June 14, 2010

We started discussing presentations in last week's columns ... here's more ....

We've been spending a lot of time in our sales meetings talking about how we present the station. I'm amazed still at how many "just send me a media kit" calls from prospective buyers I get ... and I cringe. If we don't have the opportunity to learn about a client's needs and build a custom plan for them, our odds of success are diminished.

That being said, instruct your sellers to do everything they can to get an appointment and when they do, stick to the following "Joe GM Rules of Presentations"....

• Understand your first goal is to engage and create a dialogue while getting across the information they want to know in a way that leads to a sale.
• Quit talking about "me" or "my station" all the time. When you want to cite something relevant to them, about you, do it in a feature/benefit perspective, then ask a question.
• Build a rapport, and talk about what matters to them, not you, in order to get the sale.