A Radical Vision To Change The Way Radio Advertising Is Sold
(By Radio Ink Publisher B. Eric Rhoads) Think about radio's selling challenges for a minute. I've been publisher of Radio Ink for well over two decades and have proposed some outlandish ideas. People laugh and roll their eyes when they read some of my notes from Radio Ink. "There goes Eric, off on another tangent." I'm used to it. Again, I expect snickering when people hear what I'm about to propose.
Do any of these issues sound familiar?
- Hiring great sellers is one of your most difficult tasks. You're up against pharmaceutical companies and others offering great packages, cars, powerful incentives that can double income, and three solid months of training. Meanwhile, you're offering low base or straight commission, few incentives, no car, little or no training, and if they don't cut it in 90 days, they lose their job.
- Training is a nightmare. Who has time to train people properly? In the back of your mind, you're thinking, "Why bother?" because if they don't make it in 90 days, they'll be gone anyway, either by your choice, or theirs because they're not making enough money. Training takes time you don't have, and there is no effective training program in the building. Plus, the sellers want to hit the streets (and you need them to).
- Turnover is a problem because of the "make it or break it rule." There is hardly time to build relationships with clients before it's time to make a change. And the clients don't like the constant turnover either.
- Great selling is rare. How many dollars are left on the table because someone isn't following up properly? How many people even understand how to overcome objections, how to make radio work well, and how to make the cash register ring?
- The best sellers have become order takers. New business is in the hands of the younger, less experienced sellers. Those with experience have more billing and are riding the gravy train instead of bringing in new business.
- No one wants to beat the streets for new business. Cold calling isn't fun. People get tired very quickly of having doors slammed in their faces. Call reports may reflect people contacted when your sellers were at the movies. You know there is tons of new local business to be had, but it's not coming in as fast as you believe it should.
A RADICAL CONCEPT TO REINVENT THE WAY WE DO RADIO SALES
I believe I can eliminate these headaches and reinvent how we sell radio. But you'll probably laugh, because what I'm proposing is a radical concept.
OVER TWO DECADES OF HAVING RADIO PEOPLE LAUGH AT MY STRANGE IDEAS.
I've been publisher of Radio Ink for well over two decades and have proposed some outlandish ideas. People laugh and roll their eyes when they read some of my notes from Radio Ink. "There goes Eric, off on another tangent." I'm used to it. Again, I expect snickering when people hear what I'm about to propose.
You laughed when I predicted industry consolidation.
You laughed when I challenged the NAB on the Eureka system for digital radio and their ownership stake.
You laughed when I launched a conference devoted to this new thing called the Internet and told you radio stations would have these new things called websites.
You laughed when I said satellite radio and streaming would one day be embraced by consumers.
You laughed when I said one day every home will have a high-speed connection.
You laughed when I went to Silicon Valley to launch an online music service.
You laughed when I said that radio risks losing control of the car radio and that Internet radio would become standard on the dashboard of every car.
I see things that will impact our industry earlier than most. I don't know exactly why -- it's probably because I'm obsessed with learning what's new and because I read obsessively.
If you've been with me all these years, you know that I've been wrong a lot. But you also know I 've been right a lot. As Roy Williams said to me recently, "Eric, you're almost always right, you're just 10 years too early." Yes, I was 10 years early on Internet radio.
This time the timing is perfect, and my solution will increase local radio billing 30 to 50 percent within 90 to 120 days of when this is implemented, and it won't require a single new salesperson. How's that for radical?
Major Meeting With a Significant Radio CEO on Changing How Radio Is Sold
Be ready to laugh.
Recently I met with the CEO of a very large and important radio company, and I said these words:
"I believe I can change how we sell radio. I believe we can increase existing radio sales by 30 percent to 50 percent locally. We don't have a good system to pick up the lost crumbs. I believe we can automate much of the selling process."
Silence.
He looked at me as though I had six eyes.
He put his head in his hands. He was probably rolling his eyes.
"Eric, selling requires salespeople. You can never eliminate salespeople. Relationships are critical to selling."
I never intended to eliminate salespeople. I love salespeople.
What I hate are the ups and downs in business, and the excuses. It doesn't take much to miss a goal if the sales team or sales leader is a little off. What I hate is leaving money on the table and missing business we should be getting.
When I showed him what I'm going to show you, this CEO got excited and suggested we implement an immediate experiment at one of his stations.
What if we could generate business even when the sales team are not doing their job?
It can be done. In fact, it IS being done. But not in radio. My estimates of 30 to 50 percent increases are probably low. Companies using technology to supplement their sales process are seeing 200 or 300 percent increases in sales within 90 to 120 days of implementation. It works for them, and it will work for radio.
This Is Too Complicated and Sophisticated to explain in an E-mail
I recently learned what I'm about to offer you. I spent thousands of dollars and several days to learn the system for my own use. I have now seen, met, or learned of HUNDREDS of people in other industries using technology to boost their sales, and I saw examples of massive sales increases without the personal touch of a salesperson or so much as a phone call.
Best of all, there is not one radio station in the world I'm aware of that's implementing this system. You may be among the first in the world. Best of all, it's invisible, and your competitors won't know how you're adding so much revenue to the books.
Once radio figures it out, in a few years we will look back on this and wonder how we ever survived without the additional income.
Do I have your attention yet?
What I'm going to teach you is not easy. It's going to take you a few months to build out the basic plan, but it should produce immediate fruit. Best of all, after that it will bear fruit without no further change for years to come.
Only True Radical Thinkers With a Commitment to Trying Something New Will Reap the Rewards
This solution is not for the faint of heart. First, you have to be a radical thinker to believe it will work. The CEO I met with shot me down immediately, until I explained it in detail (which takes time). Suddenly he was excited and believed I actually could improve sales without additional salespeople.
