I’m sure that, like me, your dad at some point in life said to you, “I don’t care if you dig ditches for a living, just be the best ditch digger there is!”
At the time, I’m not sure that statement had a lot of impact on me, but much later in life a quote by Mark Twain did, “A man who can read but doesn’t isn’t any wiser than the man who can’t”.
Through unscientific research, that is observing people and doing self-analyzation of why some people are more successful than others, I can tell you that the most successful people in media sales are those that have the discipline to learn their trade and are either consciously or unconsciously focused and determined to get better every day. They have the knowledge, ability, and a deep-down desire to help others.
For some, this is a built-in personality trait. As managers, you’ll be lucky to have one or two of these “Type A” personalities on your team, but for the others, it needs to be taught. They need to be motivated to be better. They need someone to show them and prove to them that it is worth the effort.
This is where management comes in. Leaders Lead! Are you reading books and articles on marketing and advertising, business, leadership, motivation? Are you devoting part of your day to getting better? If not, Start! Make sure they know that you are doing what you ask them to do. Leaders lead by example.
Getting better every day doesn’t mean hours and hours of reading and research. Just 15-minutes a day can mean the difference between mediocrity and being Great!
If the radio industry could rewrite history, the main thing that it should do (or should have done) is train our sellers better. It starts with motivating them to be better. It starts with having the desire to Get Better Every Day!
P.S. Want to Get Better?I suggest reading the book, RESTORING the SOUL of BUSINESS: Staying HUMAN in the Age of Data, by Rishad Tobaccowala. (I gave it 5+ stars. One of, if not the best, books I have ever read on management, leadership, and business.)
If you or your team has the desire and is looking to get better, I’d like to visit with you about sharing the knowledge I’ve learned over my 30+ years of radio sales and management which helped me guide one of the largest billing small-market radio stations in America. Click here to arrange a call.
Whether you’ve been in the media sales game for six months or 60 years, one of the battle cries has always been, “Get more 52-week business on the books”.
There are two main reasons why stations don’t have more “52-week” business or annual contracts on the books. Before we discuss these reasons, and this may ruffle a few feathers, but I suggest being very careful with using the verbiage of “52 weeks”. Not only does it scare the business owner, but the media rep as well. Let’s be honest, for the most part, out of the small to medium-sized businesses we work with, a large majority cannot afford an “effective” 52-week schedule.
This isn’t to say that you should never present 52-weeks. If they have the ability, present away. Instead of referring to it as 52-week business though, try 12-month or annual contracts. It doesn’t sound nearly as long and is less intimidating to all involved.
So, back to the two main reasons why stations don’t have more 52-week advertising contracts on the books:
Reason #1: It’s simple, we don’t ask or present them. Rarely will a business owner say, “Instead of this 3-month schedule, can you show me what an annual agreement would look like?” A large majority of proposals presented to clients are anything but 12-months. Instead, we present monthly packages and schedules, quarterly packages, and if we get crazy, we might shoot for a six-month schedule. By simply preparing and asking for annuals, you are sure to increase the number you sell. Ask for them!
So why do we present more short-term proposals and contracts instead of 12-month or even 2-year contracts?
Reason #2: Media reps don’t have the confidence to ask. This can be attributed to many things, but I might suggest that the main reason is that they have not been taught or trained on how to make radio work, and therefore are hesitant to present something that they don’t believe in.
Taking action and implementing a plan to do something about reason #2, will dramatically affect reason #1.
Simply putting a 12-month schedule together is not the answer. To make radio or any medium work, we must first understand why and how to make it work.
Do you or your reps understand “strategy”, what it means, and how it can have a major positive impact on a business’ advertising success? Once they understand “strategy” their confidence will soar!
Do they understand how to craft a strong message or are they simply “writing ads” that have little impact on the consumer? Once they understand “strategy” they will be able to write and craft better messages.
There’s more to it than just strategy and message, but being able to talk the talk and walk the walk will increase the response to ads, and again ultimately increase the confidence of media reps.
Media reps that understand how and why radio works will have more confidence in their products and ultimately will present and sell more annual contracts.
It really is that easy!
ENS Media consults, coaches, mentors, and trains managers and account executives at radio stations across North America to increase their local direct sales. To learn how ENS Media can help increase your revenues and train your sales team, contact us.
No one ever said selling media, or specifically radio, was easy and if they did, they either have never done it or were lying!
Likewise, no one ever said being a sales manager was easy. As a sales manager, the list of duties, tasks, and expectations is long. But, the number one job of a manager, the task that will determine your success, is the job of maintaining, growing, and building your team of sellers.
Media reps by nature are beaten up on the streets every day. They’re being told and reminded regularly things like your rates are too high, I tried radio once and it didn’t work, nobody listens to radio anymore, and of course more prevalent today than in the past, the economy is tough.
