How to Fix What's Wrong With Management?

12-22-14
A Japanese company and a United States company decided to have a canoe race on the St. Lawrence River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. How does this relate to radio? Let me explain.

A team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. So, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

To prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team?s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder.

It was called the ?Rowing Team Quality First Program?, with meetings, dinners and free pens to the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices, and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated the American management laid off the rowers for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles and cancelled all capital investments in new equipment. The money saved was distributed to senior executives as bonuses and next year?s racing team was outsourced to China.

I found that on a website called tickld, in their section called ?funny.? Sadly what?s funny about it is that we all can relate. We all have a story about some management misstep that we?ve made, or that we have experienced from others. How you manage and coach your team clearly has a significant impact on their development.

We think of Vince Lombardi or Phil Jackson as coaching giants. But YOU can become a coaching giant to every member of your sales team. Unlock your sales team?s potential by doing more coaching than training.

Coaching works better than training in many situations.  Master the art of coaching and you can take ?putting out fires? off your job description. If you find out exactly how to get into your salespeople's heads, you can influence their thinking and their behavior.

Shared this with your managers:

?The first step in influencing your salespeople?s thinking
?The secret of getting your salespeople to do what you need them to do
?How to eliminate "Got a Minute" meetings
?The five types of one-on-one meetings
?The best time to coach-when coaching works best
?The 7 critical differences between coaching and training
?How to free up massive amounts of your day by spending a little more time coaching
?The best definition of coaching we've seen
?The 7- question coaching rule that changes everything
?What mentors do

It?s Christmas week. As my gift to Radio Ink readers, I would like to provide you with a free copy of a one-hour webinar on this topic, complete with the slide deck and all the resources and tools we shared with our managers.  Just shoot me an email and I will send you the link.  It?s been my honor to be with you every week sharing ideas and engaging in discussions about sales and sales management. Creating a better sales team, generating greater revenue, and having your best year ever starts with a commitment to grow your skills. This free gift can help.

You?ve no doubt already ?set your course? for 2015 and determined where you want to go. Knowing where you?re headed is the first step to getting there. Equally important is knowing how many rowers you need and how to get the maximum performance out of your rowing team.

Merry Christmas!

Think Big, Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is EVP and Partner with Chris Lytle at Sparque, Inc. At Sparque We believe in challenging the status quo and thinking differently about sales and sales training. We believe training should be an investment based on a desired outcome rather than something you ?buy by-the-hour.? You can reach me at Jeff.Schmidt@Sparque.biz

Twitter: @JeffreyASchmidt
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/schmidtjeffrey

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How to Fix What's Wrong With Management?

12-22-14
A Japanese company and a United States company decided to have a canoe race on the St. Lawrence River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. How does this relate to radio? Let me explain.

A team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. So, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

To prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team?s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder.

It was called the ?Rowing Team Quality First Program?, with meetings, dinners and free pens to the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices, and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated the American management laid off the rowers for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles and cancelled all capital investments in new equipment. The money saved was distributed to senior executives as bonuses and next year?s racing team was outsourced to China.

I found that on a website called tickld, in their section called ?funny.? Sadly what?s funny about it is that we all can relate. We all have a story about some management misstep that we?ve made, or that we have experienced from others. How you manage and coach your team clearly has a significant impact on their development.

We think of Vince Lombardi or Phil Jackson as coaching giants. But YOU can become a coaching giant to every member of your sales team. Unlock your sales team?s potential by doing more coaching than training.

Coaching works better than training in many situations.  Master the art of coaching and you can take ?putting out fires? off your job description. If you find out exactly how to get into your salespeople's heads, you can influence their thinking and their behavior.

Shared this with your managers:

?The first step in influencing your salespeople?s thinking
?The secret of getting your salespeople to do what you need them to do
?How to eliminate "Got a Minute" meetings
?The five types of one-on-one meetings
?The best time to coach-when coaching works best
?The 7 critical differences between coaching and training
?How to free up massive amounts of your day by spending a little more time coaching
?The best definition of coaching we've seen
?The 7- question coaching rule that changes everything
?What mentors do

It?s Christmas week. As my gift to Radio Ink readers, I would like to provide you with a free copy of a one-hour webinar on this topic, complete with the slide deck and all the resources and tools we shared with our managers.  Just shoot me an email and I will send you the link.  It?s been my honor to be with you every week sharing ideas and engaging in discussions about sales and sales management. Creating a better sales team, generating greater revenue, and having your best year ever starts with a commitment to grow your skills. This free gift can help.

You?ve no doubt already ?set your course? for 2015 and determined where you want to go. Knowing where you?re headed is the first step to getting there. Equally important is knowing how many rowers you need and how to get the maximum performance out of your rowing team.

Merry Christmas!

Think Big, Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is EVP and Partner with Chris Lytle at Sparque, Inc. At Sparque We believe in challenging the status quo and thinking differently about sales and sales training. We believe training should be an investment based on a desired outcome rather than something you ?buy by-the-hour.? You can reach me at Jeff.Schmidt@Sparque.biz

Twitter: @JeffreyASchmidt
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/schmidtjeffrey

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Lucas Joins CMG Management Team In Atlanta

10-15-13

CMG Atlanta has named Kris Lucas co-GSM for WSB-FM, WALR-FM, and WSRV-FM. On November 18, Lucas will partner with co-GSM Adam Wolfson to lead the cluster?s sales teams. Lucas has seven years of sales management experience, formerly with Summit Media Corp in Richmond as GSM for WKHK, WKLR, WURV, and WHTI. Lucas was previously with CMG before it sold the Richmond cluster to Summit in May. Prior to Summit and CMG, Lucas was with Clear Channel in Tampa for 12 years as a sales manager and AE.

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(MANAGEMENT) Downsizing: Manage This!

8-14-2013

No matter how accustomed we become to it, consolidations and layoffs produce ripple effects up and down a station corridor. No one is immune to the stress and anxiety that accompany each new wave of change and every rumor that follows. And no one is more on the frontline than the manager who has to implement and execute what, in most cases, a distant corporate headquarters has mandated.

Managing change is never easy and there is no surefire rule of thumb for successfully navigating through it. No two circumstances and no two staffs are the same. Gut instinct often comes into play. Still, there are a few general tips that can help managers manage massive changes and their staffs stay the course, weather the storm and keep on track.

1. Leave the door open, literally. Nothing causes stomach churning or feeds the rumor mill more than a manager?s closed door. While some conversations may require confidential and private meetings, try to keep them to a minimum. Nothing fosters fear more than a constantly closed door, especially if it is not the norm.

2. Be visible. Walk the hallways; visit the studios and sales offices. Stop by traffic and accounting. Your face provides a degree of comfort and stability at a crucial time. And for heaven?s sake, make sure the face you show is pleasant and natural. A grim-faced boss translates as a bad omen. It?s one thing to be serious ? especially if five people have just been let go ? but a dour face is hardly reassuring, inspiring, or motivating.

