Category Archives: Sales

Things That Go Bump in the Sales Department

Halloween has always been a lot of fun for me.

The costumes. The creativity. The candy. The perfectly reasonable excuse for a grown adult to dress like a 7-foot banana.

What’s not to love?

And if you’ve spent a good chunk of your life in radio sales, you’ll realize something.

We don’t need Halloween to encounter some interesting characters.

The Ghost. 👻
That prospect who loved your proposal, promised to call Tuesday, then vanished into thin air.

The Vampire. 🧛
That client who wants to suck every last dollar out of your rate card.
“How about some bonus spots? Live mentions? A free remote?”

The Zombie. 🧟
That prospect who’s been saying “Call me next month” since approximately 2017.

The Werewolf. 🐺
The client who transforms into an expert copywriter when they don’t quite “get” what you’ve created for them.

And finally, The Mad Scientist. 🧪
My personal favorite.

The salesperson who experiments. Tries unusual ideas. Writes commercials that sound different.
Sometimes the experiment blows up. Sometimes it creates a monster of a successful campaign. But at least they’re creating something.

So, this Halloween, I’ll leave you with one thought:

You are the mad scientist, and the world is your laboratory.

Go experiment. Try something weird. Have some fun.

And if something blows up, well… that’s why laboratories have fire extinguishers.

Happy Halloween! 🎃

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Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details about our SoundADvice program. It costs less than three lattes a week.

Not Every Business Needs Radio

Sometimes I think I look at billboards just to torture myself.

I saw a billboard for a company that rents townhomes. At least, I THINK that’s what they do. Their name was enormous, but I practically needed binoculars and a stoplight to read what they actually offered.

It was basically a very expensive name tag. I didn’t even recognize the name.

Could the billboard be better? Absolutely. Something like, “Outgrowing Your Apartment? Rent a Townhome.”

But wait. That might convince someone to start looking for a townhome… but does nothing to convince them to rent from THIS company.

Their advertising could end up making their competitors very happy.

So, could Radio work for them?

Absolutely. Especially, when I can use 30 or 60 seconds versus seven.

But first, I’d want some answers. How many vacancies do they have? What makes their townhomes special? What’s a new long-term renter worth to them? Are they planning to grow?

If they have plenty of vacancies and something truly unique that we could build some emotionally compelling ads around, I might get pretty excited about selling them Radio.

But if they’re just looking to fill a handful of vacancies, Zillow or some well-placed Google Ads might make more sense.

Just because a business CAN buy Radio doesn’t mean it SHOULD.

And that brings me to PROSPECTING.

Are you spending your valuable time chasing businesses simply because they might buy Radio? Or are you pursuing businesses with the potential to become happy, long-term advertisers?

Be selective. Look for businesses with growth potential, passion for what they do (this is a big one), adequate budgets, and a willingness to invest in building their brand over time. Businesses you can truly help grow.

Because the more happy, long-term clients you develop, the less you’ll stress about whether you can hit your numbers or not.

You’ll be happier. Management will be happier. Your clients will be happier.

And those short-term advertising dollars you pick up along the way?

That’s just gravy.

Sometimes the smartest sales decision you make is deciding who NOT to sell.

Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details about our SoundADvice program. It costs less than three lattes a week.

If You’re Waiting for Renewal Time, You’re Already Late

When do you start working on a client’s renewal?

If your answer is, “A couple weeks before the contract ends,” you may already be too late.

Especially if you want more dollars.

Waiting until the last minute usually creates one of two outcomes:

“Let’s just do what we did last year.”

Or…

“Can we talk about this in a few weeks?”

Congratulations. You’ve successfully scheduled another meeting. I’ve done it more than once – and kicked myself every time.

A renewal shouldn’t begin with a contract. It should begin with a conversation – preferably 60 to 90 days before the current agreement ends.

And don’t walk in saying, “It’s renewal time!” Nothing gets the blood pumping quite like those three words.

Instead, start talking about next year.

What does the client want to accomplish?
What could be working better?
What should you change?
What new idea could help them grow?

Then go back to work.

Create a better campaign. Bring them a promotion. Develop a new ad idea, slogan, testimonial campaign, sonic identity – something that gives them a reason to get excited about spending more money with you.

That’s the difference.

An advertiser rarely gets excited about paying more for the same thing.

But they might get very excited about a better idea.

Starting earlier also makes you less pushy, not more. There’s time to think, adjust, create, discuss budgets and get other decision-makers involved without the expiration date breathing down everyone’s neck.

So, pull up your account list. Who expires in December? January? February?

Don’t wait for the renewal date.

Start earning the renewal now.

Want a useful Radio sales idea like this every week?
ENS on Sales is free and written for Radio salespeople and managers who want to sell smarter, create better advertising, and grow more revenue.
Subscribe to ENS on Sales →

Would your sales team benefit from having a better reason to contact advertisers every single week? SoundADvice gives your entire radio sales team practical, advertiser-focused content designed to help open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue.

Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details about our SoundADvice program. It costs less than three lattes a week.

Your First Draft SHOULD Be Too Long

When I write a 60-second radio script, my first draft is sometimes closer to two minutes.

