Here’s the scenario. You have an appointment that you set up a week ago and it’s a healthy distance away from your office. Do you call them to confirm the appointment prior to leaving or do you not call and take a chance?

Knowing how busy business owners and managers can be, there is no question that if you choose to call to confirm there is a decent chance that they will reschedule. That’s the chance you take.

An aggressive sales trainer would tell you to take the chance, show up and work your way in. Their logic is that it’s much harder to tell someone “no” in person than it is over the phone and you may not get another chance.

The professional media rep that not only respects the time of others, but their own, would call to confirm. In this situation where travel time is an issue, we suggest that when you first set the appointment, inform them that you will contact them the morning of or the day before to confirm.

There are five primary reasons why confirming appointments makes sense:

1. Time management – Don’t waste your time.
2. It helps establish you as a professional.
3. It shows that you respect their time.
4. It helps prepare the client and puts them in the right frame of mind, ready for your appointment.
5. If in fact they do cancel, they will be more obligated to reschedule.

Professional media sales are built on long-term relationships and being respectful of your client’s time is a good way to ensure they will say “yes” to future appointments. 

This little point may seem obvious, but I can assure you that it happens on a regular basis. Before it happens to you or one of your reps, do the right thing and make the call to confirm the appointment.

The game itself was great. The commercials were, in my opinion, less than great. The halftime show, honestly, I don’t know as I spent those thirty minutes in my hot tub. I must admit, I wouldn’t know a Rihanna song if it bit me!

But there was an incredible moment in Super Bowl LVII. In fact, it was a spectacular moment that unfortunately many missed because it didn’t happen during the game. Instead, it took place after the final second ticked off the clock after the confetti had fallen to the turf, and after the trophy was raised. It happened in one of the most somber places in the entire arena… the losing team’s press conference room.

It was the nine-minute post-game interview with the losing quarterback, Jalen Hurts.

Jalen obviously sets very, very high standards for himself on and off the field and his dignity and grace didn’t fade in one of his lowest moments. In the moment of disappointment and pain after just losing football’s biggest game, watched by the third largest TV audience ever, Jalen was a class act.

If the food and beverage you consumed before and during the game wore you out and you didn’t last to see the post-game interview, you missed out. Jalen provided some great lessons in this nine-minute press conference that everyone who is striving to get better could learn from.

While the entire interview was a life lesson, there were three profound moments. The first was said with just six impactful words, “You either win or you learn”. He cast no blame. He simply displayed how to handle defeat with class and what lessons we can learn from it.

How do you handle it when you fail to close a sale or lose an account? Do you cast blame? Or do you handle and deal with it with grace?

The second lesson came in his answer after he was asked what he had learned from this loss, which was, “reflection”. He said, “As always, you win, lose, or draw. I try to reflect on it and learn from the things that I could have done better”.

After every meeting, after every presentation, win, lose, or no decision, do you reflect on your performance, and do you focus on the things that you could have done better?

Finally, after 7 minutes and 40 seconds of a very somber press conference, Jalen shared the most important lesson after he accepted one last question from an Eagles fan and a podcaster, Giovanni Algarin. Algarin is not your typical reporter. He is a 15-year-old young man that has suffered from a rare genetic disease his entire life.

When Jalen recognizes Algarin, Hurts gives us his first smile of the interview and cheers up instantly, and says, “I have never met you in person”. Then, Giovanni asked possibly the best question of the day, “What is the one lesson you’ll take away from this season?” Jalen’s response was, “You want to cherish these moments with the people you came so far with, your family, your loved ones, your teammates, and everyone that you do it with and do it for”. 

He finished with, “Everyone experiences different pains. Everyone experiences different agonies in life, but you decide if you want to learn from them. You decide if you want to use it as a teachable moment. I know what I’ll do!”

His words of wisdom made me reflect on two of our family’s mottos: “You need to appreciate your defeats; they are what makes winning so much fun”, and the last and most important lesson, “Be nice to everyone”.

This nine-minute video is definitely worth the time to watch. You decide if you want to learn from it. You decide if it’s a teachable moment.

I think Jalen is a winner! So does Giovanni Algarin!

Here’s to wishing you success and learning, in victory, and in defeat!

In your media sales career, have you ever uttered the words, “All the good accounts are taken”? While it’s true, most of the “good” accounts are being called on, today. But tomorrow is a different story. There are still plenty of “good prospects” out there. They are simply hiding in the back alleys and tucked away out of sight in the industrial parks. And, there are many new businesses just starting out.

