Radio Ink Magazine – August 12, 2019

PAUL WEYLAND

SALES EXPERT

PAULWEYLAND.COM

512.236.

RADIOINK•COM 11

SALES

AUGUST 12, 2019

One of the easiest ways to pros-

pect for new accounts is by calling

advertisers that are running sched-

ules on your competitors’ stations.

Why not? After all, somebody else

has already done most of the work,

convincing a business owner to

advertise on broadcast radio or

TV to begin with. What could go

wrong?

I’ll tell you what goes wrong.

These clients eventually become

spoiled, playing one rep against

another, demanding lower rates,

better times, free remotes, bonus

spots, and free online schedules.

Then, more times than not, the

direct account’s decisionmaker is

hypnotized by one of those small,

predatory “advertising agencies,”

and you can never contact her

directly again without being threat-

ened by the agency.

Once the agencies have hijacked

enough local business, then the

real rate-grinding begins. And this

is the reason broadcast rates have

withered to levels not seen since

the 1980s.

The other problem with pros-

pecting off of other stations is

that it is, of course, a reciprocal

arrangement. While you’re busy

prospecting their clients, your com-

petitors are also prospecting yours.

Years ago, we had a sales manager

who unintentionally mixed meta-

phors. One day while addressing

us on this cannibalistic prospecting

dilemma, he summed it all up by

saying, “We’re fighting tooth and

nail over bones.”

We laughed, but it was a perfect

description of what we in local

radio were doing to each other.

So, what to do to get maximum

benefit out of prospecting? Have a

plan. Unfortunately, many in our

industry leave prospecting for new

business entirely up to the account

executives, who wind up looking for

new business in a haphazard way.

Instead of prospecting by mis-

take, why not plan out how you’re

going to spend your prospecting

time? Focus on specific products

and services. Learn all you can

about those categories first. And

then drill down on those local

accounts most likely to have the

resources to support a good, long-

term advertising campaign. It is

amazing how many categories we

tend to ignore in local broadcast

sales.

Get creative. Concentrate on cli-

ent categories that aren’t already

worn out by other broadcast media

groups. Look for other kinds of

consumer categories that are virtu-

ally ignored by radio and television.

The Yellow Pages’ demise was and

still is a huge opportunity for us in

broadcast. Former Yellow Pages

and newspaper-only clients are

open to new ideas on how to spend

their advertising dollars. Consider

a few of these categories. Anything

involving home repair — electric,

plumbing, HVAC, closets, roofing,

decks and backyard remodel-

ing, fencing, painting, windows

and doors, garage doors, interior

remodeling, flooring, kitchens,

baths, cabinets, fireplaces, solar,

rain-collection systems, pools, etc.

I’ve even gotten parking lot/drive-

way paving companies on the air.

And what about professional ser-

vices? Do you have a bookkeeping

firm on the air? Business law? How

about family law? What about psy-

chological counseling? Independent

insurance agents? Computer main-

tenance and repair? Maid services?

How about home health? What

about city and county services?

There are lots of opportunities with

medical specialists.

Does your station have a wed-

ding planner on the air? How about

a meeting planner? What about

a catering business? Document

shredding? Do you have an interior

designer? An equipment rental

dealer? Get creative in your pros-

pecting and you’ll discover new,

unspoiled businesses that really

could use your help in getting the

word out about them.

Again, never forget that other

media groups are prospecting your

clients. So protect your accounts

with long-term contracts. Always,

always ask for the annual commit-

ment. That way, you’re immune

from predatory competitors, includ-

ing the little advertising shops.

By the way, about the only thing

some agencies are good at is keep-

ing their business long-term. How?

They ask for it. “Here’s how we

work. We develop a five-year plan,

which we break out into annual

increments so that you can mea-

sure progress from year to year.” If

you’ve earned the client’s respect,

that is to say, once they are con-

vinced beyond a shadow of a doubt

that your plan for their success is

better than theirs, they’ll sign the

long-term commitment with you.

Paul Weyland helps broadcast sta-

tions develop more long-term local

direct business in all size markets.

Contact him at 512.236.1222, or just

go to http://www.paulweyland.com.

HOW TO PROSPECT

SUCCESSFULLY