I've been in radio sales since January of this year and I am having a blast! Now that Summer is here I now realize January was the perfect month to start, giving me a nice warm up period before the summer bustle.
I think I have done well until about two weeks ago on keeping track of my sales and making sure they make it on the air. Two weeks ago I missed an order, and then again, today.
My question is how does everyone keep track of their sales? Something that I can use to check through all the steps to go from customer introductions, ad written, ad produced, contract submitted, and putting it on the air.
I do not have a CRM yet, still researching the best one for my needs. Greatly appreciate any insight from all of you!
Smartsheet (The enterprise work management platform (smartsheet.com)) is a great and very affordable tool. You can set reminders, alerts and you can follow the process all the way. I had a "hard time" getting our SM to incorporate this tool, but know we all loved. I can share the template we create for our stations if you are interested.
Roger
at February 24, 2024 2:30 PM PST
We developed a very basic insertion order form that addresses almost all of these issues. I can send directly to you if you wish.
It is not clear from your comments as to how you missed orders... sounds like you're busy enough that you're juggling a lot and didn't get back to people?.
Keeping track of each client in the sales process can be done with any type of calendar - I use a physical calendar book because that works best for me (I have a terrible memory for dates). Half the sellers we have use google calendar on their station email account, the other half use a phone calendar with alarms. A couple of sellers we had in the past used one of those large flat desk calendars and wrote all appts and reminders on that. A fairly infamous and highly successful salesperson in Grand Rapids years ago used index cards. Use what works for you.
Calendars are not for appts only - you need to fill in reminders like 'follow up with Client A on Labor Day Wkend Pkg' at a time within 48 hours of when you pitched Labor Day Wkend pkg... then fill in when you are going to present copy or phone to play production for approval to that client, when you will do a post-follow up to see how the weekend went, and when you will again visit that Client A to talk about further advertising. If a client mentions something they are planning several months out, write ahead in your calendar to see the client 3-4 weeks before that event... if they mention an anniversary month that has passed, write ahead 10 months to see the client about an anniversary promotion. Every client on your list should be seen or contacted every 2 weeks, seasonal clients 1 time a month - the highest potential for a sale is from someone who has already bought from you. With that frequency in mind, you can check your calendar weekly to make sure clients are seen/contacted on a regular basis. Timing is everything in sales and any circumstance for any client can change at any time so the client who says 'no' week 1 may say 'yes' week 3 - this exact thing happened with a seller in our office last week. Organization like this will help you keep track of all the clients coming in at different points in the sales process.
Glad you like radio sales so much!
Great info, Diane - thank you!
I will definitely look into this. thanks!
Diane,
I have three personalities that record the ads for me. Two of them put the production request back on my desk when completed. When I see it is done, I complete the contract and submit it to the traffic manager. What happened with the two orders I missed was they were completed by the one that files the copy himself and I simply forgot to submit the contract. I've asked him to put the completed request on my desk but he's been with the station a very long time and has told me that he's done it that way forever and not going to change. So, for his orders, I just have to be on the alert a little more.
I am getting better at this. Just looking for a good tool to assist me.
Thanks for your lengthy and informative response. I've printed it out and I am going to review this closely.
Oh, ok - this is more an internal thing. What if you fill out the traffic orders when you do the prod request and lay them out on your desk by first start date to last... then matching the completed prod requests returned to you as they come back. In the case of the prod guy filing the requests, the traffic order on your desk would remind you to check the files. Hope this helps?