3. Communicate openly as often and as honestly as possible. Think ?damage control? because this is essentially a situation that calls for proactive management and damage control. You need to control the information being delivered, not only at the station, but in the press as well. Be honest as possible with staff. If you don?t know something, admit it. Don?t fudge, don?t dodge; explain in plain English, succinctly and clearly, what has happened, why, and what further action, if any, you expect next. Remember, ?no news? is not necessarily ?good news.? ?No news? is a rumor waiting to happen.

4. Make yourself available for one-on-one meetings with staff members. Listen to their concerns about the changes. You should already know their career goals and aspirations but, if not, now is the time to find out. It?s important to acknowledge and discuss those now. Some changes may call for a new road map to be drawn but it?s vital that you provide counsel and encouragement to valued employees that there is still room for growth and reason to stay the course.

5. Be cost conscious in all areas of operation. People have, after all, lost jobs due to cutbacks or consolidation. Now is not the time to be lavish, but this is also not the time to go anorexic. Counting paper clips at every turn in the road does not relax or relieve stress. Pizza and cold beer or soft drinks do. Find ways for your staff to bond. Bonding offers a welcome dose of camaraderie and an antidote to depressed morale. Strive to gently direct the conversation at these get-togethers in a positive direction but let the chatter flow naturally and freely.

6. Know when it?s time to shut down the negative vibes. People have a right to how they feel and need a chance to express those feelings and concerns. There comes a point, however, when it?s time to move on. If negative attitudes and whispered gossip persist once the dust has settled, a manager needs to step in and take control. Like the weather, you can?t always control the circumstances of the change. You can only try to provide an umbrella against the storm for those still on board. That means everyone has to walk together to stay dry. Those who can?t need to leave for the good of the whole.

Change is never easy and managing through change is one of the biggest challenges a manager faces. In today?s environment, it?s probably also unavoidable. Your station family, however, is looking to you for wisdom and leadership at a difficult period. Every decision may not be perfect but if you lead with openness and wisdom, chances are your team will follow, umbrella in tow.

Deborah Parenti is EVP/Radio for Radio Ink. E-mail:parenti@aol.com

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(MANAGEMENT) Lame Ads Must Go

8-12-2013

Radio?s greatest opportunities over the next decade lie in helping our advertisers increase their business through emotionally engaging radio commercials.

A study released by OMD in 2007 found that emotionally engaging commercials can achieve up to eight times the return on investment compared to non-engaging ones. We also know that being ?on emotion? is even more important than being on message. But the true key to success is being able to predict whether a commercial will engage emotionally before it airs. I have discovered a way radio can produce engaging commercials 100 percent of the time. This is a game-changer for our industry and our advertisers.

I have access to a system of testing creative that has been developed by a leading consumer behaviorist named Dan Hill, president of Sensory Logic in Minneapolis. Dan has used the science of facial coding to accurately determine a commercial?s engagement level. In collaboration with Dan, we have created a webinar at www.WriteToEngage.com. All of our copywriters use this tool, and I suggest anyone interested in growing their business take a half hour to view it as well.

According to Gallup and Robinson, emotionally engaging radio commercials are even slightly better than engaging television commercials. Now consider that advertising on radio is less than half the cost of advertising on television. This in itself shows that radio can produce more than double the return for each dollar spent on television.

Another advantage of radio is that it?s personal. Keith Reinhard, the legendary chairman of DDB, shares the story of watching a commercial on television for a Thanksgiving dinner. The family he sees on TV is a nice family, but it?s not his family. Similar creative on radio introduces your family into the commercial. Listeners picture their own families sitting around the dinner table, and, when they do, they are engaged emotionally. This more than doubles the effectiveness of the commercial, potentially giving an advertiser four times the sales for every dollar spent on radio as opposed to television.

Let me share two specific success stories with you.

The first one is a carpet and flooring store. Prior to advertising with my radio station, their top-of-mind awareness score was 11.1 percent. A competitor was leading the field with a score of 17.5 percent. Fourteen weeks after launching their engaging radio campaign, their score soared to 23 percent, making them the highest top-of-mind advertiser in their category.

Around the same time, we had similar results with a heating and air conditioning company. Their TOMA score was only 6.3 percent before their spots aired. After 14 weeks, their score increased dramatically to 27 percent and they became the top-of-mind leader in their category as well. These are just two current examples of radio done right.

There is another opportunity for radio: It?s called granularity analytics, offered by a group led by MRI along with Arbitron and Media Monitors. With this technology, ad agencies can, for the first time, measure radio?s ROI within their media mix.

This can be a blessing or a curse. Since only 20 percent of radio commercials produced are engaging, we risk losing major pieces of business that we are currently getting. Or we can test our advertisers? commercials and offer creative assistance to guarantee their success.

My challenge to the radio industry is simple: We now have a system that can produce results for our advertisers. Are you willing to step up to the plate and seize the opportunity?

I am willing to offer my expertise and work in tandem with the RAB. But in order to make this plan work, I need your financial support.

Send me a note at jerryl@101-fm.com if you want to grow radio in cooperation with Erica Farber and the RAB.

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Stress Management Expert Kelly Orchard

6-19-2013

Kelly Orchard thinks the stress of our biz has made us crazy...the wrong type of crazy.

We've all joked from time to time about the mental state of the radio workforce, yet Kelly feels it's for real. She's currently creating and refining a series of presentations, webinars, and consultations on the issue of stress management, anxiety, and productivity, all in the hope of giving positivity to a mental health perspective.

Kelly Orchard is a second-generation broadcaster who has worked not only with her family's radio stations but also (with her dad) operated an FCC compliance consultancy.

From there came a turn in the road for Kelly. "A few years ago I began a journey to pursue a Master's Degree in Psychology and have been working as a therapist, maintaining Orchard Media Services from the sidelines hoping that the economy will turn around or radio would figure out what it's going to do and so on. I followed the trades, maintained relationships within the industry, even graduated from the NABEF's Broadcast Leadership training program.

"As I continued to consult with stations about their FCC compliance plans, I couldn't help but become extremely aware of the stress, anxiety, and general frustration and discouragement at the state of the industry. I'm on a mission to provide peace of mind, mental wellness tips, and help my friends in the industry because I see it all of the time. I'm a media and mental health advocate."

Kelly not only feels our relationships in the building need work but also our relationship with our audience. She feels that the "take a walk in their shoes" approach is an important process to take a staff through. She equates it to Marriage Counseling 101 and has some questions that a  therapist would tell radio to think about when considering counseling with
the audience:

1) "How much does radio know about an audience on a personal level? Aside from the raw research what do they really want?"

2) "How much does radio identify with the audience? Are you, as in a relationship, compatible?"

