Radio Sales Café

Hi, my name is Brian and I just graduated college, got my first job selling radio ads about three weeks ago and moved to a town I've never spent time in outside of a few brief visits. I'm having a little bit of success so far but mostly just hearing from people that I need to call back next month, a few months, in March, ect. Any seasoned/successful professionals have some advice for someone just trying to get established in the business?

Brian .. this is going to be long . . but it works:

#1 MAKE A COMMITMENT TO THE COMPANY

Learning / Training
Ø Good salespeople find reasons to be enthusiastic about the company and look forward to coming to work
Ø These people realize their futures are tied to the company .. if the company secedes they will succeed.

In a Harvard Business review article: “The learning Mindset”
Ø 90% of the population is not willing to learn new things by reading or attending sales sessions or learning sessions .. they will not look to improve themselves
Ø 10% of the population will seek out and enjoy learning on their own
Ø 50% of the population expects to be spoon feed and are not willing to do what is necessary to get the job done
Ø Managers need to set the bar and lead by example
Ø Managers need to point out What’s In It For Me .. both for the seller and client
Ø Managers must take a leadership role with new one sheets and or proposals and teach the team the inner workings of the piece and how best to sell it
Ø Accountability starts to come into play .. more later on accountability

#2 MAKE A COMMITMENT TO YOUR JOB
Ø Good sellers stay on top of what’s happening in the company .. in the industry .. and the over all selling environment
Ø Good sellers know what works and what does not .. however what worked last year may not work this year .. (going back with the same old story to the same clients)
Ø Past success does not guarantee future performance
Ø Good Sellers persistently strive for knowledge
Ø Good sellers learn to be problem solvers

Continuing Education
Ø Companies have discovered that without a mandated continuing education employees will not keep up with the necessary information to become professionals
Ø Continuing education sets the ground work for higher performance and achievement
Ø Continuing education of salespeople should include sales training .. product training .. policy training
Ø Role playing is a major factor in continuing education .. questions and answers to the entire team can see and hear the results
Ø Sellers are extremely reluctant and hesitant to Role Play however it is much better to make mistakes in sales training than in front of the client
Ø 1 sheets and proposals should be reviewed in detail with the sales team and practiced out loud to practice delivery .. this perfect the verbal skills necessary to present the information to a client

#3 MAKING A COMMITMENT TO YOUR PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS
Ø Successful sellers act in the best interest of their customers
Ø Successful sellers focus on the needs and desires of the customer not there own
Ø Customers would prefer a personal guide through a presentation .. not a computer print out
Ø Customers look forward to working with a seller who can distinguish your products and services from your competitors
Ø Customers want a seller to provide them with solutions
Ø Customers want to work with a professional not just a seller
Ø Sellers must gain the respect and trusts of customers
Ø Cheap rates and ratings are not always the answer .. find out what a client wants before you start to offer discounts or wave the ratings flag
Ø Customers want too work with an expert .. a seller who knows their product .. understands the market .. can discuss the competition with a degree of knowledge and accuracy
Ø Sellers get what they want by helping the customer get what they want

#4 MAKE A COMMITMENT TO YOURSELF
Ø Successful sellers exercise personal accountability for their actions
Ø Successful sellers understand they are in control of their lives .. how they spend their time .. how many calls they are willing to make .. how much time the are willing to put into educating themselves on their clients needs and desires
Ø Successful sellers
o Prospect
o Make presentations
o Close sales
o Earn commission

It takes a special person to succeed in sales:
Ø Successful sellers sense opportunity where others fear rejection
Ø Successful sellers do not get discouraged .. they work harder to change things in their favor
Ø Successful sellers do not see obstacles .. they see challenges

Two shoe salesmen was sent to a tiny island in the tropic to sell shoes .. upon landing on the island they found nobody wore shoes.
The first seller calls his company and says bring me home .. these people do not ware shoes
The second seller calls the company and says this is a great opportunity .. they don’t have shoes!

#5 UNDERSTAND YOU MUST BE A PERSON OF ACTION
Ø Merely knowing what to do is not enough
Ø It is necessary to what to do and do it!
o Set appointment
o Find out customer needs and desire
o Make a presentation of solutions
Ø Sellers who are reluctant to take action are normally afraid of rejection
Ø Fear or rejections can be cured by retraining or replacement

#6 LISTEN TO ONE MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE EACH WEEK
Ø Sellers need to be recharged .. without recharging you can’t change others
Ø A positive message may be religious or a message from a successful seller
Ø Motivational messages can come from the manager in a sales meeting

#7 READ BOOKS BY AND FOR SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE
Ø Reading helps to develop logic and understanding
Ø Reading helps to develop and increase your verbal skills
Ø Reading gives you exposure to new ideas
Ø Books could be from leading motivators .. leading sellers .. or articles from various places that deal with sales and the improvement of sellers minds

#8 AVOID NEGATIVE SELF TALK
Ø Sellers must resist the temptation to focus on things they feel they do wrong
Ø Sellers need to give themselves credit for the things they do right