The first draft is where I dump out an idea, start writing, and see where it leads.

The next few drafts are where I decide which words deserve to survive.

Speaking and communications coach Phillip Humm calls a common communication mistake “spray and pray.” We give people every detail. Every feature. Every reason. Every teeny-tiny nugget we’re afraid to leave out.

Then we hope something sticks.

It happens in sales presentations too.

You’ve got 37 slides, research, coverage maps, ratings, demographics and enough charts to make your PowerPoint need a cigarette afterward.

But what’s the ONE thing you want the prospect to understand?

Humm recommends a great exercise: explain your idea in two minutes. Then one minute. Then 15 seconds.

You’re not practicing how to talk faster. You’re forcing yourself to decide what matters.

Try it with your next radio script.

Write everything you might want to say. Then start cutting.

Creative is too important to treat the first draft as the finished product. Kill the weak sentence. Lose the second-best benefit. Remove the clever line that doesn’t move the idea forward.

Keep the strongest words, images, emotions and specifics. Specific details give listeners something they can actually see, hear or feel – which makes them much harder to forget.

Great writing usually isn’t created by adding more. It’s uncovered by removing what doesn’t belong.

Most advertisers will happily give you 90 seconds of information they think absolutely has to be in the ad. Your job is to protect them from themselves (which should be a topic on its own).

Whether you have :60, :30, or :15… your job isn’t to fill the time…
Your job is to make the time matter.

By the way, this article was at least 25% longer when I started.

Would your sales team benefit from having a better reason to contact advertisers every single week? SoundADvice gives your entire radio sales team practical, advertiser-focused content designed to help open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue.

Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details. It costs less than three lattes a week.

Don’t Sell 52 Weeks of Random Ads

If you’re asking an advertiser to commit to a long-term branding campaign, there should probably be a better creative strategy than:

“We’ll write you a new commercial every month or so.”

Otherwise, you may just be selling them 12 different commercials fighting for custody of the same brand.

Advertising trainer and BrandsFormation author Chuck Mefford teaches a a memorable way to build long-term campaigns: Bricks & Mortar.

The bricks change.

Stories. Humor. Customer problems. Situations. Seasonal angles. Different creative ways to earn the listener’s attention.

The mortar stays.

The positioning idea. Slogan. Jingle. Distinctive voice. Music. Sonic signature. Memorable phrases. The brandable pieces an advertiser can eventually own.

Here’s a completely made-up, rough example for our fake business, Northstar Appliance Repair.

Their main mortar is:

“Your appliance broke. Your day doesn’t have to.”

Now watch how we can build around it…

60-SECOND EXAMPLE

[BRICK]

SFX: Washing machine banging violently.

WOMAN: Okay. That’s new.

SFX: BANG. THUMP. BANG.

WOMAN: Honey?

MAN: Oh wow. If you’re wondering whether the washing machine is supposed to walk across the laundry room… I’m gonna say no.

ANNCR: Appliances have a way of breaking at the best times. Like Sunday night. The kids need clean clothes for school tomorrow, and the laundry basket looks like it reproduced overnight.

[MORTAR]

At Northstar Appliance Repair, we give you a realistic appointment window, let you know when we’re on the way, and explain what’s wrong before we start fixing it.

[BRICK]

SFX: Another loud THUMP.

MAN: Good news. It stopped moving.

WOMAN: Yeah, because it hit the wall.

MAN: Ah.

[MORTAR]

ANNCR: Washer. Dryer. Refrigerator. Range. Dishwasher. When one quits, you’ve already got enough aggravation. You don’t need your repair company becoming another problem.

SFX: Two-note appliance ding

Northstar Appliance Repair. Your appliance broke. Your day doesn’t have to.

Now next month, we don’t throw all of that away and start over.

We change the brick.

One more example. 30 seconds this time…

30-SECOND EXAMPLE

[BRICK]

MAN: Why is the milk warm?

WOMAN: Why is the freezer making soup?

SFX: Short stinger

MAN: I’m afraid to ask about the ice cream.

ANNCR: When your refrigerator quits, you don’t need a lecture about compressors. You need somebody to fix the refrigerator.

[MORTAR]

Northstar Appliance Repair gives you a realistic appointment window, lets you know when we’re coming, and explains the repair before the work begins.

SFX: Two-note appliance ding

Northstar Appliance Repair. Your appliance broke. Your day doesn’t have to.

Different problem. Different story. Different commercial.

Same advertiser. Same promise. Same “house”.

I’m pretty dang sure we could make this fake appliance repair business a household name!

One important note: Bricks and mortar is one very effective way to build a long-term branding campaign. It’s not the only way. Great advertising can take a lot of different forms. Don’t turn a good framework into another formula.

This also gives you a much better way to sell long-term Radio.

Just don’t rush the start date. Take the time to build something great for your new client. If you tell them it may take 3 or 4 weeks to get the strategy and creative right, that alone sends a message: you’re not just trying to get them on the air. You’re trying to make this work!

Keep the mortar. Change the bricks.

Build a campaign – not a pile of commercials.

Something that has a chance to (in the words of Chuck Mefford) turn a good small business into a great local brand!

Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the important details. It costs less than three lattes a week.