Zell Looks To Take Control of WBEB In Philly

5-13-15

In exchange for another board member, Sam Zell is requesting the FCC transfer control of Jerry Lee's WBEB in Philadelphia. Zell is seeking three members of a larger five-member board (he now has one of three). Whether this means the station will be sold anytime soon is an unknown. Jerry Lee is one of the most beloved broadcasters in the radio industry and seen as one of the most successful independent operators. In the mid-2000's Sam Zell was the money that helped Jerry Lee as he bought out former partner Dave Kurtz. Lee paid $85,158,226. As everyone knows things came crashing down in the late 2000's

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(SALES) Taking Total Control Of The Sales Call

5-20-2013

Out in the field last week, I noticed some moves by a couple of young sales reps that exemplified controlling a sales call from start to finish.

On average, once we get into the meat of the sales call, we have about 17 minutes to accomplish our intended purpose. In this case, I had two different sales calls. The first was a CMP, or needs analysis, call and the other was a closing call for an annual agreement. No set-ups on these calls for me either -- they were the real deal. I ride with the reps we consult. It?s the only way to really see if the training, and most importantly, the in-field coaching by the sales manager is taking root. My purpose on the calls was observation as opposed to the reps meeting with me to ask for opinions or suggestions on their marketing.

1st call: CMP: This was done by a rookie 24-year-old sales rep with four months of media sales experience with her company. She had sent over the pre-call checklist on scouting the account for me to preview so I would have the knowledge of the account. We were calling on a real estate agent. As usual, things at a real estate company are pretty busy. The rep scheduled a 20-minute call for her needs gathering.

-- Establish control: The real estate agent came into the small conference room inside the brokerage and stated things were hectic and she needed to move quickly. She also said a client was waiting in the lobby for her. In most cases and even with veteran reps, they would short change this call. Not our new sales rep. She quickly says we will be 20 minutes as stated on her phone call to set up the appointment and proceeded to take out her CMP folder. She noted that the information stayed confidential and handed the CMP folder over to the real estate agent and asked her to check off the top three things that were most important to her from the 25 options. She did not deviate from her purpose on the sales call and quickly established that she was in control by having the real estate agent check off her wish list.

-- Power Domain: The real estate agent was in her power domain inside her company?s office. Our sales rep took a seat right next to the real estate agent. Subtle nuances of body language count in a sales call. The young rookie leveled the playing field early by sitting next to the agent.

-- Quantify, qualify, and set the next appointment. The rookie rep asked how many listings the agent was currently doing, how many would be a reasonable increase, and put a dollar figure to it. The rep also found out on a 1-to-10 question where the shortcomings were on the media the agent was currently using. A 5 and a 6 on her current advertising made the agent think that there was a better option out there versus what she was currently using. The next appointment was set.

In 48 hours the creative was done. Creative that truly rises above the clutter.
 
2nd call: Closing Annual: This call was done by a 26-year-old with three months of selling her display advertising. She previously had two years of radio sales experience. The advertiser was a car dealership. On this call, the ?technical buyer? showed up four minutes into the call. The ?tech buyer? was the decision-maker?s wife. 

-- Never flinching: The ?tech buyer? normally stalls the call. Remember, the ?tech buyer? can?t say yes, can only say no, and usually does. During the course of the call, the ?tech buyer? wants to use the new product before her husband can make the decision. The ?tech buyer? then says that on any creative, she needs to approve it before her husband can sign the agreement. This is a tough situation to overcome. The sales rep isolates the objections from the ?tech buyer? and says they are noted and continues on with her presentation all the while noting the needs of the wife. In many cases, I see the sales rep cave on a call like this and let the ?tech buyer? dominate. Not so here. The sales rep's eyes continued to focus on the decision-maker and his body language while casually looking at the wife and then back to the husband.

-- Time to close: Yes, the first one who talks does own it. On several occasions this call could have gone back to the drawing board. The sales rep stayed the course, asked for the annual, and got the signature. The objections all came from the wife. By the end of the call, the sales rep had plans to go have drinks with the wife. The wife asked that new creative be done before her husband could sign. The rep said she would redo the creative after the signature. This is the way to do it -- instead of having to keep going back and redoing creative, get the signature and then redo the creative. Otherwise, you could be on a nine-month wedding march and you never close it.

Sean Luce is the Head International Instructor for the Luce Performance Group International and can be reached at sean@luceperformancegroup.com or www.luceperformancegroup.com.

