June 13, 2013
Most of us who have worked at a radio station were keenly aware of one of radio’s two sales teams. These are the folks who wear suits (or at least they used to), met with advertisers, and sold commercials. But there is a second team of sellers at a radio station, whose sales job is much more difficult – the on-air personalities.
Why do I say that?
In theory, the advertising sales folks can close any piece of business they really want by simply offering the advertising for free. How many advertisers would say no to a free ad schedule? In other words, their most difficult objection to overcome is price.
Conversely, an on-air personality’s job is to convince (sell) the listeners to tune in often and listen for long periods of time. At the same time, your competition is trying to do the same thing with other potential listeners. Unlike the advertising sales people, price is not an issue here, since both are offering their product for free.
So how does a jock or personality sell to the listener?
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June 6, 2013
No matter how affluent, talented, or successful we become, time is the one thing we can never get enough of. The top radio sales performers are very aware of the value of their time. In fact, all successful sales people practice disciplined time management. As a result, they spend the most time doing those activities that make them the most money and little time completing those tasks that earn them little or nothing. When it comes to radio sales, there are three main components where your time should be focused: Prospecting, Presenting, and Closing. Notice that all three of these activities involve customers. That’s because you sell more when you spend more time in front of your customers, whether prospecting for new business, presenting solutions to problems, or closing business.
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May 30, 2013
Growing the size of your audience is the goal of every programmer. This requires you to maximize your audience throughout the day. To achieve this total week growth, a smart programmer must break down the broad week into smaller segments where they can impact listening.
One of the more sure-fire ways to boost the size of your audience is to analyze your listening by quarter-hour and compare it to that of your format group and competitors. Let’s look at a simple process to identify the program elements where you need to focus in order to boost your ratings.
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May 23, 2013
They make more money, they’re better educated, and they buy more expensive houses and cars. These are but a few of the traits of sports play-by-play listeners that make them more attractive and valuable to advertisers. Listeners’ passion, combined with forefront sound, justifies a premium rate.
Going beyond the conceptual, Research Director, Inc., in cooperation with GfK MRI, has just completed an extensive study on the play-by-play radio listener that quantifies the benefits of reaching these listeners.
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May 16, 2013
In 2008, the U.S. real estate market tanked, and took the U.S. economy with it. Radio, like many other industries, suffered as home sales came to a halt. Spending in many sectors of our economy slowed to a snail pace.
2012 saw the start of what many believe is a rebound in the housing market. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales rose nearly 20% in one year, and are at their highest level since 2009. New homes, just 20% of the entire housing market, are an important driving force for the economy. Like new homes, the existing home market is also on a rebound. Existing home sales were up 9.2% and at its highest point since 2007 (National Association of Realtors).
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