How do you overcome the feeling of "asking or "begging" for money in radio sales? I have been doing sales for about 1.5 years. I do a lot of small promotions( march madness, graduation, holiday) and only a few big clients here and there. I don't feel like a salesman. It feels like I am just going business to business asking for sponsors or in reality (money). Any help with this topic would be great! Thank you
Austin!
The feeling that you are begging for money can wear you down, if all you are doing is taking out packages and schedules. You become a star salesman when you do your homework and come up with a compelling marketing campaign (YES I MEAN SPEC SPOTS). I have a guarantee for you and I can back it up: If you do three CNAs on three businesses, do the research on those three businesses... find out everything about what they sell and who they sell to (Google is a good source), write THREE spec ads and present three annuals to three customers each week you WILL sell one in three! Now as for the people who do not buy... take your work and creativity and sell it to their competitor!
Want some free training? Do you? huh???? RadioSalesSchool It will turn you from someone who thinks they are a beggar into someone who is sought out... honored by men... loved by animals!
Go get em tiger!!!!
at February 15, 2024 3:11 PM PST
Austin,
First, congratulations for having the guts to admit that you're feeling this. That means you can now do something about it!
That's the good news.
The bad news is that you're feeling like a begger because you're acting like a peddler. My good friend who dominated radio sales in Houston as the #1 sales rep in that area for years and years says that there are three kinds of a radio sales reps: Consultants, Preferred Vendors, and Peddlers.
When you just go door to door with whatever promotional flight of ads you're pushing this month, you're a peddler. And it sounds like that's what you're doing, which is why it feels like your begging for money. You don't *really* believe that what you're selling is worth them money being asked or will deliver the benefit being promised, so it feels like your asking for a donation.
Chris's response is really dead on. First, don't sell them a package you don't believe in. Sell them a package that you KNOW will work for that client. That means year-long packages with enough frequency to get the job done. AND it means understanding the business well enough to be able to write compelling ads for them. Ads that'll move the needle on their sales.
When you do that, you'll walk in knowing the value of what you're selling and it will know longer feel like "begging." You're offering them something that can transform their business, if they're smart enough to take you up on the offer.
Now, full disclosure, I'm a Wizard of Ads partner, so I have a vested interest in pushing Roy H. William's philosophies, but I would highly recommend that you invest in a copy of The Wizard of Ads and Secret Formulas of The Wizard of Ads.
What Chris Rolando told you is spot on: do your homework on the client, but also do your homework on the power of the medium that you're selling. If you don't believe in what you're selling, it's either because you're selling crap (which I think most short term flights are), or because you haven't learned to see the value in what you're selling. Get that squared away first -- start selling something you feel is valuable and learn to understand its real value to the customer -- then the confidence will follow.
I ask potential clients if they just want to run some advertising or do they want to do a campaign. Rarely do I hear "just run some advertising" and if I do it's date/event specific.
A campaign is like a book. You unfold the story of the business one chapter at a time. I like to let the client hear the first three ads in the sequence so they can understand how it will unfold. This is magic.
I always ask for a 12 month agreement but will let people out of the annual at 6 months if they're not satisfied. This reduces the push back a lot. I always point out that the annual is in the best interest of the client against future rate increases.
I wish there was a "like" button for responses. Jack's deserves one.
I understand how old this post is but I need to thank you for asking it Austin.
I'm in the same state of mind at the moment and needed a kick, you've all helped a lot.
Hi Austin,
I'm glad you realize this. Recognizing this is the step toward becoming a great salesman.
Here is what I suggest. We both know businesses need to advertise. You are simply offering a needed service. We both know that. We both know they have many options available.
My first sales manager said "Bill, go out and make friends and work for their continued success". He said if I did that my success would follow. He was right and I thought I hated sales when I started.
Next, maybe you just walk in to your clients with a pen and paper. You aren't there to sell. You want to know their business. You want to know what sells to whom and when. You want to know what they're doing right and what they need help with.
You need to ask about advertising that worked and the advertising that didn't. You need to know what makes them better than their competitors. You need to know where they view themselves among competitors. And ask them where they want to be, plans, goals and such.
You simply write all this down. Take it back to the office and mull it over. As ideas pop up, put it in writing or maybe drop by and give them the idea.
That gets you in a different position and gets you respect, not as a salesperson but a person on their side.
I agree that the conversation should ALWAYS be focused on the client's LONG TERM business goals and a long term marketing plan should be presented, every single time. It's important that you understand that sponsorships/packages have a time and a place. But if you're JUST selling one sponsorship after the next rather than using them as add ons to a long term plan, you will NEVER hit your sales budget.
With some clients, coming to them with an opportunity such as tying them into an event where they'll get great face time with prospective customers, or a seasonal reason for them to be on the air like graduation if graduates are a big part of their sales cycle, is a way to get your foot in the door for the Customer Needs Analysis. The promotional part of the conversation might go something like this...
In March, you have a March Madness promotion going on that everyone in town needs to know about, in April we promote the new spring product line, in May we tee up Mother's Day and graduation, in June we're going to have you at the XYZ County Fair because you'll get face time with a ton of potential new customers, in July...... you get the idea. Just remember, the promotions are merely an add on, an upsell.
Sometimes a promotion is how you get a client started on your air, an annual just isn't in the cards yet. Fine. I've had clients come on where the first thing they did was sponsor a station concert or a private performance with a group of listeners at the radio station. Next step: annual. But the private performance sponsorship got the business relationship in motion.
Realistically, packages will hit your desk a month or two prior to when they'd run. I've seen a lot of managers hand the reps the Christmas packages in an October sales meeting, March Madness at the end of January. TOO LATE. You better believe you're going to get the "my budget is spent" objection when you try to talk Christmas in October. Get with your manager and the promotions director for an hour to talk about the whole year. They'll be able to give you the tools you need based on what they did last year. NOW IS THE TIME TO BE TALKING HALLOWEEN, CHRISTMAS, AND 2017!!
Make sense?
