10-11-2012
I love the art of negotiation. I love finding a common ground whereby both sides have the opportunity to come out on top and the potential exists for a win/win. But I am astonished at how many deals today fall apart. And once you hear the stories afterwards, and apply the simple solutions which could have saved the deal, one is left shaking their head. Business is perspective, and if neither side is able or willing to grasp the perspective of the other, nothing can be accomplished.
Both talent and station management have the potential to fail equally in this endeavor. I chuckled when, a few years ago, I heard that a talent had rejected an offer because it was lower than the they had anticipated and that they had a ?lifestyle? to maintain. Huh? What lifestyle? I had a lifestyle too before I had children and serious bills to pay and college to save for. That was years ago, and for even the youngest of you in the midst of this type of lifestyle, this too shall change.
Now I have a lifestyle alright, it?s called Responsibility. Responsibility for my young children and their present and future needs; mortgage payments, car payments, clothes, food, life insurance, health insurance, etc. In other words, responsibility to stay employed at the best company for my skill-set.
And as such, talent has a responsibility to maintain a realistic viewpoint of what is attainable. I have visited many broadcast facilities and companies, and have yet to see a money tree growing out back.
I cringe when I hear that station management asks talent to take a pay cut; that they should expect to make less because revenues are down ?X? percent. Okay, but the talent, particularly on-air talent who dictate serious revenue for a station, are not (in most cases) working any less. More often than not they are working harder than ever. They do not control the market economy; they only control what is within their grasp. Like talent, station management has a Responsibility to keep the best talent on-air, for their advertisers, their listeners, their group owners, and shareholders.
And like talent, station management has a responsibility to maintain a realistic viewpoint of what is acceptable. I have visited many broadcast facilities and companies, and have yet to see a talent tree growing out back.
This assumes that the station and the talent want to consummate a deal. If they do, talent has to be realistic aboutthe economy today, and management has to be realistic about giving the talent the opportunity to get back to where they were when times were better, and to surpass that level when warranted. This is accomplished through incentives. If the base compensation must remain the same as before, or decrease in a new deal, is there a built-in opportunity, through incentives, for the talent to achieve growth? Where do the ratings and revenue need to be for the station to justify paying the talent at the level they were before, and is there an opportunity to grow beyond that watermark? This permits the talent to win only if the station wins. Stations can?t expect the talent to cut back when times are bad, but not reciprocate when times are good.
With an open mind and some mathematical calculation, this can be achieved. Based on the Cost-Per-Point and overall available revenue in the market, where do the ratings for a particular show need to be to achieve the necessary revenue growth to justify acceptable compensation to the talent? What revenue level is required of that show to validate a return to the higher dollars they received during the last term? Furthermore, is there a mechanism in the proposed deal that allows for talent to exceed those levels? It is helpful to educate the talent as to the economic realities of the station and the marketplace, and to discuss where the station needs to be to achieve the success that then permits the company to offer greater dollars. Most talent wants to be informed, they want to be involved, and they want to help.
If the two sides creatively work together to re-build the business, a win/win can be achieved. But first understand the perspective of the other, and understand that in a winning scenario everyone should see a clear path to greater success.
Matt Miller is the Vice President of Miller Broadcast Management, Inc. Email him at matt@millerbroadcast.com
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2-22-2012When do you think the negotiation begins? Upon delivery of your marketing plan? Remember the line from Jerry Maguire, "You had me at hello"? Savvy negotiators set the stage for successful negotiations by understanding that the negotiation starts at "hello." The greatest negotiator I've ever known was my father. When I was growing up he would tell me stories about how he would establish his worth in the eyes of his customers from the moment he stepped in the door. As a young man, he started out selling refrigeration systems to restaurants. He would walk cold into a restaurant, where he didn't have an appointment, go straight past the bar and take a seat, or stand at a table in the rear. He'd then wait for someone to approach, to ask if he needed something. "Are you the owner?" he would ask. "No" came the reply. Then he would say, "I need to see the owner, please." At this point, because of the confidence and purpose he exhibited in commanding their attention, the individual would go find the owner. If you set the stage at "hello," you will find that negotiating isn't a step at the end of the sales cycle, but a constant that evolves throughout the entire process. And where you finish will depend on how you start.Take control. Herb Cohen (www.herbcohenonline.com) author of You Can Negotiate Anything, says, "Power is what you think it is," and that we can control more than we think in the negotiation. But Cohen believes that we often "underestimate our power and overestimate the power of the buyer." In fact, power really is up for grabs; you decide who's in control.Differentiate yourself. What does your "hello" say about you? Are you asking for the prospect's attention or commanding it? What my father exhibited was a sense of importance, urgency, and permanence. He felt that by walking into the place of business and planting himself there, without asking permission, spoke volumes. Demonstrate you have something of value to share with the prospect, so they will not only want to do business with you, but need to do business with you.People buy you first, or they buy nothing at all. When you call a prospect and they say, "I don't need to meet with you. We tried radio and it didn't work," what's your response? The effective negotiator sees this as a buying signal, for without an objection, there is no sale.Seller: I'm sorry to hear of your prior experience, but it has no reflection on what I want to meet with you about. You didn't try with my company or, more importantly, with me. Now we're speaking to the "power of belief." The prospect is testing you to see how much you believe in yourself and your product. Prospect: What difference would that make?Salesperson: All the difference in the world. Do you cook? I do. Just following a recipe is not what makes me an excellent cook. I bring my own variations to each recipe. My friends often tell me that they use the same recipe, but they don't achieve the same results. Well, that is what I guarantee I'll do for you. We'll come up with a recipe for marketing your business that will be tailored to your needs. It will not be a cookie-cutter recipe anyone else could provide, but one only I can provide.Believe in yourself, be unique, control the situation, and negotiate a win-win outcome.Theresa Merrill is the Director of Business Development for Anovick Associates. She has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in NY, Boston and Atlanta working for Katz Communications, CBS, Tribune and Cablevision and can be reached at 201.444.2991 or by e-mail merrill.theresa@gmail.com