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Asking ‘Why’

When you are partnering in your client’s success through filling wants versus needs, there is one revealing question which should follow every question you ask….. “Why?”
           Even when you think the “why” is obvious, it is the answer to this powerful three letter word which will unveil what truly motivates your clients and prospects. It is this base motivation which will secure passionate long-term commitment.
            For example, a client may tell you her goal is to double her sales over the next five years. You may, in turn, may presume they simply want to make more money. But after asking “Why?” you may discover she really wants to create a more saleable entity so that she can sell the business and retire to Tahiti.
            Helping your prospect keep her eye on the ‘Tahiti ball’ will ensure more long term thinking and help you to avoid the desire for instant gratification.
            Often the initial answers to your traditional what, where, when and how, will only tell you the client’s proposed means to and end…..not their end or dream.
            By focusing on their vision instead of the means or methods, you are assured more buy-in, commitment and follow-through from your client. And more importantly, you may even be able to offer a better means to their end than the method they originally proposed.
            In that case, you will take your relationship to yet another enhanced level.
            You will notice that asking “why?” will always provoke more thought and more passion than the simple what, where, when and how traditionally asked in needs or solution-based selling.
            Don’t be afraid of the silence that follows “why?”…..it means you are really getting to the heart of the matter. In fact, even after you’ve gotten the deeper more meaningful answers to your prospects inner motivation, you might want to dig even deeper by asking, “Are you sure?”
            Remember, these are deep partnering discussions….discussions your client probably had with themselves in the past, but in the day-to-day realities of running a business they often loose sight of their original dream or vision.
            As the facilitator to re-visiting their dreams, your meetings will be like a breath of fresh air to your new-found “partner”.

 

Your Free Franchise!

Does your sales staff fully appreciate their FREE franchise…that’s right, they have a free franchise!
Think about it, what do you get when you pay for a franchise;

A recognized name and trade mark…..like your call letters

  • A protected territory….like an account list
  • Continuous product or service improvement…like your format and your audience
  • Training…..like the training you offer your sales people
  • Proven systems and procedures….like your traffic, ordering and billing systems
  • Advertising and Promotion….like the on-air listener contests you run
  • Market Research …..like Arbitron, TOMA and other research you pay for.
I have had the privilege of consulting several national franchise organizations and their franchisees, and can tell you that many franchisees pay $50,000 to $100,000 or more just to buy the franchise, then pay for real-estate, equipment, support staff and ongoing royalties for life, often to earn LESS than the top biller at your station!
One of the main selling benefits franchisors promote is, “You get to be in business for yourself but not by yourself.” ……don’t we offer the same benefits?
In most organizations, productive sales people are given the latitude to manage their own time, their own accounts and account strategies, but they have good management supporting them every step of the way.    

WOW! A free franchise with all of the benefits, none of the upfront costs or ongoing royalties, and an income potential that is greater than the average small business or franchise……makes the commissioned sales person feel a whole lot better about prospecting and developing new business for THEIR franchise, doesn’t it?

Surprise! The Low Hanging Fruit Has Already Been Picked

If you get the same kick out of seeing your clients succeed through your campaigns as I do, let me share a secret with you.
          It is based upon a principal that we all know….

                 share of voice = share of mind = share of market
Some of us however, under-estimate the power of share of voice, and how easy and inexpensive it can be for some business categories to capture.
          Old school sales training taught us to “Pick the low hanging fruit” or to “Go where the money is”.
          It’s that kind of thinking that guarantees every commercial you air will have a quarter hour average of at least 10 media sales people….each and every one of them knocking on the client’s door tomorrow telling them they made a bad media choice.
          One of the first things I have always done when entering a new market, is to seek out categories which did not harness the intrusive power of radio to capture market share.
          If, for example, no florists advertised on your station, someone in that category has a golden opportunity to “own” your audience. If one florist advertises on your station consistently over time, she can capture a one hundred percent share of mind with your audience with a relatively low investment.
          If on the other hand, ten car dealers each spend $75,000 on your station,  depending upon the message, each will probably only command a ten percent share of voice and ten percent share of market with your audience.
          Granted, getting a prospect in a new category to break from the pack and indulge in a consistent radio campaign is not easy, even though breaking from the crowd of competitors is exactly what they should do.
But here’s the good news;
1-    75 to 80 % of businesses in your market do not currently use radio or TV advertising. And because of old-school sales training these businesses have not been bombarded with the “we’re number one” media presentations that traditional advertisers have seen. You can be the media rep with dominant share of voice among current non-advertisers.
2-    Rate-cutting is not at the top of the non-advertisers’ lists because as non-advertisers they have not been exposed to the “we’re cheaper” media sales people.
3-    Results! Results! Results! Share of voice really does equal share mind and market. And it is more cost effective for your clients to get results in a media where they have no conflicting voices than it is in a media where everyone in the category is fighting for share.
So pick the high and hard to reach fruit. It is harder to get at, but sweeter when you get there……. for you and for the client!