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With Liberty in Control, Board Members Resign

1-22-2013

Leon Black, Lawrence Gilberti and Jack Shaw resigned from the Sirius XM board of directors after it became official that John Malone's Liberty Media was now in control. Mark Carleton, Robin Pringle and Charles Tanabe fill the vacancies. Interim CEO James Meyer, who took over after the resignation of Mel Karmazin, also joined the board. Liberty gained majority control of Sirius last week after purchasing 50 million shares of Sirius XM pushing it to 50.2 percent. Liberty plans to spin off its stake in Sirius.

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(SOCIAL) How to Take Control

10-10-2012

You always see advice about how you can do more with social media. How about some advice on control? Can control help you have more effective social media that makes you seem more human? Can you get more from your efforts simply by maintaining control? Let?s check out four ways to have more control and why they are effective for radio personalities and radio stations.

1. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You?ve heard it. The golden rule. It?s so true in social media. Think of social media as a ?friendly? environment where ?friendly? works wonders. So, focus on helping others and see how well it works in making your social media much more productive.

2. Don?t over share. Remember that being cool on social media is more about listening and validating others. If you?re always focused on your message, your promotion, your contests, you may miss your biggest opportunities to score real loyalty points. People are loyal to the people that validate them. Get busy ? but make sure you are listening a lot and focused on listeners (not the station).

3. Think before you post. That?s right. This works just like the home game (for those of you who are married). You have to think before you put yourself out there on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. After all, your image is created every day by the way you present yourself in social media today. Remember: No matter what happens, you will reveal more about yourself than you think you will. Be sure it?s how you want to be remembered.

4. Do have a strategy; don?t overthink your strategy. Don't overthink it to the point where you don?t seem authentic. Being real is exceedingly critical in social media. Yes, you should have a plan. Think about what you want to accomplish, but remember that authenticity, creativity and being ?for real? all count for a lot with listeners.

There is so much you can do in social media, but your biggest opportunities could involve just these four basic elements of control that allow you to engage listeners and use creativity, great content, control, and helpfulness to explode your effectiveness.

 Loyd Ford is the direct marketing, ratings and social media strategist for Americalist and programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes for years, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte and WBEE in Rochester, NY. Learn more about Loyd here:  http://about.me/loydford. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE  Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE

(10/10/2012 7:31:24 AM)
I worked for Ford in Greenville, SC. and read his post on face book. I think he is always right on the money with his ideas and his knowledge of how social media works. thanks to Loyd for all his help in the past years . Not just in Social Media but when i worked for and with him at WSSL & WMYI . thanks

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Liberty Plans to Take Control of Sirius

Today Liberty Media filed an application with the FCC for Consent to Transfer Control. Sirius says it will fully cooperate with the commission as it evaluates the application. In the application, Liberty indicates it ?intends to purchase sufficient additional shares of Sirius common stock such that, upon conversion of its Preferred Shares, it will own more than 50% of the total outstanding shares of Sirius? Liberty Media also noted that it will ?have purchased sufficient shares of Sirius? common stock and will convert its Preferred Shares such that the transfer of control will be completed within 60 days of Commission consent.?

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FCC Rejects Liberty Request To Control SiriusXM

Friday the FCC dismissed John Malone's company to take control of Sirius XM Radio. Liberty has a 40% stake in Sirius XM and, much to the dismay of Mel Karmazin, applied to the FCC to take "defacto control." Liberty acquired its 40 percent stake in 2009 as part of deal in which it loaned the satellite radio provider $530 million to help it avoid bankruptcy. The FCC said the Liberty application was not sufficient to show it was in control of the company. Liberty was not able to get passwords, signatures and other information from Sirius XM to properly submit its application, the FCC said.

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Damage Control at Clear Channel Cleveland

4-30-2012

A GM's nightmare becomes reality in Cleveland. How do you manage a situation when one of your employees does something to offend an entire community and puts you in "limit the damage" mode. Market Manager Gary Mincer is in charge of managing some Cleveland drama when when extremely offensive comments were made by morning man Dominic Dieter (pictured).

Dieter, reportedly received an email from a parent who caught his teenage daughter kissing another girl. In response, Dieter, while in the air, said to the father, "You should get one of your friends to screw your daughter straight."

It was so shocking that other members of the morning show were critical of Dieter. As far as we can tell Dieter is off the air for now but has not been fired. Mincer sent a statement to Radio Ink about the incident. "WMMS is aware of the complaint regarding a recent comment made by Dominic Dieter that aired this past Friday. We take matters of this nature very seriously; his comment was thoughtless and unacceptable, and we apologize to those who were offended.   We can assure you the appropriate disciplinary action has been taken, and Dieter has since apologized on air and is fully aware that what he said was unacceptable."

