One of the most frightening words for a media rep to say to a prospect or client is, “No”!
“No, we cannot offer that rate for that time frame.” “No, I can’t get you on tomorrow. We are past the production deadline!” “No, I can’t get you on this week. We are sold out”. “No, we can’t match the price of our competitor!” “No, No, No, and No!”
The natural fear of a media rep is that if I say “No”, they won’t ever do business with me again.
However, when it’s justifiable and the timing is right, saying “No” can be extremely powerful and almost “magical” in helping establish a more credible and professional future relationship with your clients.
Here are a few other times when saying “No” can have a great positive impact:
When the client calls and says that they want to see you yet today or tomorrow. Saying “No” and that you can’t make it then will suggest that he isn’t your only client and that your other clients have value to you.
When the client wants to run a schedule or do something that you are confident won’t have much chance for success. Tell them, “No, Mr./Mrs., I wouldn’t feel comfortable suggesting you do that, as I’m not at all confident it will work”.
There are two important ingredients to turning “No” into magic. One, you must train your reps on the “how” and “when” to use “No”. Not training them on this topic and expecting them to know it will leave them afraid of it. Equally as important, is giving them permission to say no, therefore taking away the fear of being reprimanded when or if the client should decide to walk.
If you want to gain and maintain the respect of your clients, and want more than just a token buy, say “No” once in a while.
That’s a common statement that nearly everyone has made regarding nearly everything we do in life, both personally and professionally.
In some cases, we would not change a thing. But in others…?
In last week’s ENS on Sales Who’s Promoting YOU, we suggested that if radio could have a re-do, or, as Cher sang it so well, “If we could turn back time”, there are two major things that radio could have done and should now do differently on the sales side of our business. These two things alone would make a tremendous impact not only with our reputation but ultimately, where we stand on the totem pole of revenue share.
We are happy to report that very soon new markets will in-fact start to “promote their group and their sellers”. Thank you to those that chose to reach out. You’re on the path to success!
The second thing that radio should do, if they could turn back time, is to train, and I mean REALLY train our media reps. Not just how to sell, but on how to make radio work!
Here’s how it went in the old days and unfortunately is still happening more than we care to admit. We hired someone that displayed a great attitude and effort. We then had them watch a few videos on selling radio or maybe just selling, i.e. Jason Jennings or Chris Lytle. Then, within a matter of a few days, we armed them with a depleted deadbeat account list (that the rep before them failed with), new business cards, pointed them towards the streets, and with a pat on the back, we cheerfully said, “Go out and make some sales!”
Even if your new seller was good and they did what you asked, made the calls, and made some sales, we all know what happened next. On the follow-up call, when they tried to sell another package, the client says, “It didn’t work”! Hence the reason we now have businesses all over the planet earth, saying “I tried radio once and it didn’t work”. We’ll duh! ! It didn’t work because we didn’t train or teach the sellers how to make it work! …And it’s not the seller’s fault!
In nearly every other profession, vocation, and industry, they train their people before they ask them to perform. But in radio, we hire on attitude and effort, provide little to no training, and expect miracles. Heck, in little league sports they train for two weeks before testing their skills. We can do better! Our clients deserve better!
The most successful sales organizations will tell you that a proper, well-planned, on-boarding program and an ongoing training program is key to their success.
“Your Life Can Only Get Better When You Do!
Do Something Every Day to Improve Your Key Skill Areas.”
– Brian Tracy
Because you are a regular reader of ENS on Sales, we’ll assume that we’re preaching to the choir and you are NOT doing what is suggested above. If so, you should be proud of what you are doing – keep it up! Never Stop Learning – Get BETTER Every Day!
Unfortunately, we can’t turn back time, but if you’re serious about building a more professional media sales team, ENS Media can help. To arrange a call to visit about how we can help turn your team into professional media reps, click here.
Continuing from last week where we discussed “when” to start the renewal process, today we are discussing the process on “how” to prepare for an upsell at renewal time.
Let me first say that upselling should not only be limited to renewal time. At any point when you uncover a need or the client has given you buying signs, you should prepare and present your plan that includes the upsell.
As we suggested last week, the renewal process should begin two to three months before your current agreement ends.
First, ask your client to set up a time to discuss “their” coming year. When requesting this meeting, choose your words so that the meeting is about them and their business, not about you and your advertising proposal. Say something like, “Mr./Mrs. Client, before we talk about your advertising plans for next year, I would like to set up a time to visit with you about what you think your business will look like in the next 12 months, what your plans are, what your goals are, and look more closely than ever on how to achieve those goals.”
