Happy Friday, everyone!
This week's poll question is a two-parter concerning sales proposals:
1) For sales reps: are your proposals generated by your manager, or do you come up with your own?
2) What is the most interesting proposal you've ever made? (Bonus points for attaching a copy to your reply.)
Looking forward to reading your answers!
It's an odd question? Who else would be creating sales proposals other than the Sales Rep? The most qualified person and as part of a training curve would be the rep on the account.
Mind you the resources that the rep has available to them in so far as experience within the building from copy, production, promotions, and especially the sales and marketing manager; are there to be used to help create a killer, relevant and successful presentation. The in-house pool of business/ marketing acumen should be used by the rep to help create a direction and the required results for the client. Every time a rep goes through creation process they to learn how to one day mitigate the need to really on other people to create a dynamic presentation based on marketing savvy, and radio best practices and integrated marketing concepts.
If there are reps out there that aren't creating presentation that create a visual and tangible credibility for the " Pitch," ; they are not doing it right! Presentations for new prospect clients and renewal of clients all require presentations.
If you are a rep going around with a 9th generation one-sheet photocopied " deal " of the week; and focusing on the dollars and the great savings to be had..... your fate is finite!
Reps above all other members of a radio station MUST fully understand that," Their Sales and marketing CONTENT in their presentations must be communicated exceptionally well and visually stunning. Everything that a rep can do to bring a tangible , slick and value proposition to a prospect client by way of a presentation must be done. And by the way....every pitch....EVERY new client presentation MUST include a" spec spot." If the rep has conducted a strong , marketing focused CNA, and has uncovered what HAS to happen for the client... a commercial or campaign set of commercials must be the shining start in the presentation. The commercial should not be a lame - ass attempt to trick the client into buying what the rep thinks they will like in a commercial; it should be created as if it " IS," the commercials or first of a series of commercials that will go to air..... whether the clients " Likes " it or not is secondary to what the commercials(s) have been designed to do.
So, it start with the CNA, it gets strategized about, brainstormed, R.O.I'd, scheduled, budgeted for sustainability, the creative is produced, the presentation is created, and in a favorable environment to do so.... the Radio Sales and Marketing Deck is presented to the client.
Want a 100% closing ratio??? do it by being better than all other reps in your market and walk through the steps properly......... and by the way... you'd best brush up on your ability to "present," with professionalism, pride and confidence... if you can't all of the work leading up to the presentation is at great risk of being wasted.
I've attached PPT presentation done by the collective team at my stations... just to give you a sense of what I mean. It is click through by the presenter PPT Show so you might have to click through to see the talk to points as they were laid out. I've attached the creative separately ( just in case it doesn't migrate to this website properly.
Did I mention you've got to be good sales person on top of it all!!
Cheers and Good prospecting, and great closing!
Good stuff there Darren.
Collaboration, Customization and Closing
For sales reps: are your proposals generated by your manager, or do you come up with your own?
We at Connoisseur Media have the most collaborative team, I have ever worked with. As part of our best practices we all share our proposals done by reps. Yes, management creates proposals also...My GM is very talented in this area.
We have a full time Communication & Design Manager , Full tie Web person and Full time project manager that works closely with programming to integrate our clients into the texture of the station. Examples include Jimmy Choodays, Apple watch Wednesday, Thousand Dollar Thursday. The entire staff shares proposals on our the cloud and local server. We all use the same template, fonts and then focus on the clients needs to customize them to the goals of the advertiser. Also, when I am on the road and need a proposal customized pronto for whatever reason. I trust our sales assistant to create a proposal for me, as long as I review it before sending to the client. Technology has changed the game to the better!
2) What is the most interesting proposal you've ever made? (Bonus points for attaching a copy to your reply.)
Santa’s Flight "insert dial position here" IE 94-7 To Z North Pole
This was amazing a few years ago and now is a good time for you to "borrow" this idea for the upcoming holiday season..
There simply is not a warm that's fuzzier then flying kids to meet Santa at the North Pole. In this case, KNOX FM Z 94-7 and allegiant air will team up on the week of December 13th. (Exact date to be determined by both parties and Grand Forks Airport) Parents call-in when they hear the “Z North Pole Allegiant Sounder”, a sound effect of a plane with jingle bells and Head Elf (captain) saying it’s time for the Allegiant Air flight to z north pole” They can enter at non competing sponsor remotes and / or by going to www.z947.com ...and win a spot or two spots on the plane for their kids!
