Is This Typical?

[dbdigital]

Here is a sales and/or management horror story that a friend of mine who works as on-air talent for a Clear Channel cluster in the Midwest told me.

Today, while the salesmen at this particular cluster were out having lunch, the sales manager took away all of their office chairs. When they came back, the manager told the salesmen that they could "buy back" their chairs as soon as they sold $5000.00 worth of air time.

Now I would expect something like this from a car dealership but it strikes me as low and degrading for a radio station, and a highly successful one at that. Of course, it may be business as usual for Clear Channel, the "Wal-Mart of radio", but is this kind of sales "incentive" typical for radio stations?

db

 

[SirRoxalot]

Auto-Motivation

Was the Sales Manager a former car salesman? Or, was the Sales Manager's boss a former car salesman...

These days, sales people have little reason to be in the office during the day. They should be out seeing customers anyway. If somebody took my chair, I'd see that as an invitation for me to pack up my laptop and head home to make phone calls. I'd come back when my chair was back.

 

[SaltyDog]

"Today, while the salesmen at this particular cluster were out having lunch, the sales manager took away all of their office chairs. When they came back, the manager told the salesmen that they could "buy back" their chairs as soon as they sold $5000.00 worth of air time."

My first thought was to agree that this was a cheesy stunt, but after reflecting on it, I give the sales manager benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he was simply introducing some much-needed theatrics to the place. He could have simply fired off an email demanding better performance.

If this traumatized any of the sellers, I suggest they find another line of work. They are probably too fragile for the rough and tumble of the business world.

 

[dbdigital]

"Today, while the salesmen at this particular cluster were out having lunch, the sales manager took away all of their office chairs. When they came back, the manager told the salesmen that they could "buy back" their chairs as soon as they sold $5000.00 worth of air time."

My first thought was to agree that this was a cheesy stunt, but after reflecting on it, I give the sales manager benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he was simply introducing some much-needed theatrics to the place. He could have simply fired off an email demanding better performance.

If this traumatized any of the sellers, I suggest they find another line of work. They are probably too fragile for the rough and tumble of the business world.

Perhaps. But any salesman worth his or her salt is going to be out in the field greeting clients or cold-calling potential clients anyway and would be using their desks mostly to set up appointments or do necessary paperwork. A few at the station did grumble about it. Admittedly, I don't know all of the circumstances prompting this tactic.

To me it just seemed unnecessary and degrading. It's not a technique I would use to motivate a sales force.

db

 

[oldrover]

First prize: Cadillac.

Second prize: steak knives.

Everyone else... fired.

-- Alec Baldwin, "Glengarry Glen Ross"

Great scene from a great movie. Although NOT the way to motivate a sales staff.

 

[dbdigital]

First prize: Cadillac.

Second prize: steak knives.

Everyone else... fired.

-- Alec Baldwin, "Glengarry Glen Ross"

Great scene from a great movie. Although NOT the way to motivate a sales staff.

Funny. Yes, I was thinking of that film as well.

Another movie worth watching is the 1965 documentary "Salesman" about some traveling Bible salesmen who, among other things, routinely get browbeaten by their managers.

I came away with both empathy and respect for sales people.

db

 

[DouglasB]

Today, while the salesmen at this particular cluster were out having lunch, the sales manager took away all of their office chairs. When they came back, the manager told the salesmen that they could "buy back" their chairs as soon as they sold $5000.00 worth of air time.


db

Sounds like a great way to motivate the sales troops. I once worked for a GM who wanted his salespeople on the streets by 9am. But they lingered around the office and went out on appointments when they darn well felt like it. Next morning at 9am, a tow truck appeared and towed all the offenders cars.
Bottom line, the GM is making a point. Sales people are supposed to sell. Period. If they don't perform, you get new ones. If they do perform, you reward them well.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I once worked for a GM who wanted his salespeople on the streets by 9am. But they lingered around the office and went out on appointments when they darn well felt like it. Next morning at 9am, a tow truck appeared and towed all the offenders cars.

