Tag Archives: goals

Leap Into 2020

2020 is a Leap Year and it’s just four weeks away. Are you ready for it?

Two weeks ago, we discussed the importance of writing your goals on paper. Today, I’m suggesting you ask yourself one question. That question is, “What is the most important thing you can LEARN in 2020 to get BETTER at what you do?”

Is it, read more? Get healthier? Be more organized? Ask better questions? Become better at servicing your clients? Prospect harder or smarter? Create better presentations? Ask for more annuals? Become a better closer? Learn how to sell radio the right way? Get to work earlier? Waste less time? Invest in yourself with training or education?

Pick one thing, write it down, and put it in a place that you can see it multiple times every day. Don’t be afraid of it, in fact, embrace it, AFFIRM it every day!

Our 2020 theme at ENS Media, for ourselves and our clients, is…

“Take Chances – Learn New Things – Fall Forward”

If you’re ready to grow in 2020 and would like to learn new things, start by writing down what you want to learn and get better at.

We would love to help – if you’re looking for new and exciting ways to grow revenue and develop your team, click here to arrange a phone conversation with Rick.

For individual reps as well as entire sales teams, our SoundADvice program can and will position you as THE advertising professional in your market. Click here to read more about our SoundADvice program.

Additionally, our TOMA Surveys and Seminars, Recruitment Seminars, along with our training workshops, ALWAYS receive rave reviews.

To see a complete list of how we can help grow your revenue and train your sellers and clients, go to our website, www.ensmediausa.com.

Write ’em Down

It’s that time of year. Time for setting budgets and goals for 2020.

Let’s start with the difference between budgets and goals. Budgets are what you think you will do for sales in 2020. Goals are what you want. There’s a huge difference between what you think and what you want!

The budgeting process is fairly easy. You did this much last year, and you plan on or think you can do this much next year. OK, there’s a little more to it than that, but in a nutshell, that is budgeting.

Goal setting should be much more in-depth on a professional AND personal level.

Setting goals is the time when you reflect on what you accomplished last year and what you want to accomplish next year. Goals are more than just your sales and money. Equally important, or even more so, goals should be about what you want and how you will grow professionally, and what you want personally for yourself and your family.

Goals are the fuel for your fire!

While statistics vary, most professionals agree that by committing your goals to paper, you increase your chances of reaching them by 42%.

Here are some things to include in your goal-setting process:

·      List 5 new clients you want to have on the air by July 1st (the number of accounts/clients can vary)

·      List 10 clients that you want to increase in 2020 by July 1st

·      List 10 clients that you want to add/upsell, i.e. add a station, add digital, add streaming, etc.

·      List 5 things you accomplished in 2019 that you are most proud of

·      List 5 areas of the sales process you need to improve on in 2020, i.e. prospecting, upselling, CNAs, etc.

·      List 5 things you will do to help improve yourself, i.e. read books, attend seminars, be more organized, become healthier, affirmations, etc.

·      List 5 things you want to accomplish for your family in 2020, i.e. new home, car, vacation, savings account, reduce debt, motorcycle, healthier lifestyle, etc.

By consciously thinking about what you want to achieve and then writing it down, you will be on the path to achieving your goals.

Many people have been quoted as saying, “Goals not written down are just dreams”. While there is nothing wrong with dreaming, you’re much more likely to fulfill your goals than you are your dreams!

What do YOU want in 2020? Write ’em down!!

The 2nd Half

With Memorial Day behind us, the unofficial beginning of summer is here. In just 30 days (July), the 2nd half of your year begins. Are you ready? Is your team ready? Do you need to make any adjustments?

We have seen many different ways to set individual and team goals. Some do it at the beginning of the year and stick to them. Some do them every six months. Some readjust along the way. Any of these are fine and all are FAR better than not having goals at all.  Without a plan and discipline, it’s pretty tough to get to where you want to be.