"We also want you to be aware that during Friday?s broadcast, he was in fact immediately criticized on-air by the other hosts of the show, and the rest of the segment was dedicated to a productive discussion about the acceptance of all lifestyles. It included call-ins and commentary from members and friends of the gay community.  WMMS supports the gay community and again, we deeply apologize."

Here is a transcript of Dieter's apology:
"I just wanted to say that, I know on the show this past Friday I made some comments that people found?considered to be offensive. And I just wanted to say, I understand why people are angry. I want to genuinely apologize to anyone who may have been offended by what I said. I regret what I did say. My comments were inappropriate. They were inexcusable, and just downright stupid. And I want to make it clear; there was absolutely no intention to promote physical or sexual violence. And I?m truly, truly sorry by my poor choice of words that led people to believe otherwise."

If Dieter was your morning man what would you do?
Leave your comments below.

(5/1/2012 11:02:55 PM)
Bunch of cry babies.... if you don't like what you heard, don't listen. The guy made an attempt to be funny and people took it the wrong way. The show wasn't even live. It was a bunch of replay from previous years. If you wanted to make a big deal about it should have been addressed months ago when it was actually said.
(5/1/2012 6:59:38 PM)
Or, as John Edwards said, "I'm so straight, I want to be a lesbian. Can I count on your vote?" (Okay. He didn't say that. I made it up.)

Meanwhile and since this situation is now real, how 'bout station management issues an apology. Something along the lines of: "Given the context of the call and the caller, we are sorry for forcing our man to apologize. Part of the reason we hired him is because he can also get raunchy. We urge any listener who is offended to turn him off. While we read listener complaints, we are not obliged to respond or take any actions whatsoever."

In other words: If station management can't listen to their own programming, they're at the wrong station.

(5/1/2012 4:24:37 PM)
People who are offended by this aren't seeing the whole picture, they are just reacting to an outrageous comment. In the first place, the caller was looking to someone who calls himself "Rover" for advice about his daughter. Are you kidding me? Does this guy call the Three Stooges for financial advice? Dieter is paid to be an idiot and he does his job quite well. To me, this is a lot like South Park or Family Guy. It's all funny until it targets you. Change the channel if you don't like it!
(5/1/2012 1:24:25 PM)
As a gay person I find the comment extremely offensive..... BUT is there a long pattern of this thinking.... I say have gay supportive guests to discuss topics like these.... This is an educating moment..... I hope he can be salvaged from the waste dump of bigots....

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Entercom Takes Control of KBLX in S.F. Tomorrow.

4-27-2012
Entercom says it will begin operating KBLX in San Francisco under a time brokerage agreement (TBA) beginning Tuesday, May 1 and Steve Harvey will take over mornings on May 7th.  The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has approved the TBA and the sale of KBLX to Entercom.  The closing of the transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including approval of the Federal Communications Commission, and is expected to close later this year. 

The Steve Harvey Morning Show will begin broadcasting at 6am on Monday, May 7. Steve Harvey is not just a radio personality?he?s a television host, best-selling author, and a brand-name comedian.  Harvey?s first book Act Like a Lady, Think Like A Man, spent 60 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and is currently the #1 movie in America.

?Entercom couldn?t be more excited to start working with a tremendous heritage brand like KBLX.  KBLX has done a magnificent job of serving the local community, and we look forward to continuing to do that at Entercom,? said Dwight Walker, Entercom San Francisco Vice President and Market Manager.  ?Adding Steve Harvey in the morning makes KBLX better. His mass appeal will resonate with KBLX listeners and bring in a wider audience over time. Steve?s success in markets across the country will make a difference with our clients and advertisers.?

"KBLX has a long history in San Francisco and I truly feel blessed to be a part of their lineup. A special thanks to my friends at Entercom for their confidence in bringing The Steve Harvey Morning Show to the Bay Area. This has been a great week for me,? said Steve Harvey. ?I have the number #1 book and movie in the country at the same time. Now, I'm in the Bay Area, and I want to continue this winning streak! I will be waking KBLX listeners up every morning with inspiration and a whole lot of Funny!?

(4/29/2012 11:46:21 PM)
I am a long time fan of KBLX'smorning show. Although I like Steve Harvey and have followed his career since his stand up days, he is not a replacement for Kevin Brown and the current KBLX morning crew. I guess I will have to try another radio station as this move is not acceptable to this listener.
(4/28/2012 10:59:26 PM)
As a family, we listen to Kevin and Nikki in the mornings on the way to work and school. This is a very sad day for all of us, and I wish Kevin and Nikki the best. They will be TERRIBLY missed on our HWY 80 commute.....
(4/28/2012 10:05:06 PM)
Wth? Nooool one want Steve in the morning..horrible move...I also heard that Antione Davis was fired too...smh..
(4/28/2012 7:47:33 PM)
NOt a good move!!! Kevin is a bay area favorite!! You will loose alot of BAY area listners!!
(4/28/2012 2:08:59 PM)
As a long time, older listener of KBLX, I am very disappointed that the station has been sold and that Kevin Brown will no longer be a part of the line-up. I enjoyed the morning banter that he had with Nikki and I liked the music, especially the "Old Jams", ie: Gladys, Temptations, OJays, Aretha, etc.

