I am asked all the time what the secret is to selling radio advertising. I have broken it down into 10 ESSENTIAL tips, so here goes:
10: Live to Learn: Most of your customers and potential customers are NOT doing their homework. No, seriously. Most of them are as lazy as the average salesman! On my phone and my tablet is a free app called Flipboard. This small piece of software allows you to pick magazines and periodicals that you want to read and places featured pieces of them in an easy to read format. I have mine set to receive Inc. Magazine, Consumerist, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Marketwatch, Ted Talks, Mashable and CNET. When I am eating lunch or watching TV, I can catch up on what is important AND pass ideas on to others right from there.
9: BE a Rolodex: There is information and then there is REAL information. You can ask Siri for the number of an accountant, but she will not know how this guy does on tax exchanges or IRS mediation. When you become the Go-To person for getting questions answered, you are remembered and seen in a different light from all of the peddlers out there.
8. Network like you Mean It: Do you have Networking Goals on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Do you know how to properly Network? For something that can prove SO beneficial it would seem to me you would want to have a plan.
7: Nurture Creative Thinking: Do you know who Stan Freberg is? Have you LEARNED about advertising, branding, human psychology and basic marketing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPbvFv6BJvU
6: GET ORGANIZED: If you are trying to run an account list from memory then you are probably also looking for the location of pay phone in your market. If you want to keep 40 prospects moving along, you need to be able to track every move and recall every piece of data. I still get a kick out of going to court and seeing lawyers with all of their files on the desk. Did anyone let them know that the 20th century called and wants their way of life back? Have a calendar and prospect system put together and USE it. On your calendar, every time you complete a task, IMMEDIATELY schedule “what’s next”. If you’re using a CRM that does not have this feature, find one that does.
5: Make Google your bitch: Gas is expensive. Stop driving around!!! Go to Google Maps. In the search bar put in your zip code and DDS. Boom, there is a list of every dentist in your market and a map of where they are. Now open Google and type in “how to improve my dental practice” Look at the list...right near the top… “100 tips from 100 practice management experts in 100. There is enough information there to write all of the ads you could use in a lifetime on a dozen dental offices. Do the same with accountants, lawyer, every single category that no one else wants to call on!
4: Get up Early: By 8AM you should be WELL into your day. Have trouble waking up? get out of bed and exercise. Plank for 45 seconds before you get your coffee and see what that does to get the blood flowing. Before you get to the office, be 100% up to date on ALL of the news and yes, even entertainment news… (some people think in Radio we have some kind of direct connection to Hollywood… so let em think it). You calendar should have been up to date before you called it a day yesterday. If not, get on it now.
3: Take care of your life: If your life keeps getting in the way of your work, you have some cleaning up to do. Don’t let family text you at all times of the day… get Facebook off your phone or at least on a second or third page of your screen and Turn Off the notifications. Need a better babysitter? One that shows up? Well you’d get a better computer if yours kept breaking down.
2: Use your calendar for more than an excuse: Don’t just try to fill your calendar! First, get all personal thing on the calendar for the year including vacations and planned time off. Put all sales meetings and mandatory company things on next. Then once all of that is filled in, get the REAL customer things on the calendars. You will find your life is easier and you will sleep better.
1: Get started: No, NOW. Stop planning and start doing. And when you get off course, forgive yourself and start AGAIN.
This was written by my good friend and radio sales veteran of 40+ years Chris Rolando
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That tip with EXERCISE should not be taken for granted. There's a reason the best looking/in shape people in the office tend to have some of the highest billing. Good looking people make an automatic stronger first impression. And first impressions are everything in sales.
