Radio Sales Café

I live in a small town of about 7500 population. I just started at another radio station in this area and unlike the previous station, I did not "inherit" an income producing list. I've managed to get some clients, but all the standard "biggies" are already under contract. I really need to land some long term clients to help build my list (and my income!). Any suggestions as to what type of clients to target? We are an art community and summer/winter skiing resort area. I've tried the galleries but they're not having a good year and they tend to not advertise anyway because they think the locals don't buy art. Most of the ski related clients (and ski areas) are already taken. HELP!!!!

Peg: Wow - this is such a huge, open-ended question, it's difficult to know where to begin. What kind of help are you receiving from your sales manager or general manager? That person should be a resource for you, in terms of helping you sift through the available prospects to identify the ones most likely to be in need of your help. Assuming that you're free to pursue any of the retail and service businesses, professionals (doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, etc.) and non-traditional advertising prospects in your market that are not already assigned to a station rep, compile a list of prospects using whatever resources are available to you (Yellow Pages, Chamber of Commerce Members Directory, or even a physical door-to-door inventory). If you know something about their current advertising (in any medium), you might find it helpful to categorize them accordingly: regular advertiser, occasional advertiser, non-advertiser. All other factors being equal (which they rarely are) - regular advertisers may be your best prospects, occasional advertisers next-best, non-advertisers the toughest. But in all cases, you need to understand WHY they are doing what they're doing, so that you can begin to determine how you might be able to help them: - the regular advertiser recognizes a need for continual exposure; can you help him reach new prospects? the same prospects more frequently, or for less money? can you create a more effective message for him? - the occasional advertiser may be spending money only for seasonal promotions/sales; can you identify new opportunities for him to make additional sales? - the non-advertiser may be doing as much business as he cares to do, in which case your time is likely to be spent more productively elsewhere. On the other hand, maybe that person has never been asked to buy advertising, never received a presentation from an ad rep...in which case, you have a blank sheet of paper to write on as you will. Are you a member of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB)? They offer a wealth of resources available to help you research advertiser categories, including Instant Backgrounds, sample ad copy and audio commercials, etc. If your station is not a member, the RAB is now offering personal memberships for $210 a year - a small investment that can really help boost your sales career. Do you use a "Client Needs Analysis" in your early visits with prospective advertisers? RSC member Jenna Fox has put together a terrific piece on opening discussions with a cold-call prospect. Speaking from personal experience, it really helps to have a genuine desire to help a particular prospect grow his business. When we shift our focus from helping ourselves to helping others, the ideas and opportunities seem to come more quickly, with greater clarity and urgency, than when we're simply trying to peddle a package of ads. Come back with some specific prospects and I believe you'll find RSC members will offer all kinds of ideas for helping you turn those prospects into advertisers.

Thanks so much for your thoughts - it gives me ideas to start with anyway! The list I've been working for the last 4 months is pretty much depleted for leads. I watch the local weekly newspaper for leads and I'm definately going to compare the phone book to our master client list - don't want to step on other reps' toes! I'll look at the RAB website - haven't had a chance to do that yet. I haven't really gotten much assistance from my sales manager as he spends most of his time trying to keep up with his own goals and we also have another new rep that is breaking into a whole new territory. Both the other new rep and I are frustrated due to the potential clients lack of understanding of how advertising works, how much it costs, and where are they going to get the money from!

RE: Clients' lack of understanding of how advertising works. Spend $15 on an excellent 40-minute DVD presentation by Roy Williams on "The Most Common Mistakes in Advertising." Watch it with your prospects, after spending time with it yourself. It'll open their eyes and help give you both a sense of direction. (If you don't find this to be true, I'll buy the DVD back from you.)

Two ideas. #1...read the yellow pages. That's right, find a quiet spot, grab a soda and thumb the yellow pages looking at CATEGORIES. Open new categories of business that we have all been driving by and don't see. Recently, I heard a radio commercial for a garage door showroom. It's like choosing brick and doors. I never would have guessed there was a business like this. Just think about all of the new categories we have on the air now compared to 5 years ago. #2...One of the first things I was told. "Jerry, when you come out of a business, look across the street, to the left and to the right." It may sound too simple but it is powerful. A rookie salesperson and I came out of a business and he was quick to head for the next call. I asked him to look around and take it all in. We could see five businesses that were possibilities. Back to the basics! Jerry...AKA "The Power Tools Guys"

Thanks for the tips! I am going to use the Yellow Pages! I do look around to see what else is out there - in this economy almost as many business's that go out of business are replaced by new business's! I'm always looking for that new business to pop up! Thanks again for your feedback!

