Have you ever noticed how negatives seem to jump out at you and smack you in the forehead, and the positives can go unnoticed or taken for granted?
Your sales reps hear the negatives every day, “No one listens to radio anymore”, No one listens to your stations”, “Your prices are too high”, “I’m cutting my budget”, “I tried radio once and it didn’t work”. They get beat up every day on the streets.
Part of a Sales Manager’s job is to motivate the troops. At your next sales meeting, open a discussion about what it is that they like about their career. (Use the word “career”, not “job”.)
You’ll get an amazing array of answers like, “helping businesses succeed”, “the creative aspect”, “it’s different every day”, “working with a variety of different people and businesses”, “not having to sit behind a desk every day”.
This exercise will achieve three different objectives for you:
1) It will remind them about the positives of their daily lives.
2) Some of their peers will present positives others never thought of.
3) You’ll gain valuable information into each individual’s motivation to help you in your coaching sessions.
Note: You may have to prime the well and start the conversation by sharing why you enjoy your career and/or company.
Let me first say, I am not opposed to Digital Media or Social Media! They both have a place in our “marketing world” and I encourage you to embrace them. I recommend digital for clients, but let’s speak freely, the hype about it may be bigger than anything we have seen since __________???
What are the facts? When it comes to the REAL numbers, how big is it? How many people use it? How do they use it? And, how often do they use it? Oh, and one more thing, how much of it is FRAUD?
If you read the publications that I read, you know that upwards of 25% (minimum) is fraud. If you are talking video, up to 75% can be fraud (this was taken from e Marketer, Aug 8th Edition, titled Ad Fraud Still Plagues Digital Media’s Supply Chain: “Of the video ad inventory purchased without validation, 72% was fraudulent).
Again, I am not opposed to digital, but the question I ask is this. As Broadcast Media Reps, how would your clients react if you sold them 200 ads, but you only delivered or aired 150 of them…or LESS? But, you still charged them for all 200 ads! It wouldn’t be pretty! This isn’t happening in Radio or TV, not even in Print or Billboards, but it’s happening every minute, every day in digital!
To learn more about digital fraud, and I encourage you do so, simply google “statistics on digital ad fraud”. You can read for days. If you would like me to send you a few articles, email me at [email protected].
We’re in the GREAT medium of Radio, so hold your heads high. People spend more time with us, radio (and TV) provide the best ROIs, and we have very little to NO fraud!
I recommend we all take some aspirin for the digital headache and keep telling the positive story of Radio!
I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on digital media, whether you agree with me or not. Call or email me and let me know.
What is the best length for ads? The correct answer is… whatever it takes – to make it a GREAT ad! The only wrong answer to this question would have been had you suggested just one of these options.
We need to first understand, believe, and realize that no one listens to your radio station for the ads. It’s our job to get them to listen with creative, compelling, well written, and well produced ads that are strategically on target. The length of the ad has very little to do with how effective it is.
If you are a proponent of 60 second ads, you can probably put up a great debate as to why 60’s are better than 30’s, and vice versa. What I can tell you is that bad 60 second ads are simply a bigger waste of money than bad 30’s.
What about 10’s or 15’s? One of the very best ad campaigns I’ve ever heard is the QUIKRETE campaign titled “Long Story Short”, created by Fitzgerald and Company. They are 10 second ads with a brilliant strategy and were executed perfectly! To hear these ads, click here. They’re great entertainment and can be used as examples when discussing length of ads with clients and in training your team to either ask better questions and/or write better ads. Yes, asking better questions always leads to better ads.
The reason for this article isn’t to debate the best length of ad. The fact remains, regardless of the length, the “better” the ad, the “better” the results. Our point is… what are you doing on a daily or weekly basis to help train your team; sellers, writers and production departments on how to write and produce better ads?
Better ads will lead to better results for your clients, AND, your station will sound better, allowing you to create more revenue with bigger and longer-term contracts.
If you would like to discuss this topic, or if you would like help in training your team on creating and writing better ads, contact us and let’s discuss how doing this can help you generate more revenue. The pay-offs can be huge!
In just a few weeks, back to school shopping will be over. Department stores will be re-imaged and restocked, and as quickly as you can blink an eye, you’ll see the Fall and Winter merchandise occupy the shelves. Yes, when it comes to retail, thoughts of ghosts, goblins, turkeys, snowflakes and sugarplums are already dancing in their heads.
If you have annual contracts with your clients, you are in good shape. But, we all have clients and prospects that buy advertising on an “as needed” basis. In these cases, the old analogy, “the early bird gets the worm” couldn’t be more true. Is now too early? Not at all. In fact, if you’re thinking Halloween, you had better hurry.
We all know that one of the worst feelings in the world is having to come back to the station and tell your manager your client placed the buy with your competition. Retailers are planning earlier, so it only makes sense for us to start to plan earlier as well. While your salespeople are still enjoying the summer, as Sales Managers, it’s our job to give them the tools and the gentle reminders that there is no time like the present!
We suggest presenting your seasonal packages earlier. Make them fun, make them special, make them early! If you haven’t done this before, it’ll be a refreshing surprise. Go BIG, dress up in a Halloween Costume (I understand the T’Challa Black Panther costume is expected to be a hit along with Wonder Woman and Michael Myers) or have Santa Claus come to the meeting bearing gifts.
You might get some push back from the reps saying it’s too early, but really, wouldn’t you rather be a bit early than too late?
If you would like to see ENS Media’s 12 Tips and Tactics For a Successful Early Christmas Sales Meeting, click here.
One last gentle reminder, January and February are typically your worst two months of the year. When you present your holiday proposals, you may find it easier and more successful to plan, present, and sell the post-season sales and events as part of your package NOW! Even if they are an “as needed based” advertiser. It’s worth a shot!
Also, if you want to increase your local-direct revenues in 2019 and beyond, email [email protected], or make an appointment to see him in the Consultant’s Corner at the RAB Radio Show in Orlando in September.
If you’re a regular reader of our ENS on Sales, you know that one of the topics we continually write about is the importance of learning, training, and “GETTING BETTER” every day!
One of the best opportunities to learn and “GET BETTER” each year is only eight weeks away. It’s Radio Show 2018, presented by RAB/NAB. This year’s Radio Show is being held in Orlando, Florida, September 25th-28th. Not only is it a great place to learn, but a great place to mingle with our peers. If you are the outgoing type, I suspect you can learn as much in the hallways as you will in the meeting rooms.
ENS Media is excited to announce that Rick Fink has been extended an invitation to speak at the Sales Consultants Series. This session will be held on Wednesday morning, September 26th at 8:00 a.m. Rick, along with four other trainers and consultants, will offer sales and management tips that you can take back to the office and implement immediately.
We always welcome any opportunity to meet our ENS on Sales readers, so if you are planning on attending Radio Show, let us know!!! We would love to arrange a time to visit and say hello!
Hope to see you in Orlando – and in the meantime – Never STOP Learning!
