Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
In the last newsletter we discussed the need to enter 2026 with the best sales staff in town. Becoming an A+ player may require us to learn some new skills, to hone our current skills and to raise our own standards of excellence.
We need to be more skillful in the knowledge of a variety of businesses and how to market those businesses. Today we are business consultants with a specialization in marketing. To that end, we must never stop learning. Success is no longer defined as knowing about radio advertising and how to craft appropriate campaigns on that platform. We must now know how to integrate radio with all the other forms of marketing our clients might be doing. We must know how to create relevant, emotionally-driven messages and make sure the same message is coordinated across all platforms. Most of us sell many platforms: digital, outdoor, print, multiple radio formats. We have many tools in our tool boxes to move the revenue needle for our clients.
In one of my training sessions we talk about the five passages of a salesperson. In our careers, we move from “Novices” to “Learners”. In these two skill levels, we are mostly concerned with selling small, transactional packages.
As we progress, we become “Competents”. Here we match our products to our customers’ needs instead of selling “one size fits all” packages.
But we mustn’t stop there! We need to increase our skill level to become “Professional Resources” and finally, “Customizers”. At these last two levels, we collaborate with our customers resulting in larger, more complex sales. In today’s complicated business environment, these are the type of sales we need to focus on.
Where do you think you are? Are you still selling “spots” and packages, or are you creating campaigns? Are you the person your client thinks of when they need marketing advice in any area? Are you known as a radio salesperson or a problem solver?
When you become their go-to-person, you are in a position to truly help their business to grow. And this provides the kind of psychic satisfaction that makes it fun to go to work each day.
Being “good” isn’t good enough to prosper in 2026. We must be exceptional. Read, listen, study. Or, hire us to raise B+ sellers to A+ sellers. At BBI, our goal is to help radio’s share of revenue increase. We will only do that by becoming better partners with our clients and truly understanding their business.
Be ready to excel in 2026!
Happy Selling!
Pat Bryson is an internationally known speaker and trainer specializing in training salespeople and managers. She is a regular contributor to radioinfo.
Pat has consulted stations in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and Central Asia. Her career has included on air, salesperson, sales manager and general manager. Since opening BBI, she has travelled extensively and has spoken at most major radio conventions on three continents.
Pat is the author of two books, “A Roadmap to Success in High Dollar Broadcast Sales” and “Successful Broadcast Sales: Thriving in Change”.
Pat has five times been named one of Radio Ink’s Most Influential Women in Radio.