Art Roberts Strategic Sales Counseling

It occurred to me that I preached good sales techniques in SSC long enough. It is time to open the channels of communication to some "real-time" topics and problems. Simply suggest an area of discussion -- and SSC will zero in and do its best to come up with a viable solution.

"The owner of a small group of small market stations was lamenting about the refusal of the "mega" stores to advertise on local stations. Rightfully, he lamented about those large store coming into small communities, many times causing small, locally owned businesses to go out of business. The "mega" chains, while taking money from the markets, don't put any into the local economy, as far as radio is concerned.

The question is then, how can this problem be overcome? The NAB and RAB tried and tried but have yet to convince them to advertise on small market radio.

Any thoughts or ideas? How do we crack that "egg"?"

A. "Glad you asked that question. I am living in an area that is one of the fastest-growing in the nation. The twin towns of Gardnerville and Minden have a population of 6000, with a total of forty plus thousand in the county. In the last few months we have been bombarded with megastores. Costco, Home Depot, Target, with a Sam's-Wal-Mart Superstore and Safeway on the way. Very few dollars, if any, will flow into the coffers of the local radio station. But bucks can be made!

There are no boarded up stores in our towns. Nor do we expect any. The truth is, not everyone likes shopping in a store the size of the football field. Our local ACE hardware competes very well with Home Depot, thank you, by offering one-on-one service, a hometown store atmosphere, along with expert advice. Costco offers much lower prices than any of the three supermarkets, but not everyone is willing to stand in long lines just to save a few bucks -- not mention "wrestling" with a trunkful of groceries when they arrive home, and being forced to spend twice as much as they wanted to.

One of the first things to do is "get to know the managers" of the megastores. No, this won't earn you annual contract but it just might find a common meeting ground or two to launch a successful promotion. Case in point, Wal-Mart opened a store in Uvalde Texas which had the local merchants shaking in their boots. Once they figured out that no one owns 100 percent of anything, they settled down to do some serious competition and business at the station began to pick up. Meanwhile, getting to know the manager of Wal-Mart opened the door to a remote. We tied the remote to a Coca-Cola promotion and gave free Cokes in the parking lot and coupons for a huge discount in the store. The effort drew so much traffic that the store manager was open for other promotions. Gotta get creative to "crack those big eggs."

The main thing to do is to work with the existing businesses in your market and help them compete. Give them the benefit of your expertise and experience. Do your best to help them succeed. Like they say in Texas: "You can lead a horse to water -- but if you get them to float on their back, you've really done somethin." ART

Turnabout is fair play. It occurred to me that I preached good sales techniques in SSC long enough. It is time to open the channels of communication to some "real-time" topics and problems. Simply suggest an area of discussion -- and SSC will zero in and do its best to come up with a viable solution.

Have you ever been at a radio station where, in one day, four large accounts cancel their schedules, three downtown businesses close their doors permanently, and the sales manager discovers that a major account has not sent any money to the station in over 90 days. The sales reps comment is "They're good for it." That is the day EVERYTHING hits the fan.

Accounts that cancel usually do so because of either "lack of service" or "lack of perceived value." As I have said many times before, the sale is just a commencement exercise. The beginning. It is the point where your work really starts. Was the copy effective? I once worked with a sport's shoe store. All the brands that he had for sale were the same as you would find in any department store or specialty shoe store in any one of the shopping centers in town. Digging a little deeper I found out that the owner was capable of supplying sport shoes and arch supports to people with special-needs. I also found out that this store was the only place in town that could supply dancing shoes and costumes to kids taking dancing lessons. BINGO! I helped the owner with a mailer to orthopedic doctors alerting them to the fact that the service was available locally. We also did a mailer offering a discount to any child enrolled in dance class. The next commercial campaign addressed both offerings, as well as being able to receive "expert advice" from the stores owner. They never canceled.

Stores going out of business are easy to spot. Once again service plays an important part. Empty shelves are a "tell tale" sign. Offer to help them bail out gracefully. If they are part of a chain, merchandise can be sent from another store and added to their sale inventory. Put together a slam dunk plan to advertise their going out of business. May as well make the best out of a bad situation. Come up with a good deal on a cash basis. Empty stores have empty cash registers.

No one is "Good for it." Even Montgomery Ward closed their doors. The billing department has the responsibility of alerting every salesperson whose account is delinquent for 45 days or more. If necessary, put the account on a weekly pay plan which you can arrange to pick up on a convenient day. DON'T CANCEL THE ACCOUNT. When times are bad, a business needs "advertising expertise" more than ever. Offer your help and advice. Work together to put them back on their feet. I had a Mexican restaurant who got into money trouble. The owner wanted to cancel and pay off his bill in the next few months. I talked him out of it. He served the best Mexican food in town and Christmas was right around the corner. I placed him on a weekly payment plan where part of the money went towards the new charges and the remainder reduced his debt. Tears came to his eyes when I told him about the arrangement. He is probably advertising on that station today.

