Happy Friday all. A few thoughts as we close out the week.
I talked to a few sales people from Northern California this week who told me stories of how hard it is to sell there right now. They told me that their markets were still down and that this “recovery” that everyone is talking about is just not happening there. That people there are getting more and more despondent as they hear that the rest of the nation is picking up and they are not. Well there is more to this...
First off, by the economy “getting better”, I don't think we are going to see a return to the free spending days of the last three decades. This recession was not just brutal, it was fatal for many. I don't know that some categories will ever come back from this, and so be it. Business, like nature goes through cycles. For a second think about how we shop: In the beginning there was a General Store... it had everything from horse feed to cloth to make clothes to food all in one place. Later there were developed downtown areas with specialty stores. These eventually migrated to Strip Centers and from that Shopping Malls. As time went on stores began to migrate away from Malls to smaller strip centers. Then there were specialty stores, mostly located in downtown areas that had been blighted for some time but enjoyed a resurrection. Finally retail came down to stores that had it all, like groceries, tires, dog food and everything else you could want all in one place (WalMart). It is one huge cycle.
So what is up in our industry and sales in general? Well we are all great followers, but some times we need to look ahead. We are all besieged with coupon books in our markets who sell “advertising” that lasts a week or a month for about $49. But are we doing the right job in showing that this so-called advertising is not intrusive? That people have maybe ONE chance to see the ad before it is headed to the landfill? Do we point out that people can get coupons on their cell phones now? People still buy ads in the newspaper. But who is reading that paper? Have you done an audit on the paper and shown how much is advertising vs “news”? Today's paper in the market I live in is approximately 73% advertising. To put that in RADIO terms, that would be like 43 minutes of advertising per hour! (Most stations run about 12 minutes or less). In TV terms, that would be like watching a half hour show, and 21 minutes of it would be advertising. BUT, are we pointing this out? What does this do to “noted” scores? Remember... Radio is Repetition... that is what gets results.
As much as I hate to go into sports metaphors, I will. Back in the 70's people kept screwing with baseball. Raising the height of the pitchers mound, lowering it... all in the name of making the game more interesting. Many players complained saying it was not fair. But when both teams are presented with the same new perimeters, it IS fair. Imagine for a second if basketball there was no shot clock... or if they cut the time in half. Would it change the game? I remember years ago hearing a college coach come off the field after a disastrous loss in a football game only to hear him say “well I think the rain worked against us”. I wondered if it was only raining on HIS TEAM?
Everyone out there has the same problems right now. The economy is only “getting better” to some reporters and politicians. For the rest of us we need to keep working and get ahead of the changes that are happening around us. We need to ask more questions, listen more, read more and make ourselves better assets to our customers and potential customers. We also need to stop playing the Pity Game. If someone else got the ad buy and we didn't... it means we just did not present a good enough argument or idea. That's all it is.
You make sales in our business by uncovering the problem and coming up with a solution to the problem. Your job is to come up with the words that motivate people to spend their money with your customer. If the conversation comes down to rates or ratings you have just plain failed and need to start again.
If you ask for three orders every week... with a written presentation and three spec ads you will close at least one of the three. I can absolutely guarantee this.
Have a great weekend.
Great point Chris...I especially like the 'if someone else got the buy and we didn't, it just means we did not present a good enough argument or idea.' I think the operative word here is idea....Too often radio sales people are selling the package of the day. We need to start setting ourselves apart (again) from the rest of the advertising world and show what radio can really do. It is with repetitiion AND with a good idea along with the advertisers unique selling position.
As a producer, writer and yes, salesperson, it's time to think outside the box and get things done for our advertisers. If the 'ad' didn't work...it's up to us to figure out why, or better yet, help the advertiser realize that the offer may not have been the best or just throwing some ads on the radio here and there was not the right thing to do.
Allen Bailey, CRMC
KEYL/KXDL
Long Prairie, MN
Hey Chris,
I always look forward to your stuff, and as usual it didn't disappoint. Hope all is going well is AZ/NV. I would love to catch up sometime.
BTW Did you ever get a manager and a staff for your group in Bullhead, Laughlin?
Bob Villones
PS. I am printing this and having my staff read it today!!