#9 PRACTICE SELF DISCIPLINE VERSUS SELF INDULGENCE
Ø Self indulgence is taking action without worrying about the consequences (cutting rate .. giving free goods)
Ø Self discipline is thinking FIRST about the consequences and then taking the appropriate action
Ø Sellers must have a plan of attack .. pre-think the “what ifs” and know what can be done with each one sheet or proposal .. know where you can go
Ø Asking forgiveness rather than permission DOES NOT WORK

#10 MANAGE YOURSELF WISELY
Ø Recharge or renew yourself and put the effort in to getting what you want
Ø Putting in only enough effort to remain where you are sets you up for failure
Ø Accountability comes in to play with managing yourself or being managed

Accountability
Ø Sellers should be held accountable
Ø Sellers are held accountable for prospecting .. making appointments .. meeting clients .. finding client’s needs .. producing revenue
Ø Sellers often feel micro managed if management has set forth what is expected of them in the beginning
o Number of phone calls per day
o Number of presentations a day / week / month
o Reporting to management (daily call sheets .. projections .. etc)
o Review call sheets with sellers and ask questions .. if 5 presentations are required and they did only 3 .. find out why and how they plan to make the remaining 2
o Sellers who complain about accountability are normally those that that have something to hide or feel they are not doing the job and will be reprimanded or terminated
o Accountability is a part of sales and those that avoid it are very much like those that avoid role playing .. they fear criticism / rejection

Hi Brian. First of all. Congratulations on making a great career move! I've been in the biz for over 12 years now and I still love it every day. My best advice to you is to get out of the office and meet as many people as you can. The clients on your list for sure, but also as many other professionals as you can. Join a Chamber committee. If they have an ambassadors committee that goes out and does ribbon cuttings, etc, try to get in that group. One of the best things I did for my career was to become very involved in my downtown association. And I mean sincerely involved. Find something you really love and pour your passion into it. People will notice and want to find out what you are doing and why you care. Happy Selling!

Hi Brian,

Congrats on making radio sales your career. The best advice I can give you is to always look at things from your clients point of view and solve their problems in advertising. If you can present a solution to their problem...then you have them hooked. Also, 90% of sales is just showing up and 10% is following through. God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth so that we will listen twice as much as we speak. If you listen to your clients, they will give you enough information to make the sale.

Educate yourself in every way you can. I have been in radio for 9 years and when I started there were no training materials at the station. I went to my local library and checked out books and tapes on advertising sales. Now days, you can go online and get training from the best radio sales professionals by signing up for their newsletters. Check out Sean Luce at Luceperformancegroup.com, Joe Bonura is at joebonura.com and Paul Weyland is at paulweyland.com. These guys are the pros. Read and APPLY what they say and you can't help but be successful.

Last but not least...one of the things that has kept my sales high even in a down economy is focusing on the success of my client. If they become more successful in business due to my help with great advertising, then automatically I become more successful. Referrals are golden! They will help you in a down economy.

So good luck Brian. Don't hesitate to ask for help via this forum. Invest a few $$ in some great training materials. Radio sales is not rocket science! It really is common sense and to some extent a numbers game.

Brian,
Shave off the beard and get your hair cut..if you haven't already...go out and get a different suit for every day of the week along with the two nicest pair of Men's dress shoes you can afford. Now ..at least your ready to meet with a potential client. Now, all you need is 15 uninterupted minutes of a potential clients time twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon Monday thru Friday . How do you get those appointments? Canvass for leads every waking minute you can.Newspaper,Cable,Broadcast TV and Radio, Coupon Clipper, Billboards,church bulletins ect... You probably have a local Sales Manager who will give you modest goals in the beginning and gradually take you up. SET YOUR OWN PERSONAL GOAL it will help to keep you focused.My personal goal was an order for $500 per day.IF I didn't sell $500 on Monday ,my revised goal for Tuesday was $1000.If I failed to have a sale I took it up to $1500 on Wednesday and so forth.This accomplished several things ..Forced me to have set appointments..Kept me focused..Layered billing for the following month.You will close 1 out of every 5 clients you meet with and that's why you need a minimum of 20 set appointments per week.Hope this advice proves helpful and please know that your entering the most powerful and effective media in your market!Should you wish to speak with me directly your welcome to call me anytime at (570) 207-8578 Good Luck! And make your clients and yourself A TON OF MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!

First off Brian, I disagree with Mr Morris. Getting a haircut and shaving off your beard is not needed to be successful. Trying to fit yourself into a cookie cutter image of what a "sales guy" is expected is: #1 is what all the other "sales guys" looked like that came in before you and #2 not the real you...unless you want to be just another "sales guy", to the prospect. My philosophy, and I share it because you asked for advice is this: whatever you can do to stand out from the crowd in a positive and memorable way..do that!! Don't be comfortable being another sheep in the endless sea of "sales people". Your prospects see these people every day, and they are all the same guy with the same quick talking speel. I promise you they are forgotten five minutes after they leave a prospects business. Be who you are, be honest and sincere and you've already accomplished something big! Now that's not to say that you should not present yourself in a proffessional way with appropriate dress and attitude. But don't try to blend in or change your true self just for the sake of fitting in to that business image stereo type. A prospect just might remember that radio consultant with the winning smile and goatee!
Be honest and by all means if you say you are going to be somewhere, do something etc..make sure you follow through!! Get out and meet people. Be Daring, Be First and Be different to be a success. Figure out an organizational system that works for you. Manage your time so that you divide your day between prospecting, getting out to talk face to face with potential clients, and service existing clients. Also take time to invest in yourself and your career by educating yourself. Read the articles, research the industries, look at clients and prospects websites, walk the isles of the stores..get to know your prospects business in and out. Don't take a No personally, just see it as an invitation to call back at a later time.
Lastly and most of all, set goals and stick to them & hopefully have some fun along the way.
Best of luck to you!

