Tag Archives: Sales

Raising Kids – Raising Sellers!

You Have Two Minutes to Get Me in A Good Mood!

(The article I’m sharing with you today was first written nearly two years ago but never sent out to our subscribers. As we are spending time with our son and his family on vacation and watching them raise and guide their children, it reminded me of the similarities of raising kids and managing sellers.)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my youngest daughter’s “Last First Day of School”. It was just a few days later that my second child and oldest daughter, a 1st-grade teacher, called me on her way to work like she does nearly every morning. Normally, she is in a very good mood and happier than most people are at 7:15 a.m. On this morning, to say the least, she wasn’t! In fact, her first words were, “You have two minutes to get me into a good mood”, and I could tell by the tone, she meant business!

So we talked a bit and in about two minutes, maybe a couple more, she was ready to conquer the day. Shortly after that, I sent her this email and quote to give her one last pep talk.

Later, during her break, she replied with this…

“Thanks, Dad! I am actually having a good day. I am constantly talking to my kids about changing their mindset. Example: If they say, ‘I’m not good at this’, they should actually say, ‘What am I missing?’”. I told them about my morning, and they said, “CHANGE YOUR MINDSET!” Ha-Ha

Love you!”

One of our sayings in our home is, “You have to know what losing tastes like in order to truly enjoy the sweetness of victory”.

Why do I share these stories of my kids? Because it mirrors what we do in sales and management.

If you’re in management, we need to keep an eye out for our reps who might be having a bad day. Invite them in to talk about it and make sure they understand that it’s O.K. to have bad days.

If you’re in sales, you really do need to understand what defeat feels like to truly enjoy the wins. If we won every time, we wouldn’t enjoy or appreciate it nearly as much!

Everyone has “Bad Days”; after all, we are all human.

I hope these two minutes helped make your day a little bit better! Go make it a GREAT Day!

Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid

When you were growing up, you may have heard the expression, “Some things are just better left unsaid”. It was another way of saying hold your tongue because if you say it out loud, it could land you in trouble, or it may cause unpleasantness.

In advertising sales, one of those “things” better left unsaid until the appropriate time is…rates!

However, oftentimes it’s one of the first things new prospects want to talk about. When this happens, how we reply can set the stage and determine what type of relationship we will have with this client far into the future.

So, while we are better off not talking about rates, especially early in the relationship, the topic, especially when asked, needs to be addressed.

When one of your prospect’s first questions is, “What are your rates?”, you must be prepared. Answering the question directly and with as much confidence as possible is extremely important. The worst possible thing you can do is try to skirt the question and give them a song and dance reply!

Here is a suggested reply: “Our rates are great. I can assure you of one thing, we don’t gouge people and we don’t give it away.” Our rates are determined by several factors that include what station and/or how many stations you are on, the time frame in which your ads air, how much frequency you choose to run, the length of the agreement, and the length of the message. With that said, your rates will be somewhere between $ and $.”

If you choose to use something like this, make sure the rates you provide are fairly broad, allowing you room to explain the rates you present based on the reasons stated above, i.e. a 30-sec ROS schedule compared to 60-sec drive- times on one or multiple stations.

What we don’t want to have happen is to get into a discussion about our rates vs. the other radio station(s), or comparing the cost of radio to other mediums. The deeper you go with your reply, the more rate will be an issue.

As quickly as possible you want the conversation to turn to how we can help them grow their business with strategies, ideas, solutions, and results!

The right time to discuss rates is after you have presented your ideas and proven that you are there to help them, not just sell them. Then, regardless of what your rates are, they will always appear lower.

Do you want to be known as the media rep with the best rates or the media rep with the best ideas? Having a pre-planned and rehearsed response to this question can determine what your relationship will look like far into the future.

Some things are better left unsaid, or at least said in the appropriate manner, at the appropriate time!

Make Hay While the Sun is Shining

With a world that has been turned upside down, sales that have fallen to unprecedented levels, and a future that is still filled with uncertainty, recruiting new employees may not be the top priority on your To-Do list. However, an old proverb says, “the best time to make hay is while the sun is shining”.

