“I Don’t Have the Budget”

It’s one of the most common objections a salesperson receives… but when a customer or prospect poses this objection, is it true? The answer… maybe, or maybe not!

Recently, several media reps posed this question to us, “I’ve had a lot of people say to me lately that they don’t have the budget. How do I reply to that?”

You might try this, “O.K., Mrs./Mr. Business Owner. I appreciate your honesty in sharing that with me. But, let me ask you… If I had an idea that you felt would help grow your business, would you be interested in hearing it?”

Then… wait for their response.

They can either reply by saying, “Well yes, I guess I would.” Then you are free to either present your idea or get busy and come up with one. Or…

They can say no! If they do so, well… they simply aren’t a very good prospect and it’s time to move on to prospects with more potential. I would suggest saying thank you and asking if you could reach out to them from time to time to see if things might have changed.

If you’ve found success using another response to this objection, we’d love to hear it. Please click here and share your thoughts.

We hope that you enjoy our weekly ENS on Sales. If you would be open to sharing ways that you use ENS on Sales, or how you find it helpful, we’d love to hear your comments.

Additionally, if you have suggestions or ideas on topics that you would like to see us address in future ENS on Sales, please send us your thoughts at [email protected].

Get Better Every Day

I’m sure that, like me, your dad at some point in life said to you, “I don’t care if you dig ditches for a living, just be the best ditch digger there is!”

At the time, I’m not sure that statement had a lot of impact on me, but much later in life a quote by Mark Twain did, “A man who can read but doesn’t isn’t any wiser than the man who can’t”.

Through unscientific research, that is observing people and doing self-analyzation of why some people are more successful than others, I can tell you that the most successful people in media sales are those that have the discipline to learn their trade and are either consciously or unconsciously focused and determined to get better every day. They have the knowledge, ability, and a deep-down desire to help others.

For some, this is a built-in personality trait. As managers, you’ll be lucky to have one or two of these “Type A” personalities on your team, but for the others, it needs to be taught. They need to be motivated to be better. They need someone to show them and prove to them that it is worth the effort.

This is where management comes in. Leaders Lead! Are you reading books and articles on marketing and advertising, business, leadership, motivation? Are you devoting part of your day to getting better? If not, Start! Make sure they know that you are doing what you ask them to do. Leaders lead by example.

Getting better every day doesn’t mean hours and hours of reading and research. Just 15-minutes a day can mean the difference between mediocrity and being Great!

If the radio industry could rewrite history, the main thing that it should do (or should have done) is train our sellers better. It starts with motivating them to be better. It starts with having the desire to Get Better Every Day!

P.S. Want to Get Better? I suggest reading the book, RESTORING the SOUL of BUSINESS: Staying HUMAN in the Age of Data, by Rishad Tobaccowala. (I gave it 5+ stars. One of, if not the best, books I have ever read on management, leadership, and business.)

If you or your team has the desire and is looking to get better, I’d like to visit with you about sharing the knowledge I’ve learned over my 30+ years of radio sales and management which helped me guide one of the largest billing small-market radio stations in America. Click here to arrange a call.

Give and You Shall Receive

There are lots of little things that managers and sellers can do to improve their sales. One of the most overlooked things we do in sales and management is also one of the easiest things we can do to improve sales… yet it’s one of the hardest things for sellers to do.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old proverb, “It’s better to give than to receive”, and these…

“If you want something, give it.” – Deepak Chopra

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank

“Life is a boomerang. What you give you get.” – Anonymous

“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” – Jim Rohn

“Don’t expect to receive if you are not willing to give.” – Anonymous

Giving is a GREAT lesson in all walks of our lives, but today I am talking about giving up accounts on account lists. Seems like an easy enough thing to do, right? Wrong!

One of the hardest things to get a media rep to do is to give up an account that is on his or her account list.

There are two main reasons why account list management is overlooked: First, to some, it doesn’t seem important and they believe it offers little return for their effort. Secondly, it ruffles media reps’ feathers like no other. Giving up an account, regardless of the last time they were called on, can oftentimes seem like asking a child to give up their favorite toy; they tend to throw a fit, promise to call on them right away and offer up every other excuse they can think of as to why they should keep the account.

