Author Archives: ensonsales

About ensonsales

Duane Christensen leads ENS Media and is the owner / operator of 9 Yards Marketing. For more than 20 years, he’s worked alongside local radio stations, advertising clients and media sales teams—helping businesses communicate better and helping salespeople become more useful to their customers. He writes ENS on Sales with one goal: practical ideas radio and media sellers can actually use.

Follow the Leader

The next time you are talking to a prospect who is infatuated by social media, try not talking to them about your ‘audience.’

      Instead, talk to them about your station’s followers or fans.
      I’m betting your station has more followers than your prospect’s social media page, and that they’d like to sell something to your followers or at least convert some of your followers to be their fans.

       Our local Share of Mind Surveys consistently prove broadcast’s role in driving more online traffic. Contact [email protected] to inquire about conducting a survey in your market.   

 

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Your Unique Selling Proposition

  If you have taken any marketing or sales courses at all, I’m sure you are familiar with the term ‘U.S.P.’, Unique Selling Proposition.

          But it is doubtful that you truly possess a Unique Selling Proposition.

          Most of your competitors have taken the same sales courses, read the same books, and follow the same basic sales process as you; prospecting, research, make the appointment, conduct a C.N.A. (customer needs analysis), present, negotiate and close.

          And if you did develop a Unique Selling Proposition that worked, your competitors would quickly adopt the same proposition and it will became the industry standard rather than unique.

          The U.S.P. you can have however, is a Unique Serving Proposition. Most of your competitors are so focused on prospecting, presenting and closing that they do not super-serve their clients.

          Tom Hopkins, the author of How to Master the Art of Selling and 11 other books on sales, says “Selling is Serving.” When you develop a Unique Serving Proposition you’ll truly stand out from your competition and capture higher renewal rates and longer customer relationships.

          Contact [email protected]  to inquire how our SoundADvice radio
e-marketing system can be part of your Unique Serving Proposition.

 

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Becoming a Great Coach

Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals, managed by ‘Mat the Bat’ Williams, will finish well behind the New York Mets, and miss the post season altogether.
          Mat the Bat had nearly 1,000 major league home runs during his career, but will now probably lose his first management job in baseball. Apparently, being a good player doesn’t necessarily prepare one to be a good manager.
          The same is true in sales. The salesperson who consistently ‘knocks the ball out of the park’, might not be a great sales manager. The skill sets for management are decidedly different from the skill sets for sales people.
          Having been a great sales person certainly makes it easier to capture the respect of your sales team, easier for you to help close sales with your team, and to recognize a great sales person when you see one.
          But managing, coaching, and motivating your team are skill sets you must learn and practice in addition to being a great seller.
          There are lots of great books and courses on management, leadership and coaching, and you owe it to yourself, your company, and your team, to learn the required skills as you transition from a great sales person to a world-class manager.
          Our ENS Media consulting program also includes a great two-step managing and coaching model to help you be a better leader.
Click here to contact Wayne to find out about our 2 Step Managing and Coaching Program

 

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Top of Mind Awareness Increases Your Sales

You may have conducted, or heard about, top-of-mind awareness surveys.

          While the digital media world seems to receive all of the lime light today, our Share-of-Mind surveys are helping broadcasters across North America to capture increased local advertising revenues.

Click here to learn the top 12 ways your advertisers, and your account executives, can benefit from facilitating Share-of-Mind surveys in your market.

 

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No Excuses

We hear sales people every day saying they sell themselves first. But as soon as something goes wrong, they don’t take responsibility. They blame everyone else in the organization. Traffic, copy, management, the IT department….you name it, the fingers start pointing when a promise made to a client falls off the rails.  But the client doesn’t care what went on behind the scenes. They counted on you when they bought, and they’re counting on you to fix the problem without having to hear a bunch of excuses.

    If you did sell yourself, the client bought because of faith in you. You made the promise and it’s up to you to take responsibility and deliver. You’ll build a much stronger relationship with your clients when you say something like “I apologise. I made a promise, and it’s up to me to fix the problem and solve it to your satisfaction immediately.”

 

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