Here is what we need from Allegiant and the Grand Forks Airport:
* A plane (with exact amount of seats available for giveaway)
* A hanger OR end of a concourse that can be papered over, so that the kids can exit without seeing the real world and decorated to look like Santa’s workshop
* Discount Flight vouchers for the parents for a future allegiant flight
* Budget for programming executed promotion $10,000
Here is what Leighton Broadcasting/ Z94-7 will provide:
* (40) Forty full produced pre-recorded promotional announcements weekly at 60 (Sixty) seconds in length to run November 22th until December 12th 2010
:60 promo valued at $35 per airing seconds in length to run November 22th until December 12th 2010
:15 Live read valued at $20 per airing
Total “On Air” Value 160 Promos equals $3200
Each promotional announcement to have allegiant website address
with mention non stop flights from Grand Forks to Las Vegas and Phoenix all winter
Allegiant Air Banner add with click thru on front page of www.z947.com
November 22th until December 31st 2010
Total “On Line” Value $500
TOTAL VALUE TO ALLEGIANT $14,400.00_----- ALL NTR NO SPOTS WERE BOUGHT!
* Station personnel and volunteers to dress like elves and decorate the terminal
* Presents – To be supplied by local sponsors and radio station. Discount Flight vouchers for the parents for a future allegiant flight.
* A party/ food co-sponsor: Grocery Store or healthy fast food
* A Television partner air/ post video for www.z947.com
* A portly and jolly man who has passed an array of background checks and screenings to play Santa.
We have 2 options either “In Hanger” or “In Plane”:
Option #1 -Santa’s Workshop @ “In Hanger”
* On a day to be determined there's a party at the airport, kids are loaded on the plane along with a parent. Formula: 1 kid+2 parents/2 kids+1 Parent
* Pilots, flight attendants and station staff are dressed as elves
* Windows are closed and covered
* The plane taxis around the runway and revs it engines and takes off, circles the airport.. while the Head Elf (captain) describes seeing elk...no...wait...those are REINDEER below them. They must be close.
* Plane makes a "landing" and taxi's into the Santa’s workshop hanger
* Door Opens and the kids deplane at Santa's workshop.
* There's a party, food, they meet the big guy and an hour later they board and fly home
Option #2 -Santa’s Meet and Greet “In Plane”
* On a day to be determined, kids are loaded on the plane along with a parent. Formula: 1 kid+2 parents/2 kids+1 Parent
* Pilots, flight attendants and station staff are dressed as elves
* Windows are closed and covered
* The plane taxis around the runway and revs it engines and takes of circles the airport.. while the Head Elf (captain) describes seeing elk...no...wait...those are REINDEER below them. They must be close.
* Plane makes a "landing" and taxi's toward the Santa’s workshop hanger
* Door Opens and Santa walks onto the plane and distributes presents.
* There's a on plane party, food/drinks, they meet the big guy and we fly home
That's pretty much it…for Santa’s Flight 94-7 to Z north pole.. Though "it" is a "lot".
Imagine the TV crew when a little kid looks into the camera and a little boy asks "Is this really the North Pole?" Reporter: "Yes!". Little boy: "Wow".
View a video at the link below of another station that did this promotion ….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfqwqqCdpVQ
Very powerful experience for me... happy parents and children months later who said it was "amazing"
Influence.fm does them automatically!
Hey Chris,
I remember a few years back (2008-2009) the group I was with in the Flagstaff, AZ market explored a similar CRM with you. It was very intriguing. Is this the same one? And are you involved with it?
Circa 1980. The idea was mine. The execution was inspired by Jim Williams famous "tacky brochures."
It could be modernized and prettified (obviously) but the illustration - radio ads analogous to sales presentations - isn't too far off the mark, is it?
I write all my proposals and I think that is the only logical author. After all, you know the client, so who is better qualified to create the proposal. I am a fan of brainstorming with my boss and staff. I always like to include the PD. If it's really something the PD thinks undermines his work, I need to get the PD behind it if possible. I take all ideas and join them with my own to create the proposal.
I might add you need to know how to communicate your ideas effectively.