Next week we will cover "GET OUTA TOWN!" Put SSC on your "Favorites" list. If you find VALUE in this article, e-mail it to a friend or colleague. Send your Name, Station Call Letters, and E-Mail Address to reserve a weekly "Monday Morning Meeting" copy of SSC.

Antigone is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Antigone is widely thought to be the tragic hero and a mirror of today's radio salesperson, in light of the fact that she died for doing what she believed was right.

The sweet voice of Antigone asks: "Who is giving radio a bad reputation?" The blended voices of the Greek chorus answer: "Radio is giving Radio a bad reputation."

The more I view radio's direction today, the more I see it as a tragedy waiting to happen. Most of the real talent have abandoned the industry and those that remain have their passion challenged constantly. Seasoned account executives have very little incentives left to spur them on. And worst of all, customer service has all but ceased to exist.

There is not an industry that I can think of which operates in the haphazard manner of radio. Long time ago someone once defined a person working radio as a "Knight in shining armor who rides through the station on a white horse, with banners flying in the wind, yet when they gallop out the back door all that is remembered is the broken furniture and the horse manure on the floor." Not a hell of a lot has changed. Most stations are automated. If a client should want to sponsor a ski report, or any "special service to the community" after 9 AM -- there's usually no one there to read it. Existing board ops just don't cut it. Neither does a fowl mouthed morning host. Running 10 spots in a row; conflicting sponsors back to back; the best sounding spot in the pack turns out to be a station promo -- are all eventually going to reduce local dollars spent on radio because of just one reason -- GREED! And the argument against buying cable TV doesn't fly anymore. Their rates are usually a fraction of yours while cable viewership continues to escalate. Today's cable companies give excellent service. Local production houses have digital capability and turn out "eye-catching" commercials. Is it any wonder that many advertisers who used radio for years have turned their backs on the medium and switched their dollars to television.

Sorry to be the voice of gloom and doom this round, Greek tragedies always seem to point in that direction.

Next week we will cover "PUTTIN' OUT FIRES BEFORE THEY START" Put SSC on your "Favorites" list. If you find VALUE in this article, e-mail it to a friend or colleague. Send your Name, Station Call Letters, and E-Mail Address to reserve a weekly "Monday Morning Meeting" copy of SSC.

Thank you,

Art Roberts

Think of how many times a client has told you "I only buy morning drive and afternoon drive times." So what did you do? Wrote the order. Backup a minute. What is your job? You are a salesperson. Unless you thoroughly agree that there really are "downtimes" in your station's schedule, it is your JOB to "school" your client in the science of scheduling. THERE ARE NO BAD TIMES ON RADIO!

Effective scheduling utilizes four main ingredients: 1. A well produced commercial that tells the story and asks for a sale. 2. A schedule, evenly spaced, covering every day part, seven days a week. 3. A dedicated consistency on the part of the client. 4. Unprecedented service on the part of the station. It will take seven commercials a day to cover the waterfront. That's 49 commercials a week. Here is an example of a truly effective schedule:

Monday: 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM, 6 PM, 9 PM, midnight.
Tuesday: 7 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, 7 PM, 10 PM, 1 AM
Wednesday: 8 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM, 8 PM, 11 PM, 2 AM
Thursday: 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM, 6 PM, 9 PM, midnight
Friday: 7 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, 7 PM, 10 PM, 1 AM
Saturday: 8 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM, 8 PM, 11 PM, 2 AM
Sunday: 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM, 6 PM, 9 PM, midnight

Run the above schedule one week on and one week off. That adds up to ninety-eight commercials a month. Devise a special package for this plan and price it according to what your market will bare. Convince the client to stick with the schedule for six months and they will remain an advertiser forever. I have yet to see it fail.

Forget about ratings. The only ratings that count for any business are the amount of people that walk through their door. A consistent radio schedule with a strong message offering a unique value or service will accomplish your client's goal. It is true that a listener needs to hear a commercial message at least three times before it will "sink in." The suggested schedule accomplishes that goal. Believe it. Sell it.

Next week we will cover "WHO'S GIVING RADIO A BAD REPUTATION?" Put SSC on your "Favorites" list. If you find VALUE in this article, e-mail it to a friend or colleague. Send your Name, Station Call Letters, and E-Mail Address to reserve a weekly "Monday Morning Meeting" copy of SSC.