New Mitsubishi Models HD Ready

7-2-13

iBiquity has confirmed that Mitsubishi is the first automaker to have vehicles with integrated audio entertainment and real-time traffic and data services using HD Radio Technology on dealer lots. The 2014 Outlander and 2014 Lancer are now at dealerships offering both real-time traffic information integrated into its navigation system as well as the expanded audio features of digital AM and FM broadcasts all delivered with HD Radio Technology.

iBiquity COO Jeff Jury said, ?We were happy to announce Mitsubishi?s launch of HD Radio audio and data services back at the LA Auto Show in November and are even more excited now to have the first vehicles available at dealerships across the country. We are confident that Mitsubishi drivers will find the 'here' traffic, weather, and fuel services broadcast by the BTC and HD Radio Technology to be fast, efficient, reliable and, best of all, subscription-free.?

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Lubinsky Rejoins Greater Media

7-1-13

Lubinsky will re-join Greater Media New Jersey beginning on Sunday, July 7, 2013 with the return of his ?Sunday Night Request Show that pays tribute to artists of the ?60s, ?70s, and ?80s. The show will be heard each week from 7 p.m. ? midnight on WJRZ-FM. Lubinsky created and hosted WJRZ?s Sunday Night Request Show every week from 2005-2009.

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Perez Hilton No Longer Doing Show

7-1-13

Cumulus says Hilton will be replaced by Adam Bomb and the show is called ?Nights Live with Adam Bomb.? The show will feature a nightly segment with Hilton called ?Radio Perez.? The program is a gossip show and it airs weeknights from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. Cumulus launched Hilton into syndication in May of 2012. He was heard on 49 stations.

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It Will Be A Shotgun Marconi Celebration

7-2-13

The NAB has announced that radio personality "Shotgun Tom" Kelly is hosting the Marconi Awards this year in Orlando. Kelly hosts afternoons on CBS Radio's K-EARTH 101 (KRTH-FM) in Los Angeles. Radio's finest will be recognized for their excellence during the event, which will take place on Thursday, September 19, at the Radio Show.

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(SALES) Stopped Dead In My Tracks

7-1-2013

When I conduct seminars, I rarely get stopped dead in my tracks by an audience member. It happened recently while I was doing a seminar for the Missouri Broadcasters Association. I had an electric group in attendance, and they kept me on my toes while we were role playing on how to ask questions during a sales call.

Asking open- and closed-ended questions should come easily in a sales call if a rep knows what that means. Open-ended questions are any questions that can?t be answered with a yes or a no. Closed-ended questions can only be answered with a yes or a no. Closed-ended questions guide and lead a rep in the selling process.

When a rep is completing a customer needs analysis or a customer marketing profile (CMP), the guideline is to use open-ended questions for three out of every four questions asked. The goal is to have the prospect ?open up,? so to speak. Starting the questions with the words what, when, where, why, who, or how will help the prospect better share their needs and concerns.

One way that I try to illustrate the open-ended versus the closed-ended questions in my seminars is to role play with the audience. I am the prospect and they are the sales reps. At the Missouri seminar, I was a furniture store owner with three locations in a mid-major city. The audience of sales reps then asked me questions that they would typically ask a customer on a needs analysis call. For example:

How long have you been in business?
Paint a picture of a person that shops in your store.
Who do you think your competition is?

There were a few closed-ended questions, such as:
Was your last promotion a success?
Can your salespeople close?
Did you exceed your sales goal last month?
I keep a tally of these questions by drawing a large square on a flipchart. I divide the square into four quadrants. At the top of each quadrant, I write the letters "I" for Information and "P" for Problem. On the side of the page for each quadrant, I write the letters "O" and "C." The audience can?t make out the letters O and C. They are for my eyes only. I normally have the audience ask about 35 to 50 questions and most of the marks go in the O Box for Open-ended and the I Box for Information-based questions.

As I am doing the live role play in my seminars, very rarely do I ever have the truly problem-related questions come up. Asking the information-based questions is easier. Sales reps often fail to flush out the prospect?s real problems and challenges. Having the problem related information is what could lead the client to advertising with the rep's media company. After all, the rep is trying to qualify them for advertising, right?

A very smart rep from Columbia, Missouri, stopped me dead in my tracks after about 20 information-based questions. The rep didn?t understand why we weren?t asking more questions that would lead to the customer?s real problems. Voila! That was the point! What typically happens on a sales call is that a rep asks the easy questions to build rapport and trust. Don?t get me wrong, the easy questions must be asked, but reps are often afraid to ask the tough questions, too.

