Selling is listening not talking.

It still amazes me that so many sales reps, irrespective of the product/service, still believe that the more they talk the better their chances of closing a sale. They rabbit on about the features and benefits of their product/ service without pausing to find out specifically what would be of interest to the prospect. At the end of their pitch they hope that something they presented will have struck a responsive chord. The less the response from the prospect, the harder they sell. The result is a client who is most likely irritated.

When a prospective client briefs an ad agency she/he judges the pitch according to how the agency answers the brief. Imagine an ad agency pitching a prospective client without knowing what their strategy is. Yet this is how most, not all, radio reps approach a prospect.

Ask the right questions and the prospect will tell you how to close the deal.

We know that, overall, the client wants a MEASURABLE return on his/her investment. They are less than interested in the what and the why of radio, yet that is what they hear during a pitch. It is the radio reps job to maximise the return on investment. They can only do this when equipped with a thorough understanding of the prospects business. This involves doing one's research before approaching the prospect by reading industry publications and visiting the prospect's website. In other words, doing one's homework, then asking relevant questions when in front of the prospect..

Prospecting is the lifeblood of selling, and it was common cause that the more you see the more you sell, but I would advocate more emphasis on fewer clients and bigger sales, unless the rep has time to chase many prospect and still do a thorough job.

In this economic climate, in fact, in any economic climate, advertisers are insisting on MEASURABLE returns on investment. All media owners preach return on investment, but leave out the measurability. ROI usually means "added value,"which is a euphimism for huge discounts. As far as I'm concerned, discounting devalues a brand. Yet even the big brand radio stations are doing it. Premium brands should command premium rates. With price as the main determination we are witnessing the commoditisation of airtime. Good for advertisers, bad for radio stations.

   This was the motivation for my book: Radio Advertising. A Sound Investment. 10 Key Principles for Maximising Returns. Radio is now able to offer measurable returns in terms of how many new customers are required to break even on their investment and to use the formula to extrapolate the value of additional customers. Also in the book is a formula for determining optimum marketing spend for achieving a pre-determined profit objective.

I am available for workshops. If you're interested, contact Jean at jean@feathercommunications.co.za