1-8-2014
Most of us understand how compound interest can grow our savings. Did you know that compounding is equally important in growing your radio revenue?
If you can earn the right to ask for 15 percent more on each order after you have sold a new account, you will more than double your revenue on each account by your fifth order.
But most sales efforts focus on a process that allegedly ends with closing the sale.
The most productive account executives have learned the real sale beings after that first order is signed. The term ?closing the sale? is really a misnomer. When your first order is signed, you need to view it as opening the account, not closing a sale.
Opening a new account requires countless hours identifying new prospects, doing research, building trust, making presentations, negotiating, and more.
Once you have uncovered a prospect who is willing to advertise, who will try your station, and has accepted your presentation, some of the most productive use of your time is to build upon that foundation.
Like it or not, that ?first order? is always a test. ?Tests? are always a mere token of what that client will invest once you?ve proven yourself and over-delivered on your promises.
Here are just a few of the things you can do to increase your business dramatically once you have opened a new account:
1.) Say ?thank you,? verbally, and in writing. If possible, accompany your thank you with a gift: a restaurant coupon, a ticket to the game, or any token of your appreciation.
2.) Don?t hand the account off to others to administer your promises. Stay hands-on with the copy, production, and scheduling, and take responsibility for managing each aspect.
3.) Review your account management plan on each account every 30 days, considering these four questions:
a.) What is the last good thing I did for this client?
b.) When?
c.) What is the next good thing I?m planning for this client?
d.) When?
TIP: If the answer to question ?b? or ?d? is longer than 30 days away, you aren?t earning the right to ask for more on the next order.
4.) Conduct a ?post-campaign analysis? to help you make each campaign better than the last. Most of your competitors are afraid to ask how a campaign worked. The confidence and concern you exhibit in offering to conduct a post-campaign analysis will place you ahead of those competitors in your client?s eyes.
5.) Be there every week. In person, or by email, to deliver new ideas, market information, competitive insights, and more.
6.) Take credit for everything you do with statements like, ?In preparation for this meeting I??..? or ?To develop this idea we????
There is a long list of other things you can do to exponentially grow every account you open, if you simply plan to do so and earn the right to ask for more on each and every order by going the extra mile.
Wayne Ens is president of ENS Media Inc., a marketing and motivation consulting firm specializing in helping media account executives increase their sales through stronger advertiser relationships. For more information contact wayne@wensmedia.com
(1/10/2014 1:59:44 AM)
This essay by Wayne does not address the key factor: client ROI. If a client sees good ROI with radio or any medium, they will increase their spending. If the client does not see ROI performance, they will eventually eliminate that medium. Pure and simple. ... Giving the client tickets and other gimmicks like that to obligate the client, are old school and do not work in this new digital era.
(1/8/2014 1:40:21 PM)
Stop power-leaning, ahole!
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