Today a biz owner told me this: I am happy with my advertising and seen success with other options so there is no need to do anything else.
If you think about it from their point of view. Why would they want to meet with me? Why would they want to advertise with radio? If they have seen success with others and know it works, why risk putting money into another venue that may or may not work?
Couple questions for you:
1. How do you handle the objection when they are happy with other media (news, magazine, online, etc.) seen success with other media.
2. How do you handle the objection when they are happy with OTHER radio stations... and no need to advertise on yours because they have seen success from other stations..
Katie there are a gazillion responses to your clients questions but you might focus on several:
Why advertise with me - I have a very loyal audience .. every radio station has a core audience .. my core audience is one that cannot be reached by any other station in the market .. if newspaper .. online .. magazine .. you might just mention that those advertising vehicles have gotten you to where you are now .. with the additon of my audience we can help you build more traffice into your business .. hopefully that increased traffic will help you sell more merchandise which will improve your cash flow .. is that not what you'd likey our advertising to do?
If your competiton has a 12 share of audience .. that leaves a 78 share of audience that is not being reached by that station .. if no ratings then you have to build a story around the fact that not all people are reached by a particular radio station.
Why are they happy? Are people bringing coupons in? Handing them their newspaper ad as they walk in the door? Do they have more customers than they could ever need or want? And do they think that's a permanent thing? Just like radio sales, a business' customer base is ever changing. Loyal customers go elsewhere, or move away, or heaven forbid, pass away. A progressive business owner is always looking for new customers. You just haven't convinced her you have any. Find out what is working for her and come up with a solution that enhances those results. But be prepared to prove it.
I agree with DJ here. You may also want to look into Paul Weyland's book - Successful Local Broadcast Sales. He has a chapter on objections and believe it or not, there are businesses you need to move away from. But even if I can't help a business owner, I still like to leave them with questions that make them think. In my opinion, it's better to leave them with good questions to think about than answers that don't work. They remember you more fondly this way which may help for a future relationship.
Some for this situation might be: How do you track the successfulness of your advertising? All advertising works, but works differently. The media of radio works with reach and frequency - are you reaching enough new people to grow your business continually?
Do some research on the importance of gaining "new" clients on an annual basis. Then don't forget the importance of maintaining this group by continually reaching out to them. Remember, people forget. (yes, a little corny but it's true).
Paul Weyland refers to different medias as "lakes" and asks - Why not try fishing on our lake for a while to catch some of our fish (listeners)?
Ask questions so you can be the educator for your clients. It helps you, your clients, and the industry.
Let's be honest, the last thing a business owner wants to do in the course of a day is talk to another salesperson. You will not sign everyone you call. Sometimes, that's a blessing. You MUST give the business owner a compelling reason to want to talk with you. You must find their problem and solve it. Hearing the possible commercial lets the business owner imagine hearing it on the air.
One trick I use to get appointments is, "If I could put you in front of a full house at the xyz Theatre to talk about your business, would you be interested in talking to me? What if I could do that everyday 365 days a year...twice a day?
