How to sell against competitors that lie
Unfortunately, all too often, I get a call from an ad sales coaching client telling me that their nearest competitor just stole another ad deal using false or misleading data. Where this seems to be most evident is with digital audience numbers. So, what do you do to sell against a liar? The answer might be easier than you think... tell the truth. Here are six things to consider when telling the truth about your ad products.
YouTube is no competitor. YouTube is radio’s new BFF
Infinite Dial 2014 identified YouTube as radio’s quiet competitor (https://rbr.com/infinite-dial-radios-quiet-competitor-is-youtube/), but the reality
So, your client wants to be in the commercial…Part 2
If your client has a sense of humor, but his voiceprint is deadpan, contrast him with a voice who is truly excited (maybe even overexcited) about the benefits his business has for customers, interspersed with just his unemotional “yup” or “you bet” comments. Record short phone interviews with the client’s relatives about him and build a campaign around the family stories about the client, using short clips from his family members. Or…take a “goes nowhere” story told by the owner in a flat unemotional voice, cut it apart, intersperse it with a very enthusiastic announcer and create an epic:
So, your client wants to be in the commercial-Part 1
What’s the easiest way to get a client on the air? Put them in the commercial! What’s the quickest way to make a bad commercial? Same answer! Unfortunately, there are very few Frank Purdues, Lee Iaccoccas, Victor Kiams or even Dave Thomases out there. Most clients think they can pull off being great spokespersons. Most are wrong. Are there ways you can fulfill their desire for 30 or 60 seconds of fame and still make a commercial that works? Yes.
Interview: DJ A-OH, PD of 103.5 The Beat
The flip from CCME’s WSHE Adult Hits “Variety 103.5” Miami was made 10/11/13 to “The Beat—Miami’s
FCC attributes JSAs to examine SSAs, network nonduplication and Syndex Rules
The FCC meeting (3/31) proposed to attribute Joint Sales Agreements
Viacom ready to black out millions of rural cable subscribers
Over 100 years ago, Consolidated Communications was founded as a
Getting the most out of younger sales reps
You may find it interesting to note that an MIT study on what motivates people concluded that money is not the best motivator. Researchers concluded that once a task went beyond rudimentary skills, like assembly line work, money was not a key motivator towards increased performance. Once the skill required moved into cognitive skills like sales, there were three factors that "truly" motivated the test subjects; autonomy, mastery and purpose. I heard author Daniel Pink talk in detail about this subject and it inspired me to dig deeper and ask if the MIT findings also applied to managing younger sales people. I found that these three motivators applied to nearly every sales rep I have managed that was born after 1982. Experts refer to this age group as the "millennial generation".
Strong radio station positioners
Strong positioners move a radio station past utility grade. Nearly all of the listening going on in the United States is utility not foreground, not a reason for listening. It’s about getting your radio station near the useful part of the curve. That means moving away from being a utility.
This date in radio & television
March 26th: A major medical moment of the 20th century occurred on this date in 1953. That's when noted researcher and virologist Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh revealed on CBS Radio that the testing of his polio vaccine on a 90-member group of adults and children had proven successful. The testing continued for two years with the vaccine declared sound in April of '55, paving the way for the licensing of the injected substance and the subsequent mass immunization campaigns. On this night in 1956 comedian Red Buttons made his TV acting debut on CBS's "Studio One."
Hiring your next ad sales executive
As an ad sales training consultant, I am often asked to pass along the names of ad sales reps that are looking for work. When asked about candidate qualifications, most of my media company clients respond by saying they are looking for 7-10 years of ad sales experience, great communication skills and the ability to work with little or no supervision. Oh, and the candidate should be “highly motivated.”
This date in radio & television
March 24th: As Jackie Gleason would say, a little traveling music!!! We offer it for radio, vaudeville, Broadway and film performer Belle Baker who became the first person to host a radio broadcast from a moving train, on this day in 1932. That variety program was heard on New York's WABC. Eddie Cantor paid this lady quite the compliment at one time in saying Belle Baker is, "Dinah Shore, Patti Page, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland all rolled into one."
Give away your best ideas!
What can we do to separate ourselves from all others in the sales field? What can we do to enable ourselves to thrive and not just survive in the media sales world for decades to come? There are many necessary action steps we need to take to achieve the questions asked above but one that I believe works best is to
How television is breaking new ground in the social conversation
With today’s rapid consumption of bite-sized morsels of social media
Better conversations equal better ad sales
To stay abreast of the latest in ad sales training, I often listen in on fellow sales coaches to learn and observe. What seems so odd to me is the lack of common sense in what is being taught today.
The entire idea that you need the “perfect pitch” or you need to “perfect your pitch” is so off base that I am amazed that people still try and teach these age-old ways of selling. Pitching a product? Hugh? Ask yourself this… do you like it when a sales person pitches to you? If your answer is yes… seek help. If your answer is no, then you are pretty darn normal.