Tag Archives: Advertising

Farewell – Wayne’s Gone Fishing!

Wayne Ens sold his first ad over 50 years ago. It was shortly thereafter that he prepared and conducted a seminar to teach local advertisers how to use advertising more effectively. From that moment, he “caught the bug” and always wanted to help others; radio and TV stations, newspapers and especially business owners, learn how to use advertising more effectively so that everyone would get better results.

Throughout his career, Wayne worked in the newspaper, TV, and radio industries, and also started and ran a successful advertising agency. However, it was the training and teaching bug that lead him to start his own consulting company. So, 21 years ago ENS Media Inc. began working with media groups all across North America. Since that day, Wayne has spanned the globe from Alaska to Trinidad conducting seminars in every state in the U.S. except Wyoming and Hawaii and nearly every market in Canada.

Wayne has a unique ability to not only understand the “do’s and don’ts” of selling and advertising, but he has an even greater talent for teaching it. It all comes down to, “do what’s right for the advertiser/customer”.

The radio industry especially, is better off today because of Wayne Ens. His relentless work ethic and his thirst for learning and sharing his knowledge have touched and literally helped thousands of media reps, managers and business owners.

Now it’s time for Wayne and Angela to spend more time on their pride and joy, their boat, that they proudly refer to as “ENSanity”.

Wayne, may your fish continue to be bigger, and may your stories always be happy!

Here are Wayne’s parting thoughts:

From the time I began selling advertising until the time I began helping others sell more successful advertising, I always said, “There can’t be a better way to make a living than to get paid for helping others to succeed.”

Through the tools and systems we developed at ENS Media, I’m proud to say we’ve helped generate literally millions upon millions of new local revenues over the years for radio and TV stations, and Angela and I have made hundreds of friends spanning the globe from Alaska to Trinidad. I am very proud to say that thousands of account executives successfully still use our strategies today.

It is on this backdrop that I’m pleased to announce that I’m passing the torch to my business partner of the last two years, Rick Fink. I am “retiring” at the end of this month, although I will stay on board behind the scenes to mentor and counsel Rick as he serves our clients. I had been searching for a successor for some time who I believed could continue the legacy we worked so hard to build. Rick is that successor.

Rick has the passion and the experience to not only carry on with ENS Media tools like TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness Research), SoundADvice, Guided Discovery Selling and more, but he will also be continuously improving our offerings as market conditions evolve.

Thanks to the many broadcasters who I’ve had the privilege of working with. I know I can enjoy my retirement firm in the knowledge that Rick and his partner, Belinda, will continue to deliver ENS Media’s promise of “helping broadcasters to increase their local revenues.”

I wish to express my deep gratitude to all of our clients, past and present, and wish you all continued success and happiness.

                                                             – Wayne Ens

If you would like to extend your well wishes and thoughts to Wayne, please contact him at [email protected].

My promise to each of our readers and clients is to do my very best to continue providing a level of knowledge, integrity, professionalism, and experience needed to deliver the ENS Media promise of “helping broadcasters to increase their local revenues”.

I appreciate you being a weekly reader, and I look forward to meeting each of you along the way!

It’s FINALLY Over, Hallelujah!!

Lessons Learned from the Political Advertising Season

I think I can speak for the entire U.S. population when I say, “Thank goodness it’s FINALLY over!” Even our Canadian friends, I’m sure, are tired of hearing all the negativity, bickering and hogwash. The only good thing I can think of, besides the extra revenue, is that there is much we can learn from political advertising.

First, you need to understand that it’s a different beast. It’s not just Branding nor is it just Direct Response advertising…it’s really a combination of both. Long gone are the days of shaking hands and kissing babies. Today, it’s all about mudslinging, name calling, twisting the truth and “he said/she said” propaganda!

But, one lesson that can and should be learned from the GOOD political campaigns is that they have a STRATEGY! All GREAT advertising campaigns, whether they’re for products, services, or politics, start with GREAT strategy. They absolutely know what they want to be “known for” and what they want to “accomplish” with their advertising and marketing.

We may not like their strategy, but in the political advertising and marketing world it works. I refer to it as “Negative Repositioning”, and it plays on the FEAR emotion. To make it work, it takes two things; lots of money and a lack of moral conscience! And in the political advertising world, all normal rules and ethics seem to be tossed out the window.

So, what is Negative Repositioning?  It’s simply a way to get you to vote AGAINST someone rather than voting FOR their candidate. It’s not necessarily to get you to like Candidate A over Candidate B, but rather to DISLIKE one more than the other. Keep in mind, neither of the candidates are going to be put on a shelf in a store where you can go in and buy one or the other, it’s a vote.  In the political world, the vote is all that matters. WARNING: “Negative Repositioning” should never be used to market a product or service!

The lesson you can learn from the political advertising seasons is how important “Strategy” is in your marketing campaign.  Know what your clients want to be “known for”, then write ad campaigns that speak to that!

Thanks for reading, and know that we won’t be talking politics for another two years! Hallelujah!