There are two major reasons to consider looking for your next superstar, right now, while the sun is shining:

Reason #1: Major “Life” events, including what we’ve just experienced, cause people to “re-think” their priorities. For many, this means considering a career move.

A Gallup poll shows that during normal times 67% of U.S. employees are disengaged at work, and 51% say they are actively looking for a new job or are open to one. We can only assume that these numbers have spiked along with unemployment.

Reason #2: As people return to work, some will be even more disengaged. The personalities and beliefs of owners and managers and the “return to work” policies they implement will determine the level of their employees’ anxiety. Some will think the precautions and mandates will be too much, while others will believe it is not enough, both causing uneasiness, disgruntlement, and reasons to ultimately look for a different employer.

One of the most important duties of a manager is building and maintaining a strong team. While recruitment may not be a top priority, it should always be a high priority and a regular, ongoing function for every manager. There is nothing worse than having one of your sellers hand you their two-week notice when you don’t have someone on the bench. The truth is … the two reasons listed above apply to your employees as well.

While it may feel and seem odd, the sun is truly shining. So, get the recruitment machine fired up, make sure the barn is ready, and start making hay! The sun is shining!

Stay Safe – Stay Healthy – Stay Strong!

Onboarding

Getting Them Off to a GREAT Start

Today, hiring good people is a challenge in itself; keeping them is a whole different ballgame.

When it comes to hiring and adding new people to your sales team, it’s imperative that they get off to not only a good start, but a GREAT start.

In the human resources world, bringing on a new employee is referred to as “onboarding”. A definition of onboarding is, “the action or process of integrating a new employee into an organization”.

A new employee should never show up to work on their first day and sit around for an hour trying to make themselves useful because the manager didn’t have a plan or wasn’t prepared.

An article by Process Street, an onboarding company, quoted a survey that stated, “Employees who participate in a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay with an organization for 3 years”, and “15% of employees said the lack of an effective onboarding program aided in their decision to quit”.

Don’t confuse onboarding with orientation. Orientation is a one-time event. Onboarding is a series of formal, well-planned training programs and events that start the day they are hired and can last from one month up to a full year. This includes everything from having their workstation ready with business cards printed on their first day, to a pre-planned daily training program. In addition, weekly and monthly reviews are part of making sure employees feel welcomed, know what’s expected of them, and lets them know how they are doing every step of the way.

A good onboarding and training program only needs to be created one time, then it can be used over and over with only minor tweaks going forward.

To see 9 Tips for Successful Onboarding, click here. If you would like help preparing an in-depth and very focused onboarding and training program for your sales team, contact Rick at [email protected].

Set, Ready, Grow!

There are a lot of great things about being in media sales; every day is different, you’re not stuck behind a desk, you work with many different types of businesses and people, outside sales offer a level of flexibility, and for the most part YOU are responsible for what you earn. But my favorite is that you get to experience the satisfaction of helping businesses grow with creative strategies, ideas, and solutions!

The downside, if there is one, is that the pressure is always on! Ten times out of ten, ownership and management expect you to grow from one year to the next. The old expression, “If you aren’t growing, you’re dying”, is as true in sales as it is in any other walk of life.

2020 is here! Are you Set, and Ready to Grow?

What are you going to do in 2020 to be better than you were in 2019?

Are you going to work harder? You really shouldn’t have to unless you didn’t work very hard in 2019. Work smarter instead!

Are you going to read more? Just 15 minutes a day will change your world. Become more educated on advertising and marketing. Exercise your brain every day!

Will you be a better resource to your prospects and clients than you have been in the past? Bringing more knowledge and value to your clients is one sure way to get them to spend more with you.

Today, business owners want to work with media reps that are cutting edge; reps that offer ideas and solutions to their needs. Whether you are in sales or management, are you Set and Ready to Grow in 2020?

We look forward to bringing you weekly topics that will help stimulate your brain and offer ideas to help you have a great year!

If you are looking for ways to grow revenue, build better relationships with your clients, or you would like outside help in training yourself or your team, send an email to [email protected]. We would love to visit with you.