In truth, there is really only one reason reps don’t want to give up an account. They fear someone else will get that account on the air, which in turn, would make them look bad.

Show me a station that actively and regularly moves accounts around and does it for the right reasons, and I will show you a successful, strong billing station.

It takes a little prodding and pleading to get media reps accustomed to giving up accounts. The key to getting them to buy into moving accounts around is getting them to understand that if everyone in the building is willing to give up accounts, ultimately, everyone will have fresh accounts to call on.

Ask your reps to work with you on this experiment. Keep track of the results on an individual and team basis. Once you can show the positive results, the task of managing accounts will become much easier.

“Give and you shall receive!” Not only are these good words to live by, but they are good words to use when managing account lists. This way, EVERYONE wins!

Annual Contracts – It’s Easy!

Whether you’ve been in the media sales game for six months or 60 years, one of the battle cries has always been, “Get more 52-week business on the books”.

There are two main reasons why stations don’t have more “52-week” business or annual contracts on the books. Before we discuss these reasons, and this may ruffle a few feathers, but I suggest being very careful with using the verbiage of “52 weeks”. Not only does it scare the business owner, but the media rep as well. Let’s be honest, for the most part, out of the small to medium-sized businesses we work with, a large majority cannot afford an “effective” 52-week schedule.

This isn’t to say that you should never present 52-weeks. If they have the ability, present away. Instead of referring to it as 52-week business though, try 12-month or annual contracts. It doesn’t sound nearly as long and is less intimidating to all involved.

So, back to the two main reasons why stations don’t have more 52-week advertising contracts on the books:

Reason #1: It’s simple, we don’t ask or present them. Rarely will a business owner say, “Instead of this 3-month schedule, can you show me what an annual agreement would look like?” A large majority of proposals presented to clients are anything but 12-months. Instead, we present monthly packages and schedules, quarterly packages, and if we get crazy, we might shoot for a six-month schedule. By simply preparing and asking for annuals, you are sure to increase the number you sell. Ask for them!

So why do we present more short-term proposals and contracts instead of 12-month or even 2-year contracts?

Reason #2: Media reps don’t have the confidence to ask. This can be attributed to many things, but I might suggest that the main reason is that they have not been taught or trained on how to make radio work, and therefore are hesitant to present something that they don’t believe in.

Taking action and implementing a plan to do something about reason #2, will dramatically affect reason #1.

Simply putting a 12-month schedule together is not the answer. To make radio or any medium work, we must first understand why and how to make it work.

Do you or your reps understand “strategy”, what it means, and how it can have a major positive impact on a business’ advertising success? Once they understand “strategy” their confidence will soar!

Do they understand how to craft a strong message or are they simply “writing ads” that have little impact on the consumer? Once they understand “strategy” they will be able to write and craft better messages.

There’s more to it than just strategy and message, but being able to talk the talk and walk the walk will increase the response to ads, and again ultimately increase the confidence of media reps.

Media reps that understand how and why radio works will have more confidence in their products and ultimately will present and sell more annual contracts.

It really is that easy!

ENS Media consults, coaches, mentors, and trains managers and account executives at radio stations across North America to increase their local direct sales. To learn how ENS Media can help increase your revenues and train your sales team, contact us.

Selling Your Sellers

No one ever said selling media, or specifically radio, was easy and if they did, they either have never done it or were lying!

Likewise, no one ever said being a sales manager was easy. As a sales manager, the list of duties, tasks, and expectations is long. But, the number one job of a manager, the task that will determine your success, is the job of maintaining, growing, and building your team of sellers.

Media reps by nature are beaten up on the streets every day. They’re being told and reminded regularly things like your rates are too high, I tried radio once and it didn’t work, nobody listens to radio anymore, and of course more prevalent today than in the past, the economy is tough.

Over time, some media reps can and will begin to believe all the claims and excuses the advertisers make, and because repetition sells, they begin to lose confidence in radio and ultimately themselves!

