste the time of our most valuable assets?

          The litmus test of how valuable your meetings are to your staff can be found in how often your senior people find excuses, like unavoidable client meetings, to not attend them. Chances are, if they are ducking your meetings, yours too, are “usually a waste of time”.

          I suggest we should put more time and effort into planning and preparing more productive sales meetings.

          Properly conceived, sales meetings can achieve four important objectives each and every week; training, communication, motivation and entertainment.

          For a few guidelines which might help you, click on Sales Meeting at our website, www.wensmedia.com

P.S. Wayne is publishing 52 weekly sales meeting templates plus 12 monthly special event meeting templates this Fall for your 2007 sales meetings. For less than $4.00 per meeting you will have something “new” to present at each and every one of your meetings next year. If you want to be on the list of managers who receive a no-obligation information kit about this special offering this Fall, please email [email protected] to indicate your interest.    

          When developing Platinum, Preferred Customer or V.I.P. packages we shouldn’t default to ‘bonus spots’ or discounts as our only preferred customer rewards.

          We have many bells and whistles we can add for substantial, long-term advertisers.

Here are but a few you may have forgotten or over-looked.

1.      Rate protection guarantee…no Johnny-come-lately will be able to purchase the identical reach and frequency for less.

2.      V.I.P. creative treatment…maybe a jingle, maybe a positioning statement or a proprietary creative concept.

3.      First right of renewal.

4.      Three-year inflationary guarantee…in return for a major sponsorship, guaranteed rates won’t increase more than the rate of inflation regardless of how successful your ratings are.

5.      One free remote per quarter…only the cut-ins are free, the spots come from the spot bank they purchased.

6.      Guaranteed category exclusivity … for certain programs, features or day-parts.

7.      A preferred customer Service Contract… including regular, post-campaign analysis for continuous improvement, regular copy changes, first right to ‘special’ throughout the year etc.

8.      ‘Supersize’ them……give them an additional 50% frequency overnights or weekends for another $1.00 per spot. This only has a value if you place a value on overnights on your rate card.

9.      Make them the exclusive ‘Category Contact’ for your news room…when there’s a story about their industry and we need a local perspective or quote, we call them…. potential free news exposure and credibility!

10.  Make them the category exclusive member …at an annual ‘advisory board meeting for your station’s programming, promotions or sales departments. If you sell more than one in the same category, just have more than one advisory board or focus group meeting. Let their voices be heard and make them feel like a V.I.P.!

          There are ten thought-starters to get you going…..the bottom line is clients like to feel important. When we’re asking for major buys up front, we need to give something besides spots and discounts in return!  

There is something powerful about the element of surprise. It has won wars and hearts.

          Advertisers know that, it is the unexpected, not the cliché or ordinary, that captures the attention of consumers.

But did you know that the element of surprise can be a powerful motivational tool with your sales force too?

There is an element of entitlement or deservedness attached to commissions, incentives and bonuses that are part of your deal upfront.

But on rare, warranted occasions, nothing is as powerful as an unexpected reward for effort.

          I learned the power of unexpected recognition from an early mentor of mine who, after a particularly grueling couple of months in a recessionary economy, handed me an envelop.

          “Wayne”, he said “Here are a couple of tickets to Sarasota, Florida and the keys to my condo. I know you’ve had a tough time recently, and I want you to know your efforts have not gone unnoticed.”

          To this day, I remember the impact of that surprise more than all of the bonuses and sales contests I have won over the years.  

          I’m sure my mentor didn’t realize that surprise gesture prevented me from accepting several offers from other broadcasters. Or, maybe he did!

          Sales contests and incentives are great, but the winner(s) expect the reward.

          On that rare occasion when you notice extraordinary effort, a small surprise reward can result in more staff loyalty and greater future performance than you might have ever imagined.

Can consumers really avoid the repetitive advertising messages conveyed by intrusive media….radio and TV?

