One of the most challenging things to do in our business is to keep that pipeline humming with new prospects. Increasingly, buyers are doing their initial research independently, making it more difficult to get meetings.
Finding new clients is always easier with a compelling reason to listen to you. We just need to use our resources to come up with compelling ideas to discuss with new prospects. But finding new people to talk to doesn’t have to be a task you take on yourself. Finding some warm leads is very doable if you consider some of these four steps.
#1 Talk it up with other salespeople. Make sure you are teaming up with other sales reps in your building. They can be a great combo to approach new clients with if you have female-leaning formats. Make sure you ask your best clients if they are on the air with competitors of your sister stations. You can devise a pricing plan to give them the proper incentive to get the appointment. Make sure you ask fellow reps at the other stations to do the same if they are in with clients who buy your competitor. Even if you add your more male-targeted station into the mix of a client, buying adults or females can be compelling.
#2 Ask an expert. Approach anyone you know who is an expert at something i.e. plumbing, whatever. They could be clients, friends, or other sales reps in the building. They will teach you things they know about how business is done in their expertise, and you can approach others with it. There is nothing better than approaching a new prospect with a remedy to their pain point. Make sure you drill new salespeople in the building. Whatever industry they came from can be a good lead for you or insider info. And don’t forget to get the list of vendors your station does business with and ensure you are covering those folks! Look for leads close to the station, too; it may be that lots of employees eat, drink, or shop at places that want to return the favor.
#3 Look back before going forward. Make sure you check back 1-3 years and see which accounts were on the air and aren’t now. Sometimes you will find out that nobody is calling on them because we all just forgot. Who knows, they may wonder what happened to your station and are just waiting for an invitation to come back. Work ahead and start looking now at November/December spenders in 2020-2021, look at their copy and come up with a different or better approach.
#4 Call oldies but goodies. Circle back to former reps and employees with or not with your stations and get referrals from them. They may even invite you to sell the company they are now with.
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.
