Boots on the Ground
Bob Quick
By Bob Quick
Consolidation…
Cutbacks…
COVID…
All of these things have led to fewer people in radio stations across the country. Fewer programming people, and in many cases, fewer salespeople too. And after the year we’ve had, there’s never been more stress on sellers than right now to find every bit of revenue possible for your employer.
When I was doing local sales, each week we were assigned to keep an ear on the competition, an eye on the local TV stations, or to thumb through the newspaper and prospect for new clients.
With social media, streaming, and over-the-top television advertising options…there are more places a local advertiser can access to put their marketing dollars than ever before.
Too many for a handful of overworked salespeople to keep track of.
Before I sold, I was a programmer and talent and I always tried to keep my eyes open to pass a lead on to our sales folks. It’s more important than ever to do so now.
After all, you mine social media for content to talk about…why not take notice of the ads being placed around it? When you catch up on The Bachelor or The Voice on your DVR, don’t just skip through the commercials. Keep an eye on who is spending money on TV that appeals to your station’s demographic. Television advertising becomes twice as effective when paired with a radio campaign. In times of economic downturn like we are in now, more new businesses are created when people can’t find jobs elsewhere. Watch for those new businesses popping up as you take the kids to playdates and practice.
Pass what you see on to your sales staff. You know the right one to bring them to. The hungry newbie or the driven veteran, or if you don’t have either of those, the sales manager under pressure to make budget with a green or unmotivated staff.
My wife works for FedEx and they have a long-standing lead generation program called Finders Keepers. The upper management knows that they have tens of thousands of delivery drivers on the streets daily. Boots on the ground, canvassing the local area. If a FedEx employee turns in a lead that develops into a new account for the company, that employee is rewarded with a Finders Keepers cash bonus that reflects the value of that client to the company. It could be $50 or even $1,000, it just depends on the value of the contract that gets signed.
I don’t know why more stations don’t do it. Every station should have a lead generation program. It could be driven by a cash incentive or an appreciation lunch or something else. The point is when you increase the boots on the ground looking, you increase the chances of selling. And when a station sells advertising, it benefits everyone.
Also, when your market manager finds out you were the one with the lead, you also might become more valuable in their eyes when the next round of cuts come. There are no guarantees, but it can’t hurt.
Bob Quick has performed just about every job in a radio station…on-air, programming, operations, sales, and management. Currently, he works with over 300 radio stations in his 29 state territory as Manager, Radio Partnerships at Motor Racing Network and helps numerous other small and medium market stations through his business Quick Radio Consulting.