As a manager, you had to sell them on a career in radio sales and that part of your job never ends as you must keep selling them on the merits of radio every day. Here are a few things you can do to sell yourself and your sellers:

Actively search for and distribute positive news on the economy, business, and the strengths of radio.
Use advertiser testimonials on-air, online, in sales meetings and presentations.
Celebrate success! New clients, up-sells, saves, successful promotions! Make sure the entire staff is aware of how and why radio worked.
Provide tools and information that address the strengths and power of radio.
Motivate – Motivate – Motivate. The mind is a very powerful thing. Display motivational quotes around the office. Share and watch motivational videos. Encourage reading positive mental books.

Negatives should be handled behind closed doors and one-on-one. Positives need to be shouted from mountain tops and shared throughout the building!

Done only once in a while, all of these things will have little impact. Doing them on a regular basis, over-time can and will create the antidote needed to handle the constant objections and negative comments from clients and prospects.

“Having a positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances rather than your circumstances having power over you.”

All of the training, education, systems, and tools in the world will never produce more than attitude, effort, and enthusiasm can generate.

Henry Ford said it best, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”.

Many of the best media reps do this on their own. For the rest, it’s up to managers to help create a culture where they… “think they can!”

Create a culture where they “think they can” and watch the magic happen!

It’s one of the most common objections a salesperson receives… but when a customer or prospect poses this objection, is it true? The answer… maybe, or maybe not!

Recently, several media reps posed this question to us, “I’ve had a lot of people say to me lately that they don’t have the budget. How do I reply to that?”

You might try this, “O.K., Mrs./Mr. Business Owner. I appreciate your honesty in sharing that with me. But, let me ask you… If I had an idea that you felt would help grow your business, would you be interested in hearing it?”

Then… wait for their response.

They can either reply by saying, “Well yes, I guess I would.” Then you are free to either present your idea or get busy and come up with one. Or…

They can say no! If they do so, well… they simply aren’t a very good prospect and it’s time to move on to prospects with more potential. I would suggest saying thank you and asking if you could reach out to them from time to time to see if things might have changed.

If you’ve found success using another response to this objection, we’d love to hear it. Please click here and share your thoughts.

We hope that you enjoy our weekly ENS on Sales. If you would be open to sharing ways that you use ENS on Sales, or how you find it helpful, we’d love to hear your comments.

Additionally, if you have suggestions or ideas on topics that you would like to see us address in future ENS on Sales, please send us your thoughts at [email protected].

I’m sure that, like me, your dad at some point in life said to you, “I don’t care if you dig ditches for a living, just be the best ditch digger there is!”

At the time, I’m not sure that statement had a lot of impact on me, but much later in life a quote by Mark Twain did, “A man who can read but doesn’t isn’t any wiser than the man who can’t”.

Getting better every day doesn’t mean hours and hours of reading and research. Just 15-minutes a day can mean the difference between mediocrity and being Great!

If the radio industry could rewrite history, the main thing that it should do (or should have done) is train our sellers better. It starts with motivating them to be better. It starts with having the desire to Get Better Every Day!

P.S. Want to Get Better? I suggest reading the book, RESTORING the SOUL of BUSINESS: Staying HUMAN in the Age of Data, by Rishad Tobaccowala. (I gave it 5+ stars. One of, if not the best, books I have ever read on management, leadership, and business.)

There are lots of little things that managers and sellers can do to improve their sales. One of the most overlooked things we do in sales and management is also one of the easiest things we can do to improve sales… yet it’s one of the hardest things for sellers to do.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old proverb, “It’s better to give than to receive”, and these…

“If you want something, give it.” – Deepak Chopra

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank

“Life is a boomerang. What you give you get.” – Anonymous

“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” – Jim Rohn

“Don’t expect to receive if you are not willing to give.” – Anonymous

Giving is a GREAT lesson in all walks of our lives, but today I am talking about giving up accounts on account lists. Seems like an easy enough thing to do, right? Wrong!

One of the hardest things to get a media rep to do is to give up an account that is on his or her account list.