A Place for “Packages”?

“Packages.” The mere word used to make my skin crawl as I reflected upon some of the demeaning “packages” I was forced to sell in the early days of my career.

            But “packages” do have a role in even the most sophisticated media marketing strategy. The key is not to let clients see cookie-cutter packages. Each cover and introductory page should be written to show how the package is custom-tailored to fit the client’s needs!!!
            Even if your building a 52-week long term culture, here’s a few of the reasons you might consider designing client-focused value propositions for your sales staffs;
1.    Packages need NOT be equated with discounts. In fact, properly “packaged” they can actually be premium-priced. A package is merely a highly attractive and enticing way of presenting a value bundle.
2.    A package gives rookies and seniors alike a new “excuse” to make a touch or contact. These relatively minor sales also give us the opportunity to deliver what we promised to new or skeptical prospects and open the door for bigger long-term investments.
3.   Packages should be fun. With a spiff or incentive, and a proper kick-off explaining all of the benefits from a customer’s point of view, they become the “What’s new?” in a sales world that can go stale from doing the same thing year in and year out.
4.    Focusing on strategically-designed packages can help sales people, and clients, appreciate certain portions of your programming or offerings that may otherwise be over-looked or under-sold.
5.   Packages are the great equalizer on the sales-contest floor. Everyone, junior and senior alike, has equal opportunity to sell timely and topical packages, regardless of account list size. Seniors can use them to “top up” buys, and rookies to introduce new clients to your stations. 
 
Bonus Reason…The Platinum Rule! – Whether we like it or not, some buyers are “package buyers”, period! The Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have done unto you”, has been replaced with the Platinum Rule, “do unto others as they would have done unto themselves”.
           So even though you might not want a package presented to you, some clients love them, and they can be great door openers to building more long term relationships

Opportunity Is Knocking!

The four most common problems we uncover in the media marketing audits we conduct are;
1. Media sales reps seldom make an effort to contact decision-makers.
2. Your competitor’s rates are not as low as you have been told they are.
3. Advertisers do not trust their media reps.
4. Customer-focused sales presentations are practically non-existent.
          Our audits include, among other things, a telephone advertiser perceptual study, as well as sending “mystery shoppers” into your market to solicit presentations from you and all of your competitors.  In the markets we have audited these four truths keep rearing their ugly heads;
            Reaching Decision Makers – Even though our mystery shoppers make it clear they are NOT the decision makers, less than 20% of the media reps we see, make an attempt to get to the decision-maker.
          The other 80% rely upon the mystery-shopper messenger to sell their product for them.
          Competitor’s Rates – Our mystery shoppers push hard for bottom-line rates. It appears that media reps find it easier to persuade their sales managers the competition is selling lower than it is to persuade prospects of rate card value. And clients are also adept at making you believe they can buy cheaper elsewhere.
          Relationships? – With all of the talk about customer-relationships, we still find that nearly 90% of advertisers feel their media reps are little more than space or time brokers.
          And yet our research reveals that clients desperately want to find someone they can trust to help them make their advertising decisions……..I guess that is why so many unqualified small “ad agencies” are able to thrive across North America.
          Customer-Focused Presentations– Our mystery shoppers tell every media rep we contact exactly what the marketing strategy and target market will be. But more than 75% of the resulting “presentations” are generic media kits or off-the-shelf packages that hype the media with little or no attention paid to the needs we express.
          Would you believe that more than 10% of advertising sales people never make a presentation when asked to…..or never return our phone calls?

          OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING!  If your organization is willing to build a culture where sales people know how to get to the real decision-makers, have rate integrity, build trust with prospects and make customer-focused presentations, there is undoubtedly lots of room for dramatic growth at your station