The SBA (Small Business Administration) estimates that there are 31.7 million small businesses in the United States. Of those, the greatest majority, 81% or 25.7 million, are termed as non-employer businesses, meaning they have no employees. The other 19% or 6 million have employees. This confirms what the US Chamber of Commerce suggests, which is, there are approximately 60 registered small businesses (with employees) for every 1000 population. Of these 60 registered businesses, we suspect approximately 50 of them are viable prospects that have the ability to advertise on some level. So, in a city or trade area with a population of 60,000 people, there are approximately 3,600 viable prospects! 

Of those “viable prospects”, which are the best? And, how do you know what to look for?

If you have been to one of our workshops or seminars, you’ve heard us say that Main Street is shrinking and that the best places to prospect today are in the service and professional business categories. But regardless of the business category, there is one important quality to look for when prospecting. That quality is… an owner who has “PASSION” for their business!

In my managing days, our primary focus was on long-term accounts. Many of those accounts, especially those that evolved into six-figure accounts, had a few things in common. One, they took three to six months to land, and some even longer. Two, many started out spending small and grew from there. But ultimately, these business owners all had that one major thing in common! You guessed it… they ALL had PASSION for their business. 

There is no secret to identifying those who have it. You’ll feel the passion once you meet them. They get excited, even “giddy” when they talk about what their company has to offer. They share more exciting stories, have more love for their employees and customers, are more open to your ideas, and have bigger dreams for their business. 

When you’re prospecting, prospect for the business owners who have PASSION. Then have the patience and knowledge to help them get where it is they want to go! All they need is someone like YOU, who has nearly as much passion about their business as they do and knows how to make advertising work.

One of the most iconic advertising slogans ever produced was for Fram Oil Filters, “You can pay me now, or pay me later”. The simple but powerful message was that proper vehicle maintenance will save you lots of money and headaches down the road.

So, how does that translate to media sales? Imagine for a minute that one of your biggest accounts just announced that they intend to make some drastic cuts. They currently use several radio groups, outdoor, and TV in their traditional media portfolio. When this happens, sometimes we know they are simply fishing for a “better deal”.

However, if they are truly making cuts, more than likely the client was already forming hard-to-change perceptions on which media or media rep they should cut long before that cut-back announcement was made.

“Preventive maintenance” is always more effective, and less costly, than “damage control”. It will not only save you money, but also a ton of headaches and heartaches!

Do you have a preventive maintenance program or does all of your energy go into making the sale, looking for new business, and damage control?

A well-planned system of bringing “value” to your customers and being a resource to them rather than simply selling them and sending them invoices is key to keeping them, especially when it comes time to make cuts.

ENS Media’s SoundADvice Program is a proven system that will help media reps and stations build powerful relationships with their clients and prospects.

If you’re surprised by a cancellation or cutback, it’s probably because you didn’t have a preventive maintenance program. Here’s a recent testimonial that speaks directly to how SoundADvice can help keep YOU from the chopping block:

“I hope you and Belinda are doing well! 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 Sound ADvice!  She even forwarded it to the 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!”  

One of our most recent subscriber’s comments on the pricing of SoundADvice was… “Wow, why wouldn’t we do it!”

If you would like to implement a preventative maintenance program, click here to arrange a time to visit, or call Rick at (605) 310-2062 to learn more about our SoundADvice Program.  

One of my favorite motivational or self-help speakers is Jim Rohn. Jim inspired many to think differently and encouraged us to be better than we once thought we could be.

While Jim had a unique way of saying things, like “You GOTTA read the Booook”, “Don’t say, ‘If I could, I wouldddd.’ Say, ‘If I can, I will.’”. One of my favorite lines, that had a tremendous impact on me was, “Don’t talk like they talk, don’t act like they act, don’t go where they go, don’t doooooo what they do, don’t be like the 97%, be different”.

Are you like every other media rep? Do you talk like they talk? Do you act like they act? Do you go where they go? Or do you do it differently?

Unfortunately, too many media reps do what everyone else does. Eight times out of ten, it’s not the media reps’ fault. They are simply doing what they were taught and trained to do.

So, what is it that can make you DIFFERENT? Do you ask better and deeper questions, or do you ask the same old CNA questions that everyone else uses? Do you create better, more in-depth proposals, or are you presenting the “package of the week/month”?  Do you create strategies and write creative ads or just meaningless, ho-hum cliché filled ads? Do you talk about your stations more than you talk about your clients’ businesses and how you might help them? Do you create and present IDEAS to help grow their business, or do you simply present a station promotion or basic ad schedule?

One of the keys to being a professional media rep is being different.

“Don’t talk like they talk, don’t act like they act, don’t go where they go,

don’t do what they do. Be the 3% – be different”.

Do you know how to be DIFFERENT?

If you are interested in training your team or group on “How to Be the Best Damn Radio Reps Ever” in 2023, click here to arrange a call to discuss training opportunities.

Jim Rohn would also say, “Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.”