Selling Radio
Facts or Benefits?
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Take five minutes and write down all the facts you know about your stations. You may know so much that you need more than five minutes.
Now take five minutes and write down WHY these facts are important to your clients.
It's a bit of a trick question. To write down WHY these facts are important, you need to have a specific...
13 August 2019
Sales isn't what you tell people. It's what ask people
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
I Have Some Honest Serving Men...
In today's environment, this saying might be "I have some honest serving people." I've never been hung up about gender words, but what comes next in the saying is the focus of this post. The saying continued with, "They are Who, What, When, Where, Why...
23 July 2019
Sales prospects are where you find them
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
I was in the middle of one of my domestic chores (going to the grocery store) during one of my infrequent times at home. As I carried my groceries to the car, two young men followed me out of the store. They were headed to a very large industrial truck parked next to my vehicle.
One of the young men got my...
10 June 2019
My "I" and My "R"
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
In my previous post, we talked about our "Why?". What are our Level Three motivators that spur us to action each day? We also mentioned that your Identity, "I", will drive your role, "R". Let's explore that concept a bit today.
I'm sure you have all known a...
04 February 2019
What's Your "Why"?
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
2019 is off and running. By now you will have your new revenue goals for the year. Based on those revenue goals, you can calculate how much you will earn this year - your revenue goals, divided by your commission rate, will give you your potential earnings.
Today I don't want to talk about how much you want to earn, I want to talk about WHY you want to earn it. What...
15 January 2019
Selling Multi-Year Radio Advertising Agreements: It can be done
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
I hope by now you have been talking with all your clients about 2019.
In fact, I hope you've been doing so for the past two months. I'm sure you've encountered objections to scheduling longer than a few weeks or months:
"I'm not sure radio works. You'll have to prove it to me with this week's schedule."
"I want to test you. I...
04 December 2018
A little customer service goes a long way
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
A few weeks ago, I needed two items that a quick search on the Internet showed me should be available at Best Buy. I'm rabid about buying from store fronts since most of our business comes from local sources, and, though Best Buy isn't local, they do have a store I can walk into, see and touch the merchandise, and have someone to answer questions. But, I spoke too quickly. Yes, I could...
03 October 2018
Understanding the Marketing Channel
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Every time a new product is introduced, potential consumers must move through the Marketing Channel.
The stages are Unawareness, Awareness, Comprehension and Image, Attitude and Action.
Remember the first tablet that was introduced? You were probably asking yourself: What...
18 September 2018
Getting to "Yes"
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Getting prospects to sign on the dotted line does not always go according to your plan.
At the moment of truth, your prospect may back off. You may hear the dreaded, "I want to think about it." What went wrong?
Closing is a process, not a single event. Getting a positive conclusion to your "ask" starts way before you present a schedule or idea. It starts from the very first...
01 September 2018
Words That Weaken Your Message
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Those pesky little words that we use to fill silence as we decide what to say next. These words and sounds keep us from sounding confident. They weaken our messages. My speech teacher called them "word whiskers".
I hear them often when I work with sales people. Which sound familiar to you?
"We're JUST going to "THROW IN" these 10 FREE spots per week."
Notice how the use of "just...
22 May 2018
Keep Your Pipeline Full
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
It's important to keep your sales pipeline full of prospects. If they don't enter your funnel, they won't come out as sales. This first step is vitally important to growing our business.
Many salespeople dread and avoid prospecting. While there is no "secret formula" to make it easy, I've listed some rules that can help make prospecting successful.
- Make an appointment with yourself....
01 May 2018
The Power of "Thank You"
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
When was the last time someone sent you a Thank-You note? Do you still have it? These items are so rare today that you just might have it posted on your wall. Especially if it were from your boss, a customer, a friend.
The point is, so few people say "Thank you" anymore that receiving a hand-written note becomes an event. Somehow the fact that it is hand written makes it more special than receiving...
18 April 2018
Radio and the Brain
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Westwood One recently did a biometric study of how various forms of advertising affect the brain. What they found was that video produced the least amount of brain activity. Ads that were text-based elicited a bit more. Audio advertising elicited the most brain activity. Why?
Radio is a single-sense medium that allows you to build a picture in your mind. Most of us would agree that the movie is NEVER as...
15 March 2018
My unusual holiday
In December, I spent two weeks in Pakistan. Now, this is not my normal location to spend part of my holidays.
I like to be in front of my fireplace staring at my tree and planning the new year.
I was asked to be part of a group of broadcasters and journalists who were sent to work with TV, Radio and Print journalists in Karachi and Islamabad. And, yes, the answer to your question is, "I did have a few minutes hesitation to go to a country where...
18 February 2018
Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Why is it so hard to get people's full meaning when we converse by telephone or through email? It's because much of what we communicate with one another is not what we SAY or write.
Albert Mehrabian, who was a research pioneer in body language, found that the total impact of a message is about 7% verbal (words only), 38%...
29 October 2017
Why would I want to buy radio ads?
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
John Wanamaker is credited with saying, "Half of my advertising is wasted: I just don't know which half."
Whether or not this is true, we know that successful advertising campaigns contain three elements:
1. Enough repetition weekly so that half of your audience hears the message a minimum of three times.
2. Enough consistency (read:long...
04 October 2017
The first place to advertise in a changing world
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
I was working with my newspaper client a few weeks ago discussing the most common objections they hear. Undoubtedly, it was this, "Nobody reads the newspaper anymore." I found this interesting because I also hear from my radio clients, "Nobody listens to radio anymore. They listen to satellite or podcasts." I hear from my TV people, "Everyone fast-forwards...
06 September 2017
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Do It Today! Ever heard that bit of wisdom, "Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today"?
One of the attributes of great sales people is a trait we call "urgency". They want it done yesterday...or now at the latest. They never put things off.
As sales people, we keep many plates spinning wildly at all times. We need to be able to multi-task, and, we need to get things done. Today is better than tomorrow.
Sometimes,...
04 August 2017
Why good story tellers make great sales people
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
The best sales people are story-tellers. They use stories about previous clients to help future clients to feel comfortable with giving them money.
Every time we approach new, prospective clients, they are asking themselves, "If I spend money with this person, will my opportunity for reward be greater than my risk?" As salespeople, we are in the business of removing risk and creating...
18 July 2017
How To Avoid the "Chicken Out" Syndrome
Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
Last newsletter we talked about selling long-term. Part of the process of selling long-term is managing our clients' expectations by teaching them what advertising CAN and CANNOT do at the time we sell them. If we wait until later, when they don't see immediate response and want to cancel, it sounds as though we are making excuses.
Explaining the results UP FRONT puts us in the position of...
27 June 2017
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