Radio Commercial Sales Tips from American Music Concepts

Selling with spec spots is the most valuable weapon in your war chest and probably the tool you use the least. Every week I travel around the country and discuss spec spots with sales managers and they all say the same thing … “Jingle Jim, you’re right. Spec spots are very helpful. We need to get back to doing more of them.”

Here’s a very direct question that only you can answer. How many spec spots did you present in November? My best guess would be zero … Am I right? Be honest with yourself … If your answer was zero, you are working at a severe disadvantage.

The best way to present a spec spot is with a two minute air check … Come out of a great song, read time and temperature and then the prospects spec spot plays. Immediately hit a station ID package and go right into another great song. Sell the sizzle of the station wrapped around the spec spot and it will sound just like it will on the radio. Hand the client the script and a red pen, and ask him to make any changes he feels are necessary. When the prospect starts making revisions, he’s on the way to being your next new client.

Present spec spots to every prospect you come in contact with and watch your sales soar in 2010.

Every morning show should have a fixed position comedy clip feature with a 52 week sponsor. Your listeners will plan their mornings around your comedy clips and there’s an endless supply of great material from classic comedians like George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld and Eddie Murphy … And the current crop of crazies like Lisa Lampanelli, Jim Gaffigan and Eric Andre. Your hometown Comedy Club would love to sponsor this feature but it would work just as well for Furniture Stores, Jewelers or any other prospects on your list.

Your fixed position noontime slot can feature a movie review called the Lunchtime Dinner & A Movie Review. There’s lots of material here too from first run movies to HBO and the latest DVD Releases. Selling a Restaurant or Home Theater Dealer on this feature is a slam dunk … every night is a great night for Dinner & A Movie.

Every afternoon drive time show should have a stock market report recapping the days events from Wall Street. A quick PM report on the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S & P 500 is all it would take to close a 52 week order from your local Bank, Credit Union, Mortgage Company or Financial Planner.

Three simple ideas that can help you close some 52 week advertisers in 2010. If you have multiple stations in your cluster, the potential in new business with these features is even greater.

It’s a great idea to join at least one local civic group in 2010. The contacts you will make will be priceless and your return on time investment will come back ten fold. There are hundreds of civic organizations to join … Here’s a list of some of the best ones:

Rotary International, Lions Clubs International, Kawanis International, Shriners International, Knights Of Columbus, Freemasonry, Salvation Army, American Legion, Elks USA, Humane Society, Habitat For Humanity, Jaycees, Junior Achievement, Optimist International, Sierra Club, and Special Olympics … These civic organizations can all use your help and they’ll be so excited to have a member of the local media join their team. Civic organizations like Rotary International meet once a week and they are always looking for guest speakers. At least make the circuit and offer your speaking services for 2010.

Civic Organizations are made up of the movers and shakers in your hometown and the friendships you make will pay off in a very big way for many years to come.

Circulation Directors have marketing budgets to help them obtain new subscribers and the quickest way to make that happening is to distribute free samples. We had a new Home Depot opening in our market and I approached the Store Manager with the idea of doing a “no charge” remote broadcast for the grand opening. My next call was to the Circulation Director of The Family Handyman Magazine. I asked for $5,000 and 5,000 free sample magazines to hand out at the Home Depot event. They loved the idea and in one day delivered the check and cartons of magazine samples.

Each Circulation Director has their own conversion rate of sample copies to paid subscribers … It’s a great subject to bring up during your initial contact. A quick visit to your local Barnes & Noble magazine section will open the doors to this limitless world of new business. They carry thousands of magazine titles in every imaginable business category … The next event you host bring along a magazine as a co-sponsor. Brides Magazine would love to participate in your Bridal Show. Money Magazine would jump at the chance to distribute samples at your Job Fair. Reader’s Digest would be a great prospect to call on for your Book Traders Show and get a jump start 2010 by calling on Hobby Farms Magazine for next year’s State Fair.

Just when you think you’ve run out of prospects, Jingle Jim delivers another great Monday morning idea starter!

Professional sports teams all enjoy the Home Court Advantage and it shows in the statistics. The Home Team wins a high percentage of games (NBA 59.8%, NFL 56.5%, NHL 55.4% and MLB 54.8%.) When you go the prospects place of business to make the big presentation, you are working at a disadvantage. Whenever possible, get the client to come to your Radio/TV Station.

Invite your prospects to a fun afternoon of entertainment including a limo ride to the station, an informative tour of your facilities and let them say “Hi” to their friends and family over the airwaves. Finally, serve them a catered lunch in your conference room while you make the presentation. This is just what we did in Grand Rapids, Michigan with 21 different prospects and all 21 clients bought a jingle and a 52 week marketing program.