Asking questions is an art, and one that needs to be practiced over and over again. Here is a good question to ask for transitioning from information-based questions to problem-related questions. Say to a client, ?On a scale of 1-10, and there is no perfect 10, how would you rate your advertising effectiveness?? The prospect will almost always say a 7. The follow-up question is, ?Why not an 8 or a 9?? Now the rep has permission to ask tougher questions to uncover the client?s problems.

Well done, ?very smart? Columbia sales rep! I?m not stopped in my tracks very often! One question we do not ask enough is, ?How is your current advertising working for you?? The client could say, ?Great!? That question will back the rep into a corner, and they will have to start all over again. Remember this rule of thumb: Never ask a closed-ended question unless you know the answer.

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

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More Responsibilities for Univision's Olivera

7-2-13

Andrew Olivera has been appointed GM/D.O.S. at Univision's Austin cluster. Olivera currently serves as D.O.S. for the Austin radio group. He joined Univision in 2006 as an AE in Austin. He was quickly appointed into several sales roles at the station including LSM and GSM. Before radio, Olivera worked in print media for close to 15 years, holding different positions with several local newspapers. He'll report to Univision senior VP/GM Mark Masepohl.

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SOCIAL)Give Listeners A Great Social Media Summer

7-1-2013

Great radio personalities are always looking for ways to relate to their local listeners right now. When it comes to social media, the superstar personalities focus on service and providing important information that listeners could use or share (or both). Sometimes that is as simple as understanding that summer means kids are out of school, parents want a vacation (no matter if they can afford it or not), and even those who may not go far will want a quick escape during Summer 2013.

How do you create content in social media that draws on what everyone is thinking: ?How do we get out of here?? or ?How do we make the most of our summer time even if we stay home??

1.   As always, pictures and video draw people to you in social media and creating a Top 10 Local Staycation list or any type of list that could gain attention and provide helpful ideas about summer ?escapes.? Ask everyone to comment on what locations should be included on any future list or what you may have left off that local (your station) listeners should know about for Summer 2013.

2.   Ask listeners to comment on the best vacation they have ever taken in their lives and ask for pictures. If you have a favorite vacation from your childhood and actual pictures, use them in your content because it will really connect with a lot of listeners. People love to see things they don?t expect. They also will connect deeper with someone on the radio who truly shares themselves.

3.   Create content that showcases the best vacations within driving distance of your market or in your market. If you wanted to go all out, you could interview decision-makers or PR folks at some of these locations and offer an opportunity (on your website, or even on-air if your station allows) to win tickets or services at any of a variety of within-driving-distance locations for listeners. By talking to the decision-maker or PR person, you will also likely have access to the best pictures and inside information that will make you seem ?in the know.?

4.   Make another list of unusual and creative escapes INSIDE your market. Of course, this would also allow you to ask others what cool local tourist-type opportunities you might be missing on your list.

5.   Summer is often about fun. Make a list of the best ?guilty pleasures? and ask local listeners what you might be missing for things like the best hidden local ice cream, local fun things to do (as simple as Putt-Putt or a local fun or water park).

6.   Of course, it would be excellent to include a big list of station summer staycation or escape moments (including concerts or local events the station is engaged in this summer). Just make sure you always have a variety of content so that the things you write about, show photos about, and share are listener-focused.

Some personalities make the mistake of thinking everyone has their life, their vacations, or their access to summer fun. It?s important to focus on listeners first and realize that there are a lot of experiences in your audience because of economy, work, family, and other factors. But as someone once said to me, ?It ain?t nothing but fun.? That?s what listeners like. They are just like you and me. They work hard. They want to play hard.

Everyone won?t have the same kind of vacation this summer. Frankly, if you go on vacation, call yourself fortunate. At the same time, make sure you think about the variety of experience your local listeners have and be helpful to them in your social media content. Use great pictures and video, ask them to contribute to the content with their own suggestions, pictures, and video. You might be shocked at how much fun interaction you will see on your Facebook, Twitter, and more! And I always recommend that you try to find unique ways to bring listeners back to your on-the-Web and on-air assets.

Life is short. Summer is even shorter. If families are in the audience target for your radio station, summer seem even shorter. Be helpful and dig in. Give them fun ways to extend weekends, after work, vacations, staycations, and summer and show them why radio is still the best place to spend time listening and having fun in summer (or anytime).

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

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