To implement this system, you have to be truly committed. This is not a quick solution. It requires commitment, planning, preparation, and the creation of new content you don't currently have. It will be frustrating and challenging because you'll be taxing your brain (and those of your team members) to figure out the best way to implement what you've learned.
You'll be so excited you can hardly wait to see its impact on your radio business.
Up until now, Radio Ink's Convergence has been mostly about generating digital revenue and giving you lots of actionable ideas you can implement immediately. This is the first technology play we've highlighted at Convergence that actually impacts ad sales -- not digital ad sales, just plain old ad sales.
Though Convergence is still about digital selling and working ideas that you can implement to get digital billing to 15 or 20 percent of overall revenue, this system will see you INCREASING AD SALES IN ANY MARKET SIZE without so much as a single sales call taking place.
Sound too good to be true?
At Convergence, set for June 4-5 in California's Silicon Valley, I'm bringing in the expert who can teach you this system. He will show you what to do and how to do it. He will show you why it works, how to structure it, and what to expect in your business.
THIS IS A MIND-ALTERING, GAME-CHANGING SESSION THAT WILL ROCK THE RADIO INDUSTRY FOREVER.
That's a bold statement, but I'm convinced it's true because I'm deeply involved in this technology now, and it is being implemented in my own publishing business as we speak.
As usual, the people at Convergence will get this information first, will get a head start, and will have a giant competitive edge. Most of radio will ignore this message. Only a small, select group of people will have the guts to get on an airplane to solve their biggest problem (sales) and will believe they can alter their future by taking the risk of two days out of the office and the price of registration.
This one-hour session will feature one of the great marketing minds in technology, and he will convince you, as he did me, that your world will change forever once you follow his specific advice.
Using Technology to Dramatically Improve Advertising Sales Results
James Michelson, Keynote
What if you could increase your station's ad billing by 20, 30 or even 40 percent without hiring new salespeople and without making more client calls?
What if you could have a proven sales system, always making sales for you, in spite of staff turnover? (No, it's not some robo-caller like the politicians use.)
More than ever before, radio stations have difficulty hiring the best salespeople. Better compensation from growth industries with higher margins, fierce competition for limited talent, flight of the "good ones" to faster fields, less time to train new sellers, and clients who are leaving radio because of frequent sales turnover are all taking a drastic toll on profitability.
Technology Marketing Expert James Michelson, author of Cross Media Marketing 101 from Schooner Press, will show you revolutionary systems that are currently bringing business to other industries, in some cases increasing sales by 100 percent or more through coordinated sales efforts leading to Web-based tools and systems. James will show you how to position your station to attract advertisers so you can eliminate what he calls "cold call hell," by overcoming objections prior to the time THEY CALL YOU and are already deep into the sales cycle.
This proven process is a game-changer that will revolutionize sales in any organization, increasing demand and raising rates. These documented systems will build the base to the point that you will have to turn low-margin customers away. And best of all, it is done quietly, in stealth mode, and your competitors will never know how you're getting so much new local direct business.
This is a must-see session. When implemented, it will more than pay for your trip to the conference. Is it easy? No, but not nearly as hard as you may think. Is it worthwhile? James will give specific examples of how companies are using these exact same systems in other business-to-business sales cycles and are generating large revenues from new clients without adding salespeople.
About James Michelson 
James Michelson is the founder of JFM Concepts, a software and direct-response and marketing technology firm, and the author of Cross Media Marketing 101: The concise guide to surviving in the C-Suite from Schooner Press. He is an internationally recognized cross-channel practitioner of direct marketing, cross-media, digital marketing, and sales. His personal experience spans both B2B and B2C sales and marketing leadership, direct-response marketing, advertising sales and planning, business-to-business software, consulting, services, and durable goods in various verticals to consumer products and services.
James has extensive international experience in the creation and execution of advanced direct cross-media and one-to-one (1:1) integrated digital campaigns in both traditional and new media channels in a wide variety of verticals for both direct sales and lead generation. He has personally sold, developed, and executed industry-recognized cross-media marketing strategies, beginning with radio and television promotion and transitioning prospects to the Web for the close for such firms as AAA, United Health Care, Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott, Hartford Insurance, California Closets, and many more.
James has appeared as the keynote at conferences, trade shows, and peer groups in a wide variety of industries. He has been engaged by the United States Postal Service, Kodak, Dscoop, PSDA, PODI, Asociacion Internacional de Ferias, the Direct Marketing Association, and many more. His case studies have been featured by PODI, the USPS, PSDA, and Kodak. James earned a BA from George Washington University and an MBA from Jacksonville University. He also served in the U.S. Navy as a commissioned officer.
CLICK HERE to register now.
PS: James Michelson's session will alter your impressions about the selling process and revolutionize the way you think about sales. You'll see dramatic sales increases, higher rates, and have the ability to turn non-productive business away, and you can watch your business grow. You'll want to be the first in your market to grab this stealth technology solution and implement it -- not to eliminate salespeople, but to supplement salespeople with significant increases within 90-120 days of full implementation.
Sign up for Radio Ink Convergence today. Grab a seat at 561-655-8778. The entire executive team at every station needs to attend, so those who plan on sending more than three attendees and sign up before 5 p.m. on May 22 can get a group discount. We think it's that important to have your team hear this system explained, because you won?t be able to explain it easily and you?ll need the full team to implement it. Sign up today.
Radio Ink Convergence
ZERO RISK GUARANTEE
If you're not satisfied with the content of Convergence, let us know by the end of day one, and we will refund 100 percent of your investment, and you can head home before day two.
Convergence 2014
June 4-5
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
Silicon Valley
www.radioconvergence.com
