Radio Sales Café

Hello, everyone!  Long time, no post!  I've been at my new job at KWCO-FM in Chickasha, OK for six months now, and along with my on-air duties, I'm wading back into ad sales again for supplemental income.

One of my first potential leads is a "nutrition club" that offers Herbalife shakes and herbal teas.  Though I've seen these in other towns, I've never known any of them to advertise on the radio.  What approach should I take? Any advice?

Welcome back, Don!  Nice to see your smiling face.

I've had very limited success (in fact, negligible might be more accurate) selling to Multi-Level Marketers (MLMs) like Herbalife, Melaleuca, Amway, etc. 

One thing they all seem to flock to like moths to a candle is shows: home shows, garden shows, gift shows, health-wellness expos, that sort of thing.  Regardless of the category or theme of the show, you can count on finding MLMs there, prospecting, giving away samples, telling their story to whomever will listen, trying to sign up new "customersalesreps" (I just coined that).

So, if your station produces or hosts any of these types of events, I'm guessing your Herbalife prospect will be interested in participating.

Speaking not as an account rep, but as a guy who had to write many, many spots for MILMs over the years, I can say only this: it always worked about as well as joining an MLM. The only supplements I've ever seen sell well on air are proprietary, non-MLM products, they offer a substantial health benefit, are sold on an automatic monthly re-order, and come from guys who have deep pockets. They run substantial schedules and often have infomercials as well. And they are experts at selling patent medicine. While I would never say never, I highly recommend approaching any prospective MLM client with caution and skepticism. Who knows? Maybe they'd end up being the next Herbalife Platinum Distributer (or whatever they call 'em).