Every one of us has most likely played the “who would play me in a movie” game at one point or another. I’m sure, like me, most usually pick someone who is a few rungs higher on the ladder than they really are. I’d like to think I could be played by Adrian Grenier, but I’d be more along the lines of Jonah Hill (the Moneyball version).
I’ve always thought there was a great movie to be made about a radio sales team, think WKRP in Cincinnati only with the whole focus on the sales team. Some of the character descriptions would be simple, as most of us see some of these people on a daily basis:
“The Cagey Veterans” – this is the guy or gal that’s been doing media sales for decades. The male version is generally talkative and loud with some form of broadcasting experience from way back when. There isn’t a question they don’t have an answer for or a local media company they haven’t worked for. The perception they have of themselves is an A+ seller, while most everyone around them wonders how they’ve survived this long being as completely full of it as they are.
The female version is more cagey. You generally don’t see her a lot after lunch, she’s a bit of a mystery, but has great relationships with a small handful of clients that buy her consistently.
Suggested casting: Early 80’s Jack Lemmon (of course) and Katey Segal
“The Guy Nobody Can Figure Out” – Think Milton from Office Space. He’s someone you would describe as “a little different,” yet, somehow, he gets just enough of the job done in order to stay. He gets a lot of appointments as he’ll pick up the phone and call anybody, but his success rate of keeping clients long term isn’t the best.
He’s not overly social with the rest of the staff, but every now and then he says something in a meeting that’ll have everyone rolling on the floor.
Suggested casting: Stephen Root (he played Milton) or Zach Galafianakis
“The Bombshell” – Typically these fall in to two categories. On one side you have the very attractive girl who is one of the top billers, mostly because she “gets it.” The fact that she is an 11 on a scale of 1-10 is just the icing on the cake of a package that includes a smart, charismatic, energetic seller who is good with a variety of clients and great with car dealers.
The other kind of bombshell is typically someone who has the beauty but not so much the brains. The hope still lives on that she’ll eventually be as good as her A-level counterpart, but for now, she’s overwhelmed with the couple of car dealers she has on the air.
Suggested casting: Cameron Diaz or Hayden Panettiere
“The Rookies” – So full of life, so full of energy, so full of hope!
They’ve completed their initial round of webinars, got to meet the air talent they’re in awe of and are now making calls and trying to set up appointments with all of those leads they said they had a contact with.
When they aren’t finding out how hard it is to get a decision maker on the phone, they’re spending too much time talking to the sales assistant, running their hands through their hair and checking in on social media.
Suggested casting: Andy Samberg or James Franco
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
