The fact that you're on this site and asking these questions tells me that YOU will do well!!!
How long should the presentation be? (can be as short as a few minutes, or up to a half hour depending on how much you need to cover... I'd say 5 to 10 minutes would be best)
What should I cover in the presentation? (I like to go over the info they said to me in the CNA as a review... to make sure nothing changed... then give ideas for the message to achieve the goal... then a plan to maximize the schedule/budget... then close the sale)
Should I make several different commercial scripts to choose from or several different ads for different needs/stations to advertise on? (I would do no more than two... unless you have a client with many different departments... then you can do one for each to show how the ads will work together and still help each different department too)
Should I create different packages at different price points or just one? (I'm a fan of creating the ONE plan that is right... then if the budget changes... you take some things away...... but be sure to remind them that they are taking away some of the ads... that will also take away some of the results!!)
I'm excited to hear how things turn out!!
Welcome to the radio industry... it is FUN!!
John Small
owner-manager
Sunny Radio... Where it's ALWAYS in the 80s!
SunnyRadio Advertising (mysunnyradio.com)
at February 24, 2024 3:36 PM PST
If you are doing a Customer Needs Analysis, it would seem to me to be premature to prepare an ad campaign before you know what the need is! Have you read "The Wizard of Ads" and "The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising"? In 15 years fo seminars, training, articles and books, these two are the best by far. You might make an impression if you picked one or two salient sections and asked, "Mr. Client, if you would be willing to work with me along these proven lines of success, I would like to work with you. How do you feel about that?"
Your prospective employer might like the approach because both books insist on annual, high frequency schedules in order to really get results. If you could get 10 good clients to invest a grand per week with you in annual agreements, you;d be in fine shape. ANd you'd have the time to really get involved in their businesses.
BEST slaes tip ever: once you ask for the business: SHUT UP! Whomever speaks next--the other guy wins. First time I tried it I had to literally bite my tongue. But it worked.
I wish you well. And remember--this is a fun way to make a living and help business owners.
Kind regards,
C Lagey
I agree with Big John...it's very cool that you're taking this route in advance. Asking a lot of questions and caring about the answers is good. You have to know that you're in it for your client's success first and foremost, not to make a sale. If I were a station manager interviewing in this way, I'd try to surprise you with questions like: "Do you think radio is the right medium for us?" I'd also ask: "We have another station we're thinking of buying. Why should we buy from you?"
You may want to read Roy Williams "Wizard of Ads" Monday Morning Memos, blogs and archives, etc. Quoting him would be impressive...as would quoting Wayne Ens. Of course the Radio Advertising Bureau will also give you answers to the first question.
I suspect you'll impress them if you aim high with the size of package you're trying to sell them. Suggest to them that they can be the name that comes to mind first in their market for [name their type of business], but that this is their year to invest [note: not "purchase" or "buy"] purposefully on your station. Politely, say something like "There's an opportunity for you to grow market share if you're prepared to go bigger with your investment." Selling someone a small campaign is not doing them or your station any favors. Big advertisers get big results, and you want them to have results.
at February 26, 2024 10:10 AM PST
Besides everything else, be casual. Formal stilted presentations are a crutch for new people and they show a lack of experience to the potential advertiser. He's trusting you with his money. He needs to be sure you know what you're doing
As someone once taught me years ago, go in as the doctor not as the beggar.
My thinking is that you do 3 things in your presentation.
1. Change the conversation with your client; get them thinking about their business and not your "spots". A great way to do this is to ask them what's changed in their business since 2008; where they see their business heading in the next 12-24 months and what their plan is to get their.
2. Create value for your station(s). Show them how your listeners & stations can solve your client's business problems; then show them how buying advertising on your stations allows them to educate your listeners how they, (the client), can solve their, (your listeners), problems, meet their needs or help them take advantage of an opportunity. Do this via a spec spot. Spec spots are the most under-used and one of the most effective tools in our industry.
3. Show them the money: how much annual household income do the listeners of your stations control? Show them that number, remind them that number re-sets every year, then ask your client how much of that they want. When they give you the number, close them.
You can find these numbers through tools such as Media Audit; TOMA research; the U.S. Census Bureau; Dept of Commerce; ESRI;or the old-fashinoned way. You can ask your client how much revenue is done on an average basis in his industry in your market; then multiply that by the number of competitors in the market. Hand him a yellow pages & a calculator and have him count 'em up & do the math. The number will blow you & the client, away.
If you came into my shop and did a presentation like this on an interview, I'd hire you. Good luck.