I'm sure Steve Harvey will be great, but he's too edgy for me and he's eliminating home town favorites, so you'll probably lose me as a listener. Do you plan to get rid of the Gospel part too?

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Kassof Says Pandora Subscribers Like Control.

4-24-2012

New research released by Mark Kassof & Co. says Pandora listeners perceive FM radio as more different than similar to Pandora, and that the choice and control Pandora gives them is the biggest difference. Kassof based his findings on 1,177 online surveys with 18-64-year-old Pandora listeners in the U.S., conducted from April 10-12, 2012.

In the survey, Pandora listeners compared seven music sources to Pandora. Of them, iHeartRadio is most like Pandora; FM radio ranks fifth. Forty-nine percent (of those who have an opinion) rate FM a ?one? or ?two? on a scale where one means ?Totally different from Pandora? and five means ?Exactly the same as Pandora.? Twenty-nine percent rate FM one, while only 10% rate it five.

Among those who see FM as clearly different from Pandora (the ?ones? and ?twos?), Pandora?s ability to let them choose what they want to hear is the #1 difference, at 31%. More specific choices -- for example, the ability to select genres, select artists and skip songs -- also relate to the control they think Pandora gives them that FM doesn?t. Seventy-six percent of these listeners (who express an opinion) say the differences make Pandora ?better to listen to? than FM.

More details can be found at kassof.com.

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Pittman Takes Full Control of Clear Channel

In 2011 he was named The Most Powerful Person in Radio by Radio Ink and now there is no doubt. A Sunday night press release shot out to the media by Clear Channel makes it crystal clear that, lass than a year after coming on board, Bob Pittman is now in full control of the company. Pittman has been named CEO of Clear Channel Media Holdings. Pittman will now oversee Radio, Digital, Outdoor and International Outdoor. Clear Channel Radio President John Hogan told Radio Ink "this is a terrific opportunity for the company and I could not be happier. Bob is so experienced, so passionate, and so broadly visionary that I think CCOA and CCOI will benefit as CCR has from his input and involvement. Bob has been terrific for me over last 10 months and I think he'll be equally as beneficial to the CEOs and teams at CC Outdoor."

When Mark Mays stepped down as CEO early this year, Clear Channel established a new position called "Office of the CEO" to serve the functions of the CEO until a permanent replacement for Mays was found. Clear Channel appointed Executive VP/CFO Tom Casey and General Counsel Robert Walls as co-CEO's keeping their regular responsibilities. Mays, who is still Chairman of the Clear Channel Board said ?On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to express how delighted I am that Bob has accepted this position. He has been an invaluable contributor to Clear Channel Radio since last November, and he is the perfect person to take Clear Channel to the next level. I look forward to his leadership of our company.?

Pittman is more than an executive for radio's largest company. He's become a champion and cheerleader for the entire radio industry. His presentation at the Radio show last month was all about how strong the industry is, not just the marketing punch Clear Channel brings to the advertiser's table. His past history guarantees a packed room for any speech or presentation he gives and Pittman's pro-radio facts are detailed with charts, graphs and slides that has every one in the room taking notes.

The real question is how Pittman convinced his wife it was OK to take on more responsibility with Clear Channel. Last month he said, half joking (we think) she wanted him to do less, not more. Pittman told Radio Ink last night, "she saw how much fun I was having--and realized, as I have, that I am hard-wired for opportunities like this." So bring on the extra work.

In the Clear Channel press release Pittman said ?Over the past year, I?ve had the unique opportunity to look at the Clear Channel people and assets up close and have found myself increasingly drawn to the company, to the point where the chance to get even more deeply involved has just become irresistible. I know first-hand that we have great people and the assets that allow them to do great things. We are so much more than just transmitters and broadcast towers ? we leverage our local brands, personalities, strategic relationships and programming expertise to create unique experiences that forge real connections with consumers across our multiple platforms.?

Pittman also says he looks forward to continuing to work closely with John Hogan and the Clear Channel Radio team "to grow our company as we strengthen relationships with our consumers, advertisers, artists, labels and partners, nationally and locally.

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