Minneapolis DJ Takes Leave Due To Stalker

Mary Lucia, a DJ with Minnesota Public Radio's KCMP/89.3 The Current, announced she is leaving the airwaves temporarily due to a stalker that's been following her at work and at home. Lucia posted an open letter on the station's website detailing the mental trauma she's endured. In the note, she said : "My life over the last year has involved a series of restraining orders, seemingly endless calls to 911, the installation of security cameras at home, and police photo ID line-ups. I've been constantly looking over my shoulder, dead-bolting doors, and jumping when someone rings my doorbell or my motion lights go off." The 21-year veteran of Twin Cities radio hopes to be back on the airwaves soon.

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Consumers to Automakers: We Love AM/FM Radio. Leave it!

4-8-15

We're used to hearing radio executives scream from the rooftops that radio is vibrant, successful and consumers love us. But that's like the CEO of McDonalds saying his French Fries are the best in the country. It's always better when an outsider supports your position and is also willing to shout it from the rooftops. That's what Forbes contributor Christopher Versace did for radio, especially when it comes to what consumers want and expect in their automobile dash. His warning to automakers...don't get too enamored with the latest digital technology and forget that consumers still love their AM/FM radio.

Versace referenced a new IPSOS poll which says that while consumers do want changes to their infotainment system, they still want AM and FM radio to remain the heart and soul of their car entertainment. "When 1,000 adults were sampled and asked about their car audio preferences, 91% said they desire typical car radio with 9% preferring an app-based system. Per the data, 84% of respondents listen to AM/FM radio while relatively new systems like Sirius/XM, Pandora  and Spotify came in at 22%, 18% and 7%, respectively.  Finally, when asked about their preferences for entertainment options in their next car, 80% of consumers chose AM/FM over CD players, connected smartphones and other forms of audio entertainment."

The article also cited a number of reasons why consumers still love radio. None of them will be a surprise to you. "Some listen to AM/FM radio for the music. With so many listeners, even as different mediums and technology have changed the landscape, getting a song played on terrestrial radio is the quickest and surest way to stardom.  For those looking to sell products, the sheer size of the audience makes radio advertising one of the most effective ways to market goods and services.  And for local news and information, there is nothing like broadcast radio. It?s not like satellite radio will provide you with a local weather forecast."

Versace offers up the following advice to automakers. "Despite America?s love affair with terrestrial radio, salesmen of the latest modern equipment and authors who fancy themselves as the next Isaac Asimov suggest its time for automobile manufacturers are considering replacing the AM/FM radio in your car with an app-driven system that would remove the consumer?s ability to get local terrestrial radio in their car.  Based on heavily sampled consumer preferences, the data suggests this would be a grave mistake."

Read the full Forbes piece HERE and don't forget to join us for DASH on November 4 and 5

(4/9/2015 6:39:53 PM)
Radio connects people to the communities in which they live. Other forms of media do not. It is just that simple. Period!
(4/9/2015 3:29:28 PM)
What the internet heads don't want you to know is how much people prefer a dash CD player over all the pay stuff. The great unwashed prefer AM'FM radio plus a CD deck. Automakers in cahoots with XM Sirrius tried for 15 years to kill terrestrial radio in cars. After all the effort, satellite radio is still small portion of auto audience. I reject the opinions of people who text and drive. They have no brains.
(4/9/2015 12:42:07 PM)
I drive a BMW. To tune the radio, one must go through a complex, uncooperative
digital dashbosrd device.
Changing stations is difficult and s road hazard. There are times, for safety's sake, that I must drive off the road, park the car and tune. I want a stand alone AM FM Radio. This is my third BMW with the same issues.
(4/9/2015 11:07:09 AM)
We are the last totally free source of entertainment. That is a key component of what we should be saying. It is also why we have a target on our backs. Do not forget that in our battle against all of these paid subscription services.
(4/9/2015 8:12:43 AM)
Am I wrong in thinking there's plenty of room for everything? There is in the dash of my cars. Note to manufacturers: Electronics are pretty compact these days and pretty cheap too. Either/or thinking isn't the American way that I know. We want it all!

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(SALES) When to Get Up & Leave A Client Meeting

9-4-2013

A friend of mine forwarded a post that someone wrote about a big buy that went south, even after the client had initially said ?Yes.? The problem was that one of the salespeople on the call wouldn?t shut up. She got so excited about what she was selling that she extended the length of the meeting by nearly an hour. She was so wrapped up in details that she never noticed the panicked expressions on the faces of her teammates. In the end, the client, besieged with too much information, declined the offer.

I have found myself in a similar situation on more than one occasion. In one case, I was pitching the media buyer for a large soft-drink account. He said yes to my proposals to buy all of our stations. I got up to shake his hand and leave, but my sales manager who accompanied me on the call, insisted on showing the client reams of additional ratings data and color graphs. Again I tried to leave, but the manager wouldn?t stop talking (he had spent a lot of time on his presentation and he wanted to pontificate on every page). Suddenly, he showed a graph that illustrated a demographic weakness with one of our stations. The client changed his mind and decided not to buy that station. I was livid, as it cost me 30 percent of the original buy.

Another time, as a very new seller, I was pitching the owner of a local office products business. I showed him three proposals: high, medium, and low. To my surprise, he opted for the biggest schedule. I remember thinking that I should leave now, but instead I engaged him in further conversation. In the middle of a story, he cut me off and said he?d feel more comfortable with the medium-sized package. Instead of leaving at that point, I stayed, thinking that perhaps I could get him to change his mind. Well, he did. While I was talking, he talked himself into taking the smallest proposal. Geez! I finally got out with what was left of my original proposal and with my tail between my legs. Had I stayed longer, I would have probably wound up owing him make-goods and a free remote.