3) "What worked in the past? How did the audience first fall in love with radio and what has changed?"

Kelly feels that radio needs to stop chasing audience and that the real work should start within the walls of each and every radio station. She believes there are evidenced-based practices in the mental health therapy  industry that can help and it all starts with positive thinking. "Consider the laws of physics, broadcast engineers love this as do sales managers. Whatever you put out will come back to you. For every action there is an equal reaction."

For Kelly, it's about reconsidering your mindset as you go to work. "If you are thinking negatively and you hate your job and you hate the business, your audience will detect it. Radio won't be able to change the audience perception unless it changes from within."

Buzz Knight is the Vice President of Program Development for Greater Media and he can be reached at bknight@greatermediaboston.com. Knight was named among ?Best Programmers? by Radio Ink Magazine in 2007 and 2010. He has served on the programming subcommittee of the National Association of Broadcasters(NAB) and is currently a member of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) COLRAM Committee.

If you want to recommend an "Expert in the Wings" reach me at bknight@greatermediaboston.com

(6/19/2013 2:38:42 PM)
An honor to be featured here with some other great "experts"! Would love calls or emails from readers. I can be reached at kelly@orchardmediaservices.com or 760-887-4444

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(MANAGEMENT) Are You A Manager Or A Mouse?

6-21-2013

You see it quite a bit in the political arena. In fact, it was a radio talk host who got me thinking about the idea for this article. In the course of discussing one of the ?issues du jour? and whether Party No. 1 would handle it better than Party No. 2, he said, ?Party No. 1 isn?t really advocating anything newer or better than Party No. 2. Party No. 1 just wants to be in charge.? I soon began to notice this in the business world as well. The performance of Company A is deemed unacceptable to investors, shareholders, etc., and the current management team gets blown out. Then the new folks come in, throw a fresh coat of paint on things, do essentially what their predecessors did, and the results stay the same: unacceptable.

Clearly, this isn?t a new concept. But I?ve been seeing it more and more, especially in companies, industries, and institutions that are either exceptionally challenged or just flat-out broken. So I felt compelled to try to describe it in terms that would put a clearer perspective on the phenomenon. After all, I?ve had the opportunity to be around an industry that is exceptionally challenged, radio, and an institution that is flat-out broken, politics. So I?m asking: ?Do they really have a better mousetrap, or do they just want to be the new head mouse catcher??

Let?s take a closer look at this: If you?re the newly elected mayor of Pork Belly or the new general manager of WXXX, you probably got your new gig because A) some contingency of folks ? the electorate, the station owner, etc. ? thought things weren?t going as well as they should be, and B) the aforementioned folks thought you were the person who could turn things around.

And it begins. You?re in the ultimate pressure cooker. Scrutiny, judgment, second-guessing, and much more have now entered your world, big time. And you have to make a choice: You can actually try to develop a better
mousetrap (focus on a solution), or you can use the bully pulpit of your new head mouse catcher status to just try to keep your job (focus on survival).

If you choose to take the solution route, here are some thoughts that will help you:

Clarity is necessary before solutions can be developed. Every problem I?ve ever seen has been surrounded by clutter. It comes in the form of everybody else?s opinion and analysis (noise). It comes in the form of individual agendas and self-interest. Listening to people who have knowledge of your challenges is crucial to developing good solutions, but remember two things: First, there will always be forces that will disagree with whatever it is you do. That?s just the nature of things. And, second, you got the job because you know what you?re doing. Trust your abilities.

Clarify which issues are the ones that are having a real, material effect on performance. It is still amazing to me that people in both politics and business will beat their heads against the wall trying to solve a problem that isn?t a core issue. Is your sales problem caused by product issues, your sales systems, or your people? Or all three? Get clarity on what the real problem is, then begin to work on solutions.

Some problems aren?t yours to solve. The size and scope of your operation might preclude you from being able to solve certain problems. For instance, as GM of WXXX, you can?t have as big an influence on certain technological issues or public-policy issues as the NAB, or the whole industry working together. So you voice your opinion to the appropriate parties, then move on to other issues, like developing content consumers will seek out or making sure you have great sales talent who are skilled at selling multi-platform solutions and developing great relationships with customers. The point is, don?t get roadblocked by the macro issues that garner a lot of trade press. Solve the problems that are within your scope, and your success will have a ripple effect on the industry.

Solutions aren?t real unless they?re tied to results. Solving a problem is supposed to better your condition in some sort of measurable way. If you identify a core problem and then develop a solution, there has to be a way to assess just how good your solution was. If your identified problem is sales and the root of that problem is your sales talent, you would evaluate your success based on some kind of talent assessment of the new sales team you?ve hired and, ultimately, how much your revenue grew. And don?t forget one very important rule: When you and your team are developing solutions, don?t let people leave the room until everyone agrees on ?what success looks like? after the implementation of the fix.

As a longtime believer that great organizations are built from the ground up, with good, basic practices, I can assure you that focusing on solutions makes focusing on survival less of a necessity. Good luck, all you mouse
catchers!

Marc Morgan is the former SVP and chief revenue officer for Cox Media Group; he retired in 2011. He can be reached at marc@marcmorganconsulting.com.

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Hendrie Signs With WYD Media Management

6-17-13

Phil Hendrie has signed a new national syndication deal with Ron Hartenbaum's WYM Media Management. He'll also get a new time slot, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET, beginning June 25. WYM Media Management is handling affiliate sales and Dial Global is managing advertising sales and satellite distribution. 
Hartenbaum said, "Broadcast radio needs the breadth, depth, and creativity of Phil Hendrie. There?s a whole new generation of listeners ready to join the ranks for what Phil has to offer. He?s a comic genius who?s going to grow in ways most people can?t even imagine?stay tuned!?

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(SOCIAL) How To Get Management Thinking Social

4-30-2013

The people in our business ? radio ? want to build a big ?following? on platforms like Facebook and Twitter and they want to be a popular choice for their content and for engaging listeners, but I do hear from radio all the time about how difficult it is to get management or ownership or others to push past simply ?having a Facebook page? and being ?on Twitter.? These great employees are hungry for motivating the rest of their team, management, or ownership to truly embrace social media for the value of the radio stations. They ask me, ?How do I get them motivated to take social media seriously?? 

Well it's a matter of overcoming the natural resistance to change. One of my favorite quotes explains why people don?t like change:

?Faced with the choice between changing one?s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.? ? John Kenneth Galbraith

So, here are some steps you can take to truly engage your team on the valuable ground of social media and what it can do for your local radio station.

