We’ve all been there before. You’re out prospecting, walk into a business and there sits the “office gatekeeper”. Their job is to protect the decision-maker and to make it hard, if not impossible, for you to get through to them. Your job is to find out who the decision-maker is and if possible, meet them!

Let the game begin!

Having a specific and proven way to advance can be key to moving the process forward. Stumble your way through it, and the tenacious gatekeep wins.

You have three strategic alternatives to getting past these sales preventers:

1.) Go around them.

2.) Wait until they die or leave the company.

3.) Win them over.

In reality, option three, winning them over, is your only viable option. The process of winning over the gatekeeper begins with respect.

Before you even introduce yourself, say these words…“I hope that you can help me”, then pause … and wait for them to reply. Once they commit to helping, you’re halfway there. See, people love to help other people, and if you ask for their help, chances are they will do what they can. You’ve just softened the gatekeeper!

The gatekeeper can actually be a great supporter of you. Depending upon how well you treat them, they can play a major factor in determining if you get to see the decision-maker. They can also answer many questions for you, and you are more apt to get an answer if you ask for their help.  

Show them respect, ask their opinion, and above all ask … “I’m hopeful that you can help me?”

One last thing… on your way out, ALWAYS say to the gatekeeper, “Thank you for your HELP”!

Do you know what radio is really good at? It’s good at promoting other businesses, events, and even other entertainment mediums. I shouldn’t just say radio is good at it… we’re actually GREAT at it!

Now, let’s turn the table to what radio is bad at. We’re bad at promoting ourselves, our own advertising medium!!! Let me rephrase that… we’re not just bad at it, we suck at it!

That may seem a bit harsh, but as my dad said from time to time, sometimes the truth hurts!

A couple of years back, I wrote an article titled, If We Could Turn Back Time. It said that if the radio industry could turn back time there would be two things we should have done differently. One was to promote ourselves better, and two was to train our media reps better. That article spoke primarily to training our reps better. Today, I want to speak about promoting ourselves better from the advertising sales part of radio.

As I travel through many markets, small, medium, and large, there are several common things I hear on local radio stations like, follow us on Facebook, like us on Twitter, and tune into our podcast, but I rarely to almost never hear a message promoting what we sell – RADIO ADVERTISING! Why is this? We have FREE airtime, and we don’t use it to promote our own medium! This seems ludicrous!

Just imagine if radio stations across America never mentioned, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or listen to our podcast. Do you think they would be nearly as popular as they are? The answer is an emphatic, NO!!!

We (radio) gave them billions of dollars in free promotion. (We did the same for Amazon.) These are the same mediums that have taken billions of advertising dollars from radio and we still are promoting them constantly!

Ask yourself this question …what if we ran promo ads that spoke to our listeners, many of whom own businesses, handle the advertising, or are influencers to the aforementioned. Promo ads that have testimonials from satisfied advertisers, ads that talk about the correct, different, and better ways to advertise, messages that speak to the daily concerns a business owner deals with, and positive messages that simply promote the power of radio! If we all did this, do we think people would have a better perception of our industry as an advertising platform? The answer is an emphatic, YES!

If you’re not promoting your industry and your stations, you’re missing a great opportunity to establish yourself as the advertising expert in your market. We should not be ashamed of what we do, instead, we should promote the hell out of it and brag about what we do. Are you? If not, shame on you, and shame on radio because they have set a horrible example.

Self-promotion is a good thing! We should all be doing more of it! ENS on Sales is designed to give our readers ideas and tips to help media reps and managers be better at what they do. It’s also our promotional and marketing piece. Our SoundADvice program is the easiest, least expensive, and most powerful way to promote your stations or yourself.

If you want to learn more about how SoundADvice works and the pricing options, click here to arrange a quick call with Rick.

Here is what our satisfied SoundADvice subscribers have to say:

• “It was the ‘bridge’ I needed to get him to see I was there to HELP and not SELL. The SoundADvice was a great conversation piece and segway into getting Brad on the radio!” – Media Rep

• “More Training? All well and good but how ‘bout actually changing the landscape to make it easier for your well-trained sellers to succeed?  We’ve found SoundADvice is far and away the easiest, turn-key way to position yourself and your team as the local “go-to” experts. It’s true, when it comes to marketing ourselves, we don’t practice what we preach AND we’ve got the stations! I know you’re busy and more time-poor than ever. All the more reason to use SoundADvice. They do the heavy lifting. You reap the referrals.” – Sales Mgr

• “Not to swell your head but your SoundADvice has been invaluable to us over the past 2½ years. To end that relationship would be a letdown to our reps”. – General Mgr

• “Exciting news! A client of mine requested your last SoundADvice “How to Leverage Your Suppliers” and I visited with her today. I geared my proposal towards the issue and sold her a SIX-MONTH contract in January!” – Media Rep

• “I just wanted to share with you that I had a call from the manager of Grand Stay Hotel saying ‘Thank you’ for the inspirational messages through SoundADvice! She even forwarded it to their corporate headquarters, and they were impressed! That’s all from you, so I wanted you to know about it:) Thank you for all you do to help us!” – Media Rep

Very often, the only difference between a very successful salesperson and an unsuccessful salesperson is their ability to handle rejection.