Use your Home Court Advantage with key accounts whenever possible … You will be in charge of the meetings, there will be no distractions and your clients will like the way you treat your customers.

Tom Hopkins teaches sellers to tap into all the human senses whenever possible when making a presentation … Sight. Hearing. Touch. Taste. Smell. Intuition.

When you make formal client presentations follow the advice of Tom Hopkins. Your written proposal should be neatly typed and import the clients logo into the paperwork (Sight.) Sound will always spice up a radio sales presentation so make sure to present some audio including a station demo and client spec spot (Hearing.) I present my audio with a set of Bose Computer Music Monitor Speakers and I let clients work the sound volume controls (Touch.) A quick stop at Starbucks before the presentation is always a nice gesture (Taste. Smell.) And Finally … The all-time greatest close line … “Mr. Obama, if you have a good feeling in your heart about my presentation, you should join our family of clients. When can we get started? (Intuition.)

The more senses you work into your presentation, the better your odds are of making a sale. This is very sound theory from Tom Hopkins and it works!

Here’s a common occurrence at your radio station:

You work very hard to get a client on the air and after the flight starts, you move on to new business and take your eye off your new account. We have a tendency to under service current accounts because of   time management issues, lack of creative ideas to share, or the thought of facing an early cancellation.  Consider offering complimentary “Business Coach” service to all new accounts …. Actually lay out all the “added value” you’ll be providing during their initial advertising schedule with your Business Coach service.

Include some or all of the following in your Business Coach service … create a branding slogan, conduct a thorough co-op analysis, arrange meetings with their key manufacturer/vendor reps, introduce them to your favorite web designer, produce an on-hold and after hours telephone message, explore all of their recruitment needs, discuss the importance for marketing Midnight to 6:00 AM, and don’t forget jingles. Every client on your list should have their very own musical image package to tie it all together with a catchy melody.

Over the course of their initial trial run, deliver all of the above to your clients. When it’s renewal time … How can they afford not to do business with their very own personal Business Coach?

Warren Potash was the President and CEO of The Radio Advertising Bureau from 1998 – 1991. I had the pleasure of  seeing Warren make his pro radio presentation several times and they were very convincing. Warren carried a folder of current newspaper articles that made his case that radio was the way to go and newspapers were a dying medium.

I carry my own folder that’s filled with current newspaper articles about the current economic conditions and it’s filling up with lots of great news … Time, History Are On The Side Of Market Bulls, Confidence And Optimism Grown In Pockets Of The USA, and Dow Hits 10,000; Can Rally Go On? are just a few of the  newspaper headline clippings I present to prospects to me make my case.

When a prospect tells you things are too slow to advertise, read them some of the articles from your folder. It will be a very convincing positive addition to your presentation. Start talking about the worst economic conditions since 1930 as old news … past tense. Things are getting better, very quickly and you’ll now have more ammunition to prove your case!

Sony has just released Play Station 3 and it’s living up to the hype as “The Ultimate High-Definition Entertainment Experience.”

There’s still time for you to cash in on the excitement with a 4th Quarter sales promotion with PS3 … “The Ultimate PS3 Video Game Tournament.” Team up with your local wholesale club like Sam’s Club, Costco or BJ’s Wholesale Club …. the perfect place for your video game tournament since they already sell PS3 and Home Theater systems. If you don’t have a wholesale club in your market, your local Home Theater Dealer would love to sponsor your promotion and hold the event at a high school or college campus.

The launch of Play Station 3 is going to be very big … and as my friend Judy Kelly from Syracuse New York says, “It’s easier to join a parade than to start one.” This promotion will prove to be a real money maker and an annual event for your stations.

I had some fun last week telling my radio friends in Montana about “The Right And Left Theory.” “The Right And Left Theory” is a very powerful sales strategy and will triple your sales in the New Year if you stick with the program … Starting January 1, 2010.

Very simple … When you make calls call, visit the clients neighbor on the right and then stop in to meet the client to the left. Keep a stack of sales materials handy including business cards and a nice collection of station success stores. When you cold call on the neighbor to the right, drop off the materials and schedule an appointment with the person that owns the business. Do the same with the neighbor to the left … The strategy will instantly triple the number of prospects you see on a daily basis and will triple your sales for 2010.

There is no denying the logic … Your 33% closing ratio guarantees that you will triple your sales with this program. This works … give “The Right And Left Theory” a test run through the end of the year and it’ll be part of your daily routine by New Year’s Eve!