John Craft, Regional DOS
Cherry Creek Radio
Good points John
Love what everyone's said. If you'd like some help preparing the spec spot, I'd be happy to have my creative and production team jump in just to see you get the gig! (Normally the station's creative department might do this for you, but we can replace them since asking them to take time away from money-making pursuits to help you land a job might backfire.) If you're interested in some professional help for free, you can email me at [email protected] and of course all CNA info will be kept strictly confidential and not maintained on file here.
I agree with Chris .. if this is a first time call there is no need to present anything to the client .. at this point you know nothing of what his/her needs are. Ask questions and LISTEN to the answers .. most clients will tell you how to sell them but you have to go in with an open mnd.
Christopher is right!! Your putting the cart before the horse. The purpose of the CNA is to prepare a presentation that fits the clients needs. CNA is a term used by radio salespeople to describe the procedure use to prepare a presentation that fits the client. Some of the big box radio companies have developed their own set of questions. Most companies model their CNA on the RAB model. Go to the RAB website for help. I don't know the questions that are part of the CNA that you have, so it would be difficult to be on point. In general the proposal answers the same questions: Why advertise? Why advertise on radio? Why advertise on my station? A good CNA will help you prepare a presentation that yes conditions the prospect to the close. What you propose as creative and schedule are not things that are part of a CNA, rather, part of a good training program by station management.
First of all, I think you will do well.
Everything in your proposal should point directly back to what you learned in the CNA. I always like to go over the highlights of the CNA with the client to get them to reaffirm what they said (it's almost a pre-emptive close).
When you are doing the proposal, ask for agreement as you move along on key points (i.e., does this make sense). Interact with the customer, don't lecture.
Show them the ROI
Good afternoon Alex.....good job on looking for advice, I'm new myself of just over 2 yrs however I had lots of help starting off my new career with the company I work for.
First thing I would do is make sure you quilfied your prospect or client, what are they looking for? What do they want to generate out of the advertising? Who is the target audience.....build something for them not for you. Touch on first the Overview in your meeting on the presentation slide then have a slide on the Challenges, then one on the Opportunity, then the plan and how you will reach that goal for them and with them. Mention that this is not just a sale but building a business relationship and you will work, tweak and make sure you build a successful plan together. I usually make bullet points and expand in my meeting. Good luck and enjoy. Also get a spec commercial together as well that is impressive plus use their logo in the presentation and match the style of their logo and color to your presentation. Give a little and you will see what happens.
Cheers
Greg Friend (Try These Tib Bits by Greg Friend)
Alex,
Personally, I feel the CNA approach is an outdated tool.
Business people I meet are TOO busy to educate YOU about their business in that fashion.
That in my mind is your job....
I would suggest to go to their website, and educate yourself on everything they do: much like a new customer Check the trade publications (RAB) for their category and see what's happening now, and more importantly what's GOING to be happening. Then, write down questions YOU have about their products and services that are provocative, or even better, unclear. I will often go to see a new client with just a yellow lined pade of paper with questions on it....show THEM that you have done your homework and that your are invested. You will ask much better questions, get much better answers, AND find problems that need to be solved....and finally, the answers to those questions....be a very good listener, and take good notes. Because THAT is your ad campaign
Bob
Good morning
One of the key ways to stand out with a client is to set yourself apart from the rest of the media reps that visit clients. I want you to read this story first. Then see at the bottom a couple of solutions.
What is an Action Move?
Send your client a door
How do you stand out from the other direct media salespeople that call on your clients each week?
How do you capture a client who is in deep with your opposition and will not budge, no matter what you do—yet whom you know spends most of his advertising dollars with your media?
How do you attract clients who have said no to you a hundred times, but you know that if you could just get their attention they would buy from you? What do you do? What is the one thing that might set you apart?
Try this. Send them a door.
The key to this idea came from careful research. I was working at a media company as a sales director and we were trying to get a local real-estate company to advertise with us.
We tried everything—phone calls, invitations to client functions, dinners, all the ideas that might work with reluctant clients. Not this one! We offered him trips to far off places but no—he always advertised with other media and that was what he would continue to do.
A large idea
We knew, though, that he had a rather large ego and we knew that he would appreciate something big enough to match that ego. So, at a brainstorming session we came up with an idea that we knew would set us apart from the competition—and if this idea did not work then there was nothing more we could do to get him to come with us.
We came up with the idea that we would send him a door—yes, a door—and the biggest we could find. So we went off to the local hardware recyclers and found just the door—it was in a pretty bad state but guess what? It was big!