If you would like to learn more on how to create effective strategies and write better ad campaigns, let me know and we’ll talk!

Rick Fink

ENS Media

605-310-2062

Just Fishing or Trying to Land the BIG ONE?

Fishing is very much like advertising sales. First, we must prospect or fish in the right spots, use the right bait and equipment, and then we must know what we are fishing for. Are you fishing just to catch some fish, or are you trying to land the BIG ONE? And, how do you know when it’s a BIG ONE?

We know that furniture stores, car dealers, and grocery stores all have great potential, but they are not always the big fish. In fact, sometimes you would just as soon throw some of these back!

If and when you hook onto what you believe is a big one, there are a few lessons that we can learn from the fishermen.

First, you need to let them nibble a bit, don’t try and set the hook too quickly. Secondly, take your time reeling them in. Just like setting the hook, if you reel too hard and too fast your chances of losing them increases.

If you know you have a prospect with great potential (A BIG ONE), take your time, educate them on how you can help them, ask more questions, have additional meetings to make sure you have all the bases covered, and don’t try to get them in the boat before they are ready. A longer sales cycle typically reaps better success.

The biggest fish, like the biggest prospects, need to be handled with great care. I can tell you that nearly every six-figure account that my sales teams landed took 3 to 6 months to get on the air, and in some cases, even longer.

Patience is a virtue! Once you have the hook set, guide them in with due diligence, but be prepared for sudden changes so you can adjust accordingly. If they should decide to swim up stream one more time, give them some line (more information) and then steer them back towards the boat. Your chances of getting them in the boat will greatly increase.

If you would like your team to become better prospectors and learn how to land the BIG ONES, click here and we can visit on how ENS Media can help train and motivate your team to have more success in 2019 and beyond.

Happy Fishing – Happy Training!

Only 3 Ways to GROW a Business

Everyone is trying to grow their business. Well, almost everyone. Occasionally, we run into that business owner that says, “I don’t want to get any bigger”. While they may have legitimate reasons, the old saying still holds true, “If you aren’t growing, you’re dying”.

In our industry, we are expected to grow, and the emphasis is usually on selling more advertising than you did last year. Regardless of the industry, the 3 ways to grow your business remains true.

Here are the 3 ways to grow your business:

1)  Sell more of what you are currently selling

2)  Increase the price/rate on what you are currently selling

3)  Offer additional products/services to what you are currently selling

If it were only that easy! There are many points, counterpoints, subtitles and bullet points that go behind each of these three statements. But, regardless of how you slice it, everything will fall into one of these three categories. Keep in mind, I said 3 ways to GROW business, not increase profits. Then, you can add a 4th element which is… Cut Cost!

These three points are not only a good lesson for us in the media business, but it’s good information to pass along to the clients and prospects that we call on. When you point this out to them, at the right moment, your knowledge of business will be evident. It gets them thinking and they will admire you for it. You may get some push back from “that client”, but I have never had anyone come up with something that doesn’t fall under one of these three ways.

If you come up with one, please share it with me. Knowledge is Power! Like you, I strive to “Get Better Every Day”.

Happy Training!

Is it Too Early for “Jingle Bells”?

In just a few weeks, back to school shopping will be over. Department stores will be re-imaged and restocked, and as quickly as you can blink an eye, you’ll see the Fall and Winter merchandise occupy the shelves. Yes, when it comes to retail, thoughts of ghosts, goblins, turkeys, snowflakes and sugarplums are already dancing in their heads.

If you have annual contracts with your clients, you are in good shape. But, we all have clients and prospects that buy advertising on an “as needed” basis. In these cases, the old analogy, “the early bird gets the worm” couldn’t be more true. Is now too early? Not at all. In fact, if you’re thinking Halloween, you had better hurry.

We all know that one of the worst feelings in the world is having to come back to the station and tell your manager your client placed the buy with your competition.  Retailers are planning earlier, so it only makes sense for us to start to plan earlier as well. While your salespeople are still enjoying the summer, as Sales Managers, it’s our job to give them the tools and the gentle reminders that there is no time like the present!

We suggest presenting your seasonal packages earlier. Make them fun, make them special, make them early! If you haven’t done this before, it’ll be a refreshing surprise. Go BIG, dress up in a Halloween Costume (I understand the T’Challa Black Panther costume is expected to be a hit along with Wonder Woman and Michael Myers) or have Santa Claus come to the meeting bearing gifts.

You might get some push back from the reps saying it’s too early, but really, wouldn’t you rather be a bit early than too late?

If you would like to see ENS Media’s 12 Tips and Tactics For a Successful Early Christmas Sales Meeting, click here.

One last gentle reminder, January and February are typically your worst two months of the year. When you present your holiday proposals, you may find it easier and more successful to plan, present, and sell the post-season sales and events as part of your package NOW! Even if they are an “as needed based” advertiser. It’s worth a shot!

Also, if you want to increase your local-direct revenues in 2019 and beyond, email [email protected], or make an appointment to see him in the Consultant’s Corner at the RAB Radio Show in Orlando in September.