Radio Ink Magazine – August 12, 2019

BARRY COHEN

MANAGING MEMBER

ADLAB MEDIA

COMMUNICATIONS

12 RADIOINK•COM

SALES

AUGUST 12, 2019

Selling radio is almost like a reli-

gious experience. It requires faith,

commitment, tenacity, and above

all, integrity. That said, the follow-

ing comes straight from the Radio

Advertising Bible (the other RAB”).

Picture yourself standing on the

mount, ready to receive the Word.

You may not find it etched on tab-

lets, but here’s how it reads...

The First Commandment: Thou

Shalt Put Thy Clients First

Without question, you will be put to

the test daily, as your manager tells

you to sell the package of the week,

to get that remote sponsored, to

sell out next week’s broadcast of

the ball game. A Philadelphia sta-

tion rep called me at my friend’s

media-buying service, suggesting

that our vitamin client sponsor their

“Scrapple Fest.” Not happening, I

explained. The woman has devoted

her life to formulating healthy prod-

ucts and you want her to associate

herself with your artery-clogging

junk?

The Second Commandment:

“Thou Shalt Listen First and

Speak Last”

As an agency principal, I have heard

countless station rep pitches —

some of them from major-market

stations that should know better.

Nearly every one began with, “Our

25-54 audience...” Hold on to your

chalice, folks, because our agency

did more 55+ business than any

other demographic. Yes, we do

want them.

The Third Commandment:

“Thou Shalt Commit to Lifelong

Learning”

None of us knows it all. And even

if you think you know it, you prob-

ably forgot a lot of it. So never stop

attending seminars, reading books,

and listening to audio.

The Fourth Commandment: Thou

Shalt Become a Solution Provider

It’s not enough to know how to sell,

or even to know how to sell radio. If

you want to retain clients and build

a business for yourself and your

station, you have to understand

what clients need and how their

businesses work, understand their

challenges, and offer them solu-

tions. Learn their language.

The Fifth Commandment: Thou

Shalt Believe in Thy Medium

The Lord knows we have lost enough

talent from our industry. Tune out

the noise. We’re not the flavor of

the month. We’re the ones that have

stood the test of nearly 100 years.

If you don’t absolutely believe your

offering is the best, your clients cer-

tainly won’t believe it.

The Sixth Commandment: Thou

Shalt Forever Prospect in Order

to Prosper

Money doesn’t grow on trees, and

neither do clients. Stop expecting

management to hand you a list.

Those of us who came up through

developmental sales know you

can never stop filling your pipe-

line. Cold call, attend networking

events, monitor other media, go to

trade shows. I used to chase trucks

down the road for leads; I won a

client after meeting her employee

in line at the deli counter in my

supermarket.

The Seventh Commandment:

Thou Shalt Not Lie to a Client

Unless you believe you can actu-

ally build a business on one-offs, it

just doesn’t pay to lie. It will surely

come back and bite you. Don’t

promise that celebrity or talent

appearance unless you know you

can deliver it. Don’t misrepresent

your audience’s size, quality, or

spending power.

The Eighth Commandment: Thou

Shalt Not Steal a Colleague’s

Client

He or she worked hard to win

them, but an agency on your list

just snapped them up, and you’re

champing at the bit for the commis-

sion. Remember, share is a verb,

too. It may happen to you next time.

The Ninth Commandment: Thou

Shalt Only Take Orders Thou Can

Perform For

If it’s not a fit for your station, don’t

accept the order. Trust me, the cli-

ent will respect you in the morning.

No station on the planet is right for

every advertiser. Fish in the right

pond.

The Tenth Commandment: Thou

Shalt Only Sell What Thy Client

Needs

Remember, your job is to move

their inventory. If you concentrate

on selling your inventory, you will

lose focus and the schedule may not

pserform for them.

Barry Cohen is the manag-

ing member of AdLab Media

Communications, LLC (www.adlab

creative.com). He has sold both

suburban and major-market radio,

conducted RAB workshops and

webinars and is the author of the

book 10 Ways to Screw Up an Ad

Campaign.

THE 10

COMMANDMENTS

OF RADIO SALES