This was going to be our A or attention move—a door delivered to his place of business all wrapped up with a large bow and with a message inside …
A delivery just for him
We discovered that he conducted a sales team meeting every Wednesday at his head office. We arranged for our courier to deliver the door personally to the meeting. The big day arrived, and off the door went. The courier driver delivered the door personally to the client’s secretary. Imagine what you would think if a huge parcel, beautifully wrapped with a huge bow, and addressed to your boss arrived just in time to coincide with a sales meeting. You would interrupt the meeting and take in the parcel. He would open it and get the surprise of his life!
That’s what happened! The door was delivered to the meeting. In front of the whole sales staff he opened it and discovered the door—but it was no ordinary door because of what was written on it: Now that we have finally got you to open your door we would love to do business with you—XYZ Media Company.
A client for life
It blew him away and positioned us in an instant—high up on his ego radar. Later that morning we called him just to check if he received a parcel from us. Yes, he said, and please come and talk to me. A few weeks later we signed up that real-estate agent to a major annual contract.
Not every client warrants a door being sent to him, but there are certainly other Action moves you could use to get his attention. Even a well-crafted thank you note is a form of Action move, if you think about it. Anything you do to stand out from the competition is an A move or Action move.
Two questions:
Are you presenting your presentation to the radio station or the client?
Do you want the job- and why?
regards
Mike
at February 24, 2024 3:38 PM PST
Mike,
I did a similar idea with a pair of shoes. Bought the best pair I could find at Good Will. Polished them to a spit shine, and then wrapped JUST ONE SHOE in tissue paper, new laces, etc. Mailed it to the client with a note: "...just trying to get a foot in the door..." Got the appointment! Then used the other shoe on another new client.
Bob
Good luck on your interview! You are doing exactly what I would do when preparing for a client meeting.. brainstorm with others and go where the info is.. the internet! I did not read all the replies so I apologize if this is duplicate information. First: What has worked for me... whether it is your first meeting or 12th meeting with a client.. CNA or no CNA.. PITCH! Pitching the client will get you the information you need to go back. The internet is a wonderful place to get most of what you need prior to ever speaking with the client. and dont be afraid of asking for the money!
Ok, now your questions: Proposal lengths will vary. I feel the shorter the better, and not to wordy... the proposal should be written to present, not to leave behind. The clients customer is most important.. Who are they? Which station or stations can you present that have those clients as listeners? Basically show Your Listeners = Clients Best Customers! Bring one commercial idea just to create the excitement and get the coversation going.. unless it has been specified that you should create two.. visit wikicopy.com for some ideas.
Create a schedule that makes sense, think of your personal habits and those of people you know. people feel worse about themselves early week (great time for recruitement and weight loss to name a few).. and people put off all the things that they dont feel like doing until monday.. (auto repair appts, etc.. not urgent of course.) I prefer to present two options.. one short term - charge a little more per week/month.. and one long term. Schedule of ads can stay the same in this case.. the longer they buy the better the deal.
Tip: You can always negotiate the money.. but not the customers or the stations listeners.
Last but not least... if you pitch the person you are interviewing with never give them the entire proposal they will flip through straight to the money... one page at a time!
Just some of my thoughts. Good luck!
Make sure it captures your clients attention, and point out suggestions the will increase business. It must be helpful and effective. Keep it short, factual, and produce results.
Love it ... it works ... I still do that stuff...
Right on DJ...people are still trying to get me to go in with blind spec spots. Oy!
BS
I think what they are doing is the right idea.... they are asking this prospective salesperson to "show them what they can do"!
I think it is understood that a "real" client will be different... but to be able to have a person go through this process will help them realize what they are getting into!
Just my 2 cents worth! ;o)
john
The presentation is not about you or your radio stations - it's about the client, the client's competition, the client's industry. If the client is not designated specifically then choose one, e.g., hardware store, sporting goods, grocery. Go to RAB Instant Background and get the demo for that business, what things are bought when to target with your stations and then tie the client's market with your radio stations and suggest a copy platform - not copy, just a creative approach as a suggestion - to best target that client's market on your stations. The odds of coming up with some miraculous idea that a client (or the person interviewing you) would jump up and shout 'eureka!' is nil. What a client will immediately respond to is that you made the effort and had the interest in helping them to improve their business to know something about what they do and how they do it, who they sell to and when. Also that you do not waste their time proposing a station or programming that simply does not make sense. A good sales rep - even in an interview - would show that they can fit the stations/programming to the needs of the client - not simply plug clients into packaging or scheduling that suits the stations.
Congratulations, Alex - that's great news!!!!