1. Recognize that most adults ? especially in management roles are ?20th century people.? Most of what they accept as ?truth? is stuff they learned before 2001. So, if you want to engage them and get them to see social media value, you must draw the similarity lines between the social ?activity? things that they HAVE done for years and years ? remotes, station appearances, hosting events in the local market, interaction with listeners at concerts ? and the new environments of ?social media? dominating American attention in 2013. If you took out the name ?Facebook? and replaced it with ?that new arena that is opening in September downtown,? the ?old guys? would not miss an opportunity to be a part of it. They would have ideas out the butt. So, you have to show them the local participation numbers on the different social media sites and compare it to what they consider ?real world things? they would not miss. Make it obvious by relating to their principles of understanding.

2. You?ve heard everyone say content is king. That?s a lie. Money is king. Focus on the money. Nothing gets attention like money. If you are in a radio station today and you take a paycheck from the company, you are there to make life easier for the managers and owners. Otherwise, they would get rid of you. That is a better description of our real jobs in 2013 than any job title you may have today. These radio stations are revenue-generating businesses. Debt, economy, and other factors have ? as you know ? made everyone focus more on profit. That means that part of your job is to help managers make profit AND make their lives easier. So, think about everything you want to do in social media, what you think your station or stations should be doing, think about the radio business, and work hard to apply revenue generating principles to what you want them to ?sign off on? so you bring forth social media ideas that bring value (money) to the table. The more times you do this, the more social media oriented your company will become I assure you.

3. As you develop engagement, don?t leave out the sales department. In no radio cluster in America should there be a zero activity social media lane for the sales team. Business owners are social and need help too. Please see number 2 above. If you are in sales, you are there to make their job easier (the client is the boss). Shouldn?t your team have an overall social media strategy that goes with your sales effort to get every dollar out of the local market? Of course you should. Do you? If not, get busy writing the plan and then execute with passion. Here is a hint: You should be offering help to these local business owners. They have real problems related to your expertise. Don?t just pitch advertising buys. Show them you care about them and validate them. If you need more than that, I am afraid you should talk to someone who can help you develop a social media strategy for your sales team.

4. Don?t make social media confusing or complicated. Show the benefits by showing that there should be an actual strategic plan. How do you do that? You showcase what is currently being done, show how you would do it differently, and how your strategy has real-world benefits that lead to higher engagement, listening loyalty, and revenue. Show details. Include money-making ideas as a regular part of the local social media strategy (see number 2 above) and volunteer to head the project/strategy and show results. This will be ? as they say ? a feather in your cap when you add revenue and improve connectivity, engagement and participation with your local brands.

The world is changing. How in the world can anyone in the radio business sit back and say that the disruptions we have seen in a wide variety of businesses such as records, auto, retail, and newspapers won?t impact the revenue-based world of radio. It will. It is. That is the number one reason to become aggressive in building local value for your clients in all areas, including social media platforms and your own digital products.

Loyd Ford is the direct marketing, ratings and social media strategist for Americalist and has programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes, 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. Get his radio-social media content sent directly to your smart phone or email for free here:  www.rainmakerpathway.wordpress.com. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE.  Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE

(5/30/2013 8:13:48 AM)
Thank you, Jay.

Sometimes the best way to attack a problem is to focus on the biggest motivating factors for power and responsibility. Managers today are working harder than ever at profit, profit, profit. All of us are responsible for that profit. Showing that social and digital can be big contributors to that profit will move radio in general closer to these assets and opportunities.

Thanks again.

(5/30/2013 7:18:34 AM)
This is good stuff and will work if applied.

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(MANAGEMENT) An Industry Of Penguins

5-17-2013

?I can only worry about the things I can control.?
I have been a subscriber to this school of thought for a long time. It?s been especially effective in the last several years in the radio industry, where growth has been dismal at best and competitive threats abound. The essence of this concept is that old, trusted, and possibly overused word: focus.

?I can?t change the economy. I can?t outlaw the Internet. So I?m going to focus inward, on the operation I?m running, and make sure it?s firing on all cylinders.? That?s a logical, sensible way of thinking, for sure. Focus,? in its best sense, means paying attention to the most important issues and not getting distracted by the wrong things. However, ?focus? can turn into myopia, where, in your honest attempt to ?stay focused,? you miss obvious threats and opportunities. ?Focus? can also be management?s code word for control, where you are only allowed to think about things the big bosses deem important. That?s kind of like the captain of the Titanic saying ?Hang tight, I?ll let you know when the ship is sinking.?

In times like these, everyone is looking for reasons and explanations or, as some might call them, excuses and CYAs. Over the last few years, I?ve classified those reasons or excuses into three main categories: cyclical, self-inflicted, and secular. There is some overlap, but the categories can provide opportunities to find areas where you can control a little more of your situation than you think

Cyclical
Cyclical phenomena are things like the economy in a broad sense. There is no doubt that the advertising economy was hurt worse over the last few years than the overall economy. The recession affected automobile sales, housing, and consumer spending, which, in turn, had a devastating effect on ad spending. Those of us who saw this firsthand know how helpless the situation made us feel. Clearly, there wasn?t much we could do to avoid that tidal wave.

But to the extent that we could stem the wave, what would that look like? First, there is one course of action that should not be out front, and that is dealing with the economy by cutting costs. Ask yourselves what changes you made in 2008 through today with respect to your sales staff structure, and how many sellers and managers you eliminated. Was that smart? Would we have come out of the storm in better shape if we had actually grown our sales operations? After all, money was being spent on advertising somewhere. Just look at the growth of the Internet.

Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but it can also teach us what to do the next time a situation arises. Focusing on revenue growth vs. expense savings in tough times just might be a better solution. How much worse could it have been, anyway?

Self-Inflicted
These are the mistakes we made, the opportunities we missed, and the things we failed to act on. And if that?s the case, let?s just identify them, fix them, and look like the visionary, brilliant leaders we know we are, right? Well, my experience has been that it?s not that easy. Why? Usually because the culture of an operation or company practices blame instead of constructive learning. Mistakes can?t be acknowledged because that would put your job in jeopardy; why would you ever own up? Good ideas don?t get acted on because everyone around you starts judging an idea?s success or failure before it has a chance to develop.

If you subscribe to the ?worry about what I can control? philosophy and just fix the things that you, yourself, haven?t quite pulled off, your operation will be measurably better. Unfortunately, organizations today don?t always allow that to happen.

Secular
This category deals by permanent, long-term changes that affect an industry. Examples: ?Newspapers are dead,? ?Radio is dying,? and every other prognostication about media that people have made over the last few years. Looks pretty daunting to exert control over something as big as that, right?

However, those prognostications won?t prove out until everyone surrenders to the premise. At that point, everyone has the ultimate excuse. But how about quoting John Belushi in Animal House: ?Nothing is over until we decide it is.?

While debate continues (incessantly) within our industry as to our ultimate fate, there?s no reason the next innovation in revenue and monetizing content can?t be happening simultaneously. Same thing goes for on-air content, local and otherwise, which is going to be the key to radio?s fate anyway. The problem is, radio has always been an industry of ?penguins.? One guy moves, and the others follow in lockstep.