Over time, some media reps can and will begin to believe all the claims and excuses the advertisers make, and because repetition sells, they begin to lose confidence in radio and ultimately themselves!
As a manager, you had to sell them on a career in radio sales and that part of your job never ends as you must keep selling them on the merits of radio every day. Here are a few things you can do to sell yourself and your sellers:
Actively search for and distribute positive news on the economy, business, and the strengths of radio.
Use advertiser testimonials on-air, online, in sales meetings and presentations.
Celebrate success! New clients, up-sells, saves, successful promotions! Make sure the entire staff is aware of how and why radio worked.
Provide tools and information that address the strengths and power of radio.
Motivate – Motivate – Motivate. The mind is a very powerful thing. Display motivational quotes around the office. Share and watch motivational videos. Encourage reading positive mental books.
Negatives should be handled behind closed doors and one-on-one. Positives need to be shouted from mountain tops and shared throughout the building!
Done only once in a while, all of these things will have little impact. Doing them on a regular basis, over-time can and will create the antidote needed to handle the constant objections and negative comments from clients and prospects.
“Having a positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances rather than your circumstances having power over you.”
All of the training, education, systems, and tools in the world will never produce more than attitude, effort, and enthusiasm can generate.
Henry Ford said it best, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”.
Many of the best media reps do this on their own. For the rest, it’s up to managers to help create a culture where they… “think they can!”
Create a culture where they “think they can” and watch the magic happen!
The primary difference between tangible and intangible is tangible is something which a person can see, feel or touch, whereas, intangible is something which a person cannot see, feel or touch.
Selling radio advertising has long been described as selling an intangible, and by definition, it’s a fair description. But, it’s only an intangible if you allow it to be. If the only tangibles your clients receive from you or your station is an invoice, you’ll soon become “intangible” to them!
Most small to medium-sized business owners are always weighing in their minds and wondering if what they are currently doing for advertising is the right thing, and they’re typically looking to try something different. At cutback time, the media rep with the most tangibles in their clients’ files, more often than not, escapes the chopping block. How thick are your clients’ files of your tangibles?
· Do they have more than just one-page proposals and packages?
· Do they have presentations that clearly define what you proposed to do for their business?
· Does it include photos of the events and scripts and/or audio copies of the ads that ran?
· Have you delivered articles about their industry that can help them grow their business?
· What about helpful business and marketing tips like our ENS Media SoundADvice program provides, complete with your photo and station logos?
· Do they have wrap-up reports, post-campaign analyses or annual recaps, showing what they purchased compared to what you delivered, or better yet, over-delivered?
King of Sales Jeffrey Gitomer says it best, “Dude, you’re going to lose all of your customers if you fail to reach them with a message of value every week.”
Become an asset to your clients and prospects by doing more than just selling them ads. Be the media rep that provides tangibles. Then, instead of being just a “salesperson”, you’ll be on your way to being a well-respected media rep that will survive the chopping block.
NEW – Our 3 and 4-part SoundADvice radio e-marketing branding programs are now being offered to individual media reps! If you would like to see an example and learn how SoundADvice can position and brand you, or an entire sales team, as advertising professionals in your market, click here and we’ll send you a complimentary sample of one of our most recent weekly SoundADvice series.
I can hear it now, the battle cry inside the walls of Amazon, Wayfair, and all the other e-commerce companies sounds something like this, “Let’s take another BRICK out of the Brick N Mortars”.
What’s up for grabs this holiday shopping season? $1,000,000,000,000 – That’s ONE TRILLION DOLLARS!
The e-commerce companies are licking their chops. With six fewer shopping days this year, they are looking to make an even bigger impact than in previous years.
If you are in charge of the inventory at your radio or TV station, you have a choice. You can ignore it and let the e-commerce companies whittle away at your lifeblood (Local Direct Clients), or you can stand up and fight for them. It’s not just the retail business owners you are supporting, it’s your local communities, it’s citizens, and all the other non-retail businesses you’re fighting for.
Why fight back against Amazon and the e-commerce enterprises? It’s simple! In most cases, they don’t support your communities. They pay little to no taxes; they don’t sponsor the local clubs, ball teams, non-profits or local events; they provide zero employment, and they hurt your retail businesses. If that’s not enough reason, I don’t know what would be.
We’ll even make it easy for you. We have written two new radio scripts that promote your listeners to buy local this holiday season. One can run for the entire shopping season and the other is to promote “Small Business Saturday” (Nov 30th).
If you would like a free copy of these scripts, simply click here and request.
Your local business owners will think you are a hero for airing these messages and if they aren’t already, they may be more apt to advertise with you in the future. It’s called Psychological Reciprocation!
You have a choice – I hope you choose to “Stand Up and Fight” for your local retailers and communities!