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Selling The Selling Message

My friend, Jim Blundell of CHUM Group Radio, has developed a very successful four-step selling system, step 3 of which is entitled, “The Pivotal Point”. Jim’s Pivotal Point includes developing a spec spot, and he asserts “Never, never, never, make a presentation without a spec spot! Never!”
            I agree whole heartedly with Jim’s selling system because it takes the focus off of rates and ratings, and puts it where it should be….on creating results and top of mind awareness for our clients.
            Some of your people, however, might not know HOW to present a spec spot. In a presentation I observed recently, the rep I was with played one spot one time for the client, then asked with a grin “How do you like it?”
            “Liking it” is not what is at stake here! What is at stake is the image or impression you and the client agreed needed to be created. Is it relevant to the target audience, not the client? And does it help the client reach their goals?
So here are seven steps to presenting spec commercials more effectively.

Tip #1            Present more spec commercials more often.
Tip #2           Set the scene with a written creative strategy.  Remind the prospect of the objectives and goals you uncovered during the discovery process with them.
Tip #3           Then ask them to listen to your campaign, NOT with a view to whether they, “like it” or not, but with the perspective of how your target audience would perceive the client. Does the commercial create an image and identity that is relevant, unique and sustainable over time?
Tip #4           Give the client or prospect a copy of the script to read as they listen.
Tip #5           Ask them to listen a minimum of two to three times before making comments or changes….after all, don’t we tell them your audience has to be exposed to the message that many times before it sinks in?
Tip #6           Present “campaigns”, rather than “spots”, complete with seasonal or opportunistic variations on your main theme.
Tip #7            Refer to Tip # 1.
P.S.  Always test fly your specs before you land in front of a client only to be embarrassed by an error or a technical difficulty

Hidden Targets

When building value for our medium, let’s not forget to remind our sales people and our clients of the “other publics” we can reach and influence.
            During the discovery process, try to determine the hidden communication goals your client might have in addition to reaching and influencing customers and prospects.
            Here are a few examples of other targets your top of mind awareness campaign can influence ;

Suppliers: Advertisers who recognize and promote their suppliers realize what good supplier relations can do when it comes to negotiating credit terms, co-op allocations, or being first in the market with new product offerings or factory clearance specials.  
Recruits:  Marketers who have higher awareness levels and goodwill in the community attract better resumes and candidates than those who no one has ever heard of.
Creditors:  Higher awareness and recognition can create valuable comfort zones within this target group. Bankers feel more comfortable with debtors who appear to be aggressively marketing themselves.
Staff:  Your client’s staffs, particularly those on commission, need to feel their employer is doing their part to generate business. Intrusive media are also great morale boosters when used to recognize certain staff achievements or accomplishments.
Purchasers:  More and more I’m finding local business owners who’s goal is to sell and retire in the near future. The high awareness levels created by advertising can actually be applied to the “goodwill” value of a business when it is being evaluated by purchasers.
Competitors:  The image, identity and awareness created by solid ad campaigns can actually intimidate or pre-empt would-be competitors from trying to open a business in the advertiser’s category.   
                         
            These are just a few of the “other publics” to look for when understanding a client’s needs. Demonstrating your understanding of a client’s need to reach one or more of these groups can often be the tie-breaker between your presentation and a competitor who is only offering traffic or GRP’s.

Professional Development

Most professions require their practitioners to upgrade their qualifications and skills on a regular basis. This is, in part, because there is so much at stake if a professional makes an error in judgment or performs their duties unethically. It is also a professional requirement to remain competitive. It has been said, “Our only competitive advantage is to learn faster than the competition.”  
          Lawyers must study the latest laws and president-setting judicial decisions, doctors must stay on top of new medical breakthroughs and surgical techniques and accountants must stay abreast of new accounting rules.
          Notice that professional skills development is the obligation of the professional, not the hospital, the law firm or the accounting practice. Professionals invest their own time and money to upgrade their skills.
          For example, my friend Kennen Williams, President of Noll and Associates, a broadcast sales training company, makes a point of reading a minimum of one new business book a month.
Your people should have a similar self-improvement plan. Why?