A large segment of the industry is doing things because economic predicaments force them to ? and packaging it all as ?visionary.? Don?t fall for it. Do the right thing. The thing that makes your station or company better, and radio better along with it. We may not be singing ?Happy Days Are Here Again,? but we could still be singing, nonetheless.

Quickread
Sometimes "staying focused" can mean missing obvious threats or opportunities.

Reasons (or excuses) for not handling the important things can be cyclical, self-inflicted, or secular. Looking at it that way can help locate ways where you can control more than you think.

Radio often moves in lockstep, like a flock of penguins. But doing what others do may not be the best for your station or company. 

Marc Morgan is the former SVP and chief revenue officer for Cox Media Group; he retired in 2011. He can be reached at marc@marcmorganconsulting.com.

(5/17/2013 11:12:06 AM)
Congratulations on a significant, revealing and articulate article.
As one who has been pounding similar pavement, albeit by concentrating on the development of programming and commercial production, I am nevertheless, extremely impressed by your observations, intuitions and considered comments.
I suspect that even such well-documented arguments as yours will still be read by many clouded eyes and falling on a large number of deaf ears, the messages still need to be communicated.

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(AUDIO) From Management to Ownership? Why Now?

5-14-13

Is the timing right for broadcasters who have a dream to get into ownership? Is there financing? Are the multiples realistic? Is the economy strong enough for broadcasters to seriously compete for advertising dollars and still make a decent living? Broadcast veteran J. Chapman answered yes to all of those questions when he recently announced his plans to purchase stations from Backyard Broadcasting in Indiana. A long-time Emmis employee, Chapman has been running the Rockford, IL stations for Maverick Media. We spoke to Chapman about his purchase, that first meeting with new employees, how he plans to succeed and much more. LISTEN HERE

Reach out to J Chapman by e-mail at jchapman@maverick-media.ws

(5/14/2013 6:03:48 AM)

Would like to see a follow-up to this interview at 2 and 5 years.

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(MANAGEMENT) Radio's Odd Couple Tackles The New World

4-26-2013

This is not a new subject. I?ve touched on it in previous writings. But, as the discussion of radio?s future ramps up, it needs further exposure: The working relationship between the sales manager and the program director must change from a perennial ?workaround? to an important ingredi?ent for radio?s success in the future.

The things I?ve seen over the years could fill dozens of psychologist?s notebooks. When I was a sales manager, I worked for a GM who actually forbade me to talk to the program director because he was afraid I might talk him into doing something that was wrong for the station. The inference was that I had no regard for the quality of the station content and the program director didn?t have the interpersonal skills to discuss things and simply say no to me. (Frankly, both inferences were probably closer to the truth than I?d have liked to admit.)

In the past, the agendas of the sales manager and the program director were allowed to be mutually exclusive. My point is this: That ?separation of church and state? doesn?t work anymore. If you don?t collaborate effectively in today?s radio environment, you will not succeed. (I?ve got a ton of other anecdotes, by the way. Like when a pro?gram director threw a stapler at me ? but I?ll save that for my column on violence in the workplace.)

Here are some thoughts that can help you navigate these tricky waters:

The ?Circle of Life? is taking on a new meaning. Radio?s content must improve in the face of the plethora of content available on other platforms. It?s not just about beating your competitor across the street anymore. Radio?s competition now is anything that steals from its usage. To compete now requires innovation and trying new things, which, in turn, requires taking risks and spending money. In order to support the drive for more competitive con?tent, radio has to monetize everything in its sales arsenal, including the experiments. So sales and programming not only support each other, they depend on each other more than ever before. What should have always been ?hand-in-hand? is now ?joined at the hip.?

Conceptual selling is more in the mix. New ideas and unique content might not generate ?numbers? in the traditional sense. In order to monetize the new content, sales managers will have to devise strategies to sell without the usual metrics and analytics. They will also have to hire sellers who have the optimum talent mix to thrive in a world that might not have as much of a ratings ?security blanket? as they?re used to. Having a sales culture that relies on solution-based, customer-driven revenue will be more and more essential as time goes on.

?Sales empathy? is the PD?s quid pro quo. As the sales team works to monetize the new con?tent, the program director needs to work with sales to help enable their efforts. This isn?t about adding units and a couple of billboards on the afternoon traffic reports. This is about finding new ways to create commercially friendly and effective environments for sales to add to their product suite, and it?s an area that?s been left underdeveloped by those who are used to a predetermined ?commercial load/clock? structure. However, as digital media broadens its commer?cial offerings beyond banner ads into mobile and social, radio needs to speed it up in order to stay relevant. The program director of today must be a part of those solutions.

A role redefinition is in order. As program directors and sales managers embrace these new demands, the way their job descriptions look needs to change as well. Giving everyone their due, the best of these folks already do much of what we?re talking about. The best program directors already aggressively direct the creative efforts of the content team and serve as ?audio brand managers? in addition to their day-to-day activities. The best sales managers have already taken on the role of team leaders for marketing solutions and the development of unique and new revenue streams. What has to happen is that the exceptional level of performance exhibited by the best today becomes the norm tomorrow.

For GMs: Good And Bad News

And the good and bad news are the same: You are accountable for making this happen. Coaching, per?suading, explaining, and teaching, the fun part of your job, will be essential for this to happen. Conversely, it might be necessary to let the people in the program director?s and sales manager?s chairs grow and wake up to the new reality.

There are a couple of caveats that I will leave you with. First, this is all much easier said (or written about) than done. This is uncharted territory, and the programmers and sellers of tomorrow will be the pioneers of radio?s future. That said, apologizing for asking for drastic measures to ensure the future is getting real old, at least for me. Second, none of this can occur without the support of your top management and ownership. If they?re not on board with this, perhaps you should consider not being on board with them.

Good luck ? and watch out for flying staplers.

Marc Morgan is the former SVP and chief revenue officer for Cox Media Group; he retired in 2011. He can be reached at marc@marcmorganconsulting.com.

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(MANAGEMENT) Identify, Compensate Success

4-15-2013
By Marc Morgan

Ratings, revenue, and profit. The ?Big 3.? That?s all that matters when you?re defining success, right? Well, the fact is those things do matter, and in a big way, especially in businesses and industries where debt, Wall Street, and investment companies loom large ? like radio. That?s why it?s still smart business to compensate and reward key employees based largely on these three metrics. People focus on things they get rewarded for doing. (And not achieving your goals in these three areas doesn?t bode well for a positive career experience, for sure.)

But there are other things that matter, especially to you and your management team. There are several things that, if they are either nonexistent or poorly executed, will make the prospect of achieving your goals for the ?Big 3? nothing more than a ?crapshoot.?

