3-18-2013
By Stephen Warley
Many radio sales veterans probably remember starting out their career by thumbing through the yellow pages looking for sales leads. Beyond getting the phone number and address of local businesses, there really wasn?t any information about their marketing needs or intentions. The only way to get that information was to call or stop by their business to ask them.
Selling against other media was and still is a popular method of qualifying leads by calling on businesses already advertising in the newspaper, in the yellow pages, on billboards, on television, and on other radio stations. The thinking goes that the business has already bought into the concept of paid advertising, now it?s just a matter of selling them on your station.
You and every other local media rep has the same idea. Once a business starts their advertising campaign, the owner?s voicemail ends up full of messages from other local media reps they?ll never call back.
Today?s local advertisers are busy and they expect us to know a little more about their marketing needs beyond knowing that they paid for advertising somewhere else.
The optimum moment to meet with a local business is when they are starting to research their marketing options. Businesses generally perform this task when they are figuring out their annual marketing budget, launching a new product or service, making preparations for seasonal business, expanding their business, or have a special event. While they are in the planning stages of their advertising plan, they haven?t committed to any one message, media, or maybe even a budget.
Knowing when a business is planning to buy advertising is one of the highest quality leads. The trick is finding out which businesses in your area are ready to pull the trigger. Be the first local media rep to call on them and leave the rest of your competition left to be forgotten in your new client?s voicemail!
Here are five online research tools to help you search for higher-quality sales leads:
1. Google Alerts
Imagine monitoring every piece of news published on the Web about your clients and prospects? It?s possible using Google Alerts (google.com/alerts). Think of it as a news clipping service sent conveniently to your email. The best part, it?s completely free!
You can monitor news about a particular business by submitting their name as a search term. Keep track of news in a single advertising category or even individual shopping items like shoes, clothes, or golf clubs. Be sure to also submit the name of your market as a search term to filter out irrelevant news. You?ll also be able to choose the frequency of your alerts and the type of content you?ll receive.
2. SocialMention.com
Wouldn?t it be even easier to target prospects if we could only eavesdrop on conversations about their marketing plans? Listening in on phone calls is of course illegal and unethical, but monitoring social media conversations isn?t. It?s the next best thing to overhearing an actual conversation.
Using SocialMention.com you can submit terms and phrases to monitor your prospects? social media activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and loads of other social media networks. It picks up where Google Alerts leaves off by sending you updates about social media posts based on your search criteria.
Many local advertisers use social media to gauge the needs of their customers, to promote special offers, and to inform their followers about their latest news. Social media conversations are rich in marketing information that can help you know when to call on a prospect well ahead of your competition.
END OF PART 1Catch Part 2 next Monday?
Stephen Warley is the founder of inboundarts.com, a research and training firm dedicated to helping radio broadcasters use digital tools to generate more qualified sales leads. He is also the founded of LocalBroadcastSales.com in 2008. Email him at stephen@inboundarts.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.
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