After you have conducted this meeting, and any subsequent planning meetings, you then need to come up with a plan, including the “ideas” that will make your client consider investing more dollars with you and your station(s). Simply asking for an additional investment with no reasoning other than that you’re a rock-star media rep, and radio is a great medium, will generally fall on deaf ears and get you a NO to your proposed upsell.
I said generally. This doesn’t mean that if your client is receiving tremendous success from their current plan that they might not consider adding to their current program. They might! We’re only suggesting that if you have “ideas” it will make it far more enticing to say YES!
Here’s the icing on the cake that will impress nearly every business owner. Create an “Annual Re-cap” of their advertising agreement with you and your stations. This should be done just as you would with a formal multi-page proposal to include a cover page, their prior-year agreement/contract, the total number of ads they received, any promotional support and the value, copies of any photos or media coverage from events or promotions they held, and every script they ran throughout the year.
When you finally get to sit down with your client and make the renewal presentation, start with the annual re-cap. Then, under a separate proposal, move on to your recommendations with the upsell for the new year.
Showing your clients that you are interested in their success by preparing and presenting in a professional manner, and going the distance that most other media reps are not willing to go, will greatly increase your chances of getting your client to say YES to your upsell!
I recently had a conversation with a media rep who has been successfully selling radio for a little over two years. She indicated that she was renewing nearly 100% of her annual contracts, however, she was not having any luck at all in upselling her clients.
After probing with a few more questions, I asked her the ultimate question, “When and how are you starting the renewal process?” In this week’s topic, we will focus on the “when”. Like many reps, she explained that she makes her renewal presentations two to three weeks prior to the contract “end date”.
I then asked her why she had decided on this two to three-week time frame. Her answer, which matches many other reps that I’ve had this same conversation with, was “I don’t want to come across as being too pushy”.
I can understand her stance on this. I too will go to extra lengths to not come across as being pushy. However, I really cannot think of a situation where the timing of making a presentation will come across as being too pushy.
So, when should the renewal and upsell process begin? I would suggest that you “start” the process a maximum of 3 months out and a minimum of 2 months out. Why so far out? Let’s be honest, how many times have you approached your client saying you’d like to present next year’s plan and the first thing they say is, “I’m too busy. Let’s look at it in a few weeks”. They’ll say this or provide some other objection whether it’s three weeks or three months prior to the end of the contract.
When you started the process only weeks in advance of the contract date, how many times did the client ultimately end up saying, “Let’s just do what we did last year.”?
The fact is, if approached correctly, starting 2 to 3 months out will allow you to be less pushy than if you start only weeks in advance.
There is much more to the proper process of getting renewals signed on time, especially when asking for an upsell. We will save that for next week.
Until then, as you approach renewals of your current contracts, keep in mind, the early bird has a much better chance of catching the worm!
In preparation for your next presentation, here are two simple tips that can dramatically help capture your prospect’s attention and put them in the right frame of mind.
The first is, just prior to starting your presentation, begin with these words, “Mr./Mrs. Prospect, in preparation for this meeting we have put a great deal of effort into coming up with the recommendations we are about to make. We …” (Explain everything you did, i.e. brainstorm(s), research, reading, writing, visited their competitors, etc.)
In Dr. Robert Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Influence, he refers to Principle #1 as “Reciprocity”. People tend to want to repay others for what they have done for them. While explaining your efforts won’t seal the deal, it will show the prospect the amount of time, effort, and energy you put into this for him/her, and psychological reciprocity suggests they will want to return the favor.
The second tip has to do with the headline of your presentation. Most radio sales proposals or presentations begin something like this, An Advertising Proposal for (client name) prepared by (media rep’s name); plain and simple, nothing fancy, except for maybe the business’ logo and your station logos.
It’s boring! There’s nothing that states what’s in it for them!
Instead, make a statement upfront that will put your client in the right frame of mind. You already know the power of good headlines or benefit statements, and if you have done your homework, you should know exactly what the prospect wants to accomplish. You have already explained the effort you have put into preparing this plan, now tell them immediately what you are about to present and what it is intended to do for their business. For example:
An Advertising Proposal for
(Business Name / Logo)
Designed to (say exactly what the plan/program is designed to do), i.e.
Designed to Increase after-hour Emergency Room Visits
Strategically Designed to Increase Traffic and Sales in the Bedding Department
Designed to Increase Traffic to your Website and Increase Online Sales
Exclusively Designed to Increase Happy Hour Traffic on Wednesday, Thursdays & Fridays
Again, this won’t seal the deal, but you will have grabbed their attention with a statement about them.
In preparation for this article, I read five different articles, re-read part of Dr. Cialdini’s book, The Psychology of Persuasion, and dug into some of my old notes.