Wednesday, August 19, 2015

You've heard me talk before about the fact that there are two kinds of business -- "Make-It-Happen" or "Watch-It-Happen."

It's important to know the mentality of your sales team ... Today, it's all about direct business.

If ever there was a place to make it happen, it's direct. Best first step ... and I hate to overstate the basics, but all too often we either get too busy or just forget. Monitors.

They're easy to get. I even pay my daughter five cents for every ad she takes from the Sunday paper and puts it into a WORD doc so I can give to my sellers on Monday. Same with lifestyle papers and community/city mags. But, get Media Monitors if you can. It's a spot a day and extremely valuable. They even pull cable and newspaper for you.

Or the Marketing Architect people do their own and you can get access.

These people are spending money now. Just in the wrong place. Not with you.

Lead with an idea. Lead with a spec spot. Tell your folks to get them on the phone and simply introduce themselves and tell them, "I have an unbelievable idea for you and thought of you first. Can I come by for just 10 minutes and show you?"

Peak their curiosity. Tell a story. Funny how it's not "I'm Sally Sinclair and I want to talk to you about your advertising and let me tell you about my station." "No thanks Sally. I don't care."

Now you're MAKING IT HAPPEN...and watch your closing ratios go way up.