Author Archives: ensonsales

Prospect for “PASSION”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will tell you that there are approximately 60 registered businesses for every 1000 population within a city. Of these 60 registered businesses, we suspect approximately 50 of them are viable prospects that have the ability to advertise on some level. So, in a city of 50,000 people you have approximately 2,500 viable prospects!

If you have been to one of our workshops or seminars in the past five years, you’ve heard us say that Main Street is shrinking, and that the best places to prospect today are in the service and professional business categories. But regardless of the business category, there is one important quality to look for when prospecting. That quality is… an owner who has “PASSION” for their business!

If you read last week’s ENS on Sales, Just Fishing or Trying to Land the Big One, you’ll recall I stated that nearly every six-figure account my sales team landed took three to six months to land, and some even longer. What I didn’t say was that these same accounts started out spending small and grew from there. But ultimately these business owners all had one major thing in common! You guessed it… they ALL had PASSION for what they did.

There is no secret to identifying those who have it. You’ll feel the passion once you meet them. They get excited, even “gitty” when they talk about what their company has to offer. They share more exciting stories, have more love for their employees and customers, are more open to your ideas and have bigger dreams for their business.

When prospecting, look for the business owners who have passion. Then have the patience and knowledge to help them get where it is they want to go! All they need is someone like YOU, who has nearly as much passion about their business as they do and knows how to make advertising work.

Are your Advertising Reps trained properly to handle these and other accounts? If you have the passion to help your reps be all they can be, click here and let’ s discuss how ENS Media can help train and brand your sales team as marketing professionals.

Just Fishing or Trying to Land the BIG ONE?

Fishing is very much like advertising sales. First, we must prospect or fish in the right spots, use the right bait and equipment, and then we must know what we are fishing for. Are you fishing just to catch some fish, or are you trying to land the BIG ONE? And, how do you know when it’s a BIG ONE?

We know that furniture stores, car dealers, and grocery stores all have great potential, but they are not always the big fish. In fact, sometimes you would just as soon throw some of these back!

If and when you hook onto what you believe is a big one, there are a few lessons that we can learn from the fishermen.

First, you need to let them nibble a bit, don’t try and set the hook too quickly. Secondly, take your time reeling them in. Just like setting the hook, if you reel too hard and too fast your chances of losing them increases.

If you know you have a prospect with great potential (A BIG ONE), take your time, educate them on how you can help them, ask more questions, have additional meetings to make sure you have all the bases covered, and don’t try to get them in the boat before they are ready. A longer sales cycle typically reaps better success.

The biggest fish, like the biggest prospects, need to be handled with great care. I can tell you that nearly every six-figure account that my sales teams landed took 3 to 6 months to get on the air, and in some cases, even longer.

Patience is a virtue! Once you have the hook set, guide them in with due diligence, but be prepared for sudden changes so you can adjust accordingly. If they should decide to swim up stream one more time, give them some line (more information) and then steer them back towards the boat. Your chances of getting them in the boat will greatly increase.

If you would like your team to become better prospectors and learn how to land the BIG ONES, click here and we can visit on how ENS Media can help train and motivate your team to have more success in 2019 and beyond.

Happy Fishing – Happy Training!

Become the Expert!

Your prospects and customers prefer to do business with people they feel they can trust and that can bring value to their business. But, how do you gain the credibility to be known as the expert?

There are several different ways to build “Cred”, but here are a few ideas:

One – Testimonials. It’s one thing for you to tell a prospective client that you know what you’re talking about; it’s another thing to have someone else tell them. If you have testimonials, use them! You should do what you ask clients and prospects to do every day, and that is to market yourself. Put a portfolio together that talks about you, who you have worked with, what you have done, what you do to get better, and include testimonials. Then hand them out as a resume. After all, you are applying for a job to handle their advertising!

