Tag Archives: Selling

What Are You So Afraid Of?

Have you ever heard of a salesperson who had to go to therapy because they stopped into a business and asked to speak with the owner? 

Neither have I. 

Yet prospecting can feel strangely terrifying. 

What if they’re busy? 

What if I interrupt them? 

What if they’re having a bad day? 

What if they say NO? 

What if they release the hounds? 

Okay, that last one is probably unlikely. 

But the fear is real. You’re definitely not alone. This fear causes a lot of salespeople to do everything except the thing that creates new business. 

They organize their CRM. Send emails. Research prospects for 47 minutes. Tweak a proposal. Check LinkedIn. Refill their coffee. 

All very productive-looking ways to avoid contacting another human being. 

One thing that makes prospecting less intimidating is knowing what you’re going to say before you make the call or walk through the door. 

Not memorizing a speech. Preparing. 

And know your goal. 

Your goal on that first contact probably isn’t to sell anything. It’s to get 20 or 30 minutes with them later. 

On the phone, keep it simple: 

“Hey Fred, can I steal a minute from you?” 

That’s pretty honest. You are stealing a minute.  

(I remember this from an audiobook I listened to years ago called “New Sales. Simplified.” By Mike Weinberg – and I really like it.) 

Then get to the point: 

“I’m hoping to visit with you for about 20 or 25 minutes next week. I’d like to bring you a couple of ideas, learn a little more about your business, and see if we might be a good fit.” 

Then stop talking. 

You don’t need a five-minute pitch. You need a reason for another conversation. 

Preparation creates confidence. And confidence usually doesn’t come before taking action anyway. 

It comes because of taking action. 

Pick a few businesses. Know who you want to talk to. Know what you’re going to say. Know what your goal is. 

Then make the call. Walk through the door. 

Worst-case scenario?  

They say no. 

Five minutes later, your life looks remarkably similar to the way it did before the call. 

Check your pulse. Still there? 

Good! Call the next one. 

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.

increase radio revenues

Job One For Sales Managers

As a sales manager, the list of activities, tasks, and paperwork you face everyday is daunting.

But there is only one job, your toughest job, that will dictate your success.

That job is selling your sellers.

They’re beat up on the street every day. They’re being told everything from your rates are too high, to nobody listens to radio anymore, and from the economy is tough to radio doesn’t work. And you know repetition sells.

Over time, your account executives can begin to believe all of the advertiser excuses for not investing with them and lose confidence in radio.

It’s your job to counter balance all of those negatives and never quit selling your sellers.

You had to sell them on a career in radio sales, and the merits of your company when you recruited them, and you have to keep selling them every day.

A few things you can do to sell your sellers:

  • Create internal systems and venues, online, in sales meetings and more, to share sales success stories.
  • Celebrate EVERY order… without exception.
  • Capture and use advertiser testimonials on air, online, in sales meetings and in presentations.
  • Actively search for and distribute good news on the economy, business, your market and radio.
  • Recognize the contributions to your success from every department… not just sales.
  • Negatives should be shared one on one, behind closed doors, positives need to be shouted throughout the building.
  • Last, but not least, when launching new systems, packages, programs or initiatives, focus on the benefits from your customers’ point of view, not just from the station’s vantage point.

My favorite Henry Ford quote is, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you are right!”

The best sales managers have cultivated the art of helping their sales people ‘think they can’ every day.

All of the training, systems and tactics in the world will not produce more than the enthusiasm and confidence you can build.

It Ain’t Gonna Sell Itself

So you think your advertisers are flocking to social media? Maybe not.  Maybe social media salespeople are flocking to them.

Twitter, for example, invested a whopping 44% of their revenue in marketing and sales to capture a 111% revenue increase last year.

 Now, I’m not suggesting for a minute that broadcasters should have a 44% cost of sale. But you almost certainly are not going to experience sales increases by cutting your marketing and sales investments.

The good old days of only competing with a few local stations and the local paper are long gone.  Your prospects are being sold by the marketing automation software folks, social media salespeople, web designers, SEO folks, Google AdWords, and many more from around the globe every week.

 Click on this link to see what other publicly held companies are investing in marketing and sales

http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/28343/how-much-do-public-companies-spend-on-marketing-and-sales-infographic?adref=nlt082815

 Local radio is not going to sell itself.

          And….I know that you know the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

What are you doing to increase your sales in 2016?

Our suite of  revenue-development products, from local Top of Mind Awareness surveys to our SoundADvice radio e-marketing system, is helping stations across North America to increase their sales.

Contact [email protected] to discuss how we can build a custom revenue solutions program to increase your sales in 2016.
Sincerely,
Wayne Ens
705-484-9993