Do you understand what business you are in?

I once asked one of Toronto’s top morning men, Bob McAdorey, how he made the transition from a top 40 format to a country format.  Bob said, “What transition? It’s not about the programming, it’s about the audience.”

Some of us in sales could benefit from that wisdom.

I recently saw two ads from two different media companies that were looking for local sales executives.

One was from a radio station, which among other qualifications, was looking for someone with a “knowledge and love of country music”.

The other was from a newspaper looking for “a representative to provide our valued customer with creative, effective advertising/marketing solutions”.

Having sold successfully for virtually every format, past and present, I can tell you there is a lot more money to be made selling customer-focused ideas than there is trying to persuade someone to like your music or programming.

Put yourself in the client’s shoes.  Do you really care about your account executive’s programming preferences, or do you want someone who can provide creative and effective advertising/marketing solutions for your business?

I strongly recommend that having a “knowledge and love” of your stations’ audience, and an understanding of what motivates them to buy from your clients, is much more important than having a knowledge and love for the music that attracted that audience.

Are your sales people trying to persuade clients to like Waylon Jennings or Mick Jagger?  Or are they focused on generating sales for your customers?

     Last week we discussed the three most common reasons for staff not enthusiastically embracing spec spot creation. Here are eight steps you can take towards fostering a better relationship with your creative team, and towards having better spec spot results.

1.  Pre-qualify every account rather than relying on a spec spot to work magic in an impossible situation.

2.  Keep your creative people in the loop. If a spot doesn’t sell, get back to them and tell them why.

3.  Give your creative people as much information as you possibly can about the prospect’s competitive position, image and long term aspirations.

4.  Give the creative department some intellectual freedom….don’t hand-cuff them with sixties or thirties, and talk to them in terms of strategy, not tactics or “your idea”.

5.  When you get the spot, have a conversation to discuss the writer’s and/or the producer’s strategic thinking that went into the campaign. And say “thanks”!

6.  Sell, sell, sell! If you believe the idea is the right approach for a client, present it in the light it deserves, and don’t let the client’s personal taste interfere with the strategic correctness of the idea.

7.  If it doesn’t sell, let the creative people know why. Explain the steps you took to sell it, and discuss the next steps in creating a campaign which will be successful.

8.  Last but not least, prove to your people that their efforts were not in vain. Discuss what other clients might have similar objectives and tweak the campaign to fit them until someone DOES buy it.

P.S. A little financial incentive or recognition for every spec-spot sold can also go a long way.

Many of the sales departments that I consult complain of an apparent reluctance on the part or writers and/or producers to enthusiastically embrace spec spots. As spec spots are the one of the most important tools in               de-commoditizing our product, it is important that you understand the cause of this reluctance, and take steps to pre-empt it.

          While the avoidance of your spec spot creation is usually blamed upon “lack of time” or being “too busy”, here are the three most common real causes of spec spot reluctance on the part of your writers/producers;

1-     SILENCE! Your lack of communication regarding your appreciation of, or the results from, a speculative commercial presentation is the single most critical factor in fostering a disgruntled attitude towards creating spec spots.

When your writers or producers take the time to create what they think is just the right approach to close more business for the station, they assume THEY failed when you don’t make the sale or the campaign does not get to air.

Often when they hear nothing about the results of their efforts they assume the client never even heard the campaign….and I’m sad to say that sometimes that is actually the case! 

2-     Insufficient information. Try giving your spec spot information to one of your piers and see if they think they have enough information to write a campaign. Most of the time there just isn’t enough information.

3-     Insufficient effort. Often sales people do not present or defend the speculative creative approach, and take “no” for an answer in favor of coming back with yet another spec spot.

There is a reason your staff has the attitude it does towards spec spots.

Next week’s SOUNDManagement will share eight steps you can take to have spec spots enthusiastically embraced at your station.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due!

The Christmas rush is over. It’s been one of the most successful Christmas sales seasons ever for our local sales people. And they’ll be receiving their just rewards in their commissions and bonuses.

          The great ones recognized their key customers over the holiday season with super service and in some cases year-end recognition in the form of cards, letters or even gifts.

          But what about your internal customers? Your traffic, accounting, creative and production people just went through their busiest time of year as well. What did they get for their peak-period performance other than more work, longer hours and increased stress?

          It’s been said that, “you can be as successful as you want to be as long as you are willing to let others take the credit.” Let’s start the New Year by recognizing the huge role and contribution of our sales support staffs.

          The sales staff should collectively, from their own pockets, recognize these valuable resources. Maybe it’s with a special dinner, and not on the station tab or trade account. Or maybe take up a sales department collection to purchase specially selected gifts to be awarded at a support-staff meeting honoring each of their contributions.

          These dedicated individuals typically do not benefit financially from the hectic season we just went through. A little recognition from those who did benefit financially, your sales staff, is not only deserved, it goes a long way towards fostering the kind of teamwork you need at your station to maximize customer satisfaction in 2006.

There are still seven seats available for the January 11, 2006 workshop at Humber College.  The two workshops, in one day, include topics: Becoming a Master Questioner and Pro-Active Account Management.  Tickets are $125. Please request tickets from [email protected]

          Merry Christmas! There. I said it. I get so tired of the politically-correct. Maybe it’s because I’m not offended when a friend wishes me Happy Hanukah, or because I feel honored when another friend invites me to his faith’s New Year’s celebration in November.

          In any case, no one seems to object to getting a day off on December 25^th, even though we all know how the holiday originated, so Merry Christmas everyone!

This is your last SOUNDManagement for 2005, as I take a break over the holiday season to plan and strategize for the success of my clients in 2006.

           As you take time over the holidays, I invite you to reflect upon how fortunate we are to be in this business.

          We get paid for helping other people, it doesn’t get any better than that!

Whether we’re helping the victims of Katrina with a fund-raising campaign, or helping a business to grow and provide more employment with our advertising campaigns, we’re helping people!

          Others envy our careers in media. When we’re introduced to someone at a party as being in radio or TV, they immediately find us interesting and ask us all kinds of questions…some even offer their critiques. I don’t think a life insurance person, an undertaker or a clerk or laborer get the same response.

          Those people who punch a clock or work on an assembly line can only fantasize about having the opportunity to work with the diverse and creative group of peers we see every day. Some of us are wacky, some disciplined and some adventurous and others are focused…..together we produce a product and service like no other!

          And we have a purpose bigger than ourselves! We transform lives. We help people, raising millions for tsunami relief or promoting Christmas toy drives.

          We entertain people, adding laughter, music and insight to their other-wise boring lives. We keep people informed, make them think, and even show them how to decorate their homes!

          We help them avoid traffic jams and to make enlightened decisions at election time.

          For the most part, our jobs are not hazardous, we don’t brave the elements on a daily basis, and I don’t see a lot of calluses or sore backs in our business.

          And we’re certainly not a dieing industry! New technologies and new licenses provide new career opportunities daily!

          I saw an interview with country singer Kenny Rogers once where he said “Find a way to get paid for doing something you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” I think that’s where all of us in broadcasting are.

          So merry ….happy……greetings……season’s…… wishes….. how ever you say it, I wish you all the best in 2006 and beyond. And watch for your weekly  SOUNDManagement every Wednesday in the new year to help make your professional lives even more successful.