The primary difference between tangible and intangible is tangible is something which a person can see, feel or touch, whereas, intangible is something which a person cannot see, feel or touch.
Selling radio advertising has long been described as selling an intangible, and by definition, it’s a fair description. But, it’s only an intangible if you allow it to be. If the only tangibles your clients receive from you or your station is an invoice, you’ll soon become “intangible” to them!
Most small to medium-sized business owners are always weighing in their minds and wondering if what they are currently doing for advertising is the right thing, and they’re typically looking to try something different. At cutback time, the media rep with the most tangibles in their clients’ files, more often than not, escapes the chopping block. How thick are your clients’ files of your tangibles?
· Do they have more than just one-page proposals and packages?
· Do they have presentations that clearly define what you proposed to do for their business?
· Does it include photos of the events and scripts and/or audio copies of the ads that ran?
· Have you delivered articles about their industry that can help them grow their business?
· What about helpful business and marketing tips like our ENS Media SoundADvice program provides, complete with your photo and station logos?
· Do they have wrap-up reports, post-campaign analyses or annual recaps, showing what they purchased compared to what you delivered, or better yet, over-delivered?
King of Sales Jeffrey Gitomer says it best, “Dude, you’re going to lose all of your customers if you fail to reach them with a message of value every week.”
Become an asset to your clients and prospects by doing more than just selling them ads. Be the media rep that provides tangibles. Then, instead of being just a “salesperson”, you’ll be on your way to being a well-respected media rep that will survive the chopping block.
NEW – Our 3 and 4-part SoundADvice radio e-marketing branding programs are now being offered to individual media reps! If you would like to see an example and learn how SoundADvice can position and brand you, or an entire sales team, as advertising professionals in your market, click here and we’ll send you a complimentary sample of one of our most recent weekly SoundADvice series.
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”.
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!
It happens nearly every day. You meet someone for the first time and the common question asked is, “What do you do for a living?”
How do you reply?
Do you offer the common boring response, “I sell advertising”, or, “I sell advertising for (your station/group name)”? Or, do you give a much more profound, creative, and exciting answer?
We are in a creative profession so start with a creative response to this mundane question. While this little reply (your “elevator speech”) isn’t necessarily going to make or break you, it can mean the world of difference in how the person asking perceives you. We only get so many chances to tell the world what we do, and this is one of those opportunities. Be prepared to take advantage of it!
So, what do you do?
As a media rep, I would say, “I work with small to medium-sized businesses helping them create strategies and ideas so they get a better return on their advertising dollar”.
As a manager, it would be something like, “I manage a group of media reps and help train them, give them ideas, and keep them motivated so they can, in turn, help their clients get a better return on their advertising dollar”.
As a media and sales consultant, I say, “We work with small to medium-sized media markets, mostly radio, helping train their managers and media reps so they can help their clients get a better return on their advertising dollar. In return, they ultimately generate more local revenue”.
Each of these statements is just the beginning of the conversation and hopefully it leads to more discussion.
Whether a sales rep or a manager, draft a short, creative statement that you are comfortable with, that will make the person asking the question say, “Wow, that’s interesting!”
Write it down, memorize it, and be prepared to use it the next time someone asks, “What do you do?”
Correction: In last week’s ENS on Sales titled, “If You Don’t Offer Digital or Social, Find Someone that Does”, we errored by leaving out two important words
We stated, “The 2019 Borrell and Associates Local Advertising Survey revealed some interesting results. The survey showed that 44% of businesses use radio advertising”. It should have read, “44% of businesses THAT ADVERTISE use radio”. We apologize for misquoting the 2019 Borrell and Associates Local Advertising Survey.
Opportunity: So, based on the Borrell and Associates Survey, where is the opportunity for radio?
If you’re an optimist and a true professional advertising rep, there are lots of opportunities!
The survey of advertisers in this study said they use, on average, 6.2 different types of advertising, and 44% said they were trying something new. Whether you offer radio-only, digital-only, or a combination of both, you can be that “something new”.
When it comes to how much money is allocated per medium, Radio ranked #3 only behind Broadcast TV and Cable TV.
With all the advertising options available today, business owners are as confused as ever. Ignoring, or worse yet bashing, digital and social media is not going to earn you the respect you want as a media rep. Be the media rep that brings solid ideas to your clients and prospects, and walks the digital talk or introduces them to someone who can. Doing what’s right even when it means placing budgets elsewhere will prove that you’re the right person to work with. Ultimately, you will garner the majority of the budget!
If you’re a pessimist and continue to do what you’re doing, 2020 could be a long and hard year!
Be an optimist, and do what’s right! What Roy H. Williams,The Wizard of Ads, says about advertising is also true when it comes to media rep and client relationships, “Win the heart, and the mind will follow”.
ENS Media works with small and medium-sized markets to help them and their media reps build stronger and more profitable relationships with their clients. If you are interested in creating a more professional sales team to handle the New Media World, contact us and let’s talk.