How about hiring the right people and then developing the highest-potential talent into superstars? How about reducing the ?hidden virus? in your expense budget: turnover in your sales department? Do you have a formal plan, and systems to make sure these things are done well? Do your managers have financial incentives and penalties based on the success or failure of those initiatives? Are there still goals for digital revenue and new business, with rewards and penalties attached? I?ve seen examples recently where those categories, while measured, are lumped into the ?total revenue? line, and there?s no incentive to focus on these growth areas. Yes, d?j? vu all over again!

How about other fundamental areas of your operation, like programming systems that ensure that the strategic plan is being executed? These are easy things to let slip through the cracks, so attaching financial rewards and penalties to their execution is important. Not doing these things puts your ratings back into the ?crapshoot? zone. All you are really asking for here is assurance that your programming people are actually listening to your stations.

How about having some of your goals and rewards include a broader part of your staff, like spiffing the whole business department for collections? You could also connect the ?Big 3? metrics to the entire staff by developing a big metric that, if attained, will earn everybody a reward. It can be a small sum, actually; you?d be amazed at how much this means to people even if it?s only a few bucks. It makes people feel like they?re contributing to the overall goal, and that sends a great message about you as a leader. And these suggestions only scratch the surface of this issue.

?What do I have to do in my compensation system to accommodate these new metrics?? you ask. I think most compensation systems in place today already have the ability to provide incentives for both quantitative goals (the ?Big 3?) and qualitative goals (people goals, collections, programming systems, etc.). The problem lies in whether that capability is being used, and whether everyone at the management level buys in to the need to compensate this way.

Don?t worry about making a list of qualitative goals a mile long. That doesn?t make sense. In fact, the beauty of this concept is that you can custom-design the extra metrics to reflect the individual needs of your operation and your people.

Running a successful business begins at the bottom: Build a great foundation of best practices and people, and the ?end? metrics become easier to achieve. Unfortunately, in times like these, it?s convenient to skip some steps because everyone is so preoccupied by the ?Big 3.? The fact is, though, in times like these it?s even more important to build a strong foundation for your business. I?ve seen time and time again, both over the years and recently, that even the best operators can miss the boat on this.

Take a look at how you define success within your operation and whether you compensate for the whole range of metrics and performance important to your success. I guarantee you?ll find some areas to tweak, and they will help you succeed going forward.

Marc Morgan is the former SVP and chief revenue officer for Cox Media Group; he retired in 2011. He can be reached at marc@marcmorganconsulting.com.

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(MANAGEMENT) Small-Market Mentors

4-5-2013

Growing up in the shadow of the booming, 50,000-watt AM giants from Chicago and Detroit, I quickly fell in love with big-market radio. Everything they had was better ? they had great air personalities, great jingles, and it even seemed like they had the hit records before other stations got them. A giant part of my passion for radio came from the inspiration created by WLS, Super WCFL, and CKLW in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Yet small markets offered me something the big markets did not: hope that I could get on the air somewhere someday, so I could learn, practice, and aspire to be as great as Larry Lujack, John Records Landecker, Fred Winston, and Charlie Van Dyke. They were my heros at the time. But as time went on, there were smallmarket stations that sounded every bit as good to me. WERT in Van Wert, OH, WERK/Muncie, IN, and WNAP in Indianapolis sounded just as tight and awesome as WLS. I learned small-market radio could be as good as the big stations; the sound was dependent on the leadership.

As publisher at Radio Ink, I always feel it?s my job to reflect the industry as a whole and give ideas to stations both big and small. Surveys we?ve done over the years told us that small-market stations thought we catered to the big-market stations, while the big-market stations thought we catered to the small markets. (The RAB and NAB have the same problem, I?m told.) But I?ve never let it bother me; we know we?re focused on ideas for all, and we?ve found that a good idea can be adapted for any size market.

Today, stations? style of operation often has more to do with who owns them than their market size. Before industry consolidation, automated stations were virtually never found in large markets, but today you can find an automated, voicetracked station just about anywhere. It?s not unusual to drive from sea to shining sea and hear the same promos, same contests, and same voices on multiple stations.

I?m not judging ? I can find compelling radio in most places. But the fact is, there is often more innovation coming out of small towns. It?s usually driven by necessity, finding a way to make another sale, and rarely driven by ratings alone.

Recently a manager in a major market confided in me that his goal was to retire a small market where he could do ?real radio? again. He said his stations had become so reliant on national and regional agency business that his team never had to be very creative to get business; most of it fell in their laps. So when he started seeing business fall off, he turned to small markets for ideas. Small-market radio remains the petri dish for ideas and innovation ? the great ideas that get snatched up and used everywhere.

I?ve always felt the tension between big-city radio and small-town stations, yet we share a common interest in entertaining audiences, engaging advertisers, and selling products. In fact, I think the tension is lower than ever before. I?m seeing former major-market radio executives moving to work in small towns and realizing they?re happier than they?ve been in years. Though most initially find ?moving down? a hard pill to swallow, they end up realizing that they can live more normal, authentic lives and be more satisfied.

Of course, many who make the shift will also find that what works in a large market needs to be adjusted to fit local needs and culture. When I moved from Miami to take over my first station as an owner, in Provo, UT, the
manager of the station had to sit me down and set me straight on ?how things are done here.? I had been full of myself, arrogant, and thinking I could sell circles around everyone. I quickly learned I was a living example of the big-city mouse visiting the country mouse. It was not only eye-opening, it was one of the most important lessons of my career.

This issue focuses on small-market radio, so if you?re a ?city mouse,? your first instinct may be to ignore it. After all, what can they possibly teach you? But I think there is much to be learned from these small-market mentors, and I encourage you to open your mind and realize that ideas come from all size markets, and great ideas can make any station better. If you need an idea that has been proven to sell, go to your computer and pull up the TuneIn app. Choose a small-town station to listen to, and you?ll mostlikely find ideas you can use in your town too.

Eric Rhoads is the publisher and CEO of Radio Ink

(4/5/2013 12:17:40 AM)
The Jew-BOy Eric who has invested in iBiquity's scam!

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Delmarva Makes Management Moves

4-4-13

Delmarva Broadcasting President/CEO Pete Booker announced two promotions in the company?s management structure.WDEL/WSTW GM Michael Reath has been named Vice President. Delmarva Interactive GM Mark Weidel picks up additional duties as he moves into the newly created position of Steinman Communications Director of Digital Media. Delmarva owns and operates 11 stations serving Delaware, Eastern Maryland, and Southern New Jersey.

Reath has held several sales and management positions over his 23-year career. He has served in his current position since 2006. His operational duties and responsibilities will remain primarily in his oversight of the Delmarva Wilmington stations. Reath will now become the immediate successor to Booker in the company?s management succession plan, the position formerly held by now-retired Senior Vice President Cynthia Morgan. Booker said, ?Mike has comprehensive knowledge of our industry, and considerable success and experience with our company. His balance of creativity and business judgment make him the right choice for this important position.?

