Friday Poll: What Are Your Best Tips for Overcoming the "It's To

    • 1373 posts
    August 6, 2015 8:51 PM PDT

    Happy Friday, everyone!

    The idea for this week's poll question was inspired by a recent email exchange from a friend in radio:

    What are your best tips for overcoming the "radio advertising is too expensive" objection?

    Looking forward to reading your replies!

  • August 7, 2015 6:40 AM PDT

    "That's why I'm Here"....   while radio can seem expensive compared to coupon books and what not its cost per impression is one of the lowest there is.  Since what you say times how many times you say it is the only thing that works in advertising today getting the most impressions for your money is a major goal.  Now let me show you the ROI of this schedule and how brining you just XX number of people over the next year will give you all of your investment back plus the cost of your good plus XX% profit"

  • August 7, 2015 7:22 AM PDT

    Thanks to Chris Rolando. What is he doing in "Thud Arizona". Just kidding.

    Bill Wayland

    WCAP Lowell (Major Market), Massachusetts

    • 5 posts
    August 7, 2015 8:22 AM PDT

    My favorite reply is, "It sounds like you have some concerns about Radio's value. Can you tell me about that?" And then I let the client talk. When they have said all that I think they will say, I ask, "What else?" I want to get all the scary invisible monsters painted. Once all the objects are on the table, I can address them with logic, ROI, statistics, etc. or even more importantly, video testimonials from clients who get great results from radio .

    • 13 posts
    August 7, 2015 8:44 AM PDT

    I find the best way to handle almost any objection is with a series of questions that encourage the prospect to rethink their position. So in this case, I might say 'I understand that any time you invest money in your business, there'a an element of risk, which can be uncomfortable. But have you also thought about the cost of not implementing this campaign? You told me your growth goals this year are aggressive. If this campaign helps get you to those goals, would the radio campaign still be expensive, or would it be a worthwhile investment ?

    If the client/prospect agrees that it would be a good investment if it worked, I'd move the conversation to why the ideas I've presented will be effective, and what else we can do to make sure the investment is worthwhile. I also always pitch three investment levels, an A,B and a C,  though each of them must have enough muscle to get the job done. If the prospect balks at Option A, we can discuss B and C.

    • 5 posts
    August 7, 2015 8:49 AM PDT

    It is only expensive if it does not work.  My job is to make sure it works, so I am going to work very closely with you to make sure that this happens.  

    • 11 posts
    August 7, 2015 11:02 AM PDT

    Any form of advertising is too expensive if it does not bring you additional traffic, increase your sales, grow your customer base and add dollars to your bottom line. Radio is just a vehicle to reach potential customers.  The same is true with TV, newspaper, magazines or the internet. They all just reach X amount of people. It’s your message that matters. I don’t care where you advertise you will either get fantastic or dismal results based solely on the message you put out there.

    Think of it this way. Your neighbors send out 100 invitations to a party. They are having their son who just took up the accordion playing Polka music and will be serving Fruitcake. You going? Think anyone is going?

    Now a different scenario. Another neighbor sends out 100 invitations and they are serving Prime Rib and Lobster. Crafts brews and expensive wines. They also are friends with Eric Clapton and he has agreed to play an acoustical set live.

    Now are you going? The word will spread and those 100 invitations will produce 300 guests.

    Get the picture? It’s all about the offer and the message. Radio just has the distinct advantage of you being able to send out more invitations for less money and the ability to change that invitation very quickly as needed.

    • 993 posts
    August 7, 2015 1:28 PM PDT

    More information is needed.

    Too expensive - relative to what?  Other media choices?  Available advertising budget?  What's your basis for calculating your ad budget, and what return do you need to make your investment profitable?

    Any advertising is too expensive if it doesn't work.  And if it's not working, that's not the fault of the medium but of the message. The proof of this, of course, is the other advertisers on your station whose ads are working, who've been advertising with you successfully for years. (This is why it's so important for salespeople to learn how to write effective ads.)

    If the message is right, are you perhaps trying to reach too many people with too little repetition?  ("Would you rather reach 100% of the people and sell them 10% of the way, or reach 10% of the people and sell them 100% of the way? The cost is the same.")

    Perhaps the best tip I can share is to invest $1.99 for on-demand access to Roy Williams' "Most Common Mistakes in Advertising" presentation and watch it together with your prospect, to help guide your future conversations.  Seriously. Invest that 40 minutes in your relationship and the objections will diminish.

  • August 11, 2015 11:39 AM PDT

    I ALWAYS ask them... "Compared to what?"

    • 118 posts
    January 14, 2016 6:06 PM PST

    I like this one.  In one market back 30 years ago, the AM/FM combo I sold for charged $14 for the two stations.  The FM competitor charged $5 and the AM competitor in this 4 station market charged $3 per spot.  So, it's buy our AM Country and Top 40 FM for $14 or buy the competitors (a country AM and top 40 FM as well) for $8.

    We got "you're too expensive" quite a bit.  My response was:

    "We're both business people.  We know no matter what we charge for a product, to stay in business, we need to offer $1 in value for a $1 item.  We know if we can offer $10 in value, then $10 is a fair price.  Sure, we are expensive compared to our competitors but our price, like theirs, is directly related to the value you get for those dollars.  Don't you think my competitors would want to charge my rates?  You bet they would but they are priced according to the value of the return they offer.  That means I have to work harder and bring more to the table than my competitor.  I hope I can demonstrate that to you.  In other words I'm not more expensive but perfectly priced for what I offer in return."