Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson

All of us face attrition of some sort every year. We’ve been making a study of why businesses leave us. Every case may be different, but we’ve identified the main reasons we lose business:

1. A business closes
2. A business sells
3. The owner retires
4. New management
5. A change in marketing philosophy
6. They don’t recognize results
7. We mess up
8. We don’t take care of them after the sale

Some of these, 1-5, we can’t always control. We must prepare for them anyway. Today I want to talk about Numbers 4 and 5.

One of my markets has seen a rash of cancellations or cutting back in a short period of time. Each situation has different elements, but they all share one thing in common. In each case, we had been calling on our designated person, but we had no other contacts within that business. Now, either the designated person has left, or they have a new boss. Oops! Now we start all over.

How can we prepare for this eventuality?

As we work with our clients, find out who the influencers are for that business. It might be the front desk person. It might be a spouse. The more people we know inside the business, the better armed we are to survive a new decision-maker. These “friends” can vouch for us. They can also give us useful information about the inner workings of the business. Who really makes the decisions? What is the decision-making process? Who might be the “power behind the throne”? Can our outgoing contact give us valuable information about the new person so that we make our initial contact armed with details that will encourage a new relationship quickly?

If we are calling on a marketing director, we should try to get to know Mr. or Ms. Big. One of my clients had a great relationship with the marketing director. When it came time to renew, the salesperson asked for an increase. We were told that Mr. Big said, “Spend the budget anyway you want, but don’t raise it.” Many marketing directors can spend the money allocated, but they can’t increase budgets. Many times they can’t even decide which marketing vehicle to use. They are directed to spend X amount in radio, Y amount in digital, Z amount wherever.

The same thing applies with ad agencies. It’s tricky to develop a relationship with a client without incurring the wrath of the agency. But ultimately, the client is the boss. If they designate money to a particular station, the agency must comply. In most agencies, we call on the buyer. What about the planner? The Account Executive? In larger agencies, the decisions as to where money will be spent are made long before the buyer sees the buy specs. All they do is decide which radio stations to buy, not how much of the total budget radio will get. And, despite what agencies will say when on the stage at RAB or state association meetings, how much success have you had in pitching a special promotion to a buyer? If it doesn’t fit in their numerical code, it doesn’t happen. But pitching a special promotion to a planner or an AE may give you and the client a “win”. Do you know the upper echelon of your agencies?

So much of the time, we call on those who can say, “NO”, but we fail to develop a relationship with those who ultimately can say, “YES”. As we strive to manage our attrition, go deep. Know the influencers. Develop advocates in your businesses.

Happy Selling!