Tag Archives: business

You’ve Been Lied To

Have you ever had a business owner tell you after you made your presentation that they don’t have the budget? Sure, you have.

If you are dealing with the true decision-maker, you have just been lied to!

It’s not a lie in the sense that it was meant to hurt you. It was more of an excuse because they would rather say that than, “I don’t like your idea”, “I don’t think your station is the right fit”, or one of several other excuses that would ultimately put the blame on you and potentially hurt your feelings!

There are several lessons to learn from this example:

  1. Make sure you are talking to the decision-maker from the very beginning.

  2. If they are absolutely the decision-maker and they use this objection, dig deeper and find out what the real objection is. You might reply with something like, “Mr./Mrs. Business Owner, with all due respect, you are the person that makes all budgeting decisions. If you really liked the idea I presented and felt it would help grow your business, you would find the budget, correct? So, can I respectfully ask why you don’t want to move forward with this plan? I can assure you I won’t be offended by doing so.”

  3. If you come up with a strong enough idea that they are convinced will give them a strong ROI, they’ll find the money. Side Note: Ask for what the idea is worth. Good ideas are worth Good money. Great ideas are worth Great money. If you have a GREAT idea, don’t be afraid to ask for a BIG budget!

Your job is to uncover the real reason why they said, “It’s not in the budget”. It’s then your job to tweak your plan accordingly, or if needed, re-load and come up with an altogether new proposal based on their feedback.

It’s not an easy question to ask, and it’s one you can and should practice prior to it ever happening. By not asking, you are simply prolonging them from ever buying from you.

Planning for 2020? To learn more about our TOMA Surveys and Seminars, SoundADvice e-Marketing Program, and our new Radio Recruitment Advertising Seminars, go to our website at www.ensmediausa.com.

Deadlines

“Procrastination on your part doesn’t necessarily constitute

an emergency on my part”

This quote hangs on the walls at many repair and service centers and it would be very appropriate hanging in most radio station Production Departments.

Every radio station has deadlines or cut-offs for turning in production. The question is, are the deadlines being enforced?

Pushing deadlines on a regular basis or ignoring them altogether can have serious effects on an operation. Tempers flare! When the deadline is breached, who’s to blame and how do you fix it?

Regardless of whether it was the media rep or the business owner, the onus falls on the media rep. When the business owner procrastinates, it then becomes the media rep’s job to either make sure the client is timelier, or it’s their job to inform them that they cannot get the ads on as planned. If it’s poor planning on the media rep, then shame on them! Worse yet, if it’s a manager or owner, double shame on them!!! You MUST lead by example!

As a manager, when someone abuses the policy, the fix is easy. Simply tell the rep that their client will not be getting on the air as planned. One time will do the trick.

To ensure it doesn’t become a problem with new clients and new media reps, train them in advance. Missing or abusing production deadlines are self-created when we don’t educate the client about the necessity of our deadlines. Having this conversation with the client at the time of the sale will go a long way.

Having a written production deadline policy that is firm and fair and is adhered to is a must. Not only will it produce better internal relationships, which in turn produces better campaigns and better results, but it will also create happier weeknights, weekends, and holidays for everyone… especially our Production Departments!

Stand Up and Fight for Your Retail Clients

If you ask nearly any retail business owner today who one of their biggest competitors is, you are likely to hear them say, Amazon!

While that may not be true for all retailers, the fact is Amazon’s cut into the retail pie has hurt many local retail business owners and ultimately hurt many local towns, communities, and cities.

Are you ready to stand up for your clients and your local business communities? If so, here is your opportunity!

Monday and Tuesday, July 15th & 16th, are Amazon’s “Prime Day”. Yes, it is two days this year and no, they are not calling it “Prime Days”. They are keeping it singular but are trying to take twice as much money… from your local clients!

Your clients would like to fight back by saying, “Don’t buy from an out-of-town, out-of-state, online e-commerce company”, but they can’t; that would be whining on their part. But YOU can do it for them!

If you are part of a media company and have input on how your inventory is used, I am suggesting that you run some ads, let me rephrase that, not SOME ads but a LOT of ads, suggesting to your listeners that they don’t participate in “Prime Day”. I can assure you, the local business owners will love you for doing it!

We have made it easy for you. I have written a radio script titled, “Amazon Prime Day – Shop Local ALWAYS”. This ad is similar to the “Small Business Friday” and “Buy Local” Christmas ads that over 70 markets requested this past November.

If you would like to stand up and fight for your retail clients and your communities, click here to request a FREE copy of this script.

(Out of loyalty and respect, this script will not be made available to markets where ENS Media currently has clients.)

The More They Know, The More They’ll Buy

The reason most business owners don’t like advertising is because they don’t understand advertising.

Do business owners understand the importance of having Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA) in their business category?

The more you educate your clients and prospects, not only are they more LIKELY to buy from you, but they will buy MORE from you!

If we are simply talking to clients about OUR stations, OUR ratings, and why advertising on the OUR stations is a good deal for them, they may buy, but chances are they will never buy as much from us as they can or should.

Educate them on the “How” and “Why” advertising works and watch your sales grow!

While the digital media world seems to receive all of the limelight today, our ENS Media Share of Mind Surveys and Seminars educate business owners on the important role that radio plays in creating Top of Mind Awareness, how important creating TOMA/brand awareness is in today’s competitive New Media world, and how radio works in conjunction with digital and social media in the buying process.

And…these Share of Mind Surveys and Seminars may be one of the best training and educational tools your sales team has ever seen!

To learn the top 12 ways your advertisers, and your sales team, can benefit from facilitating Share-of-Mind Surveys and Seminars in your market, click here.

“Strategy”

#1 in the 7 Criteria for Successful Advertising

As a reminder, in case you didn’t read last week’s ENS on Sales titled “7 Criteria for Effective Advertising”, these next few weeks we will be discussing each of the seven criteria. To read last week’s issue and catch up, click here.

Strategy is listed as the #1 criteria because, quite simply, it’s the most important element that determines the success of a business or a product.

So, what is strategy? Strategy is what you want your business or product to be “known for”.

I’ll use the insurance category as an example. What is GEICO “known for”? Their slogan is, “In 15 minutes or less you could save 15% or more on car insurance”. Their strategy is simply that you will save time and money! It has nothing to do with better insurance, creative packaging options, or better or faster claims. Those strategies are left to other companies.

If GEICO owns the “saving time and money category”, what does Farmers Insurance want you to know them for? Regardless of how crazy your claim may be, they will pay the claim! They substantiate that strategy with their slogan, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two”.

That’s strategy! It’s what the business is “known for”.

Most small to medium-sized businesses that you deal with on a local level don’t have a strategy. In fact, if you ask them what their business strategy is, you’ll get answers like, “I don’t know what you mean”, “I don’t really know”, or “I don’t think we really have one”!

Once you understand what a company’s strategy is, it’s much easier to craft messages and campaigns. If they don’t have a strategy, help them create one. How to uncover or create a business strategy is a whole other topic and discussion for another day.

If you have questions or would like to discuss more on strategy, email me or give me a call.

Next week, we will discuss Criteria #2, The Message/Ad.