Those two very expensive lessons taught me this. When the client says yes, it?s time to get up and leave, because buyer?s remorse sets in quickly. To heck with the rest of your proposal. GET UP AND LEAVE. I?ll stand up and say, ?Thank you, I?m going back to the station now so I can lock these dates and production times in for you.? And you leave. Right then. I?m out like a fat kid in dodge ball. No sticking around. No joking, no long goodbyes, BAM, you?re gone. Or, you might say, ?I know how busy you are. Thank you for your time and thank you for your business. I?m headed back to the station so I can take care of this for you immediately.? And then, you leave. As quickly as possible. As they say, ?Quitting while you?re ahead isn?t quitting.?

Paul Weyland is the local direct broadcast sales trainer. He helps radio and television sales staffs (and their clients) increase their revenues. Paul can be reached at 512 236 1222 or buy books and compact discs at www.paulweyland.com or on www.amazon.com

(9/6/2013 12:51:12 AM)
5N5oUU I really liked your blog article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
(9/4/2013 9:41:32 AM)
Indeed; it's seldom a good to speak past the period.

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(SALES) When to Get Up & Leave A Client Meeting

9-4-2013

A friend of mine forwarded a post that someone wrote about a big buy that went south, even after the client had initially said ?Yes.? The problem was that one of the salespeople on the call wouldn?t shut up. She got so excited about what she was selling that she extended the length of the meeting by nearly an hour. She was so wrapped up in details that she never noticed the panicked expressions on the faces of her teammates. In the end, the client, besieged with too much information, declined the offer.

I have found myself in a similar situation on more than one occasion. In one case, I was pitching the media buyer for a large soft-drink account. He said yes to my proposals to buy all of our stations. I got up to shake his hand and leave, but my sales manager who accompanied me on the call, insisted on showing the client reams of additional ratings data and color graphs. Again I tried to leave, but the manager wouldn?t stop talking (he had spent a lot of time on his presentation and he wanted to pontificate on every page). Suddenly, he showed a graph that illustrated a demographic weakness with one of our stations. The client changed his mind and decided not to buy that station. I was livid, as it cost me 30 percent of the original buy.

Another time, as a very new seller, I was pitching the owner of a local office products business. I showed him three proposals: high, medium, and low. To my surprise, he opted for the biggest schedule. I remember thinking that I should leave now, but instead I engaged him in further conversation. In the middle of a story, he cut me off and said he?d feel more comfortable with the medium-sized package. Instead of leaving at that point, I stayed, thinking that perhaps I could get him to change his mind. Well, he did. While I was talking, he talked himself into taking the smallest proposal. Geez! I finally got out with what was left of my original proposal and with my tail between my legs. Had I stayed longer, I would have probably wound up owing him make-goods and a free remote.

Those two very expensive lessons taught me this. When the client says yes, it?s time to get up and leave, because buyer?s remorse sets in quickly. To heck with the rest of your proposal. GET UP AND LEAVE. I?ll stand up and say, ?Thank you, I?m going back to the station now so I can lock these dates and production times in for you.? And you leave. Right then. I?m out like a fat kid in dodge ball. No sticking around. No joking, no long goodbyes, BAM, you?re gone. Or, you might say, ?I know how busy you are. Thank you for your time and thank you for your business. I?m headed back to the station so I can take care of this for you immediately.? And then, you leave. As quickly as possible. As they say, ?Quitting while you?re ahead isn?t quitting.?

Paul Weyland is the local direct broadcast sales trainer. He helps radio and television sales staffs (and their clients) increase their revenues. Paul can be reached at 512 236 1222 or buy books and compact discs at www.paulweyland.com or on www.amazon.com

(9/4/2013 9:41:32 AM)
Indeed; it's seldom a good to speak past the period.

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Holland Leave Saga For WCVO

6-17-13

Saga says Brand Manager TJ Holland has left the company to work for Christian Contemporary station, WCVO in Columbus. So the search is underway for a new Brand Manager (formerly known as PD's at Saga) for the company's three stations in Columbus, OH. Materials can be sent to Executive VP for Saga Steve Goldstein at  BrandManager@sagacom.com

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Is Mel Getting Ready to Leave Sirius?

8-30-2012

Let the speculation begin. The Sirius XM stock will be an intersting one to watch on Friday. The company announced that CEO Mel Karmazin "has adopted a trading plan" and will be selling 30 million shares, possibly by mid-September. How will the market react knowing that Karmazin's contract expires at the end of this year and with Liberty creeping closer to taking a majority position in the company. Karmazin briefly mentioned his contract on Sirius' Q2 conference call but he certainly did not comitt to returning. Officially from the company, the Karmazin trading plan "is intended to facilitate Mr. Karmazin's personal financial planning strategy of asset diversification and liquidity."

(8/30/2012 9:16:12 PM)
Good for Mel!
Don't trust Malone, he will screw your ass!!

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T.I. to Leave Halfway House, Rejoin Society on Thursday

by Associated Press  |   September 29, 2011 9:05 EDT

Rapper T.I. is set to be released from an Atlanta halfway house after spending about 10 months in federal prison on a probation violation.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, was arrested in September 2010 in Los Angeles on drug charges. He was sentenced to 11 months in prison for violating the terms of the probation he received after he was convicted of federal firearms charges.

50 Musician Mugshots

He was released from an Arkansas prison and sent to the halfway house on Aug. 31, put back in federal lock-up over a dispute with prison officials, and then returned to the halfway house Sept. 15.

Attorney Steve Sadow said he wasn't sure what time the performer would be released, and corrections officials declined comment.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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