Here is something to think about, and again, we have seen it done both ways. Are your reps setting their own goals or is management setting them? We highly recommend the reps set their own goals. It goes along with Henry Ford’s way of thinking, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”  Of course, like anyone, they may need some coaching and guidance. Goals too high and unrealistic are better than goals set too low, but both are dangerous and can have negative effects.

So, as we approach the 2nd half of the year, I will use the analogy of a coach at halftime.  It doesn’t really matter whether you are winning or losing at this point, either way, it’s time to make adjustments.  If you’re winning, don’t rest on your laurels.  Now is the time to dominate!  If you’re tied or losing, pump them up, readjust, give them a game plan with the tools to go out and succeed. If you believe in them, they will believe in you!

Now, go out there and have FUN, and have a GREAT 2nd half!

If your goals are to grow in 2018 and beyond, we can help. Click here to request an online overview of how we can help train and brand your stations and your account executives as professional marketing consultants.

Happy 2018!

Allan Waters, the founder of what was once one of Canada’s most successful broadcast empires said, “Our problem is not that we aim too high and miss our targets.  Our problem is that we aim too low and hit our targets.”

With all the ‘bad news’ facing broadcasters today, it’s easy to get sucked into a negative-thinking trap.

We hear about the enormous debt burdens resulting from broadcast consolidation, and radio that once was branded as ‘live and local’ is now often voice-tracked with little local content to appeal to consumers.

Advertising’s share of marketing budgets continues to shrink, as does traditional media’s share of that shrinking share. Online shopping is hurting many of our traditional retail advertisers, and broadcast radio is no longer the only audio media choice our advertisers have.

And misery appears to love company. When we see fellow broadcasters with flat or faltering sales, we tell ourselves it’s okay to aim low and hit our targets.

The list of problems we face goes on and on, but I’m still from the Allan Waters school of broadcasting…our problem is we aim too low!

It’s pretty easy to fall into a ‘woe is me’ way of thinking, but virtually every business and every media is experiencing disruption, fragmentation, low-price competition, and various other problems that could be described as a crisis.

I believe the Chinese understand how to manage and succeed during an alleged crisis. They spell crisis with these two symbols.
The symbol on the left stands for ‘danger’, and there is danger in every crisis. But what makes the difference when they spell crisis is the symbol on the right. It stands for ‘opportunity.’

You have probably heard the old cliché, “Problems were merely opportunities in disguise.” That attitude contributed to ENS Media having our most successful year ever during the 08-09 recession. Our Selling in Tough Times program helped many broadcasters experience revenue gains far above the ‘norm’.

As you plan for 2018, will your ‘tough times’ target become a self-fulfilling prophecy, or will you break from the fray and capture the opportunities brought about by disruption and change?

Do your sales people have the tools and training to open those new opportunities?

As you plan for 2018 and beyond, don’t let your stations make the same mistake as Luigi made in this tale of Luigi’s Hot Dog Stand.

Luigi worked hard at his road-side hot dog stand all his life so he could send his son to college.  He used only the finest ingredients, stayed open long hours, advertised consistently, and sold the greatest hot dogs for miles around. 

Business was booming. He had to buy a bigger oven, add to his parking lot, and increase his food orders to fill demand.

His hard work and investments paid off, and his son came home from college with a business degree.

“Father, haven’t you heard?” he said upon his return. “Times are getting tough. You are going to have to cut back on your expenses because there is a recession on the way” he said. “You’re going to have to buy cheaper ingredients, turn the power off on your sign earlier each evening, and cut your advertising to prepare for the weakening economy.”

Luigi thought, “Well, my son’s been to college. He ought to know. Maybe business is going to slow down”. 

So, Luigi started buying the cheapest ingredients he could find, he cut the power to his signs and cancelled all his advertising.  And alas, his son was right. Hot dog sales began to plummet almost overnight.  “You were right son,” Luigi said to the boy.  “We certainly are heading for a recession!”

Let’s aim higher, not lower, as we plan for 2018.

Click here to arrange an online meeting to discuss how we might be able to help you reach loftier goals.