Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve written about advertisers who simply desire real results, as well as those naysayers who think radio is a modern-day dinosaur. Sometimes clients incorrectly believe that advertising is about moving product, while you and I know that advertising is about branding a product, which is far more important. We know this because there are so many great brands that aren’t great products. I won’t name them for obvious reasons, but you can likely think of them if you start with just beer and pizza.
With branding as important as it is, many sales teams are out there still armed with one-sheets, statistics and data, power point decks, a great deal of enthusiasm, and a belief that more of something will change everything. We all know that “more” alone won’t cut it. In fact, “more” can often hurt our cause.
We in media sales talk a great deal about “solutions,” “integration,” and “multi-platform synergies.” But to quote Shakespeare’s Hamlet – “To thine own self be true. (I guess my literature professor was right when she said I will use it someday.) Half the time, the three go-to items are simply rearranged: spots, promos, and sponsorships, and couched as “innovation.” Meanwhile, clients sit across the table thinking, “Didn’t I hear this same pitch from your competitor yesterday?”
Last week I mentioned sponsorships that matter and engage the audience. If you watched last Saturday night’s World Series game two in Toronto, you witnessed a wonderful, perfect example of this. In the fifth inning, Mastercard sponsored MLB’s “Stand for Cancer” program to benefit cancer research. The tradition started many years ago but in this international played game, virtually every person in the stadium held up a big placard that read, “I stand for Cancer” and it included someone they knew who had, struggled with, or survived cancer.
WOW! I had never seen that before, and I was emotionally moved. It engaged everyone, including the attendees, players, camera men, broadcasting team and of course, viewers like me. THAT is true social engagement that matters and THAT is why Mastercard sponsored it. We all don’t offer enough of this type of impact.
The problem isn’t that advertisers have stopped believing in what we offer. It’s that they may have more likely stopped believing in how we sell it. We became so focused on selling airtime, impressions, and clicks that we forgot about emotion and impact. Clients don’t wake up excited about our rate cards, “limited time offers,” or station promotions. They wake up worrying about cash flow, customers, and whether any of this “marketing stuff” will even move the needle.
A client told me recently – and this hit hard – “Honestly, Bob, I’ve thought about cutting everything and just saving the money. I’m so confused; I have no idea what even works anymore.” Ruh-Roh Scooby! That’s not good. To me, that’s salespeople fatigue talking. It’s the exhaustion of being pitched daily by every platform under the sun. It’s no wonder some advertisers have gone numb.
The truth is, “reach and frequency” don’t mean much to someone trying to move inventory or fill tables. What they really want to know is, “Will this campaign make my cash register ka-ching?”
Here’s the scary part. We may have trained some clients not to trust us. Too many bad habits, too many “this month only” specials, and too many cookie-cutter proposals labeled “custom.” You and I know that radio sells the best branding mechanism on the planet, and yet sellers sometimes forget the depth of the “relationship” and then we wonder why they shop around. They keep pushing features when what clients really want are solutions with a pulse; something that feels like it was built for them. We’ve all reviewed proposals that make us feel like we’re cardiac surgeons with a patient who just went into V-fib. “Paddles – 100 Joules – CLEAR!!”
Our clients want to believe and trust us. They want to believe in local media, in radio, in sponsorship, in the power of connection. But we have to figure out how to meet them halfway with honesty, clarity, and a little less pitch and polish. We need to do what air talent has learned to do… just be authentic and tell great stories!
Here’s some personal insight. When I walk onto an auto dealer’s lot shopping for a new car, I don’t want a salesperson coming over to pitch me before both my legs are even out of my truck. If it starts that way, their experience with me probably won’t be good. They usually begin with, “What brought you in today?” My answer is always, “My car! You just saw me drive up.” Then the next question is predictable, “Anything in particular you’re looking for?” To which I respond, “Yep – I just haven’t seen it yet.” Then the old reliable… “How much do you want to spend?” By now I’m asking myself who trained this guy? “My answer of course is, “How much do I want to spend? I don’t want to spend anything. Do you have anything that’s free?”
The sellers still winning big aren’t slick talkers. They’re translators who speak fluent client-ese. They walk into a meeting with curiosity, not confidence, and make it about the advertiser’s success, not their own commission. They’re not selling airtime or impressions; they’re selling outcomes. Most of all, they don’t walk-away when a client says “no, “not now”, or “I can’t afford it”. The best salesperson knows – that’s when the “selling” through relationship, trust and authenticity begins.
Even I get tired of the lack of care for ME as the customer. I’m also pretty sure that advertisers don’t really hate sellers. They are just frustrated at the sheer volume of salespeople, and hate being sold and pitched. The sales role is to ask and listen to the biography of their business and then create the story that will help them most succeed.
Look, if you have a dog, you know you need to feed it. A plant requires water and light, or it’ll die. Well, we need to remind our customers that branding is not an expense. It is the food and life’s blood of their business – and it’s an investment in the life and health of their company. That’s a reality that every business owner needs to hear.
Bob Lawrence writes weekly columns on radio leadership and business. He most recently served as market manager for MacDonald Broadcasting in Saginaw, Michigan. Throughout his career, Bob has held virtually every position in the business over his 40+ year career, from being on-air in Philadelphia, San Diego, and San Francisco to programming legendary stations including KHTR St. Louis, KITS Hot Hits and KIOI (K101) San Francisco to serving as the head of all programming for Saga Communications and working for the Radio Advertising Bureau. Before landing his current role, Bob helped lead Seven Mountains Media’s cluster in Parkersburg, WV/Marietta, OH. He can be reached by email at BGLawrence@me.com.
Bob also honed his research skills over ten years as Senior VP of Operations at Broadcast Architecture, eventually launching his own research company and serving as President/CEO of Pinnacle Media Worldwide for 15 years. Bob spent five years as VP of Programming for Saga Communications before joining New South Radio in Jackson, Mississippi as GM/Market Manager. Prior to joining Seven Mountains Media, Bob served as General Manager for the Radio Advertising Bureau, overseeing its “National Radio Talent System”.
