ROY H.
WILLIAMS
PRESIDENT
WIZARD OF ADS INC.
[email protected]8 RADIOINK•COM
THE WIZARD OF ADS
AUGUST 12, 2019
There are two different specialties
within the world of the radio sta-
tion account executive. No doubt
it is possible to become proficient
at both specialties, although I’ve
never met an AE who was. And that
includes me.
The first specialty is the selling
of dedicated media buyers. Every
advertising agency has at least one
media buyer, as do many privately
owned companies.
Media buyers are like jewelers.
Every jeweler believes they have a
perfectly balanced understanding
of “The 4 C’s” of a diamond: color,
cut, clarity, and carat weight. But
every diamond wholesaler knows
that every jeweler has an uncon-
scious preference. One jeweler will
sacrifice a little of the color, cut,
and clarity of his diamonds to get a
heavier carat weight. Another jew-
eler will sacrifice carat weight, clar-
ity, and cut to maximize the color
of his diamonds. The third jeweler
will fudge the other three so that
he can offer diamonds of the high-
est clarity, and the fourth jeweler is
fully committed to getting the best
cut for his money.
A diamond wholesaler learns
what a jeweler values most by pay-
ing close attention to what that
jeweler buys.
Here’s the funny thing: each
of those four jewelers would be
deeply insulted if you told them
they valued one of the “C’s” morehighly than the other three. In fact,
they would probably quit buying
from you altogether.
The most successful diamond
wholesaler is the one who quietly
and elegantly sells each jeweler in
the manner that jeweler prefers to
be sold. Likewise, the most success-
ful “Agency AE” is the one who can
read agency media buyers and sell
each one of them in the manner
they prefer to be sold. But please
hear this: never tell the media
buyer that they value one aspect
more than another. Just pay atten-
tion to how they make their deci-
sions, and then sell them what they
like to buy.
In other words, create a package
you know they will like.
One media buyer has a thing
for schedules with added value.
They’re looking for bonus spots,
mentions, sponsorships, and live
reads at no extra charge. Another
media buyer quietly covets lunches
at fine establishments, concert
tickets, sporting event tickets, trips
and cruises, and when these things
are available, they will uncon-
sciously convince themselves that
your stations offer their clients
the best value, never recognizing
or even suspecting their own true
motive. The third media buyer
secretly has a bias toward psycho-
graphics; they’re looking for a par-
ticular audience profile. A fourth
media buyer is insulted by offers ofanything other than a lower cost-
per-point.
All four media buyers will act
like they are the fourth one, and
that nothing matters but cost-per-
point. But three of those buyers are
deluding themselves.
Learn to read your media buyers
and offer each of them what they
want. But don’t be obvious about
it. Don’t confront them with your
beliefs about their unconscious
priorities or you will earn yourself
an enemy for life. Because each
of these media buyers — like the
four different jewelers we men-
tioned — believes in their heart that
they have a sophisticated, holistic,
perfectly balanced, and profes-
sional approach to choosing the
right thing to do with their client’s
money. And you have to support
them in this belief, even though you
know it is not true.
The Agency AEs who struggle are
the ones who try to convince media
buyers to alter their unconscious
priorities. These AEs are always
crossing swords with media buyers
in polite, professional debates as
they try to “educate” them about
radio. If you’ve been doing this,
quit it. Learn to sell each buyer in
the manner the buyer prefers to be
sold. Shut up and listen. Keep them
talking about what they bought and
why they bought it. Nod and agree
with them. Compliment them on
their good judgment. And never,HOW TO SELL AGENCIES
AND LOCAL DIRECT