5-22-2013
I recently received the following e-mail:
Roy,
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on radio sales. I own a current Country format in California. One of our issues is when the GM goes in to sell and they say, ?We have all the business we need.? How do you come back on that one? The GM has been in the market for the last 20 years on another station, and he says our market is ?unique.? I?m not sure if I buy that or not. I would appreciate any help you can give.
Here?s how I answered that e-mail:
I?m going to answer your question ?as asked,? even though I challenge
the premise. This would be my response:
?Obviously, you?ve been very successful. So I understand that you have
all the business you need. But do you have all the business you want?? If the business owner persisted by saying, ?Yes, we have all the business we want,? I?d say, ?You?ve obviously made up your mind that I have nothing to offer you ?and that?s OK, I?ll be leaving now ? but would you at least do me the courtesy of telling me the real reason you don?t feel I can help you?? To be successful, an AE must maintain their confidence and their dignity. Walking out with shoulders slumped and head hanging down is simply not acceptable.
Obviously the line ?We have all the business we need,? is a blow-off. But it?s not the most dangerous trap into which an AE will step. The worst of all traps is when a new client buys a short flight ?to test the waters.? The AE walks out with a wee bit of cash and a massive, ticking time bomb.
Pay attention to me, AEs. The messages that work best are highly specific. If you walk out of a new advertiser?s office with an insertion order and nothing else, that time bomb is going to blow any future business with this client completely to hell. Believe me, I fell into that trap many times. Your smartest move is to probe for a specific offer that is new, surprising, and different, an offer that won?t be made through any other media. And the client doesn?t have to lose money to impress the customer. Just pick a specific product or service that people actually like ? not something the advertiser needs to dump because no one ever buys it ? and then write your copy around that item. Think of it as a ?feature item.?
1-800-GotJunk is a junk-removal company with 184 franchisees in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. My firm was hired to write creative ads to make the phone ring. I noticed their pricing structure was based on the percentage of their truck your junk would fill.
?How is the client supposed to know the percentage of your truck their stuff will fill?? I asked.
?We give free estimates,? came the reply.
?So if I call and ask, ?How much do you charge to haul off a sofa?? what will you tell me?"
?We?ll tell you we need to come out and see the sofa.?
?I?m thinking, ?Hey! My sofa is the same size as your sofa, stupid!??
They looked at me blankly, so I asked, ?What single item do you haul off more than any other??
?Dead TVs? was the reply.
Here?s the ad I wrote:
ROY: You?ve got a dead TV, right?
BRIAN: Don?t be embarrassed. Everyone?s got a dead TV.
ROY: You don?t know what to do with it....
BRIAN: But we do.
ROY: Have you got twenty-nine dollars?
BRIAN: Give us a call or contact us online
ROY: And we?ll send some guys right over.
BRIAN: We?re a full-service junk removal company.
ROY: You don?t have to lift a finger.
BRIAN: Well, that?s not entirely true....
ROY: (obviously confused.) What?
BRIAN: You have to lift one finger to point at the dead TV.
ROY: That dead TV will be gone-gone-gone! [relief] ?
Ahhhhh
BRIAN: And you paid just twenty-nine dollars.
ROY: Lift that finger again and watch the magic.
BRIAN: Junk will disappear. [sfx]
ROY: Call 1-800-Got Junk
BRIAN: Or visit us online.
ROY: We?ll quote you a price for hauling away everything
you point at.
BRIAN: That?s one powerful finger you?ve got there!
ROY: Be careful where you aim that thing.
BRIAN: We?re full service. All you have to do is point.
ROY: Call 1-800-Got Junk or contact us through our
website
BRIAN: And prepare to be amazed.
Result? Sales volume during the next 90 days in our test market was 41 percent higher than the same 90-day period the previous year. If you ask a person if they have any junk, they?ll probably tell you no. But ask that same person something specific ? like whether they have a dead TV ? and you?re likely to get a different answer. And when you use a ?feature item,? you no longer fall into the trap of, ?Well, business was up 41 percent but I?m not sure it was due to the advertising.? When people call and say, ?Dead TV,? you know it?s the advertising that?s driving the call.
Now go sell something for your clients.
Roy H. Williams is president of Wizard of Ads Inc. E-mail: roy@wizardofads.com.
(5/23/2013 8:45:59 AM)
GREAT point! If you don't have a target... how do you know if you hit it?
Being specific makes it MUCH easier to track results to see what you need to do to stay on track!
Thank you for the ammo for our collective "radio sales guns"! If I had a nickel for every time I've quoted you... I'd owe you a BUNCH of nickels! ;o)
Roy: On behalf of all the people that work in radio sales, I thank you deeply for the valuable contribution you make to the radio industry by sharing your knowledge--you're a BLESSING to the media! My honor and respect go out to you!
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