A Place for “Packages”?

“Packages.” The mere word used to make my skin crawl as I reflected upon some of the demeaning “packages” I was forced to sell in the early days of my career.

But “packages” do have a role in even the most sophisticated media marketing strategy. The key is not to let clients see cookie-cutter packages. Each cover and introductory page should be written to show how the package is custom-tailored to fit the client’s needs!!!

Even if your building a 52-week long term culture, here’s a few of the reasons you might consider designing client-focused value propositions for your sales staffs;

1. Packages need NOT be equated with discounts. In fact, properly “packaged” they can actually be premium-priced. A package is merely a highly attractive and enticing way of presenting a value bundle.

2. A package gives rookies and seniors alike a new “excuse” to make a touch or contact. These relatively minor sales also give us the opportunity to deliver what we promised to new or skeptical prospects and open the door for bigger long-term investments.

3. Packages should be fun. With a spiff or incentive, and a proper kick-off explaining all of the benefits from a customer’s point of view, they become the “What’s new?” in a sales world that can go stale from doing the same thing year in and year out.

4. Focusing on strategically-designed packages can help sales people, and clients, appreciate certain portions of your programming or offerings that may otherwise be over-looked or under-sold.

5. Packages are the great equalizer on the sales-contest floor. Everyone, junior and senior alike, has equal opportunity to sell timely and topical packages, regardless of account list size. Seniors can use them to “top up” buys, and rookies to introduce new clients to your stations.

Bonus Reason…The Platinum Rule! – Whether we like it or not, some buyers are “package buyers”, period! The Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have done unto you”, has been replaced with the Platinum Rule, “do unto others as they would have done unto themselves”.

So even though you might not want a package presented to you, some clients love them, and they can be great door openers to building more long term relationships

Opportunity Is Knocking!

The four most common problems we uncover in the media marketing audits we conduct are;
1. Media sales reps seldom make an effort to contact decision-makers.
2. Your competitor’s rates are not as low as you have been told they are.
3. Advertisers do not trust their media reps.
4. Customer-focused sales presentations are practically non-existent.
          Our audits include, among other things, a telephone advertiser perceptual study, as well as sending “mystery shoppers” into your market to solicit presentations from you and all of your competitors. In the markets we have audited these four truths keep rearing their ugly heads;
            Reaching Decision Makers – Even though our mystery shoppers make it clear they are NOT the decision makers, less than 20% of the media reps we see, make an attempt to get to the decision-maker.
          The other 80% rely upon the mystery-shopper messenger to sell their product for them.
          Competitor’s Rates – Our mystery shoppers push hard for bottom-line rates. It appears that media reps find it easier to persuade their sales managers the competition is selling lower than it is to persuade prospects of rate card value. And clients are also adept at making you believe they can buy cheaper elsewhere.
          Relationships? – With all of the talk about customer-relationships, we still find that nearly 90% of advertisers feel their media reps are little more than space or time brokers.
          And yet our research reveals that clients desperately want to find someone they can trust to help them make their advertising decisions……..I guess that is why so many unqualified small “ad agencies” are able to thrive across North America.
          Customer-Focused Presentations– Our mystery shoppers tell every media rep we contact exactly what the marketing strategy and target market will be. But more than 75% of the resulting “presentations” are generic media kits or off-the-shelf packages that hype the media with little or no attention paid to the needs we express.
          Would you believe that more than 10% of advertising sales people never make a presentation when asked to…..or never return our phone calls?

OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING! If your organization is willing to build a culture where sales people know how to get to the real decision-makers, have rate integrity, build trust with prospects and make customer-focused presentations, there is undoubtedly lots of room for dramatic growth at your station

Selling The Selling Message

My friend, Jim Blundell of CHUM Group Radio, has developed a very successful four-step selling system, step 3 of which is entitled, “The Pivotal Point”. Jim’s Pivotal Point includes developing a spec spot, and he asserts “Never, never, never, make a presentation without a spec spot! Never!”
            I agree whole heartedly with Jim’s selling system because it takes the focus off of rates and ratings, and puts it where it should be….on creating results and top of mind awareness for our clients.
            Some of your people, however, might not know HOW to present a spec spot. In a presentation I observed recently, the rep I was with played one spot one time for the client, then asked with a grin “How do you like it?”
            “Liking it” is not what is at stake here! What is at stake is the image or impression you and the client agreed needed to be created. Is it relevant to the target audience, not the client? And does it help the client reach their goals?
So here are seven steps to presenting spec commercials more effectively.