So, you're saying that salespeople should be out of the office whether they have an appointment or not, huh? Good luck setting up a 9AM appointment with a LOT of clients. Call a club owner at 9AM and you might never get a buy again.

Absolutes like that are absurd. Hire people who do the job, then reward them fairly. Sales managers who are working WITH their sales people - and TRAINING them to do the job better - will know who CAN do the job, and who WILL do the job. Punishing everybody for the actions of a few doesn't work for adults. It just makes good people look elsewhere for more reasonable employment.

Too often, good people get driven out based on the theory that "we can hire two new salespeople for what we pay you". The fact that the experienced guy has developed a long-term relationship with a client, and sells based on a marketing plan that's good for both the advertiser and the radio station in the long run, is discounted by managers trying to hit monthly budgets. The new salespeople have no relationship with the client, and look for the quick score. That may help the short term, but often costs everybody in the long run.

If you can't inspire the troops without doing this kind of crap, perhaps you need to re-evaluate your own management and training skills. If people aren't getting what you think they should out of a client, maybe it's time YOU got out of YOUR office and spent a little time on the street with your sales people to see IF they're underperforming, and WHY.

 

[grantchester]

Stan Webb was the first sales manager for WOAI when Clear Channel was formed. Co-investor Red McCombs invited him to a sales meeting at his Ford dealership, to get some ideas about selling. He says Red sat down with his car salesmen and passed out forms, each stating that the salesman would BUY one of the left-over odd-lot last year's model cars at the end of the month, unless he could sell it. They were told to sign or quit. They all signed. They all sold the ugly cars by the end of the month.
Years later, Clear Channel (d.b.a. Gulfstar) took over my station. They took each salesman's list and tore it into three peices. Each peice was handed to a new salesman. Almost all the old guys left. The new ones lasted about 6 months each. Many clients bailed because their trusted rep was gone.
An effective sales manager knows where the money is, and sends his people that way. Others just yell, threaten, browbeat and bully.

 

[DouglasB]

I once worked for a GM who wanted his salespeople on the streets by 9am. But they lingered around the office and went out on appointments when they darn well felt like it. Next morning at 9am, a tow truck appeared and towed all the offenders cars.

So, you're saying that salespeople should be out of the office whether they have an appointment or not, huh? Good luck setting up a 9AM appointment with a LOT of clients. Call a club owner at 9AM and you might never get a buy again.

Absolutes like that are absurd. Hire people who do the job, then reward them fairly.

If all you are selling is club owners, I agree. Don't confuse a one-time stunt with abusing the poor bastards. After the tow truck incident, sales increased 30%. In fact the sales people got the last laugh. At the meeting to celebrate and recognize the record setting year in sales, the owner had the GM's car towed during the meeting. I guess you had to work there to appreciate it.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Voodoo Economics

After the tow truck incident, sales increased 30%. In fact the sales people got the last laugh. At the meeting to celebrate and recognize the record setting year in sales, the owner had the GM's car towed during the meeting. I guess you had to work there to appreciate it.

I'd be interested to know how long that 30% increase held up. At the end of the year, were sales up 30%? 20%? 10%? You can often hit somebody hard for a short-term gain, but over the long haul, there's only so many advertising dollars in the budget.

You can talk somebody into clustering a bunch of spots short-term - especially if you cut rate and/or add bonus spots - but that usually means that they'll go dormant until there's another "event", or a built-in reason to make a buy (think "Candy Store" and "Valentine's Day"). A steady, long-term schedule with decent frequency and smaller bumps at strategic times is usually more effective for the client, and ultimately brings in more money for the station - if the advertising is effective in the first place.

Getting everybody to pump up their schedules short-term adds more spots to the log, making each individual spot less effective, and driving away listeners when the stopsets get to be too long. I'd rather have 6-minute stopsets all the time than 4-minute stopsets one month, and 8-minute stopsets just when you're headed into a major book. You know that when there's money on the table, stopset limits will go out the door.

 

[DouglasB]

God's honest truth? The 30% number was for year end. And the next year they didn't hit 30%. They hit 38% with yearly increases that outpaced the market average. This group jelled into a dynamic sales force with many of it's members now GM's and owners of their own properties.