Tag Archives: budget
Ask for What it’s Worth!
Here’s the scenario. A media rep meets with a client, completes the fact-finding meeting, and the client tells the rep, “I would like to promote this event or this area of my business and here is my budget. Let me know what you come up with”!
The media rep goes back to the station and they begin to brainstorm ideas. During the session, they come up with a great idea but, to promote it correctly, it will certainly take more budget than what the client suggested. The media rep is hesitant to ask for more investment than what the client originally stated.
The question is, “Now what?”
1) Do you put the great idea together and show an investment of only what the client stated?
2) Do you scale the idea back to match the stated budget? Or…
3) Do you layout the great idea and show the investment that it will take to implement it?
The correct answer is, of course, #3. Ask for what is it worth! Business owners are starving for good ideas and if the idea is strong enough and they are convinced that they will have a successful promotion, the client will find the money.
The worst thing that can happen is that they won’t be convinced, and they’ll say no. Then you either go back to the drawing board or you can have option two prepared for the level of investment the business owner initially suggested.
When the client says, “let’s do it”, the upside is huge! Besides the obvious of making a larger sale, campaigns with more bells and whistles, i.e. increased frequency, remotes, promotions, etc., will always have a better chance of being successful than a basic schedule, if executed correctly. But, the larger lesson is that the confidence gained by the media rep and lesson learned will be invaluable. The fear of asking for more or adequate dollars is often-times a key reason why campaigns fail to work as well as they could or should. Overcoming this fear can be key to becoming a successful media rep.
Come up with a big idea. Ideas = Dollars! Then, ask for what the idea is Worth!
If you Don’t Offer Digital and Social, Find Someone Who Does
We used to say, “Control the creative and you’ll control the budget”. Times have changed and while we still place huge importance on controlling the message, today, controlling or at minimum having a say in the digital is extremely important.
But we are radio reps and not digital/social reps, right?
You don’t have to be an expert in digital and social media to be involved in the process. In fact, trying to be a jack-of-all-trades isn’t necessarily the answer, especially in the fast-paced, ever-changing, world of digital, where even the digital experts have to hustle to keep on top of the game.
The 2019 Borrell and Associates Local Advertising Survey revealed some interesting results. The survey showed that 44% of businesses that advertise use radio advertising. It also found that 61.9% purchased paid social media advertising, and 45.4% executed search engine marketing. More importantly, when they asked business owners where they planned to increase their budgets, 8 of the top 10 advertising platforms were in the digital and social arena.
It also found that 81% of businesses are buying both digital and non-digital advertising campaigns. Here’s the real kicker; of those surveyed that use radio, only 38% said their local rep offered an online component and they purchased it, and 21% said online was offered but they didn’t buy! If my math serves me correctly, this means 41% of radio reps are not presenting digital or social.
Is this a problem or an opportunity?
Instead of trying to fight to keep your share of your budget, be the media rep that invites digital and social to the table. Business owners want creative ideas, honest opinions, and suggestions. They don’t want to be pitched. Be the media rep that controls the process and has your client’s best interest at heart, and you’ll control the budget.
If you’re an expert, great, but if you’re not, find someone that is and work together as a team.
Today the slang is, “Control the digital and you’ll control the budget”. Instead, we suggest you…“Control the process and you’ll control the budget”.
At ENS Media, we help train media teams on how to use radio and digital together to create better results for your clients and more revenue for your stations.
Contact me at [email protected] to visit more about how I can help you and your team.
When Fair Isn’t Fair
Good in-bound leads today are hard to come by. When you do get leads, distributing them equally or in turn, does not always equal the best results.
You have some account executives who, when told the new lead’s budget is $10,000, come back with a $10,000 order. You have others who turn a $10,000 budget into a $20,000 order. You’ll even have some who will come back without an order!
Some sales managers distribute their leads equally among their account executives, in part, because it’s easier than doing some research to fit the right rep to each lead. Some also distribute leads ‘in turn’ under the guise of appearing to be fair to all.
Giving a lead to a rep because it’s “their turn” certainly isn’t ‘fair’ to the client, or the account executive, if there isn’t a style and strategic fit.