by Wayne Ens
Why does a lawyer earn more than a garbage man? Because nearly everyone is capable of doing the garbage man?s job, but the lawyer knows something most of us do not. So she makes more money. Why are accountant?s paid far more than the average person? Because they know something the average person does not. Knowledge is power and knowledge earns big bucks for those who have it in the new economy.
I?ve heard it said that ?Sales is sales, and anyone who can sell can sell spots.? That?s probably true. A lot of people ?sell?; from retail clerks to car sales people, and from insurance agents to yellow pages people, thousands upon thousands of people can sell. Advertisers today are bombarded with advertising sales people selling their ?commodities?; from sellers of online directories, to web malls and banners, to traditional media and more, so selling ?spots? isn?t really worth all that much. The advertising sales people that earn the most in the new knowledge economy are those who can teach advertisers how to make strategic sense out of a fragmented and rapidly evolving digital media and traditional media mix.
And of course to be able to teach, you have to have knowledge. Just as other paid professionals like doctors and lawyers invest time and money in knowledge, you have to invest time and money in your knowledge of the new media landscape to be more valuable than your competitors. Virtually all of your competitors have had sales training and can sell.
Investing in strategic marketing knowledge not only gives you a strong competitive edge against those look-alike sellers, but that investment stays with you forever. Today, selling is teaching, and teaching is a skill unto itself. We have studied the proven inductive learning model used by the most successful teachers today and developed it into a proven successful sales model called Guided Discovery Selling.
The seven core elements of selling as teaching are;
1.) Care about your students/clients. Some teachers have jobs?but the best teachers, as with the best sellers, are on a mission to help their students, and their customers, succeed.
2.) Keep learning yourself. If they respect and trust you, advertisers will be asking you questions about the new media landscape. If you do not understand the various platforms, and how to articulate radio?s role in a multi-media environment, you?ll quickly lose their confidence in you.
3.) Questioning is key. Old school sellers merely asked questions until they found an opening to close a sale. Teachers, and new-school sellers, research and prepare their questions to guide advertisers to tap into their own experiences and prior knowledge to arrive at solutions. The Guided Discovery Selling model takes the telling out of selling. It?s an interactive process which takes place in problem solving situations to discover facts, relationships and new truths. Advertisers take ownership of solutions they discover themselves and become committed to the campaign?s success.
4.) Relate to Visions and Objectives. The best sellers as teachers prepare proposals which clearly relate to the advertiser?s visions and objectives. Students and customers become disinterested in, and do not retain, figures, rankers, ratings, truths or solutions that do not relate to their own goals.
5.) Multi-sensory selling/teaching. Old face-to-face selling was once the cornerstone to successful business-to-business selling. Today, there is no singular corner stone. Trust and sales are built with a multi-platform approach. A creative mix of valid business contacts that includes emails, blogs, written proposals, spec spots, videos, spec calendars, face-to-face presentations and more, creates more retention and a greater cumulative impact than face-to-face alone can achieve.
6.) Throw away your radio hat. Radio isn?t new and isn?t exciting. Most clients have tried radio, been there, done that and still have the t-shirt. These same clients can be confused or intimidated by the new media choices and claims and are seeking a trusted advisor like you to teach them how to navigate through an effective media mix. Your prospects want a knowledgeable media professional who can talk strategy, media-mix, multi-platforms, return on investment, integrated campaigns and more. It is imperative that you study and stay up to date, and learn how to articulate where each media, including radio, fits into the marketing funnel.
7.) Tell Stories. The best teachers and the best sales people tell interesting heartfelt stories that put the ?student? in the picture to capture their emotions.
Wayne Ens is President of ENS Media Inc and can be reached via e-mail Wayne Ens wayne@wensmedia.com
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