The Million-Dollar Buyer Speaks Again

My friend and former client emailed me a few weeks ago after having read my newsletter on “word whiskers“.  He said it spurred some thoughts. Here are his thoughts:

“You have triggered a couple of thoughts that kind of fit in your rephrasing the whiskers….all too often we see reps who do not have a clue as to what my client is selling….Yes, how can your station help if you do not know what we are trying to sell and how we are going to get there?  After you shave the whiskers, tell me how you are going to help me and my client get the job done.  Tell me how what you are giving me is going to help. I do not remember the last time a rep asked what we were trying to do for a specific client.”      Les Boyle.

Wow! It would be difficult to come up with a bigger indictment of what we do and DON’T do. A couple of years ago, I heard a speaker at a convention give the results of a 1000 retail client survey on what they thought of their radio reps. 62% said that radio reps don’t understand their (the client’s) business. 68% said radio reps don’t understand advertising. Is it any wonder that radio continues to earn only a small percentage of marketing dollars?

When will we learn that it is NOT about US: It is about THEM, our clients. When we learn to ask client-centric questions, to truly try to understand our clients’ businesses and problems and goals, we will be in a position to craft campaigns to help them achieve those goals. Too often we approach our clients with what we need to sell instead of what they need to buy. And we won’t know what they need to buy until we live in our clients’ worlds.

Not to sound self-serving, but my book, lBeyond Powerful Radio: A Communicator’s Guide To The Internet Age has several chapters about questions to ask our clients to uncover their world. Today’s client needs analysis is far different from the ones we grew up with. It’s time to sharpen our skills!

Photo: Shutterstock
 

About The Author 

Pat Bryson is the founder of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with radio stations around the world to increase revenue by raising the skill level of their sales staffs. Her client list spans from the United States to Canada, Europe and Central Asia.

Pat has spent her entire career creating a culture of over-achievement for her stations. She began her career in radio sales, becoming one of the highest billing sales people in her market. Her career advanced to General Sales Manager, and then to Market Manager. Since starting BBI 7 years ago, she has helped hundreds of radio stations to find, train and grow great quality sales people and managers.

Pat was the recipient of two prestigious educational fellowships from the Educational Foundation of the National Association of Broadcasters: a fellowship to the Executive Development Program and a fellowship to the Broadcast Leadership Training Program.

She publishes the Bryson Broadcasting International Newsletter twice monthly and is a contributor to Valerie Geller’s latest book, Beyond Powerful Radio: A Communicator’s Guide To The Internet Age.

You may contact Pat at [email protected] or visit her website at http://www.patbryson.com.