In truth, there is really only one reason reps don’t want to give up an account. They fear someone else will get that account on the air, which in turn, would make them look bad.

Show me a station that actively and regularly moves accounts around and does it for the right reasons, and I will show you a successful, strong billing station.

Ask your reps to work with you on this experiment. Keep track of the results on an individual and team basis. Once you can show the positive results, the task of managing accounts will become much easier.

“Give and you shall receive!” Not only are these good words to live by, but they are good words to use when managing account lists. This way, EVERYONE wins!

Whether you’ve been in the media sales game for six months or 60 years, one of the battle cries has always been, “Get more 52-week business on the books”.

This isn’t to say that you should never present 52-weeks. If they have the ability, present away. Instead of referring to it as 52-week business though, try 12-month or annual contracts. It doesn’t sound nearly as long and is less intimidating to all involved.

So, back to the two main reasons why stations don’t have more 52-week advertising contracts on the books:

So why do we present more short-term proposals and contracts instead of 12-month or even 2-year contracts?

Reason #2: Media reps don’t have the confidence to ask. This can be attributed to many things, but I might suggest that the main reason is that they have not been taught or trained on how to make radio work, and therefore are hesitant to present something that they don’t believe in.

Taking action and implementing a plan to do something about reason #2, will dramatically affect reason #1.

Simply putting a 12-month schedule together is not the answer. To make radio or any medium work, we must first understand why and how to make it work.

Do you or your reps understand “strategy”, what it means, and how it can have a major positive impact on a business’ advertising success? Once they understand “strategy” their confidence will soar!

Do they understand how to craft a strong message or are they simply “writing ads” that have little impact on the consumer? Once they understand “strategy” they will be able to write and craft better messages.

There’s more to it than just strategy and message, but being able to talk the talk and walk the walk will increase the response to ads, and again ultimately increase the confidence of media reps.

Media reps that understand how and why radio works will have more confidence in their products and ultimately will present and sell more annual contracts.

It really is that easy!

ENS Media consults, coaches, mentors, and trains managers and account executives at radio stations across North America to increase their local direct sales. To learn how ENS Media can help increase your revenues and train your sales team, contact us.

No one ever said selling media, or specifically radio, was easy and if they did, they either have never done it or were lying!

Likewise, no one ever said being a sales manager was easy. As a sales manager, the list of duties, tasks, and expectations is long. But, the number one job of a manager, the task that will determine your success, is the job of maintaining, growing, and building your team of sellers.

Media reps by nature are beaten up on the streets every day. They’re being told and reminded regularly things like your rates are too high, I tried radio once and it didn’t work, nobody listens to radio anymore, and of course more prevalent today than in the past, the economy is tough.

Over time, some media reps can and will begin to believe all the claims and excuses the advertisers make, and because repetition sells, they begin to lose confidence in radio and ultimately themselves!

As a manager, you had to sell them on a career in radio sales and that part of your job never ends as you must keep selling them on the merits of radio every day. Here are a few things you can do to sell yourself and your sellers:

Actively search for and distribute positive news on the economy, business, and the strengths of radio.

Use advertiser testimonials on-air, online, in sales meetings and presentations.

Celebrate success! New clients, up-sells, saves, successful promotions! Make sure the entire staff is aware of how and why radio worked.

Provide tools and information that address the strengths and power of radio.

Motivate – Motivate – Motivate. The mind is a very powerful thing. Display motivational quotes around the office. Share and watch motivational videos. Encourage reading positive mental books.

Negatives should be handled behind closed doors and one-on-one. Positives need to be shouted from mountain tops and shared throughout the building!

Done only once in a while, all of these things will have little impact. Doing them on a regular basis, over-time can and will create the antidote needed to handle the constant objections and negative comments from clients and prospects.

“Having a positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances rather than your circumstances having power over you.”

All of the training, education, systems, and tools in the world will never produce more than attitude, effort, and enthusiasm can generate.

Henry Ford said it best, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”.

Many of the best media reps do this on their own. For the rest, it’s up to managers to help create a culture where they… “think they can!”

Create a culture where they “think they can” and watch the magic happen!