Media Rep Malpractice

Most commonly used in the context of medicine and law, malpractice is defined as, “improper, illegal, or negligent professional activity or treatment”. But malpractice is no stranger to the advertising world either. You can google “advertising malpractice” and find many interesting stories, mostly regarding fraudulent advertising claims.

The one word in the definition of malpractice that I want to focus on is negligent. First, so we are on the same page, the definition of negligent is, “failing to take proper care in doing something”, and I would add to this definition, “that we know should be done”.

As a media rep selling advertising, what is your job? Is it to sell ads? Is it to help your clients get results from their advertising investment? Is it to service the account so they have the best chance of achieving success? The answer is, “Yes!”

Once you convince a prospect to do business with you, they become your client. It’s then your job to service that client so they have the best chance of getting a return on their investment. Anything less is negligence, or “Media Rep Malpractice”.

The most common case of MRM (Media Rep Malpractice) is not updating copy. The only excuse for not updating copy on a regular basis is because your client asks to keep the same ad running. Even then, you’re responsible to advise them that airing the same ad over and over isn’t in their best interest. When you do, you are no longer negligent. Equally as common is once the sale is made, we don’t show up again until the schedule is over.

Media reps are just like doctors and lawyers; there are good ones and bad ones. Are you doing what you should to make sure you’re a good one? Always provide solid and truthful information, never over-promise, and always over-deliver. If you do, you’ll never be accused of “Media Rep Malpractice”.

Make America’s/Canada’s Payday Your Clients’ Payday

It’s really more of a pay “period”. January 27th through April 15th for U.S. residents, and January 1st through April 30th for our Canadian friends, these are the days a majority of us will file our 2019 taxes. This graph (U.S. tax refund statistics) shows that a large percentage procrastinate and file during the last week. Now, and for the next 3 months and beyond, many checks will be pouring in.

In 2019, 95.7 million Americans received a tax refund, and the average refund was $2725.00. In Canada, 18.7 million receive a refund with the average being approximately $1740. 2020 is expected to be very much the same.

So, what does everyone do with all this money, and more importantly, are you prepared to help your clients capture their fair share of it? This graph shows that regardless of what type of business your clients own, they stand a decent chance of being on the receiving end of some of this refund bonanza.

After realizing how much money is available, we now understand why auto dealers, furniture, bedding, and appliances stores all run “Tax Refund” events. But nearly every category whether it’s retail, service, or professional can get a share of these monies. As simple as it may sound, telling and specifically asking for part or all of their refund is the best way to increase their chances of getting it!

Now, your only job is to come up with an idea and present it to your prospects and clients. By doing so, you can turn America’s/Canada’s payday into YOUR payday!

If you would like help in creating a successful “Tax Refund” event for your clients, click here and we’ll send you our “14-Tips to a More Successful Tax Refund Sales Event”.

Onboarding

Getting Them Off to a GREAT Start

Today, hiring good people is a challenge in itself; keeping them is a whole different ballgame.

When it comes to hiring and adding new people to your sales team, it’s imperative that they get off to not only a good start, but a GREAT start.

In the human resources world, bringing on a new employee is referred to as “onboarding”. A definition of onboarding is, “the action or process of integrating a new employee into an organization”.

A new employee should never show up to work on their first day and sit around for an hour trying to make themselves useful because the manager didn’t have a plan or wasn’t prepared.

An article by Process Street, an onboarding company, quoted a survey that stated, “Employees who participate in a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay with an organization for 3 years”, and “15% of employees said the lack of an effective onboarding program aided in their decision to quit”.

Don’t confuse onboarding with orientation. Orientation is a one-time event. Onboarding is a series of formal, well-planned training programs and events that start the day they are hired and can last from one month up to a full year. This includes everything from having their workstation ready with business cards printed on their first day, to a pre-planned daily training program. In addition, weekly and monthly reviews are part of making sure employees feel welcomed, know what’s expected of them, and lets them know how they are doing every step of the way.

A good onboarding and training program only needs to be created one time, then it can be used over and over with only minor tweaks going forward.

To see 9 Tips for Successful Onboarding, click here. If you would like help preparing an in-depth and very focused onboarding and training program for your sales team, contact Rick at [email protected].

The Cookie Lady

As an advertising sales rep, what are you known for? Is it for providing great customer service? Coming up with brilliant business strategies and ideas for promotions, sales events, or ad copy? Is it for helping your clients in other areas of their advertising beyond your medium, like digital, social, core customer mailings, etc.?  Or… is it for being the sales rep that delivers cookies and treats, i.e., “The Cookie Lady”?

There’s nothing wrong with being nice and delivering goodies to your clients and prospects – once in a while! Just don’t become known for it!  After all, people buy from people they like, and who doesn’t like someone that brings you cookies!

When you become known as the “Cookie Lady (or Man)” that delivers great cookies instead of the “Advertising Expert” that delivers great ideas, the problem isn’t that they won’t buy from you, it’s that they will never buy as much from you as they can or should. Why? Because you’re known for delivering cookies and not ideas and results!

There’s a true story behind this that I have used many times to make a point about being a professional advertising expert. Many years ago we had a rep that loved to bake, and she was very good at it. She baked often and delivered these fresh baked goodies to her clients. They loved the treats, and her, because of it. We finally had the conversation with her about this and the fact that many of her clients bought from her only because of the cookies. She didn’t agree, until one day while making calls with her, we walked into a business and the person at the front desk hollered out loud to the other employees… “Hey, the Cookie Lady is here”. I didn’t have to say another word and going forward, she saved a lot of money on sugar, butter, and flour, and her sales improved too.

The moral of this story is… become known as an “Advertising Expert”. Deliver VALUE to your clients by providing strategies, ideas, and solutions that in turn give them positive results on their advertising investment. They’ll love you every bit as much, or even more, than if you deliver cookies.

On the other hand, if you would like to deliver me some cookies, M&M are my favorite, and my address is below!

Set, Ready, Grow!

There are a lot of great things about being in media sales; every day is different, you’re not stuck behind a desk, you work with many different types of businesses and people, outside sales offer a level of flexibility, and for the most part YOU are responsible for what you earn. But my favorite is that you get to experience the satisfaction of helping businesses grow with creative strategies, ideas, and solutions!

The downside, if there is one, is that the pressure is always on! Ten times out of ten, ownership and management expect you to grow from one year to the next. The old expression, “If you aren’t growing, you’re dying”, is as true in sales as it is in any other walk of life.

2020 is here! Are you Set, and Ready to Grow?

What are you going to do in 2020 to be better than you were in 2019?

Are you going to work harder? You really shouldn’t have to unless you didn’t work very hard in 2019. Work smarter instead!

Are you going to read more? Just 15 minutes a day will change your world. Become more educated on advertising and marketing. Exercise your brain every day!

Will you be a better resource to your prospects and clients than you have been in the past? Bringing more knowledge and value to your clients is one sure way to get them to spend more with you.

Today, business owners want to work with media reps that are cutting edge; reps that offer ideas and solutions to their needs. Whether you are in sales or management, are you Set and Ready to Grow in 2020?

We look forward to bringing you weekly topics that will help stimulate your brain and offer ideas to help you have a great year!

If you are looking for ways to grow revenue, build better relationships with your clients, or you would like outside help in training yourself or your team, send an email to [email protected]. We would love to visit with you.