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 process from the untrained, rabid, sale 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 they are not biased towards 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, 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!
Myth: “AM/FM radio has very low weekly reach” (Fact: A perception of 64% vs. 93% in reality)
Myth: “TV is the way to reach millennials” (Fact: AM/FM radio has a weekly reach of 93% among 18-34-year-olds, compared to 73% for television)
Myth: “Audience shares of Pandora and Spotify are almost equal to AM/FM” (Fact: AM/FM radio shares are 8 times that of Pandora and 19 times that of Spotify)
Myth: “In the world of the connected car, the number one thing people do is stream online radio on their smartphones” (Fact: AM/FM radio owns a 71% share of in-car audio time among those 18+)
Myth: “No one under 35 listens to AM/FM radio any more” (Fact: Nielsen statistics show that millennials account for the largest AM/FM listening audience at 67 million)
Myth: “Six out of 10 agencies/marketers believe radio listening is dropping” (Fact: From July 2015-July 2016, radio listening was up 5% for persons 18-34, 6% for those ages 25-54 and 5% for persons 18-49)
Myth: “Today’s optimal media plan: Put all your money into mobile and social” (Fact: The Advertising Research Foundation’s Optimal Media Mix proposes a media mix of 78% traditional and 22% digital)
Myth: “There’s a total lack of ROI and sales lift evidence for radio” (Fact: The average Nielsen Return on Advertising Spend: $8 for every $1 spent on AM/FM radio)