Author Archives: ensonsales

“If We Could Turn Back Time…”

“…and do things differently, I would….…”

That’s a common statement that nearly everyone has made regarding nearly everything we do in life, both personally and professionally.

In some cases, we would not change a thing. But in others…?

In last week’s ENS on Sales Who’s Promoting YOU, we suggested that if radio could have a re-do, or, as Cher sang it so well, “If we could turn back time”, there are two major things that radio could have done and should now do differently on the sales side of our business. These two things alone would make a tremendous impact not only with our reputation but ultimately, where we stand on the totem pole of revenue share.

We are happy to report that very soon new markets will in-fact start to “promote their group and their sellers”. Thank you to those that chose to reach out. You’re on the path to success!

The second thing that radio should do, if they could turn back time, is to train, and I mean REALLY train our media reps. Not just how to sell, but on how to make radio work!

Here’s how it went in the old days and unfortunately is still happening more than we care to admit. We hired someone that displayed a great attitude and effort. We then had them watch a few videos on selling radio or maybe just selling, i.e. Jason Jennings or Chris Lytle. Then, within a matter of a few days, we armed them with a depleted deadbeat account list (that the rep before them failed with), new business cards, pointed them towards the streets, and with a pat on the back, we cheerfully said, “Go out and make some sales!”

Even if your new seller was good and they did what you asked, made the calls, and made some sales, we all know what happened next. On the follow-up call, when they tried to sell another package, the client says, “It didn’t work”! Hence the reason we now have businesses all over the planet earth, saying “I tried radio once and it didn’t work”. We’ll duh!  ! It didn’t work because we didn’t train or teach the sellers how to make it work! …And it’s not the seller’s fault!

In nearly every other profession, vocation, and industry, they train their people before they ask them to perform. But in radio, we hire on attitude and effort, provide little to no training, and expect miracles. Heck, in little league sports they train for two weeks before testing their skills. We can do better! Our clients deserve better!

The most successful sales organizations will tell you that a proper, well-planned, on-boarding program and an ongoing training program is key to their success.

“Your Life Can Only Get Better When You Do! 

Do Something Every Day to Improve Your Key Skill Areas.”  

– Brian Tracy

Because you are a regular reader of ENS on Sales, we’ll assume that we’re preaching to the choir and you are NOT doing what is suggested above. If so, you should be proud of what you are doing – keep it up! Never Stop Learning – Get BETTER Every Day!

Unfortunately, we can’t turn back time, but if you’re serious about building a more professional media sales team, ENS Media can help. To arrange a call to visit about how we can help turn your team into professional media reps, click here.

Who’s Promoting YOU?

Do you promote your stations and/or yourself? I mean really promote, more than the one or two times a year when you’re running a station promotion that you sell ad packages for?

The fact is that most radio stations don’t!  But yet every day we strongly suggest to business owners that they should promote their businesses via the radio on a regular, ongoing basis. In fact, many suggest to their clients and prospects that they should advertise 52-weeks a year and never take a break.

I’ve often stated that if radio could have a do-over, you know, go back in time and start over again, there would be two things that if our industry did differently would make all the difference in the world. One is… Promote ourselves in the same manner that we ask business owners to promote themselves.

Here’s another question… If you don’t promote your stations or group regularly on your own stations, why should we expect the businesses we deal with to believe that promoting/advertising is the right thing to do for themselves?

I can only assume you believe in the power of radio. If so, prove it! Your station or your group of stations should be your biggest advertiser! Are they?

Easier said than done, right?

Promoting your stations and/or yourself on a regular basis not only takes effort but thought. We can help you with both! We make it very easy and VERY affordable.

If you would like to become one of the very few stations or groups that promotes themselves regularly, give us a call or email [email protected] to arrange a time to talk.

Oh yeah… and the other thing our industry should have done differently? We’ll talk about that in a future issue.

The Greatest Gift

“The more one knows, the luckier he is, for knowledge is the greatest gift in life.”

– L. Frank Baum (author of Wizard of Oz)

Many years ago, I was given one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. I am not sure I completely understood it at the time, but eventually and thankfully I did.

The gift that I received was in the form of a quote and message. The quote was by Mark Twain, “The man who can read but doesn’t is no wiser than the man who can’t”.

The message was, “It doesn’t matter what you read, just read. If you are reading, you are learning”. 

Both the quote and the message were given to me by my mentor. Since that time, he has also given me many books and has suggested many others.  Thanks Jake!

