The Art Of Radio Sales: It’s All About The “Why”

    • 993 posts
    July 29, 2022 4:34 PM PDT

    I missed Fred Jacobs' excellent article on the future of radio sales published earlier this month. Fortunately, Jay Mitchell, publisher of the Small Market Radio Newsletter, did not; he reprinted it in its entirety in the current issue.  It begins:

    Contrary to what the cynics among you (and I count myself in that group) may think, today's blog post headline is not an oxymoron.  Sales done well is a craft and an art.  And most cannot master it.

    If you've been around the business for any length of time or have strings of call letters you've worked under, you know great salespeople are a rare breed.  Most of us can count the truly skilled sales marketers we've encountered on one hand.  And now that radio is no longer a simple transactional “here are the ratings/place your order now” exchange of money for ads, the skill level requirements have gone straight up.

    I'm not talking about the rate quoters, the order takers, and the schleppers.  They come and they go, often wasting the company's time and money as well as their own.

    Too many sellers are just that – eager to get the buy, even if it turns out to be a OTO transaction.  The shortsightedness of this approach is obvious to a grade schooler.  The key, of course, is to cultivate and grow satisfied advertisers so they keep coming back for more. 

    I hope you'll take the time to read the article. Whether you're a salesperson, manager, air talent, or owner (or all of the above, given the many hats some of us wear), you'll find it thought-provoking and worth your consideration.

    Read it here:  https://jacobsmedia.com/the-art-of-radio-sales-its-all-about-the-why/
    This post was edited by Rod Schwartz at July 29, 2022 4:35 PM PDT