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Brand new at sales

L

lovinvegas

Guest
Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I have done some door to door and called some national accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+ and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any help would be really appreciated!!!


Dawn
 
Your simplest start would be to check out the local newspapers, listen to competitor's stations... find clients that are alreaday paying to advertise. If you're new... forget about converting until you have some experience with those WILLING to hear your pitch. If you're selling sports... check out the sports section of your local papers first.

Good luck!


> Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I
> have done some door to door and called some national
> accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out
> of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+
> and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how
> do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any
> help would be really appreciated!!!
>
>
> Dawn
>
 
> Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I
> have done some door to door and called some national
> accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out
> of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+
> and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how
> do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any
> help would be really appreciated!!!
>
>
> Dawn
>

First of all, congrat's on the new gig!

Monitoring the other radio stations in your market is definitely the easiest way to go... since they're already sold on radio, all you have to do is sell them on your station. Easier said than done, I know, but at least you won't have to spend months trying to convince a prospect that a well-planned radio schedule would be more effective than an ad crammed into the local paper.

You mentioned that your station carries a weekly NFL game and Navy games... do they have any sponsors you might be able to tag along with? For instance, if Toyota is a network sponsor of the NFL games you carry, you might be able to approach a local Toyota dealer with a promotional campaign of some sort to draw traffic to their location.

Another good plan would be to find a general category that matches up well with your station and target businesses in that category. For instance, financial is always big for the news/talk stations and entertainment is huge for CHR. I'm a bit of a research nerd, so I recommend taking a look at any qualitative data you might have on your station (Scarborough, Media Audit, etc.) and see if anything jumps out at you.

Local chambers of commerce meetings and trade shows can be good places to network, too. And going to station events/remotes around town can be valuable... you can see your audience (what do they wear? what do they drive?) and, if it's a success, I'd imagine neighboring businesses would be interested in talking to you.

Finally, you can also keep an eye out for prospects while you're out and about... new businesses opening, seeing things when you're driving through a new neighborhood, etc. I would drive my family crazy when I did this, but it worked.

Good luck!
 
> Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I
> have done some door to door and called some national
> accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out
> of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+
> and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how
> do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any
> help would be really appreciated!!!
>
>
> Dawn
>
Welcome to the crazy world of radio advertising..........your life will now turn into one big prospecting session............you will find that you can't do anything or go anywhere without writing down names and phone numbers of businesses you see on billboards, sides of trucks, grand openings, ads in the local papers, etc..........I can't even go to a concert without carefully perusing the program booklet for leads...........listening to the other radio stations in your area is also a good idea...........it's gotten to the point where I can't even remember the last time I listened to my own station!!......your home will be littered with little scraps of newspaper ads that you've cut out, and when you read the paper, you won't even be reading the articles, you'll be so focused on the ads............keep a pen and pad of paper with you in the car............I write down the name of every business I see on the side of a truck or van...........and I'm surprised I haven't gotten in any accidents considering that when I'm driving I'm busier looking at buildings than the road in front of me.............join a business networking group, like BNI...........pass your business card out EVERYWHERE YOU GO..........and don't forget to ask potential clients if there is a chance of them receiving co-op money from the dealers they do business with........the biggest secret to successful radio advertising is to always keep the funnel full of prospects.......good luck!!!
 
Good advice from everyone else. A couple of other pointers: the "quickest sale" is generally finding a prospect who's already a fan of the radio station. Attend as many station events as possible and bring lots of business cards! If you're selling sports, good categories are beers and car dealers. Find out who the local beverage distributors are in your area and track down their sales manager or marketing director...when calling car dealers ask for the General Manager. Don't be afraid to go after the big fish...try to educate yourself ASAP so you can walk in with confidence and not worry about being asked questions to which you don't know the answer. Is your station a RAB (Radio Advertising Bureau) member? If so, take advantage of this great resource. Best of luck and have a great career!


> Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I
> have done some door to door and called some national
> accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out
> of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+
> and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how
> do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any
> help would be really appreciated!!!
>
>
> Dawn
>
 
>You have picked an EXCITING career! I agree with Shark regarding RAB. You can print out a page that gives you some of the most important questions to ask a potental client in order to meet his/her needs. Something like a CNA (Client Needs Analysis). That will help you a lot. And I am in agreement that prospecting is 24/7.
Best of luck to you!







Your simplest start would be to check out the local
> newspapers, listen to competitor's stations... find clients
> that are alreaday paying to advertise. If you're new...
> forget about converting until you have some experience with
> those WILLING to hear your pitch. If you're selling
> sports... check out the sports section of your local papers
> first.
>
> Good luck!
>
>
> > Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> > Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts....
> I
> > have done some door to door and called some national
> > accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses
> out
> > of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is
> 30+
> > and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> > have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and
> how
> > do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new...
> any
> > help would be really appreciated!!!
> >
> >
> > Dawn
> >
>
 
> Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I
> have done some door to door and called some national
> accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out
> of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+
> and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how
> do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any
> help would be really appreciated!!!
>
>
> Dawn


Dawn

there is no quick sale or magic line Radio Sales is Passion but if u want success follow this plan,

Integrity in all you do

Intrest never stop learning about your products and customers

Committment to carry out your promises

Knowledge of your station and your clients needs be their expert

Reliability followup and follow through

Diplomacy always develop long lasting relationships


and have fun

Bill
 
Dawn, you have to think long term and like helping people. The best book you can read is "The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising"
by Michael Corbet. It's a step by step how to make radio advertising work!
Great read for new & old reps. If you learn how to make advertising really work, you'll have more clients.




Hi all -- I just started with a new station here in
> Maryland/virginia. I figured I'd come to the experts.... I
> have done some door to door and called some national
> accounts - finding that's hard- and also call businesses out
> of the phone book to get appointments.... our target is 30+
> and we carry nfl game of the week and the navy games.. I
> have a WIDE open market --- what's the quickest sale and how
> do you pitch????? ok alot of questions but I'm new... any
> help would be really appreciated!!!
>
>
> Dawn
>
 
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