Two – Start writing and get published. There are hundreds of magazines, blogs, E-zines that are starving for good material. Contact them and offer to write articles.  Or, you could write your very own weekly or monthly newsletter/blog and send it to your customers and prospects. It doesn’t have to be long, just good! Write it and they will read it!

Lastly, and this one might scare the “Glossophobia” out of you (Fear of Public Speaking), but it’s very powerful and will establish your credentials as an expert. It’s public speaking!!!

The most important thing to remember about public speaking… it’s easier when you are speaking on something you are passionate about. What part of what you do are you the most passionate about? Speak to that and it’ll be much easier.

Becoming known as an “expert” takes extra effort, hard work, and moving outside of your comfort zone. If this weren’t true, everyone would be an “expert”.

If you would like help with becoming known as an expert, contact us to learn more about ENS Media’s SoundADvice program which is designed to brand your marketing reps and your station as advertising experts!

P.S. Rick will be at Radio Show in Orlando this week, so if you’re there, give him a call at 605-310-2062 and let him know. He’d love to meet as many readers of ENS on Sales as possible.

Practice What We Preach

Every day we ask our clients to promote and market themselves. Are you marketing yourselves? The most successful stations we work with are visible everywhere in their communities, in pursuit of audience. But I’m convinced their high visibility does even more for their revenues than it does for their ratings!

Prospects who don’t listen to your station can get the impression that everyone else in town does listen to you when your vehicles, banners, sponsorships and staff are seen at every community event they attend.

With all of your competitors claiming to be “number one”, most business decision-makers don’t believe ratings.  On the other hand, they do believe their own eyes and have confidence in your popularity when they perceive they see you everywhere.

Retailers claim the key to success is location, location, location. Are your station vehicles tucked away overnight in an employee’s driveway or hidden behind your station, or do you have a plan to keep them out, moving and visible?

Do your personalities pull a shift then hide in their cocoons the rest of the day, or are they out and about, clearly identifying themselves as your stars with their attire and vehicles?

By the way, radio advertising works too! The easiest person to sell is someone who listens to your station….you don’t have to convince them someone listens, they know firsthand. Do you run creative, relevant, thought-provoking commercials to attract new advertisers?

Our business is no different than our clients’ businesses. Advertising is the first link in a marketing program, but advertising only “attracts” audience and sponsors. It’s what comes over your speakers and what we do to create value for our advertisers AFTER the sale that will determine your long-term success.

Our radio e-marketing system, called SoundADvice, can help brand and advertise your reps and stations by providing useful marketing tips to your clients and prospects each week. It can be the most cost-effective advertising you can buy. Contact Rick to learn more.

Only 3 Ways to GROW a Business

Everyone is trying to grow their business. Well, almost everyone. Occasionally, we run into that business owner that says, “I don’t want to get any bigger”. While they may have legitimate reasons, the old saying still holds true, “If you aren’t growing, you’re dying”.

In our industry, we are expected to grow, and the emphasis is usually on selling more advertising than you did last year. Regardless of the industry, the 3 ways to grow your business remains true.

Here are the 3 ways to grow your business:

1)  Sell more of what you are currently selling

2)  Increase the price/rate on what you are currently selling

3)  Offer additional products/services to what you are currently selling

If it were only that easy! There are many points, counterpoints, subtitles and bullet points that go behind each of these three statements. But, regardless of how you slice it, everything will fall into one of these three categories. Keep in mind, I said 3 ways to GROW business, not increase profits. Then, you can add a 4th element which is… Cut Cost!

These three points are not only a good lesson for us in the media business, but it’s good information to pass along to the clients and prospects that we call on. When you point this out to them, at the right moment, your knowledge of business will be evident. It gets them thinking and they will admire you for it. You may get some push back from “that client”, but I have never had anyone come up with something that doesn’t fall under one of these three ways.

If you come up with one, please share it with me. Knowledge is Power! Like you, I strive to “Get Better Every Day”.

Happy Training!