by Ed Ryan
The economic environment isn't pretty. As Washington D.C. politicians head back to their districts to BBQ with family or go fishing with friends, the ripple they sent skipping into the economic waters of the United States worsens by the day. When Congress returns to the Capital to continue their never-ending spending spree, their paychecks will not be affected by what's taking place in the economy. A great gig if you can get it. Meanwhile, the businesses that hire and the consumers that spend watch nervously, wondering, if a double-dip is right around the corner. And you need to make sure August comes in and then some, no excuses, just hit your nunmbers.
No matter what's going on with our lawmakers or what's going on in the stock market your salespeople still need to get in their car this morning, drive to their next sales call and convince advertisers now IS the time to advertise. Now IS the time to tell consumers to spend. Now IS the time to use your radio station to get that done. Despite what's happening on Wall Street, the sales projection printout sitting on your desk is not going to change. 2nd quarter revenue for most radio companies was flat and the reality of today's world is unless you get revenue up, there can be no complaints if a request to cut expenses is next. That's what life is like in the business world, unlike government, where printing and spending money is a sport. So what's the plan?
How you handle the panic is going to be the key to your success. Salespeople can be a fragile species to manage. They see what's going on. They know their clients see what's going on. And they know you are not going to lower their goals just because the S&P is in a political war with Washington. Having been a salesperson and managed many I can understand how self-talk can convince you the right thing to do is to allow that client to keep his money. Great managers will be able to build up those salespeople and get them focused on how an advertiser that spends $1 can expect a return of $10 - or whatever the numbers are. Great managers will make sure advertisers understand what to expect their return-on-investment to be with every radio schedule they run. There is no worse feeling for a than when an advertiser calls the station and the salesperson immediately thinks he's going to cancel. That expectation should always be because he wants to order more commercials because they are working. Too often we don't manage or service the advertisers expectations.
This is the time strong relationships matter. More importantly, this is the time salespeople and sales managers have to be able to convince businesses that, if they have a good product today, just like they did yesterday, consumers need to know about it. Great salespeople know how to ring that bell. It would be nice if every team was made up of great salespeople. Wayne Ens is president of ENS Media. He says your salespeople are facing real people who are, rightly or wrongly, emotionally concerned about their survival. "The last thing nervous clients want to hear is standard objection response number 22a, ? You know, the businesses that do best after tough times are those who advertise through tough times?. While that?s true, all of your competitors have already told your prospects that. To differentiate yourself and win, you have two options; 1.) use the next 48 hours to write powerful strategic presentations and develop customer-focused solutions to present in a couple of days when the dust settles. 2.) train your reps how to sell in tough times. The secret is to help them understand that cuts need not, nor should not, be across the board. The best rep will not only survive the cuts, they can actually increase their sales by capturing a small portion of the cuts the traditional space or spot sellers will experience. No one wants spots or space in tough times, they want solutions."
Sales meetings should be upbeat and focused. Today's sales meeting should be all about how salespeople are going to approach clients fearing for their financial well being. Now, more than ever, salespeople should role play - and be graded - on what they know about their clients business and the customers of that business. How are your salespeople going to hit the street today and help those businesses move your listeners to take action. Radio executives now love to talk about how radio listening remains strong, "over 90% penetration," despite the new competition. It's nice to hear, but there's no doubt they'd rather be talking about how their quarterly revenue jumped by 10 to 12%. And that's up to you.
Feedback to edryan@radioink.com
or leave your comments below.
(8/9/2011 6:27:42 AM)
I attended Mass a number of years ago and the Priest started his homily with, "And today we are going to preach the Good News"....and all heads in the church looked up in hope of being comforted with positivism....our sales meetings should aim for similar goals.
Add a Comment | View All Comments Send This Story To A Friend
