I had a lot of feedback from the part of last week’s sales meeting which talked about ad agencies. So, I want to cover that again in this week’s sales meeting, so stop texting, looking at TikTok or posting on Instagram, let’s chat about the evil enemy known as the advertising agency.
Right off the bat, I want to tell you that if you have a negative outlook towards ag agencies and think that way too many businesses that don’t spend that much money are using them these days, know that is most likely our own fault. We bugged the heck out of these business owners, but clearly didn’t either provide them with enough value, or most likely didn’t listen well enough to present a plan to them that made them think they didn’t need an ad agency when they could just buy from you and get an in-house marketing person along with it.
Do you remember watching Mad Men? Did you ever notice that the thing they were really best at was making initial presentations, presenting big ideas and campaigns based on what the client had told them? That and taking people out to nice dinners with plenty of cocktails.
Most ad agencies I dealt with in radio were simply interested in the CYA Strategy. They buy out of fear the client is going to come back and say something didn’t work. So, if they have data (no matter how bad the data is) that backs up what they did, they point to the data and say they recommended what they did based on the numbers.
In recapping what I had said before, ad agencies are trained to lie to you. It’s just the truth, I have the training manual. They are taught that radio salespeople, in particular, can be and should be taken advantage of, that they will believe anything you tell them especially if it is about the competitor. They often rush you to get you flustered then take their own time placing the buy because they never needed the information that quickly in the first place, it was a tactic.
With that said, there is a strategy you need to utilize in order to work with the agencies, assuming you have data to back it all up. The first thing is, if you only work the agencies when a buy is happening you’ve already lost. Agency buys, like anything else, can come from relationships, but mostly it is about trust.
Think about who the agency is. They work for the client and if they don’t get ‘er done, they are getting fired. So, if you can be one of those people who always delivers for the agency and your station performs, and you go above and beyond, play their games, etc., you should get buys from that person over and over again. The trust is there.
Ad agencies are also a lot like, well, every other small business on the planet – understaffed and busy. I know we don’t like to accept this, but buyers don’t sit around most days and thinking about just you and your station(s). You need to be in front of them, you need to be talking to them, you need to be pitching ideas to them.
There it is again – the ideas, the creativity. Going back to Mad Men, those were the days of big shops with people everywhere to do everything. Now, an ad agency is generally a few angry ex-media salespeople. They don’t have the resources to do it all, so they need your help.
If you are trying to get agency business by waiting for RFPs, then complaining when you don’t get bought three months later, ask yourself what you did to try and earn that buy. Did you presearch? Did you pitch an idea or a concept or a slogan or a jingle? Did you introduce yourself to the owner when you casually walked in to familiarize yourself more with the business because you will soon be making a presentation to their ad agency?
Nothing in our business should be expected, you have to work, sometimes you even have to, you know, SELL. If you build a relationship with a buyer, you can learn a lot, and sometimes you can learn what they are buying from others and come up with a way to sell against it. Ask questions like what other companies might be doing that they like, is it easier to do business with others and things that can help you now or with a future buy.
Be the ‘squeaky wheel’ so you are in line for the grease. In this case, you want to know clients who are getting ready to spend. Get out ahead of the RFP and take the time to put something killer together.
And know what you are going to face when it’s showtime so that you are prepared, understanding the tactics they will try and use against you. Have the best idea so that when it comes down to it, the lie that the people across the street have completely dropped their pants and offered something crazy doesn’t matter.
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.