Have you ever had a prospect tell you: “People don’t listen to commercials. I never remember who was advertising.”

People who make this claim usually cannot be swayed by statistics or recall surveys. They think they know themselves and believe that they, and their prospects, understand what makes them do the things they do.

          When they make this claim, try this tried and proven ENS Media exercise. Ask them: “Did you ever catch yourself humming a tune to yourself that you didn’t even like?”

          Invariably, the answer is, “Yes”.

Then follow-up with: “Now, I’m going to play psychic. I’ll bet you were not only humming that tune you didn’t like, but that you actually knew the words!”

          Watch their facial expression and body language…..their mind will go there and they will realize you are right. Repetition causes recall even against our will.  This self-realization will prove to be much more powerful than any facts or figures you can present to the non-believer.

          Advertising avoidance is just one of the Media Myths which prevent advertisers from investing in broadcast advertising.  

When it comes to intrusive media, like radio and TV, what people want to do, or think they do, and what the mind actually does, are two different things.

          Intrusive repetition is a powerful force. We may think we hit the button every time we hear something we don’t like, but if that’s true, how did that awful tune get into our heads?

          It is partly because of this phenomenon that I question surveys which ask questions like: “How did you hear about our business?” or “What made you buy our product?”  The truth is, we don’t really know all of the influences or reasons our minds do what they do.

 And, while we can’t measure the reasoning of the human mind, we can measure the actions. If you have an advertiser who’s product is flying off the shelf or their phone is ringing off the wall, that should be the only ‘survey’ they need to conduct.

           Now go back to humming that tune you don’t even like. Oh, and don’t forget to throw in the words.  

          The term “gorilla” is often used in reference to “utilizing unconventional tactics to achieve maximum results with minimal resources”.

The best managers have mastered the conventional skills of attracting and motivating good people. When Lord Thomson of Fleet decided to hand the reigns of one of the biggest newspaper empires in the world over to his son, he was quoted as saying “I’ve surrounded him with geniuses so he can not fail”.

   &mmp;nbsp;      I won’t be able to give you all of the skills required to surround yourself with geniuses in this short memo, but here are a few gorilla recruiting tactics you can implement to maximize your effectiveness with limited resources.

1-     Always be recruiting. Do not wait until your top sales person leaves you unexpectedly to begin the search for a quality replacement. Always be on the look out for, and build a file of, good people who could fill the bill.

2-     Check the references the applicant does NOT list. You have to assume the applicant is not foolish enough to list someone who will discuss their negatives as a reference. Do some digging. Find a previous employer or employee, past or present customers, anyone who can candidly share the nature and skills of the individual.

3-     Employ proven profile testing. Having the applicant submit to the testing process achieves a number of objectives, including; a.) You’ll get objective insights to areas of concern you might not have uncovered in your initial interview. b.) The test will give you a refined format for a valuable second interview c.) The process emphasizes how important the position is to you, and creates a more professional image for your company.

4-     Job shadow. Have the applicant spend the day shadowing two or three of your staff who have similar jobs to the one being applied for. Make sure the staff doesn’t sugar coat the day’s agenda, and that the candidate sees the best and the worst of the job.

Debrief your staff as they may uncover things about the candidate during casual conversation that you might never uncover in a formal interview.

The candidate may also discover during the day that your company culture or the job they’ve applied for is NOT the fit for them they had assumed….better to find out now rather than 90 days from now.

5-     Avoid cloning! I often see sales forces where the staffs are mirror replicas of the sales manager.

Just as a team made up of nothing but goalies won’t give you the cross-section of skills required to win the game, a team of your clones won’t give you the personality diversity necessary to win a diverse group of clients in the marketplace.

Attracting and motivating good people is what management is all about. Managers can not motivate people who do not have an inner motivation, so it is imperative that you acquire the skills necessary to uncover your candidate’s aptitude, attitude, skills and experience if you are going to maximize your abilities as a leader.