Win by Being an Information Hog

I am a data driven person, and feel the best way to win any argument or negotiation is with facts – he who has the best facts wins. Having the facts is not the only element of negotiation, but it is an important tool to win. Whoever possesses the facts can often out-maneuver the person who lacks information and knowledge.

On a day-to-day basis, Research Director, Inc. helps our clients affect the sales process using the “facts” from Nielsen, Scarborough, and other syndicated research. However, numerous other data sources can help a sales person turn a loss or non-decision into a win. With radio and the entire U.S. economy emerging from COVID, these other data sources are more important than ever.

BE AN INFORMATION HOG!

There is a plethora of resources to help you gain more knowledge and increase your billing. Below are just a few of the references that can help.

Nielsen: Nielsen, and previously Arbitron, regularly releases studies and conducts webinars. Most are designed to help radio station sales people understand the positive aspects of our business and raise awareness of important trends in the broadcast industry.

Westwood One: Pierre Bouvard and Westwood One often put out studies and articles that help to position radio in a positive fashion. Many demonstrate how adding radio to other advertising outlets can improve the effectiveness of an ad campaign. You can get the data automatically delivered by signing up to their blog. You can also sign up for their free weekly newsletter, which delivers a different case study to your email each week.

Research Director, Inc. Hot Topics: Okay, this is a little self-promotion, but Research Director, Inc. posts a new informative blog at least twice a month. Many of them discuss topics and studies that we believe can help radio grow.

Gather any and all information that might be helpful. You never know when that nugget you learned will help dispel a potential advertiser’s misconception. Some of these misconceptions that your new information can rectify might be related to:

• Advertising
• Radio
• Your Station
• Your Listeners

This sounds time consuming, but there are shortcuts. Are you willing to dedicate the time to read and attend presentations? If so, be the resource lead for your sales team. Share what you learn with your team and help everyone grow. Everyone will enjoy the dividends.

A tremendous amount of valuable information is out there that can help a sales person close more deals. It’s up to you to take advantage of it by gathering that information and using it to grow your billing.