Radio Sales Café

Ive been in radio for a few years on the programming side, but this sales thing is totally new to me.. Im working with the local Harley store to come up with ideas for things/events they can do every month.. any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.. I was thinking in november for thanksgiving they could do custom scratch off tickets for all their customers and every scratch off wins something.. a way of saying thank you to their customers.. but they need a few more ideas.. thanks

Instead of having to reinvent the wheel once a month, why not suggest something they can do all the time...like a license plate promotion, for instance?  It's easy.  They take a photo or otherwise obtain the license plate number of every bike that comes into their parking lot.  Once a week, they post a new license plate number on a white board.  If the owner of the bike whose license number is posted comes into the store that week, sees his license number posted and identifies himself, he wins a prize of some sort - maybe a gift certificate or a branded tire pressure gauge or...whatever.  Inexpensive promotion to run, and it rewards their customers for making more frequent trips into the store.  Be sure the store people take photos of every winner and post them prominently on a Winners board.  Over time, it builds a sense of community and encourages participation.

Hi Tiffany - Just make sure you 'tie-together' all those monthly promotions under one umbrella....one brand..one logo.  Have a listen to the enclosed two tracks for Thunder Road Harley-Davidson.

Let me know if I can help you build some long-term business.

Geoff Bate

IMAGINE WORDS & MUSIC INC.

[email protected]

1-800-246-2446

DJ,
You've broached a subject I haven't given much thought to in years: coop *development*.
Like most of us, I have clients that are on top of and regularly use their coop funds. But it's been ages since we've made a full court press to identify all coop opportunities available to our clients and prospects.
Many years ago at another station, we had a dedicated coop coordinator who was paid to do the research and keep salespeople apprised of relevant opportunities. She helped make us a ton of money we would not otherwise have had.
Do you have someone at your station doing this for you, or are you personally doing the due diligence for your own accounts? Your understanding of your Harley dealer's coop suggests that you have a good handle on this subject.

Hi Tiffany, creating "ideas" is exhausting work...eventually you'll run out and the client will feel the need to move on. The best advice I can offer is to show the client why they need to talk about the specifics of their business. What value do they offer to the customer. An "idea" or promotion can make a quick sale perhaps but owning the consumer franchise of "the best place to purchase a motorcycle" will keep customers coming back for a very long time. If you want specifics of how to go about this, give me a call and we can visit. 402-817-4864

Considering that riders/bikers usually don't need an excuse to ride; but they will use any reason, how about looking at your client bank and see if any of them are doing or are part of a charity and setting up a ride for that charity. That way you are bringing together two or more clients that may not have had the opportunity to come in contact before. The Harley store could be both the start and finish of the ride and have the scratch offs for each rider, whether it's a coupon or some form of accessory. You could possibly look into other localbusinesses and sell sponsorships for it and they could donate prizes as well. Most companies are game for being affiliated with different charities. Maybe a mobile detailing company could donate a car/bike wash with the works, or a food vendor could have a free meal. I hope this is helpful. I'm very new but I think anything gets the creative juices flowing. You never know it could turn into an annual event that your stations promote.