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(MANAGEMENT) Pulling Your Best Client Off The Air

3-25-2013

It?s a subject that?s been discussed almost ad nauseum recently, especially in the context of the election and the entire political dialogue we?ve heard since. Debt. Too much debt. Who?s going to pay the debt? Serious stuff, actually.

How about another kind of debt? The kind when somebody, specifically an advertiser, owes you money. This may  be a mundane and boring subject to talk about when you?re focused on exciting things like new formats, new business, and digital convergence. But this version of debt is very serious stuff because, at the end of the day, you need to get paid for your goods and services so you can pay your debt.

So what do you do before, during, and after a transaction to make sure you minimize bad debt and maximize your cash intake? Here are a few things I?ve found helpful.

Media?s Curse
Somewhere along the way, a certain portion of businesses, agencies, and the like put ?paying my advertising bills? at the back of the priority line. Maybe it?s the intangible nature of what we sell. If you can?t touch it, it?s harder to put a value on it. Maybe it?s the competitive nature of our business. Sometimes we?ll do anything to ?get the money.? Maybe it?s just better cash management on their part. Most radio companies do that too these days. But, for whatever reason, getting paid in 15 days has turned into 90 days, or 120 days, or worse. The bottom line: They all pay their electric bill before they pay us. I make this point to frame what needs to be the mindset about this whole subject. Simply put, our getting paid is not as important to them as it is to us. Start with that in mind, and you?ll build better processes to deal with this very impactful issue.

It all begins in your business office. Credit checks, business analysis, and so on. Sounds simple, but it?s amazing how inadequate many companies are in this area. Even if they have effective ways to assess an advertiser?s ability to pay, they deviate from the smart business decision. I?m all for judgment calls, and we?ll deal with that later. But more often than not, if someone has a bad credit history or lacks the assets to pay for what they?ve agreed to, you are going to have problems collecting. I?ve always gotten a kick out of prospective advertisers acting ?insulted? when they?re asked to go through a credit check. If that?s not a sign of what?s to come with respect to payment, I don?t know what is.

A lot of slow payout from agencies is due to discrepancies. If you have a philosophy of always running schedules as ordered and the infrastructure to make sure that happens, you?ll get faster pay over the long term as fewer invoices
get thrown into the ?problem? file. I?ve seen more than one research study that shows that advertisers put a higher premium on running schedules correctly than even price. Follow that rule, and everybody will be happier.

When Your Core Clients Run Into Problems
If you have the kind of relationships with your key clients that you should, you should be able to have candid, constructive conversations about issues regarding paying their bills. Again, this is about doing the right things up front so you have an easier time navigating any tough waters later. There are a multitude of options to get through this if you think creatively, and exploring those options with the client is the better way to go and helps you make smart judgment calls that can be very critical for your long-term business relationships.

When you have to make the decision to pull someone off the air, especially when it?s a long-time customer, it?s the GM?s job to pull the trigger. The sales manager and the business manager have different agendas, and that?s what you pay them for. The buck stops with the GM on this one. This is another reason for the GM to have relationships with key advertisers, and another reason to do due diligence on the client?s credit capabilities ? so you can make a decision based on data and not just emotion.

In some way, shape, or form, sellers, sales managers, general managers, and business managers should face financial penalties or have the ability to reap financialrewards based on the status of their receivables. I?ve seen a thousand systems to handle this, but whatever you do, make sure everyone who ?owns? a part of the sales process
is financially accountable.

Sales Based On Solutions Pay Better
If you have an advertiser who bought you because of solutions that generate ROI, as opposed to someone who bought you based on ?commodity-based? criteria like how many no-charges they get, the solutions customer will pay you first and will most likely never be a problem. Make yourself indispensable to their business and they can?t afford to lose you.

Marc Morgan is the former SVP and chief revenue officer for Cox Media Group; he retired in 2011. He can be reached at marc@marcmorganconsulting.com.

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(MANAGEMENT) "Goat Hiding" And Other Management Techniques

3-15-2013

From high-strung airstaff to strong-willed top sales billers, radio managers have always juggled a wide variety of personalities and egos. And in today?s leaner office setting, add pressures from overworked and, to many minds, underpaid support staff. Communication skills expert Pamela Jett offers some terrific tips on how to manage and defuse difficult situations and people ? who sometimes prove to be only ?different from you?!

Why are some personalities especially difficult to deal with in the workplace?

In addition to all the stress and pressures professionals experience, there are two main reasons some personalities can be especially difficult.

First, they aren?t really ?difficult personalities.? They are ?different from you? personalities. We all tend to view the world in our own distinct way and communicate in our own style. We process information and interact with others in ways that are congruent with our values, beliefs, priorities, and principles. When our style is similar to the style of the people we work with, things run smoothly. When we interact with people who are radically different from us, we often assume they are being difficult. More likely, they are simply behaving in the way that makes sense to them.

Savvy professionals take a step back when dealing with a difficult person and ask themselves, ?Is this person simply behaving in their own style?? While this doesn?t stop the behavior, it goes a long way toward understanding and better interaction.

The second reason difficult people are difficult is because it works for them. Experience has taught them that if they yell, people will give them what they want. They are proof of the adage ?What gets rewarded gets repeated.? The key to dealing with these people is to recognize that while you can?t change them, you can train them that difficult behavior doesn?t work.

What are the most productive things to say when everyone else is losing their composure? What should you never say?

Listen without interrupting. Use a technique called ?boundary statements.? A great boundary statement has three parts: acknowledgement, willingness, conditionality. For example, ?This is important, and I want to talk
about it. Not this way.? You might have to repeat your boundary statement several times, but they will learn that you won?t engage until they change.

The worst thing to say to someone losing their composure is, ?Calm down,? or, ?You shouldn?t feel that way.? That will only trigger defensiveness and increase difficult behavior.

What is ?goat hiding?? Why is it an important skill, and how does one use it?

The notion of ?goat hiding? comes from the late, great Zig Ziglar, who taught me that ?they can?t get your goat if you don?t tell them where your goat?s tied up.? Don?t let difficult people see you sweat. Even if you are upset on the inside, do what you can to stay calm on the outside.

How can one maintain composure when dealing with the pressures of managing multiple personalities?

First, breathe! While that may sound simplistic, many forget to breathe under pressure, or engage in very shallow breathing. Take a few deep breaths to give your brain enough oxygen to think and communicate clearly.

Second, access the logical processing center of your brain, as opposed to the emotional one. Many of us automatically respond emotionally when others are angry or trying to upset us. It is a great idea to do some math in your head (like multiple-digit addition) to intentionally access your logical processing center. Counting to 10 does not work because it is habit; we don?t have to think. Try doing some quick math that requires you to think. This helps move you to your logical processing center and makes it easier to use your good communication skills. An audio program on this topic, ?What to Say,? is available at my website, www.jettct.com.