The way you handle rejection is largely about selling yourself on the value you deliver. Here are some “mind game” strategies you might consider;

1.)   Develop the attitude that when a customer says “no”, they’re the loser, not you. Assuming you have put together a proposal in your prospect’s best interest, and purchasing your proposal will increase their sales, they’re the loser, not you. Pity the advertiser, not yourself, especially if their competitor ends up buying your idea.

2.)   Remember, you had nothing when you made the presentation, so you don’t lose anything when your prospect says “no”. You lived without that sale before and can live without that sale when your proposal is turned down. (That attitude also takes the pressure off you and helps you make a more relaxed and engaging presentation.)

3.)   To a degree, selling is simply a matter of math; more presentations equal more sales. Calculate your closing ratio, then get excited about each “no” as it’s one step closer to a yes, based on your closing ratio. For example, if your record indicates you’ve closed one in ten, you can get pretty excited on your ninth rejection in the knowledge that in all probability your next presentation will be a hit.

4.)   Take responsibility for “no”. No busy decision maker has agreed to sit still for a full presentation if they have no interest in what you are offering. Therefore, retrace your steps to determine where you did not meet or beat their expectations and use what you discover to arrange another presentation. The best salespeople learn from their mistakes.

5.)    Structure your presentations so your prospect is not saying “no” to you or your stations. Structure it so the “no” is only for that particular presentation or idea, thereby leaving the door open for another opportunity. 

6.)   Change your mission and definition of success. You have no absolute control over whether your prospect says yes or no. You do have complete control over the thought, strategy, and quality that goes into your presentation. Knowing you’ve made each presentation the best that it can be makes you feel like every presentation is a success, regardless of the outcome.

In sales, rejection happens. While we always want to remain positive, preparing ourselves for possible rejection will go a long way toward softening the blow. Using one or more of the six strategies will do just that.

Always remember, a “NO” puts you one step closer to a “YES”!

Why is it that media reps aren’t granted the same instant credibility as agencies? Primarily, it has to do with our reputation. I’m not referring to your personal reputation, but rather to our industry’s reputation. Much of it is well deserved! The old method of training our sales teams was to have them watch a few Chris Lytle and Jason Jennings videos, hand them a phone book along with the latest “Packages” of the week, month, and quarter, and send them out to the streets. 

Business owners are on the receiving end of the inadequate process from the untrained, rabid, sales reps that are unleashed onto the city streets, each proclaiming they have the greatest radio stations and perfect listeners. Oh, and it’s cheap! All you have to do is sign here and, in a few days, people will start knocking down your doors!

Agencies are a little more subdued in their approach. They claim (even though it may not be true) they are not biased toward any specific advertising medium. Some suggest they have buying power and can purchase the same products for less, and they claim they are the experts. To put a cherry on top, they’ll flash a few nice plaques and trophies to prove their points!

So, how do you combat this? Start with not proclaiming that RADIO is the best advertising medium ever invented. This won’t get you very far. Discuss the positives AND negatives of all the different advertising mediums and make recommendations for others when appropriate. Discuss why and how advertising works, talk strategy, and help create ideas. Talk more about them, their wishes, their hopes and dreams, and less, much less, about your stations. Put your own cherry on top and discuss your group’s success stories. Talk like a Marketing Professional – You’ll earn more respect! 

If you’re going to Walk the Walk, make sure you can Talk the Talk!

If you are looking for help with training your team to become more professional, more knowledgeable media reps, we would honor the opportunity to visit. Simply click here and let’s talk about how ENS Media can help train your media reps! 

It’s been well noted that business owners wear many hats. But, what about media reps?

Yes, we sell advertising, but the process of selling advertising and maintaining clients has several steps. Each of these steps requires its own attention and not every person is GREAT at every step. While a rep may be strong at creating ideas, making the presentation, and closing, they may struggle with prospecting, cold calling, and upselling. A perfect media rep would be strong at each step of the media sales process, but… is there such a thing as a “perfect rep”?

There are approximately nine steps in the advertising sales process. Identifying these steps and rating your reps or yourself in each area will help you identify the weakest areas and ultimately show where we can improve in order to go from Average to Above Average, or from Very Good to Excellent.

Step One: Prospecting

Step Two: Cold Calling / Asking for the Appointment

Step Three: 1st Meeting / CNA

Step Four: Strategy Session / Creating Ideas / Creative

Step Five: Creating the Proposal

Step Six:  Making the Presentation to the Client

Step Seven: Closing

Step Eight:  Service after the Sale

Step Nine:  Upselling / Renewals

Note: Some steps may be combined or separated.

While being completely honest, on a scale of 1-9 with 9 being extremely good and 1 being extremely poor, rate yourself or your individual media reps on each area of the selling process. There is no 10 for a reason. In my 35+ years, I have never met someone that is perfect in any area.

Once completed, add up the total points. You have now identified the weak areas and know where to focus your training so that we can help them improve.

Media Rep Rating System by ENS Media:

69 – 81 Points:  Excellent or Elite

64 – 68 Points: Very Good

58 – 63 Points:  Above Average

48 – 57 Points:  Average

47 & Lower:   Below Average

So, are you excellent, very good, or average? Even the slightest improvement in two or three of these steps can take someone from a “below average” rep to an “average or above average” rep, and a “very good” rep to an “excellent” rep. Then, the billing will follow.