There is a fervent advertiser thirst for ‘new media’. For advertisers who have not used radio in the past, radio can be their ‘new media’ alternative.

It’s time for radio account executives to get serious about attracting new business to radio.

Many stations launch ‘new business’ initiatives which merely see their stations steal business from other radio stations.

The new business I’m talking about is converting print or online advertisers to a media mix with a strong radio component…. Real new business, from an advertiser who has not used radio in the past and had no intentions of using radio…. Now that’s ‘new business’!

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tender for a share of existing radio budgets. You know who has the budget, they’re already sold on radio, you know their buying criteria, and you simply meet or beat that criteria. And, in the long haul, submitting to requests for proposals does not contribute to exponential growth for our industry, it merely redistributes the available dollars.

Finding real new business does require a little rocket science. Opening doors with advertisers who have no intention of using radio is much more challenging than walking through open doors; but every new door we walk through and win, is a huge win for radio and your station.

The timing for capturing more new radio advertisers has never been better.

The internet has virtually replaced all things print, from newspapers to yellow pages. This rapid and growing media change is leaving former print advertisers desperately looking for new media alternatives. Their desperation is compounded by rampant digital fragmentation, fraudulent clicks and likes, and changes so rapid that even the ‘experts’ have trouble keeping up.

click here to arrange a free online demo of how our SoundADvice training and marketing system can help you sell a strategic mix of tried and proven radio to inspire and new internet platforms to inform, and to help you capture more new business.

The internet has totally changed the way your audience buys.

Your advertisers probably remember the old days when they greeted customers who said they were, “just looking.”

Today, consumers have already done their “just looking” online.

The best ads today don’t try to change the way consumers shop, they tap into the way consumers shop.  Using intrusive media like radio to create pre-need awareness and preference for a business, and inspiring consumers to search for that business by name online, is the new media success formula.

Internet guru, Seth Godin, suggests that when consumers are searching online, “It is better to be sought, than to be found.”

When consumers happen to find a business online, but have no prior knowledge, awareness or preference for that business, their choice simply defaults to the cheapest provider.

And all of the SEO tricks in the world can’t guarantee a business will be found when all of the businesses competitors are using the same SEO techniques.

The only way a business owner can sleep at night knowing their business will be found, is if they are sought…. Their prospects have heard of them, trust them, and search for them by name.

Advertisers need intrusive radio advertising to create a pre-need awareness and preference to persuade their prospects to search for them online, by name.

Many online advertising proponents will claim online advertising is, “interactive” and position intrusive media like radio as, “interruptive”; as if that’s a bad thing.

In reality, online advertising is more reactive than interactive. In other words, consumers don’t begin to search for a business until they are reacting to a need they have.

The company websites and social media pages that generate the most traffic, are those which have created a pre-need awareness and preference in their prospects’ minds with ‘interruptive ads’ in intrusive media.

Radio advertising is no longer measured solely by foot traffic or telephone inquiries, but rather by online search. Radio is one of the most powerful SEO tools on the planet.

It’s a scientific fact, that for every negative, there is a positive. Unfortunately, our friends across the hall in news and editorial seem to get an adrenaline rush from focusing on the negative.

A recent Associated Press release was headlined, “US Job Growth Drops to 142K, Slowest in 18 Months.” The first sentence began with, “A surprising drop in hiring…..”  The writer didn’t get to the positive until deeper in the article when he said that the unemployment rate fell to 6.1% from 6.2%.

My headline would have read, ‘US Economy Continues to Add Jobs’ and I’m more likely to focus on the employment rate, at 93.9%, rather than the unemployment rate of 6.1%… But that’s why I’m in sales.

When your client expresses a negative, it’s up to you to find the corresponding positive. It is almost impossible to persuade a prospect the negative does not exist, but it is possible to help them see the positive in that negative.

For example, a prospect might say your station “doesn’t reach everyone” and they’ve decided to use direct mail because it “reaches every household.” It’s an uphill battle to change that belief. But, you can talk about the difference between ‘reach’ and ‘influence.’ While a direct sales mail package might be thrown in every mailbox, only those that are welcomed and opened can influence the household.

You can quickly turn your perceived negative into a positive by admitting your station doesn’t reach everyone. You can then explain that those who do tune in welcome your station and its advertisers, as opposed to receiving unwelcome junk mail… It’s called ‘junk’ mail for a reason.

You’ve probably seen signs that say, ‘No flyers please’… I’ve never seen a sign saying, ‘No radio please’.

Every negative or objection you face has a corresponding positive. Click here  to arrange a free online demo to learn to learn how you can become a member of the SoundADvice radio e-marketing system systematically makes radio’s case to your prospects positively and convincingly every week.

He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.
Arriving at the airfield, he spotted the plane warming up outside a hanger.
He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, ‘Let’s go’.
The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off.
Once in the air, the photographer instructed the pilot, “Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides.”
When the pilot asked ‘Why?’ the photographer responded, “Because my TV station wants some close up shots for the 6 o’clock news.”
After a strange silence, the pilot stammered, “Ss so, you…you’re, NOT my flight instructor?”

All too often, in our hurry to capture a sale, we make dangerous assumptions. The only way to avoid making dangerous assumptions is to ask questions.

Never assume that you are talking to the decision-maker, nor assume your prospects see value in advertising or that your proposal solves a problem your prospect agrees is a problem. You can’t even assume your client will keep the appointment you made without first calling to confirm the appointment is still on.

Ask questions each step of the way and you’ll have a happier landing.

Having a sales conference or convention? Consider having our ‘Becoming a Master Questioner’ sales workshop as part of your agenda to help your team develop superior questioning skills. Contact [email protected]

In game theory and economic theory, zero-sum describes a situation in which a participant’s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participants. If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero.

Radio is not a zero-sum game.

It’s time our industry recognized that radio is an infinite game. There is plenty of room for more advertisers in our media, and there are more than enough advertisers to go around. In fact, our research reveals that slightly over 80% of local businesses in most markets cannot even recall having been contacted by a radio account executive!

Creating more radio advertisers would be better for all of us, than fighting for share of existing radio advertisers.

Author and internet guru, Seth Godin says that authors recognise reading is not a finite game and that more reading, is better than less reading, even if what’s getting read isn’t  theirs.  Seth says “Authors often promote each other’s blogs and books, and tweet each other’s handles to their followers.”

Godin goes on to say “It turns out that in most industries in the connection economy, that’s precisely what works. When a business that’s comfortable not having 100% market share happily recommends a competitor, they’re sending a signal about trust and confidence and most of all, about feeding the community first.”

Are you feeding the radio community first? Are you making the radio pie bigger, or are you fighting for share of a shrinking pie to the detriment of the radio community?

Your competition is not other radio stations. Your competition is everything from direct mail to social media, and from newspapers to yellow pages and SEO consultants.

Our Winning in the New Media Economy local advertiser seminars and SoundADvice inbound marketing system are creating  more new radio advertisers every week…. to the detriment of other media, not to your radio brothers and sisters.

If you want to send a signal about the trust and confidence you have in radio, and create a bigger radio pie in your market in 2015 and beyond, contact [email protected]