As we all know, sometimes you have to go back to the basics, back to blocking and tackling, as the saying goes. In today’s sports media sales world there can be too many distractions and there are way too many competitors and just for good measure we’re now all heavily in the digital space, which changes by the day.
More content is being produced than ever before, consumers are picking up the content from all sorts of places and there’s confusion and misconceptions everywhere.
So, what’s a sports media seller to do? You guessed it, go back to the basics.
No matter what happens in our industry, the one thing I’m certain will not change, is the need for sellers to develop relationships with new local direct clients. The most basic part of our job is to identify target businesses and find a way in. From there, we meet to learn about what keeps them up at night, we put together a killer presentation that provides ideas and solutions, based on that meeting, and then we close and service the sale. Those things aren’t changing.
Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed by what’s happening around you and wondering if you’ll ever figure out “new digital product x, y and z” or ever get mush brain from information overload on the new share of audience article, the simple solution is to get out and make more presentations. There’s nothing that making more presentations cannot fix, so long as they’re legit presentations and not an e-blast with the “package du jour” and a note that says, “let me know if you’re interested!”
This same principal goes to our friends across the hall in programming. All these new touchpoints with listeners and different delivery systems are fantastic, but none of that changes what it all boils down to: great content trumps everything. They have yet to develop the smartphone, smart speaker, app or anything else that turns average programming in to great programming and I doubt that product is on the horizon.
With all the new ways consumers can get content, it’s becoming more and more important that our stations are providing compelling, entertaining shows, podcasts, blogs, videos, tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts and maybe even Snapchats, too. Whatever it takes to engage the audience and not have them think of the 364 other ways they could find something to listen to or watch.
The days of a talent only having to capture an audience’s attention for a four-hour shift are gone, it now has got to be constant and it has to be captivating. Engage the audience, drive them to your social media, they share your content with their network, you grow your audience, the sales team then monetizes your reach.
Now, we all have a responsibility to be good marketing consultants to our clients and to know and understand the trends happening within our space. So, we have got to spend the time learning about it, but not at the expense of time we should be in front of clients or prospecting for new business. No matter what lies ahead for the industry, finding decision makers who want to invest in their businesses and use our products to do so, is always going to be our main assignment.
Prospecting and presenting, the sales version of blocking and tackling.
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.
