Confirm the Appointment!

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 cancel. 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. Especially in this circumstance where travel time is an issue, we suggest that when you initially set the appointment, inform them that you will call 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 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 an excellent way to ensure they will say “yes” to future appointments. 
 
This little point may seem obvious, but I can assure you 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.

It Makes Me Smile, Laugh, and Ponder

I try to start each day off with reading. In fact, the first thing on my daily “to do” list says, 1) Prep & Read. I read a little bit of everything, books, blogs, articles, etc., covering a variety of topics such as life, business, faith, marketing/advertising, wrestling, management, psychology, news, etc. Of all my daily/weekly readings, there are two things that I look forward to the most. One is the “Monday Morning Memo” from Roy H. Williams. The Wizard’s (and Indy’s) perspective on a multitude of topics makes me think deeper and gives me the courage to be more creative. The other is Don Kuhl’s blog called “Aging M-W-F”. Don tells short life stories and relates them to the process of aging. His stories always make me smile, laugh (often both), ponder, and reflect on my life! I always feel better and find more joy within myself after reading them.


Recently, Don invited his readers to request a copy of his new book called Changing with Aging. I requested one right away.


I have never met Don. In fact, I have never even spoken to him in person. We have only exchanged emails (he reads ENS on Sales) from time to time, and he sends me encouraging words as I do to him for his writings. He is a much better writer than I am. From reading his writings, it seems like I know him as a dear old friend. His real friends are very lucky people.


I received my advanced copy the other day and I can barely put it down. Each story is just a page. Don has an incredible knack for writing with brevity. Each story of his life floods my mind with vivid memories of my own. Even the not-so-happy moments make me smile because he always puts a positive spin on them.


His book isn’t being released until Sept. 6th. However, you can pre-order yours now by simply googling Changing with Aging, Don Kuhl. You’ll find several avenues to purchase your copy(s).


I have worked out a special deal with Don. I will be purchasing 50 additional copies of the book, of which I will give a FREE copy to the first 40 readers of ENS on Sales that request it. One per person, please.


You don’t have to be in the latter stages of your life to enjoy this book. In fact, I wish I had met Don (through his writings) years before I had. It might have saved me from making a few mistakes, or at minimum, allowed me to accept and move on sooner from some of the mistakes I have made along the way.


If you would like a copy, click here, and send me your name and mailing address. When I receive the books, I will send them your way.


If you would like to subscribe to Don Kuhl’s Aging M-W-F blog, go to this website www.changecompanies.net/aging-mwf  and subscribe.


While I have no guarantee to offer, I can assure you that if you read his blog and/or his book, you’ll smile, you’ll laugh, you’ll ponder, and you’ll reflect! It’s a GREAT way to start your morning!

Please, Thank You, & You’re Welcome

I am not sure why, as I am done raising kids, (they say you are never done) but I was allured to the title of a recent online article from Inc. magazine. The title was “Want to Raise Successful Kids? Science Says Use These 3 Key Phrases Constantly”.
 
After reading the short article, it was clear that these three phrases, used appropriately, can have a major impact on the success or failure of sales as well.
 
I’m not suggesting that some salespeople are rude while others are polite. The difference is that some are more polite than others. Even more importantly, some are more polite at opportune times than others.
 
The Inc. article was referencing a study published in the journal MIS Quarterly. It referred to something they called the “politeness bias”. It found that the more polite an answer was, the more likely it was rated highly and chosen as the “best answer”.
 
Seems obvious right?
 
The study did note that it’s not ironclad. If the person offering the information or opinion is perceived as an expert, that can overcome an impolite response. But all things being equal, impolite answers were less likely to be regarded as correct. This seems to confirm what we all know but not all practice, and that is, training and education are key to success.
 
“Please!” It works for children, “Dad, if you’ll please let me do this….”, and it can work for salespeople as well.
 
Like “please”, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” are words of gratitude and confidence.
 
A “thank you” confirms that you are expressing gratitude and you appreciate what they have done, or offered you. Studies have shown that learning to be thankful and expressing gratitude leads to happiness and success in life.
 
“You’re welcome” acknowledges that you have done something worthy for someone else. It’s a little thing, but rather than saying, “no problem”, “it’s nothing”, or even “yep”, saying “you’re welcome” over time will build confidence and affirm that you are helping. After all, you should accept credit where credit is due.
 
While there are several different translations of what the phrase or expression “Mind your p’s and q’s” means, for this lesson, we will use a more traditional one of “Mind your please and thank yous”, (with the word you, pronounced like the letter Q).
 
So, as you head out into the sales field, remember to take appropriate advantage of your “Pleases”, “Thank Yous”, and “You’re Welcomes”.
 
Thank You for being a reader of “ENS on Sales”. We appreciate it. If you find these helpful, You’re Welcome!

The “R” Word – Recession!

To Discuss or Not to Discuss? That is the Question!

If you’ve been in the advertising business, or sales in general, for more than 2 years, you have already experienced one recession (2020 recession). If you have been around for 13 or more years, you’ve been through two recessions (2008-2009 Great Recession), and for us old-timers, pending your tenure, you may have experienced three, four, or even five or six. 


The saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you tougher”, is very true when it comes to surviving a recession.

Over the past several months, but especially the last few weeks, I have had several conversations with managers, owners, and sellers about the pending “R” word – Recession.


The discussion has mostly centered around two things: One – What are you hearing, and will it happen? Two – Should we engage in a conversation about the “R” word with our clients or sidestep the topic?


Although a few AEs said they thought it was a negative topic and were better off not discussing it, for the time being, the large majority has said, Yes! It is a conversation we should have with our clients and prospects.


My opinion is an unadulterated YES! Yes, have the conversation with them. It’s far better to have it now rather than when they call you and say they are cutting their advertising! As with nearly everything, you want to be part of the discussion.


However, there is a key factor to having a conversation with your clients and prospects, and that is to be prepared! You must be able to speak logically about why advertising is important, even more so during a recession, and you need to be able to offer some proof and reasoning.


Study after study has proven that businesses that maintain or grow their marketing/advertising throughout the recession will not only outperform their competition during the recession but will grow much faster after the recession has subsided.


Most of us know this, and most sellers have been told this, but are they prepared to go out and have logical conversations with their clients?


There are hundreds of articles and tons of research that can help arm them. Here are a few recommended readings:

  • Ritson’s Recession Playbook (Mark Ritson – MarketingWeek)
  • Marketing in a Recession (Mel Day – Marketing Moves)
  • When a Recession Comes, Don’t Stop Advertising (Brian Adgate – Forbes)
  • How to Market in a Downturn (John Quelch-Katherine J. Jocz – Harvard Review) Old but good!

No two recessions are alike, as are no two businesses or business categories. Each business needs to approach the recession in its own manner. Understanding this, then gaining and having knowledge of different circumstances will help you have the “R” word conversation with your clients.


In this week’s SoundADvice that goes out weekly to over 8000 business owners, we wrote on this topic and offered 15 tips on how to prepare and navigate through a recession. Rule #1 is… Be Prepared: companies that have an advance plan far outperform those that wait and go into survival mode once it hits. If you have a plan and train your reps on how to start and have the “R” word conversation with clients and prospects, your success rate will be much higher than those that don’t prepare.


If you would like to see how SoundADvice can position your AEs and your station as advertising professionals in your market, rather than just advertising sellers, click here for more information. We will send you a FREE copy of this week’s SoundADvice piece.

The “R” Word – Recession!

To Discuss or Not to Discuss? That is the Question!

If you’ve been in the advertising business, or sales in general, for more than 2 years, you have already experienced one recession (2020 recession). If you have been around for 13 or more years, you’ve been through two recessions (2008-2009 Great Recession), and for us old-timers, pending your tenure, you may have experienced three, four, or even five or six. 
 
The saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you tougher”, is very true when it comes to surviving a recession.
 
Over the past several months, but especially the last few weeks, I have had several conversations with managers, owners, and sellers about the pending “R” word – Recession.
 
The discussion has mostly centered around two things: One – What are you hearing, and will it happen? Two – Should we engage in a conversation about the “R” word with our clients or sidestep the topic?
 
Although a few AEs said they thought it was a negative topic and were better off not discussing it, for the time being, the large majority has said, Yes! It is a conversation we should have with our clients and prospects.
 
My opinion is an unadulterated YES! Yes, have the conversation with them. It’s far better to have it now rather than when they call you and say they are cutting their advertising! As with nearly everything, you want to be part of the discussion.
 
However, there is a key factor to having a conversation with your clients and prospects, and that is to be prepared! You must be able to speak logically about why advertising is important, even more so during a recession, and you need to be able to offer some proof and reasoning.
 
Study after study has proven that businesses that maintain or grow their marketing/advertising throughout the recession will not only outperform their competition during the recession but will grow much faster after the recession has subsided.
 
Most of us know this, and most sellers have been told this, but are they prepared to go out and have logical conversations with their clients?
 
There are hundreds of articles and tons of research that can help arm them. Here are a few recommended readings:
  • Ritson’s Recession Playbook (Mark Ritson – MarketingWeek)
  • Marketing in a Recession (Mel Day – Marketing Moves)
  • When a Recession Comes, Don’t Stop Advertising (Brian Adgate – Forbes)
  • How to Market in a Downturn (John Quelch-Katherine J. Jocz – Harvard Review) Old but good!
No two recessions are alike, as are no two businesses or business categories. Each business needs to approach the recession in its own manner. Understanding this, then gaining and having knowledge of different circumstances will help you have the “R” word conversation with your clients.
 
In this week’s SoundADvice that goes out weekly to over 8000 business owners, we wrote on this topic and offered 15 tips on how to prepare and navigate through a recession. Rule #1 is… Be Prepared: companies that have an advance plan far outperform those that wait and go into survival mode once it hits. If you have a plan and train your reps on how to start and have the “R” word conversation with clients and prospects, your success rate will be much higher than those that don’t prepare.
 
If you would like to see how SoundADvice can position your AEs and your station as advertising professionals in your market, rather than just advertising sellers, click here for more information. We will send you a FREE copy of this week’s SoundADvice piece.