A medieval knight is standing guard outside the gates of a village. Armor on. Sword ready. Watching the road\u2026 making sure nothing dangerous reaches the people inside.<\/p>\n
Knights lived by a code\u2026<\/p>\n
Protect the innocent. Defend those who cannot defend themselves.<\/p>\n
Now before anyone starts ordering chainmail for the sales department\u2026 let\u2019s bring this into your world. Because the best reps operate by a code too.<\/p>\n
Business owners get “attacked” constantly. Digital agencies. SEO companies. Social media \u201cgurus.\u201d New platforms promising magical results.<\/p>\n
Most business owners don\u2019t fully understand everything they\u2019re being sold. They just know they need customers.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where YOU come in.<\/p>\n
A good rep isn\u2019t just trying to sell airtime. You\u2019re there to help them wade through what\u2019s valuable and what\u2019s just another pitch. You\u2019re there to help them see the bigger picture of how to truly grow a strong local business.<\/p>\n
Yes, Local SEO is valuable \u2013 but not to the tune of thousands of dollars a month.<\/p>\n
Display and Search marketing may have their place, but they need to be part of a larger strategy and not consume more of the budget than necessary.<\/p>\n
Social media can help local businesses stay in front of current customers and even potential ones\u2026 but it\u2019s not how they become top of mind in their community.<\/p>\n
Print and outdoor media can remind people of the Radio or TV ads they\u2019ve heard or seen in the blink of an eye (Roy H. Williams calls it \u201canchoring\u201d)\u2026 but visual-only media doesn\u2019t come close to branding a business like the power of Sound.<\/p>\n
Marketing knowledge is one very sharp edge of your sword.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never stop learning.<\/p>\n
When you become more than just another radio salesperson, your value to your client skyrockets.<\/p>\n
Be real with your clients. Be brutally honest. The same goes for your prospects. The client you land with a song and dance\u2014or with nothing but rankings and numbers\u2014will usually be a temporary client.<\/p>\n
But if you educate them from the start about what truly makes a business a household word in their community\u2026 you can have a client for life.<\/p>\n
It means doing your homework\u2014researching their category, watching their competitors, and bringing them ideas and information that might help their business\u2026 even if it has nothing to do with advertising.<\/p>\n
When a business owner realizes you operate that way\u2026 something important happens.<\/p>\n
You stop being a vendor. You become someone they trust. And when that trust forms, the relationship gets a lot stronger. Business owners are constantly asking themselves whether you\u2019re just there to sell something\u2026 or actually help them grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Protecting your clients also means protecting the quality of what goes on the air.<\/p>\n
Bad ads waste money. Great ads build businesses (and keeps them).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the best reps spend time helping create ads that are memorable, emotional, and effective. Ads that don\u2019t blend into the background. Ads that are unexpected and can\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n
Because creative is the biggest driver of advertising success. The #1 skill you could sharpen as a radio salesperson that gives you a major edge up on any other media rep in the area… is copywriting. Period.<\/p>\n
#2 would be to increase your overall marketing knowledge.<\/p>\n
Yes, it takes a certain skill or quality to \u201cget\u201d a sale. But what will make you, your radio group, and your clients more money is by creating better ads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re the \u201cknight\u201d who protects and defends your clients\u2026<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t need to chase renewals or wonder if they\u2019ll renew. You\u2019ll already know.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to have all the answers, but you should become the person your clients never hesitate to call when they have a question about marketing or growing their business.<\/p>\n