Now, perhaps I'm clinging to outmoded paradigms. Perhaps I'm an idiot. But to me, cutting salespeople is like shutting down the transmitter in order to save electricity. You get the idea. But the B&B people are smart and have a specific goal. The job cuts are about the CCU Balance Sheet. With the Brown & Bain purchase scenario the Balance Sheet can be the only thing that matters. (Don't know how a balance sheet works? Well that's one of our big problems.) 

CCU cut many sellers yesterday, mostly ones termed less productive. The company wouldn't have made such a momentous move if they didn't have plentiful, solid evidence that it will improve their Balance Sheet. I'm sure they had math that told them that the decrease in payroll & benefits would far outweigh any possible sales decrease. Even better, one would surmise they have numbers that told them that the less productive sellers were actually costing them money. All logical.

As of today, most of the CC sellers are now veterans. Usually veterans have top heavy account lists. If calculated only their revenue from the Top 20 markets, CC has a huge impact on the entire industry revenue. Question: in Top 20 markets, who's going to do the New Business prospecting? Let's say that a large cluster might have 400 active accounts divided among 30 sellers. Now they're divided among 15 sellers. Each AE's active list - AND QUOTA - just got larger.  Even with their higher commission incentive, will vets even have time to develop this new precious commodity? Will each account now receive the same amount of TLC than before? It also means many accounts will have new reps and new relationships. Will that billing hold up, increase or...?

Vets usually aren't the developers of new business. Of course there are exceptions, but it's usually the Middleweights who bring in the most New Biz. Why? They still have the zeal and energy of the newcomer, but have acquired some good experience and know the ropes. 

We might say, Woo-Hah, there's less competition for new business. Sure, that might be correct, but understand something else. CC stations brought TONS of new business to Radio. That new advertiser started on highly rated stations with a slick business experience and the availability of a long list of goodies including, NTR, web products and most of all Creative help.  Getting New Business into Radio through Clear Channel wasn't a bad deal. Now there will be fewer CC people concentrated on bringing New Biz to both CC AND RADIO. 

It makes perfect logic to have our big hitters spend most of their time where the major dollars are. That would be fine in 2007 - when the economy was in expansion. However, this is 2009; bread & butter accounts cutting back and cancelling - not expanding.

It's not just finding New Biz - it has to be DEVELOPED. It's a process that takes time. While it's hard to see the immediate payoff, every media company needs to be developing new business more than ever in recent history.

If you're a CC seller, the challenge will be to increase the base of your existing list, knowing that there's a great chance there will be recession-caused decay - and therefore to spend significant effort on New Business.

If you're a CC competitor, there'll be less competition for developmental business.

My problem is that there will be less total Radio people prospecting for new business.  Less sales calls equals less Asks - less Asks equal fewer orders. We won't feel it for awhile, perhaps a quarter. Clear Channel will feel it first. But with the current size of the company, if Clear Channel sneezes, the industry catches a cold.

Love to hear your comments. Everything held in confidence.

I've just talked to two RAB staffers who were let go last week. Both of them said they were treated with generosity, respect and dignity. Likewise, so many of us know Mike Mahone, George Hyde and Dave Casper - all great people with a proven track record of hard work for their members and a love for the industry. They didn't deserve the shot that the writer took at them.

After you've lived some life you come to some conclusions. Resentful, angry people are usually unhappy people. They usually drop off first because they're victims to a boiling anger in their own mind; convinced that the world is wrong and they're right. To those of you who saw that e-mail, I'd ask to pray for the person who sent it because for them waking up in the morning isn't a fun event.