Radio Sales Café

Selling Your Sellers

by Rick Fink

No one ever said selling media, or specifically radio, was easy and if they did, they either have never done it or were lying!

Likewise, no one ever said being a sales manager was easy. As a sales manager, the list of duties, tasks, and expectations is long. But, the number one job of a manager, the task that will determine your success, is the job of maintaining, growing, and building your team of sellers.

Media reps by nature are beaten up on the streets every day. They’re being told and reminded regularly things like your rates are too high, I tried radio once and it didn’t work, nobody listens to radio anymore, and of course more prevalent today than in the past, the economy is tough.

Over time, some media reps can and will begin to believe all the claims and excuses the advertisers make, and because repetition sells, they begin to lose confidence in radio and ultimately themselves!

As a manager, you had to sell them on a career in radio sales and that part of your job never ends as you must keep selling them on the merits of radio every day. Here are a few things you can do to sell yourself and your sellers:

• Actively search for and distribute positive news on the economy, business, and the strengths of radio.
• Use advertiser testimonials on-air, online, in sales meetings and presentations.
• Celebrate success! New clients, up-sells, saves, successful promotions! Make sure the entire staff is aware of how and why radio worked. 
• Provide tools and information that address the strengths and power of radio.
• Motivate – Motivate – Motivate. The mind is a very powerful thing. Display motivational quotes around the office. Share and watch motivational videos. Encourage reading positive mental books. 

Negatives should be handled behind closed doors and one-on-one. Positives need to be shouted from mountain tops and shared throughout the building!

Done only once in a while, all of these things will have little impact. Doing them on a regular basis, over-time can and will create the antidote needed to handle the constant objections and negative comments from clients and prospects.

“Having a positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances rather than your circumstances having power over you.”

All of the training, education, systems, and tools in the world will never produce more than attitude, effort, and enthusiasm can generate.

Henry Ford said it best, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”.

Many of the best media reps do this on their own. For the rest, it’s up to managers to help create a culture where they… “think they can!”

Create a culture where they “think they can” and watch the magic happen!

ENS Media consults, coaches, mentors and trains managers and account executives at radio stations across North America to increase their local direct sales.  President Rick Fink is a 30-year veteran and managed one of America’s largest billing small-market radio sales teams. To learn how ENS Media can help increase your revenues and train your sales team, contact [email protected]