1.       Advertising sales is a rapidly evolving and ever changing profession. Your clients entrust your account executives with tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars to help them maintain and grow their businesses.
2.      Too many of our people treat our profession as a “job”. They rely on their employers or industry associations as their sole source of learning, taking no responsibility for their own professional development.
NOTE: “Professionals” also earn substantially better incomes than people holding down “jobs”.
3.           Because most media account executives benefit from a commission or performance bonus structure, their very livelihoods depend upon being the best they can be.
Have your sales people ask themselves;
??   Do I take the success of my clients and of my company seriously? To not do so is paramount to “malpractice”.
??  What am I doing to continually upgrade my knowledge and skills to ensure that I am qualified to be entrusted with crucial advertising budgets and to appreciate my worth to my employer?
Two final points;
1.      If a professional only gets the training their employer or industry offers, where is his or her competitive advantage over their peers with the same training?
2.      When you invest in yourself, that’s who owns the knowledge, should you leave the company.
 

If you are missing any ENS on Sales, wish to come off of the mailing list, know of anyone who wishes to be on the mailing list or simply just has any comments, ideas or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Wayne or Angela.  [email protected]   or   [email protected]

Telling the Real R.O.I. Story

Morris Saffer, founder and head of one of the first successful retail ad agencies in North America often said “It does not take a genius to increase sales, just put everything on sale at half price and your sales will increase. The genius is in increasing sales at a profit.”

            Your clients cannot send their kids to college or pay off their mortgages with traffic or sales….. the bills can only be paid with profits.
            Early 20th Century retailer John Wanamaker is credited with saying “I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted. I just don’t know which half.”……maybe it was the half that was hardest to measure…the half that created top of mind awareness, built customer trust and loyalty, and generated the most profits.
            Have you every tried to measure trust or loyalty? And if it can’t be measured, does that mean it has no value?
            It’s up to us as managers to educate our staffs and our clients on how to measure R.O.I. And in any R.O.I. calculation we MUST take into account any discounts or rebates offered because the brand was not strong enough to stand on it’s own. Every penny discounted from the top line must also be accounted for at the bottom line as a marketing cost.
            I have a concern that in this alleged “new-found” responsibility towards ROI, we will loose sight of what intrusive vehicles like radio and TV can do for
branding and top of mind awareness and what they in turn can do for profits.
            If R.O.I. gets measured by traffic and short term sales, rather than on relationships, profits, brand identity and lifetime customer value, than the media which naturally attracts the bargain hunters will win. Media which attract disloyal bargain hunters, such as coupon envelopes, flyers and penny-savers, could get a reprieve from their sentence as “profit-killers” and become the darlings in a new R.O.I. world.
            It is up to us at the local broadcast management level to ensure that neither our staffs nor our clients and prospects fall into the trap of confusing “traffic” or “sales” with profits.

A Day in the Life

Seldom does anyone look as good as they do on their resume. And often, previous employers are reluctant to give candid references.
            Recent surveys reveal that staff turnover costs in excess of $40,000 per failed recruit, so how do you find out if there is a true “fit” between your organization and the candidates you are interviewing?

            Try having them spend two days in the field with both your senior and your junior staff if they are one of your finalists in your recruiting process.
            From the candidate’s perspective, they get to observe the culture, the market and the methods of operation you and your people employ.
            Let them see the good, the bad and the ugly. Particularly if they are new to our business, don’t just cherry pick the good calls for them to observe.
            Let them see a major senior account presentation, but also let them sit in on some cold calls, collection calls and perhaps a sales meeting.
            This will let the candidate determine if you are a fit for them.
          From your perspective, your staff will be able to explore areas and uncover truths about the candidate during casual conversation that you can not legally find out during the interview.
          The fact that your prospect is willing to spend a couple of days in the field with no remuneration speaks volumes about their intent and commitment. 
          While the candidate is in the field to observe your people, they in turn will have the opportunity to observe the candidate. They’ll learn if the candidate has any skeletons. Did they have alcohol at lunch? Did they show up on time for every call? Did they ask the right questions in the field and do they reveal anything while in the car between calls, that is cause for concern or confirms your positive impression of the person.  
          In your post field-trip interview, exploring the prospect’s impressions of your culture and processes is also a valuable assessment tool.
            Bonus Benefit; If your people give the candidate a thumbs up after a day in the field, they will be more likely to welcome the new recruit as part of the team and help them jump start their new career with you.
 
Wayne Ens, President of ENS Media Inc. Inc, is a Principal with Noll & Associates.
Noll & Associates offers an interactive recruiting workshop entitled “Hiring Right”.