What do people do when they aren't skiing? I would start talking to places where people go when they can't ski- restaurants, movie theaters, movie galleries, etc.
What about hospitals and medical clinics? Even in ski communities, people get sick and need medical attention.
What about banks or other professional services like salons, spas, lawyers, etc?
Do people in your community travel? In my area, it's nothing for us to drive 40 minutes to go shopping for clothing, school supplies, cars, etc. in other towns. Can you travel to those places and prospect there?
Does your station allow you to advertise your services? We run sales promos that highlight the strengths of the station and inform people how to call for advertising. That and client referrals really help add to your list.

I was in the same situation once upon a time, work the outer lying areas. You will be surprised.

Most of those clients are already taken by the long term sales reps - and we are the town that the outlying area residents travel to for shopping, food etc! We are advertising/self promoting the station and we're running a lot of Radio Gets Results ads too. But thanks for your feedback - I do appreciate it!

Hi Peg,I am GSM and Promotions Dir for a large Christian radio station and we are having our own revenue problems but we have created events and this is working for us! No one else does them in this mkt, probably because they are alot of work, but they do work. Create events that appeal to your audience. For example, this Sat we are having our 3rd Youth Conference and we are in the middle of our monthly Senior Living Series which we are doing monthly June-October, we will then immediately lauch into our annual Senior Conference. Our events are very strong and well attended. Doing something no one else does is a very good idea especially if you are not the top dog station. Why not put together an event that appeals tothe skiers and those who tag along with the skiers but don't ski (that would be me if I lived there). You will be surprised how refreshing this idea will be. We have a module for this and you can contact me for morfe info. jwlewis@praose963.com

Peg,
Do you have doctors, dentists, attorneys, HVAC, autobody, sprinkler installers, plumbers, electricans in your community? Often the service industries go unapproached and we had tremendous success over the years focusing on these industries while other sales reps were all focusing on the retail stores.
Jeff

You have Ten dentists within 15 miles of the radio station. Dentists are great for Radio because on an incremantal scale, they have a high margin, and they always need new people. This video explains how to sell using ROI and has Dental featured. Once you sell one, go on and sell the rest! PS: Even in this down economy, cosmentic dentistry is through the roof! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4761844992607930148

"Recently, I heard a radio commercial for a garage door showroom. It's like choosing brick and doors. I never would have guessed there was a business like this." How often we limit ourselves by our own preconceptions, prejudices, and plain lack of thought! Your idea about taking time to sit down with the YP and a soda is such good advice -- we're so preoccupied with the demands of the moment, "Think Time" is something many of us could stand a healthy dose of. (Poor grammar, good idea.) BTW Jerry, I'll have to see if I can obtain and post a copy of a jingle one of my associates created for a monument (as in cemetery grave stones) company. Been on the air for ten years or so. People sing along to it. The client has managed to carve out quite a niche for herself using radio. Great post!

Hi Peg,

Have you gone after your local non profit organizations? When I started in radio sales 9 years ago, we had only 4 non profit organizations on the air. My boss allowed me to create a special non profit rate to allow our local non profits to advertise at a reduced rate and guaranteed them airtime from 6am-midnight. We now have over 60 non profits that use our station every year to advertise everything from fundraising raffles to concerts and plays. Once you get one on the air and someone hears it, then the ball gets rolling. I hope that helps.

Julie Slanaker
KFMJ 99.9 FM
Ketchikan, Alaska

I hate "cold" calling and I think anyone that tells you otherwise is lying. But, I am a big believer in "warm" calling. Where do you do business? Where do you get your morning cup of coffee? Where do you buy your groceries? Where do you buy gas for your car. These are all "warm" calls because you have already been in the store and maybe even know the decision maker. Make sure your friends and neighbors know what you do and that you are looking for new clients. Join a church, or a club. Do volunteer work. Many business owners are in those same organizations. The more you get involved, the more people you will meet. Hand out business cards to everyone. I even leave a business card with the tip at restaruants and enclose them in the envelope when I pay my bills. I guess the bottom line is this. Businesses are literally closing their doors because they are not taking advantage of what you have to offer. Be active, be involved in the community and show that you are a problem solver and a resource and clients will find you.

Just stumbled across this thread and realized I hadn't shared the monument company's radio jingles.  Here they are, full sing 60 and 30.  Been running in our market for at least 12-15 years.