If your goal is to become a better media rep, a better manager, a better mother or father, a better spouse, a better friend, a better leader, or just an overall better, happier, and wiser person, here is a list of recommended reading that will help:

Nelson Mandela, Portrait of An Extraordinary Man – Richard Stengel (Leadership and Life)

Restoring the Soul of Business, Staying Human in the Age of Data – Rashid Tobaccowala (Business Leadership)

Mind Gym, An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence – Gary Mack (Mind over matter – Good for business too)

Boys in The Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics – Daniel James Brown (Motivation, Tenacity, Endurance)

Game Plan for Life, Your Personal Playbook for Success – Joe Gibbs (Faith-Based, a guide for success in business and life)

Whale Done – The Power of Positive Leadership – Ken Blanchard (Leadership for work and home)

The Difference, When Good Isn’t Good Enough – Subir Chowdhury (Business Management and Leadership)

Mr. Jenkins Told Me… Forgotten Principles That Will Grow Any Business – Jonathan Bancroft (Business and Leadership)

Onward – How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul – Howard Schultz (Business)

Marketing Outrageously Redux – How to Increase Your Revenue by Staggering Amounts! – Jon Spoelstra (Marketing – Advertising – Business)

The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus, How to Get Big Things Done in YOUR Workshop All Year Long – Eric Harvey, David Cottrell, Al Lucia, Mike Hourigan (Leadership – Setting Goals – Business)

Remember, the person who can read but doesn’t isn’t any wiser than the person who can’t read!

We wish you a very Blessed and Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2021!

Increase Your Approval Ratings

In the political world, politicians are rated two ways, by approval ratings while serving their term, and then ultimately at election time when their constituents either vote to keep them in office or send them packing.

In our world, advertising sales, we too are rated by our constituents, better known as our clients and prospects. How they perceive you will ultimately determine whether they choose to do business with you in the future, continue to do business with you, or increase the amount of business they do with you.

So, what’s your approval rating with your clients and prospects, and what are you doing to ensure that it’s not only strong now, but growing stronger?

If the only things your clients ever receive from you are proposals and invoices, your approval rating is probably low. If so, at some point, they’ll use their voting power by saying “no” to you!

The key to creating and maintaining a strong approval rating is by being something more than just another media sales rep. Are you educating them? Are you a resource for them and their business? Do you bring value to their business? Do you care only about their advertising or do you show concern for their overall business?

When you walk through their doors, do they make excuses to not see you, try to hide, or try to put you off? Or do they stand up and greet you warmly knowing that you are there to help them and not just sell them?

One of the products that we offer at ENS Media is called SoundADvice. SoundADvice is designed to do exactly what we are talking about today. It’s a four-part e-Marketing program sent each week to your clients and prospects on your behalf. It includes the media rep’s photo and the station logos, positioning them and your stations as the “advertising experts” in your market.

SoundADvice covers a wide range of topics related to running a business. Topics such as employee motivation, hiring and firing, customer relations, promotions, sales, all forms of marketing and advertising, and everything else related to running a business. Nearly all issues have a well-disguised spin on radio and advertising that provides an opportunity for you to start a conversation with your clients and prospects.

If you are interested to learn how the SoundADvice program can help you and/or your sales team increase your approval ratings with your clients and prospects, and ultimately increase your sales, click here to see samples with brief explanations of each part.

To see the true test of how effective SoundADvice is and how it can help you, click here to see testimonials from sellers and managers.

For a more detailed explanation of the SoundADvice program, additional examples, and pricing, call (605) 310-2062 or email [email protected].

Keep Fighting the Good Fight

 

The definition of fight the good fight, besides the biblical version, means, “Do your best. Do what is morally right.”

         “I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you  care.”                                                                                     -Lou Holtz

If you have been a reader of ENS on Sales, you know that one of the things I feel very strongly about and am willing to stand up and fight for is that of our local businesses, and the battle they have with out-of-town e-commerce companies that do not support our communities in any way.

In a little over one week, the holiday shopping season begins. For many of your local retailers, this holiday season will be much more than fighting the good fight; it will be a battle of either staying in business or shutting the doors.

For the past three years, we have asked and suggested that you stand up and fight for your local businesses in the battle against online, out-of-town, e-commerce companies. Are we winning the battle? The answer for most is No! Due to the COVID pandemic, both Amazon and Wayfair posted huge profits in both Q2 and Q3 of 2020.

So, the question is… Do you sit back and let them continue to pick away at our local retailers, or do you keep fighting the good fight?

I can assure you that regardless of how the local businesses fair during the holiday shopping season, they will remember who stood up and fought for them.

“Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker

We hope that you choose to do the right thing and air ads in support of your local business community. To help, we have written a new “Buy Local” script titled, ‘Twas Just Weeks Before Christmas. Click here to receive a FREE copy of the script.

Keep Fighting the Good Fight!