I recently read the article below by Pat Bryson in the Small Market Radio Newsletter published by Jay Mitchell, and received permission to share it with you. Hope you enjoy it!
What Makes a Great Salesperson?
By Pat Bryson
What is a GREAT salesperson? The one with the highest billing on the station, right? The person who is constantly bringing in new accounts and up selling the old ones. But what makes this salesperson special?
• They have a love for selling. Period. Exclamation point!
• They believe that they are offering the best value to their customers.
• They place a strong emphasis on product knowledge.
• They know how to LISTEN.
• They forge special relationships with their customers.
• They look after the little details.
Being the best begins with attitude: attitude about yourself, your customers, your product.
It continues with the driving need to continually improve skills, knowledge and work habits.
Are you excited to go to work each day? Are you constantly challenged? Can you think of anything you’d rather be doing?
Radio is a fun business. It is exciting. It requires dedication and time. It requires that you enjoy broadcasting and that you commit wholeheartedly. You can’t be lukewarm about radio sales and be highly successful.
Great radio sales people share a love for our business. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing. I hope you agree.
What’s Your Plan?
January is just around the corner,and for many of our clients, it is time to renew their annual agreements with our stations. What’s your plan to resell them?
Economic conditions are changing rapidly. Marketing strategies that we used for our clients in 2010 may not work as well in 2011. Chances are, many of your clients cut back their advertising somewhat in 2010. Now that the experts tell us that economic “recovery” is on its way, it’s time to reclaim those lost budgets.
To make sure that we are on-target with our customers’ needs, it’s important that we set an appointment to do a “rediscovery”. Pretend you are talking with your client for the first time. Go back through the questioning process to find:
What are the biggest challenges their business is facing today?
How will those challenges affect their business?
How will those business challenges affect them personally?
With this information, you can craft solutions that are on-target to provide solutions to their needs in the new year.
During this interview, there are three very important questions that you need to ask:
• What has changed most in your business in the past year?
• Don’t flatter me. How can I take better care of you?
• If someone were to ask you why you advertise with us, what would you tell them?
Be sure to write down the answer to question #3. It should show up as a direct quote in your renewal presentation.
2011 can be a good year. How good it will be depends on how informed we are about our clients’ needs. We must access our clients’ worlds through the use of good questions, and live there.
Pat Bryson is the owner of Bryson Broadcasting International, a firm that specializes in coaching
and training sales and sales management. She is available to help your staff achieve its next level of
expertise. You may reach her at pat@patbryson.com or www.patbryson.com. Copyright © 2010
Bryson Broadcasting International
Happy New Year to ALL--
If you want to be a GREAT sales person-- in one of the BEST professions on the planet,
then read Bob Burg's book The Go GIVER!--http://www.thegogiver.com/
Selling is fun and rewarding when you consistantly put the needs and goals of your clients, your boss and your colleges first. Simply put, focus on the other guy-- YUP- that's how to win, and win BIG!
I have enjoyed working at some of the best broadcasting stations and I speak from experience! Please let me know if I can help in any way!
Seeing you all blowing your goals out of the water in 2011~~
Chris Souchack
Princepal, Shwoof Radio, Music Unleashed
chris@shwoof.co
