Dear new salesperson,
Selling radio advertising can be like a fight. Let me tell you how you can win it.
What we sell and when we sell it is mostly our choice. As commissioned salespeople, we have many different paths to meet our goals. The longer you stay in the radio business, the more you will be able to create your own path to hit your numbers. But you are new to the business, so you have a lot of choices to make very soon. Digital strategies, play by play sponsorship availabilities, endorsement requests, the promotional package of the month and a lot more will be hitting your inbox soon and often.
Once you have been in the business longer, your inbox will still be filled by your sales manager with packages, but you will be more selective. You will find value in the type of sales you make and don’t make and what types of clients you like to work with. You must decide what your time is worth and work accordingly.
You will see the benefits of moving away from chasing advertisers who only want all the bells and whistles, but only at deep discounts. They want to see remotes, promotions with every buy, month to month contracts, and agency discounts. They’ll be the ones that only are ready to sign on the dotted line when “buy cheap” packages are available or they are the new clients who you are asked to get on the air by the end of the same month you are selling in, so you will have to accept a deal more favorable to them.
You will instead want to focus on annual clients who can run branding commercials with a game plan and are open to in-month ideas, digital ads or whatever else you think is in their wheelhouse. You can still offer any deals management sends to you, but you should have an annual contract in place. That doesn’t usually happen in the first year of selling. I wish it did.
While you are on a guaranteed salary, this is the best time to aim high. Target the biggest advertisers you can imagine with an annual advertising plan. Figure out that plan ONE TIME. Ask others who have similar deals. Learn that deck. LEARN IT NOW! Go see as many people as possible with it and just cut and paste a new client name. If you swing and miss, you still get paid. At least you are aiming high, and the payoff will be great if you connect. You can always go for low hanging fruit, the end of month lowball rate buyers or smaller advertiser to get your feet wet.
Beware if that is all you do while on a guaranteed salary though, because when that salary expires, you will be left with a month-to-month list filled with pressure. That’s not setting yourself up for success. Don’t be the person who brings a knife to a gunfight.
Remember, what you do now can make things easier or harder in the long run.
All the best,
A guy that has been at it for a bit.
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
