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How to Stop the Sales Crisis
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Not the Business Crisis, but the Sales Crisis; two separate problems.
I've been in a different station/cluster or company almost every week since Christmas, coinciding with the ongoing economic tailspin. During that time I've watched the reactions of every level of management and every level of sales person in about every market size.
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Deer Looking into the Headlights
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Have you ever been in an accident? If you have you know that sensation of everything turning into slow motion. Everyone watching it happen right in front of them - in disbelief . . .
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Tenured, six-figure veterans not making their guarantee for the first time in a decade.
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Tenured, six-figure veterans being shown the door. (Not enough New or Direct.)
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In medium-to-large markets, most veteran AEs became accustomed to The Good Life, finding ways to make excellent incomes without clinging to the basics that got them there in the first place.
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Many convinced themselves that those times would last forever. Many of those AEs also got in hock with cars, homes, second-homes and investments - and many don't have a job.
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Younger AEs who have never been through any period of economic want. They've only known abundance.
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And still the discussion of Rate Integrity. Rate Integrity is a wonderful concept for a time long gone. It's like driving a '71 Buick (11 mpg) versus a Sirius (40 mpg). It's a throwback from newspaper sales. It started in Radio at the same time we were Dialing a phone, playing an LP or typing with carbon paper. Last week I visited with a heritage cluster trying to keep up their $80 dollar rate, competing with a slightly lower rated station selling at $25 a pop AND for all orders over X, giving away 42 inch LCD TVs. I asked the $80 dollar seller if they hand unsold inventory. Answer: lots of it. My answer: The market is telling you that in today's economy, you're not worth $80 bucks a spot. Lower rates until you sell out - then start the walk back up.
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Or another manager with tons of unsold avails saying, "We're not throwing in the web for free" while missing quota by a significant number.
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Or. If we lower our rates, the walk back up is tougher than the walk down. Answer: You may never have the chance to walk back up if you lose many current customers and tempt prospects to go with the cheaper guy.
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In all the cases above, there was little talk of actual Advertiser Value - most the discussion was about OUR rate and OUR competitors. Wrong subjects, wrong place, wrong time.
Welcome to the New Economy. All we need to do is find the new rules and new answers. Here are a couple below.
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Two Big Tips. Find a Retail Mentor.
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Do you have a couple favorite RETAIL CLIENTS? Now's the time to beg them for tutoring in the way they do business. They're into the real Reality. We're protected from the harsh reality of business. Most of us are employees and thus don't have to make payroll or pay suppliers. They do. They can't run out of cash. Their backs are up against the wall, so they have an entirely different reality than ours. But we have the exact same sales problems.
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Restaurant - a seat not occupied by a diner is money out the window.
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Appliance or Furniture. Every moment that a sofa or a washer/dryer sits on the showroom floor or in a warehouse, it's costing them money.
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Yes, back to the airline example. A seat unsold is a sales opportunity that disappeared forever.
Their Answers? Sales. Price-off promotions. Buy-one, get-one free. 30-day trials. They offer increased value. They don't maintain rate for the sake of integrity, instead they lower rate to increase volume and use up the entire existing inventory. THEN, when supply goes down - prices go up.
Here's the Golden Tip of the Century. You only have to go as far as your own stations. Listen to your next stopset. How many of the spots mention the like sale, discount, free, savings, etc? All our clients are discounting - we're not. Is there a disconnect here? When we sell advertising, we hope it works. When they buy advertising it has to work.
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Our New Reality
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In recent station visits I've been surprised by the amount of veterans who have either forgotten or don't know basic, basic Sales 101. Radio-Sales, yes. Sales-Sales, no. How about the Elevator Speech; a memorized 30-second explanation of what you do - but mostly, what you can do for them? Ask around. I'll bet no more than 5% of salespeople do this. How about prospecting templates for phone, letter and e-mail? How about category presentation templates? Bet you can count the stations on one hand.
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You Can Fix This in a Couple Weeks. Really.
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Here are six of the best modern day basic-sales books & audios around. I've read all of them. Here's how to super-charge your entire sales outlook. As I read them I highlight each AHA! Idea, then dictate it into a recorder. I formerly transferred them to a CD and listened while driving. Now I do the same - only with a Blackberry and iTouch and listen to them every idle moment possible - especially when driving. Those repeated and repeated ideas give me new information, encouragement and energy; just what we need right now.
Go to www.TazMedia.com. Click on Recommended Reading on the right hand side which will take you to each of these on Amazon.com. You can buy the books used or the audio version. Here's the list . . .
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The Sales Bible - by Jeffery Gitomer
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Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless by Jeffery Gitomer
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Creative Selling - by Dave Donelson
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No BS Selling Success - by Dan Kennedy
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The Death of 20th Century Selling - by Dan Seidman
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1001 Ideas to Create Retail Excitement - by Edgar Falk
Do this for a couple weeks. For you the recession might only be a minor inconvenience.
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I’m Excited About the Negotiation Workshop
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Coming this Thursday, Feb 26th. It's called Negotiating Skills for Tough Times or, What To Do When the Client Says, "I Want Double the Spots for Half the Money." Here are some of the subjects:
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The Five Big Negotiating Do's & Five Biggest Don'ts.
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The Five Biggest Do & Don't Phrases.
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Dress Code for Negotiation. Dress Up or Dress Down? Are you sure? How to respond to the Nasty Negotiator.
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What to Do When They Say No. Or Yes.
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How to Ask the Right & Wrong Questions.
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Note: These are only 20% of the Topics.
Click Here for Details & Registration. Starts at 3:30pm ET. Only $99 an email address. This workshop is also be offered on Monday, March 2nd.
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