Sometimes when you meet people, you just know immediately they’re someone you could hang out with, watch a game and have a beer (or two). Scott Speropoulos, the General Sales Manager for Audacy’s four stations in Memphis is one of those. He is high energy, a great talker and comes complete with that great southern charm and accent.
Scott knows a thing or two about media sales, too, something he has been involved with in some capacity for most of his 25-plus year career. He started in radio as a remote coordinator before going to work for a startup television station. Along the way, he sold print as well, managed in radio, managed in print, was a Director of Sales in television and then the pandemic hit. That’s when Scott decided, “It’s time to come home, I’m back here again.”
At the end of 2020, Speropoulos returned to the group of stations he had been with from 2005-2007, which now includes 92.9 ESPN the dominant sports radio station in the market.
When asked what made him a great seller when he was getting started, he said, “I just got out there and hustled. The Director of Sales from another station called me and said, ‘Everywhere my people go, they are finding your business card, so you are going to come work for us.’ Just getting out there and hustling and getting my name built and my reputation and I tried to meet with as many people as possible.”
Speropoulos talked about what led him to pursue management opportunities after he had been selling television for six years. He said selling the television station started to feel a little bit like “Groundhog Day.” He said he looked to his younger days as an athlete and thought about how well he generally had performed under pressure.
“I was that guy when it’s fourth and long and no time left, give me the ball,” he said. “The TV station had people who had been there for a long, long time and they were not planning on retiring any time soon. And it just so happened the radio stations I had started with needed a National Sales Manager and had me come over and sell for a year and then I got the NSM role…it was just that personal challenge of taking the next step in my career.”
Clearly Speropoulos has seen many changes in our business since his sales career began back in 1997. “Back when I started, it was you buy a spot on TV and you sprayed and prayed,” he said. “Now, we’ve got so many digital capabilities where I can take more of that sniper approach. Tell me exactly who you are looking for and I can bring you those people…I can get those people without you having to waste advertising dollars on people that don’t make sense for you.”
He talks a lot about the culture of the Audacy Memphis office and says the group of air talent he works with do a great job working with the sales team and their clients. “I am lucky because my guys here, the culture we have here is everyone is pulling on the same rope together, we all want to help each other.”
Speropoulos recently grew his sales team by one and said he found a lot of people applying who seemed scared about commission sales and “wanted everything guaranteed.” He said being a big fan of former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, it is all about discipline with him when it comes to who he is looking for.
“I can teach you sales, but I can’t teach you self-discipline. It’s someone who makes those decisions every day and knows that it’s five o’clock but goes ahead and makes that extra call. And someone who is willing to constantly learn because the world of digital changes every day. There is going to be something new that comes out tomorrow and they’ve got to be able to adapt. We can’t have anyone who is just set in their ways and says they cannot sell digital.
“It’s being disciplined. It’s making those right decisions. You have the autonomy to go to lunch whenever you are ready. Are you going to take that hour and a half lunch, or do you take a lunch where you could make an impact somewhere? Am I going to make cold calls today or am I going to push that off until Friday?
“It’s the person who makes the strong decisions and the tough decisions that hold themselves accountable. I can’t babysit you. I can’t be as tough on you as you are going to be on yourself so that’s what I am looking for, someone who is going to hold themselves accountable, someone who is going to make the tough decisions. Someone who is striving to do better every day.”
92.9 ESPN made a change in afternoon drive a little more than a year ago when Gary Parrish left for a new position and former Memphis Tigers offensive lineman Gabe Kuhn took over. Many times, changes or noise in the industry can rattle a sales team. Speropoulos said he always tells his team to focus on what they can control.
“Focus on the strategy that we have put in place for that specific client and see it all the way through,” he said. “If we stay true to what we put in place that we know is going to work, who cares if the DJ leaves tomorrow. Our goal is to help them grow their business and bring them quality consumers. If we stay true to what we believe in, all that other stuff is noise.”
Scott believes today the key is for sellers to work with clients to drill down on what their ideal target is before creating a campaign and then pick the best products that fit how to reach that person. He also said sellers have to remain on top of the changes and new products that can help their clients.
“There’s going to be new technology that we haven’t even fathomed yet that we are going to be able to utilize. So, it’s staying on top of our toes, staying educated and embracing the change as it comes.”
When asked what he does to keep it fun and rewarding for his sales team he said, “In my group everyone is a little different. Some like trophies, some would rather just go out and have a beer.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. I care about every single person here and I make sure they’re happy and I put their needs ahead of mine. We have a great team. They care about how we achieve as a team.”
They have achieved quite a bit since flipping to sports in 2009 and seem headed for continued success with Scott Speropoulos heading up the sales team. He is all about the team and nobody, as they say in the south, getting ‘too big for his britches.’
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.
