Want an order? Find out what they’re buying! Then create it!

There is a Zig Ziglar story of  his making an offhand remark about “also” selling fine china (to a woman he had pitched pots and pans to) ends with him learning that she had put aside money for years just for that moment of opportunity.  This correlates with how easy it is to forget how easily customized radio advertising is.  Zig made his sale – a big one -  just not the one he intended.

A rep’s work of visiting, calling, and networking brings a unique opportunity to begin putting diverse resources together, much like bringing together recipe ingredients.  Paying attention and keeping a mental note of who’s got what and who’s wanting what can yield strong opportunities -  and pay off in a big way.

Some of the standard fare for prospects and client campaigns begin once the sales process has gone through the needs analysis stage.  Upon arriving back at the station with notes, initial findings (and the highlighted portions you knew would inspire you), taking a moment to brainstorm is important.  What resources can you bring into play for the business?  Have you or the station done anything similar to this before?  Is there anything that piqued your curiosity that you’d like to dwell on awhile?

Each rep has a deck of campaign components to draw on.  Some will have more components than others, depending on their station and what opportunities it offers for its advertisers. Build your stack with experience and knowledge, then start applying it. 

Just like the suits in cards,  campaign components come in categories:  Ads (:60, :30, :10 etc), Promotions (either custom or ones your station offers regularly), Giveaways (contests, remote prizes, coupons in the station waiting room, etc) and Other (multi-media, events, on-air interviews, tie-ins, co-promotions with other annual advertisers, loyal listener mailers, interactive).  Combining these in unusual ways or with unusual pairings of prospects and advertisers can yield phenomenal opportunities for reps, stations and listeners. 

A recent referral – an Opera company – seemed the perfect prospect for a schedule and ticket giveaways. The question was - how to go one better?  “Niche capture” seemed the best formulation for building something memorable.  A “night at the opera” theme was developed into a promotion idea, to sweeten the pungency of our station’s nectar.  How about dinner, and a limo, too?  Photographs to remember us by?

The News / Talk station was a natural fit for the client – but an unexpected twist brought our AAA station’s listeners in on the fun!  A mini concert segment was scheduled, as were ticket giveaways for a few shows – as icing for the News / Talk promotion’s foundation.  It brought younger, affluent music fans with eclectic tastes together with a classic tradition: opera.

Pulling from my network of business owner clients, I realized that one of our city’s newest businesses, a vintage limousine company, would be perfect for such an idea.  The vintage limo company was not interested in an annual campaign -  they were marketing with a model of targeted relationships.  This made them a perfect fit for co-branding with the opera company -  and for paid promotional inclusion.  They were ecstatic and decided on the spot to do it.  That brought 1 new client into the picture.

A second new client came into the picture when an upscale photography company wanted to advertise their senior portrait sittings.  Their schedule was over 8 weeks, and had an 8 week pricetag.  Thinking “they could come and take pictures of the couple getting out of the limo and standing by it,” they, too, were offered a chance at participating in the ‘night at the opera’ promotion.  This provided additional frequency in their target demographic – and made the decision to purchase their 8 week schedule a no-brainer !

Finally, a night out isn’t a night out without dinner, so a local restaurant was secured – dinner for two for mentions.

The station’s programming benefits from this promotion in that it’s very interesting and unique.  A register to win online format was decided upon, and the promotion was set to run over a five week period.  With scheduled mentions each week (live and recorded) and a high interest prize -  the station was set to go! 

The opera company became a new client.  The rep got three different sales.  The station got higher interest from its listeners and provided an interactive opportunity.  The participating clients got co-branding in an affluent niche, and a prize recipient who will never forget their night out at the opera. Winners all around!!

Quick Tip:
Prepare a sheet that lists all your station’s annual promotions. Use it when building your campaign.  That way, you and the advertiser know - from the start – what will happen throughout the campaign.  This will also be an invaluable tool when you go to ask for the next order:  you’ll be able to go over what happened, what worked, what didn’t and what you’d like to do this coming year with all the new resources you have at hand. 

--Harmony Tenney is an employee of the Charlottesville Radio Group, owned by Saga Communications.  Tenney has helped small business owners in many industries achieve double digit growth thru profitable radio advertising initiatives - even in flat markets.  She offers her clients a guarantee and proven results from her “Powerfully Profitable, Done-for-You Radio Advertising.” She offers several free reports to her clients and prospects:  Secrets, Tips and Tricks to Profitable Radio Advertising,  7 Secrets to Radio Advertising as a Growth Strategy and Why you Must Take Advantage of Radio Station Promotions.  For more info, contact Harmony at: 540-255-5686, or by email: Harmony@planetcomm.net

Tweet