Finally, use coping statements. Say to yourself, ?I am calm,? or, ?I am a professional,? to remind yourself not to fly off the handle or say something in anger or frustration that you will likely regret.

Staying calm, cool, and collected when others are spiraling out of control is perhaps one of the most important skill sets to polish when we work in a fast-paced, stress-filled environment. It is also important to actively work to build communication skills so you will have more options, like the tools above, to use when dealing with difficult people.

Reach Pamela Jett at pamela@jettct.com or 866.726.5388.
Deborah Parenti is EVP/Radio for Radio Ink. E-mail:parenti@aol.com

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(MANAGEMENT) Coexisting With The Arbitron Beast

2-18-2013

Ratings. When I hear that word, I can still summon up the agonizing, gutwrenching, sleepless-night feelings I got when it was time for ?the book.? I mean, let?s face it, a good book can make your year, and a bad book can kill it. And when you factor in the flaws in Arbitron?s methodology, both PPM and diary, as well as the fact that all research is imperfect and subject to flukes and spikes, it makes the whole experience even scarier.

As a GM, it?s your responsibility to manage how you and your team communicate about ratings, both internally and externally. Not the sales manager?s. Not the program director?s. Yours. How the GM handles the information flow about ratings can have an enormous effect on the eventual impact ratings have on a station?s business, morale, and overall condition. You can make a bad situation better ? or make a good situation worse. Here?s a list of things that work best.

Be proactive. Don?t let your competition or the rest of the media world communicate ratings results before you do. Get out there first, with whatever positives are in the report. Pick things that go beyond a broad AQH share. How did you do in your format? What dayparts did particularly well? There?s always something good, if your station has some core viability. For better or worse, we live in a sound-bite world. That means the first thing someone hears about your latest ratings is what will stick in their minds. Make sure it comes from you.

Be visible. Don?t hide in your office if you had a bad book. C?mon ? you?ve done it. We all have. Get out there and talk about it with your staff and your clients. If you seem unflappable, folks might just believe things are better
than they thought.

Educate people. Staff members and customers know less about the ?guts? and development of ratings than you think. Educate them about the methodology and how it leads to swings in the numbers. Educate them on how your internal research verifies that ?WXXX isn?t a loser.? (Yet another reason internal research shouldn?t get lost in
budget cuts.) Talk about your target demographics, not just adults 25-54.

The fact is, having a successful radio station ?according to Arbitron? is a marathon, not a sprint. Teach people that. One of the biggest compliments you can receive from a client is, ?One thing I know about WXXX is that, if they have a bad book, it?s almost always followed by a good one. Over the long run, they?re always in the game.? If every one of your customers thought that way, your life would be much easier, and your revenue would be better.

Be careful not to overreact. There?s an old line: No radio station on earth sounds better to the ears of the GM than one that just had a good book, and no station sounds worse than a station that just had a bad one. The worst time to tinker with a station?s programming is in the first few days and even weeks following a new report. Take a step back. Look at how you?re executing your strategic plan. Make sure that plan is still valid. Many a great radio station has been killed by overreacting to ratings. Arbitron?s data does not reflect reality as accurately as other research that?s more specifically targeted to the status and condition of your station.

Do business in a way that minimizes the importance of ratings. This is the most important point I have to make: If you sell solutions and not numbers, both you and your customers win. If you use all of the tools in your kit ? over-the-air, website, mobile, social ? and develop integrated marketing plans as a normal way of doing business, your station will flourish, no matter what Arbitron reports.

This concept has been given a lot of lip service, but now it?s crunch time. I?ve been involved with stations in markets that were not rated by Arbitron or any other rating service. Their ?book? was whether the station was able to make the advertiser?s cash register ring. If they had the right audience, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and the marketing plan was done right, the register rang. If not, it didn?t. Ultimately, clients spent money based on results, not just ratings.

It sounds funny to say ratings are a ?necessary evil,? but it?s true, due to all the absurdities surrounding the subject ? sample sizes, flukes, kisses, all of it. As a GM, you have to learn to coexist with the absurdities, manage them, and use them to your advantage. There is, however, a potential ?necessary benefit? from ratings companies, and I?ve talked about it before: the development of more total audience measurement systems for traditional media, especially radio. We need to show advertisers what they are getting from all the different sources of radio content. I hope the industry will make that an even bigger priority going forward.

Marc Morgan is the former SVP and chief revenue officer for Cox Media Group; he retired in 2011. He can be reached at marc@marcmorganconsulting.com.

(2/18/2013 6:20:16 PM)
Marc knows the drill. He obviously has the Arbitron scars to know the hazards of managing radio stations when so many folks believe the book as if it was the word of God, rather that just an estimate, a math aproximation, of what is happening in a radio market. Arbitron people are master marketers. We all in radio should learn from them. Always be selling.

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Alan Eisenson Lands At Media Management Group

2-4-13
Former Clear Channel Operations Manager Alan Eisenson has joined New York City-based Media Management Group as Executive Vice President of Business Development. Eisenson most recently programmed Clear Channel?s Northern California news/talk stations, heritage KFBK-AM and FM, KSTE-AM Sacramento, and KKSF-AM and KNEW-AM San Francisco.

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(MANAGEMENT) Us Vs. Others

1-11-2013

Let?s pretend you and I are team members in the same radio sales department. Our sales department is recognized in the market as the unprecedented leader. We have the best sellers in town, hands down. We bill the most, earn the most, and are the most respected by the business community. What?s the difference in the way we sell vs. others?
Others TALK??????????????We  LISTEN
Others BOAST?????????????.We SHARE FACTS
Others HURRY????????????.... We ESTABLISH TIMELINES
Others PEDDLE PACKAGES?????? .....We CUSTOMIZE SOLUTIONS
Others mostly ACT SOLO???????........We CONSULT WITH OTHERS
Others INTERRUPT??????????.. ..We?re INVITED
Others are often AIMLESS??????.. ........We?re PURPOSEFUL
Others PITCH?????????????...We SOLVE
Others seem SCATTERED???????........We?re FOCUSED
Others are often ERACTIC??????. ..........We?re RELIABLE
Others are QUESTIONABLE??????.......We?re TRUTHFUL
Others ABUSE FORMAT?????????.We?re FORMAT-COMPLIANT
Others can be DISCREPANT???????....We?re CONSISTENT
Others can be NOTORIOUS???????.....We?re REPUTABLE
Others are often DELUSIVE???????. ....We?re REALISTIC
Others hope they get BOUGHT?????.........We are HIRED

We, indeed, have an incredible sales team!

If I?m not describing your sales department, at least now you know the characteristics of the team we need to become.

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

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