Thursday, April 28, 2016

Go Deep. No, I know it's not football season, but within agencies.

At most, if not all agencies these days, the buyers are generally young, overworked people who simply want to get Task A done so they can move on to Task B. Nationally, they work multiple markets and defer to rankers -- and not much more -- when doing buys. Locally, many buyers wear other hats.

Your key to success: getting deeper into the agency and also direct local contacts.

• Get beyond the Buyer. The Planner or A.E. are the real decision makers. Get to them. Somehow. Someway.
• Go even deeper. Try to make a relationship with the Media Director or President of the Agency. The more people to whom you can tell your story, the better off you'll be.
• Establish relationships at client level. The agency may not like this, but if you're not getting bought, or bought enough, what do you care? Whether it's national or local ... get to know store managers, district/regional managers, franchise owners.
• When you do, "bubble up" the business. Get your station into a position where these "locals" can influence business placed.

The next time your AE, NSM or Sales Manager tries to explain why you didn't get on a buy, ask them how "deep" they are in the account. Assuming you get the answer I expect, send 'em back in!