Check out the replies that I have been getting regarding selling new clients in a down market - you are facing the same challenge I am. One thing I would suggest is to go to the standard business's that typically advertise = retail, locally owned non-chain food stores, hardware stores, utility companies, the local hospital & doctor;s offices, furniture stores, service type industry - plumbers, electricians, blinds & Draperies, heating and air conditioning sales and service - I think you get the idea. I'm looking through the phone book to find business's in these categories that aren't already spoken for. And then there's the numbers game - talk to enough people and you're bound to write a contract sooner or later! Good luck to you!

Greeting Brian! Do NOT get discouraged! You are learning lesson one.... walk in empty handed, walk out empty handed. Ask yourself this... what was my plan after I opened the door? If it was "Introduce myself", then after they read your card, you are out of steam. I suggest that you need to know a few things before you open the door: 1) Everything about your stations 2) Everything about their business 3) Everything they can say to you. Not that easy, but when you have these things in order, then think about what you are going to say.. NEXT. What is your plan when the guys says "my budget is spent", or "I tried Radio once and it didn't work", or "I don't like your stations". You need an answer for each and then a plan of action. Let me know how you are doing. It's a GREAT profession!!!

This post was edited by RSC Administrator at February 23, 2024 11:36 AM PST

Brian, Listen to every single thing that Chris Rolando has to tell you and you'll be successful. Except add a little charm and please do care about their sick grandmother....all the while keep focused on their business and the sale you're gonna walk out with or get on the next visit. Visualize that you have already sold them before you walk in their door. Forget your station, sell radio with a passion and make them believe you. Forget advertising, take them ideas......people are desperate for them right now....and keep them simple..... You'll make it !

I didn't say "change who you are" I suggested making a change in personal appearance.Big difference!Being fresh out of school is a disadvantage and an advantage.A clean cut professional appearance will move the needle slightly and probably be a little empowering I would hope.But if you have your potential clients best interest at heart...I suppose doing it wearing a pink tutu would be ok.

Hi Brian...

YOU are selling YOU. People buy people. In Radio, you are the product. Everything else is flying through the air. It's emotional stuff. They buy trust and belief in you. Take YOU out there and put YOU in front of everyone. You never know. They could be your next biggest client. They could be someone who could recommend you to your next biggest client. When you go out there, be ready. Have your 30-commercial ready. Learn your profession. Plan, prepare and practice!

An attorney friend insisted that a new member of his firm meet me at a business meeting where our congressman was taking Q & A. He didn't want to be there. He stood against the wall the entire time. The guy next to him on the wall asked him what he did. Guess what happened?

Remember that 55% of the communication process is Body Language. How you walk, talk, stand and dress are important. We do judge/evaluate a book by its cover.

Good Selling!

Jerry AKA "The Power Tools Guy"

I, myself, am new to this business. Thank you so much for this encouraging information. I will certainly take this wisdom and use it daily. Thanks, again!

 

Thanks for sharing this advice. I believe it will be quite helpful.

 

Thanks, Peg, for this helpful advice!

Thanks, Chris! How thankful I am for all this encouraging and helpful advice (even though the ? and answer is for someone else)!

Brian,  

There is little I can add to the great advice already offered.  One thing for me is I prefer not to be a sales guy.  I am the unpaid marketing expert employee that works for my client's continued success.  

When I meet a new business owner, I am applying for a job.  I want to know about the company I hope to work for, what they do, how they do it and their successes and failures.  

I don't expect to be hired on the spot, but to prove my interest and determination by showing them I will stick to it by visiting frequently, allowing them to get to know me and to show I can be trusted.  I want them to know I would never bring them anything I would not buy myself if in their shoes.  I think it is important to prove to them that I listen and am willing to invest my time and effort for their benefit.  That takes time.  

My objective, even if not 'hired' is to earn a reputation where that business owner would have no qualms about mentioning me to a fellow business owner.  In other words, sales can come from unexpected places sometimes and sometimes happen because of something you did that seems completely unrelated.  So, everyone is a potential sale to me.  I want everyone to know I am worthy of their serious consideration.  

One salesman I knew once said sales was like farming:  you scattered seeds everywhere you went and nurtured every one that sprouted.  He added you had to cast a wide net because that seed might be carried off from where you planted it. His point was the business (seed) that did not sprout, might at some other spot.

And I'll add, employees at any potential client's business are worthy of the same respect you give the business owner. All too often I have seen the employees work to get me the sale.  You can bet not every salesperson does this.  

Well stated, Bill. Love it!