Tip #1            Present more spec commercials more often.
Tip #2           Set the scene with a written creative strategy. Remind the prospect of the objectives and goals you uncovered during the discovery process with them.
Tip #3           Then ask them to listen to your campaign, NOT with a view to whether they, “like it” or not, but with the perspective of how your target audience would perceive the client. Does the commercial create an image and identity that is relevant, unique and sustainable over time?
Tip #4           Give the client or prospect a copy of the script to read as they listen.
Tip #5           Ask them to listen a minimum of two to three times before making comments or changes….after all, don’t we tell them your audience has to be exposed to the message that many times before it sinks in?
Tip #6           Present “campaigns”, rather than “spots”, complete with seasonal or opportunistic variations on your main theme.
Tip #7            Refer to Tip # 1.

P.S. Always test fly your specs before you land in front of a client only to be embarrassed by an error or a technical difficulty

Hidden Targets

When building value for our medium, let’s not forget to remind our sales people and our clients of the “other publics” we can reach and influence.
During the discovery process, try to determine the hidden communication goals your client might have in addition to reaching and influencing customers and prospects.
Here are a few examples of other targets your top of mind awareness campaign can influence ;

Suppliers: Advertisers who recognize and promote their suppliers realize what good supplier relations can do when it comes to negotiating credit terms, co-op allocations, or being first in the market with new product offerings or factory clearance specials.

Recruits: Marketers who have higher awareness levels and goodwill in the community attract better resumes and candidates than those who no one has ever heard of.

Creditors: Higher awareness and recognition can create valuable comfort zones within this target group. Bankers feel more comfortable with debtors who appear to be aggressively marketing themselves.

Staff: Your client’s staffs, particularly those on commission, need to feel their employer is doing their part to generate business. Intrusive media are also great morale boosters when used to recognize certain staff achievements or accomplishments.

Purchasers: More and more I’m finding local business owners who’s goal is to sell and retire in the near future. The high awareness levels created by advertising can actually be applied to the “goodwill” value of a business when it is being evaluated by purchasers.

Competitors: The image, identity and awareness created by solid ad campaigns can actually intimidate or pre-empt would-be competitors from trying to open a business in the advertiser’s category.

These are just a few of the “other publics” to look for when understanding a client’s needs. Demonstrating your understanding of a client’s need to reach one or more of these groups can often be the tie-breaker between your presentation and a competitor who is only offering traffic or GRP’s.

Professional Development

Most professions require their practitioners to upgrade their qualifications and skills on a regular basis. This is, in part, because there is so much at stake if a professional makes an error in judgment or performs their duties unethically. It is also a professional requirement to remain competitive. It has been said, “Our only competitive advantage is to learn faster than the competition.”
          Lawyers must study the latest laws and president-setting judicial decisions, doctors must stay on top of new medical breakthroughs and surgical techniques and accountants must stay abreast of new accounting rules.
          Notice that professional skills development is the obligation of the professional, not the hospital, the law firm or the accounting practice. Professionals invest their own time and money to upgrade their skills.
          For example, my friend Kennen Williams, President of Noll and Associates, a broadcast sales training company, makes a point of reading a minimum of one new business book a month.
Your people should have a similar self-improvement plan. Why?

1. Advertising sales is a rapidly evolving and ever changing profession. Your clients entrust your account executives with tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars to help them maintain and grow their businesses.

2. Too many of our people treat our profession as a “job”. They rely on their employers or industry associations as their sole source of learning, taking no responsibility for their own professional development.
NOTE: “Professionals” also earn substantially better incomes than people holding down “jobs”.

3. Because most media account executives benefit from a commission or performance bonus structure, their very livelihoods depend upon being the best they can be.

Have your sales people ask themselves;

?? Do I take the success of my clients and of my company seriously? To not do so is paramount to “malpractice”.

?? What am I doing to continually upgrade my knowledge and skills to ensure that I am qualified to be entrusted with crucial advertising budgets and to appreciate my worth to my employer?

Two final points;

1. If a professional only gets the training their employer or industry offers, where is his or her competitive advantage over their peers with the same training?

2. When you invest in yourself, that’s who owns the knowledge, should you leave the company.

If you are missing any ENS on Sales, wish to come off of the mailing list, know of anyone who wishes to be on the mailing list or simply just has any comments, ideas or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Wayne or Angela. [email protected] or [email protected]