KBA'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

July 15, 2021

KBA2021 CONFERENCE PREVIEW

DAY 1 - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

BROADCASTERS CUP GOLF OUTING

The annual Broadcasters Cup golf outing will kick off with a 12:30pm central shotgun start on Sunday, September 19th at The Pearl Club in Owensboro. The Don Charles designed layout provides players of all levels a challenging and diverse experience. With bentgrass greens, zoysia fairways, bermuda rough, five lakes and multiple teeing areas, the course can play from 5,500 yards up to 6,925 yards.

BBQ & BLUEGRASS CONFERENCE KICKOFF

Join us as we kickoff KBA2021 and celebrate getting back together in-person, in the "BBQ Capital of the World", with an ole fashion BBQ cookout. You will have the opportunity to sample favorites like mutton, brisket, chicken, pork and other slow-cooked classics.

Entertainment will be provided by the talented and hilarious Three On A String.

More KBA2021 conference details coming in next weeks newsletter!

REGISTRATION BEGINS ON AUGUST 2, 2021

EXCELLENCE IN BROADCASTING AWARDS

ENTRY WINDOW NOW OPEN THROUGH 7/31/21

EXCELLENCE IN BROADCASTING AWARDS

Monday, September 20, 2021

We are now accepting nominations for KBA's 2021 Excellence In Broadcasting Awards, which will be held on Monday, September 20th at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro during KBA's annual conference. The deadline to submit an entry is July 31st.

Excellence In Broadcasting Awards are presented in multiple categories for RADIO, TECHNOLOGY and TELEVISION divisions.

LEARN MORE AND SUBMIT AN AWARD ENTRY

LIVE FROM THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE

INTERESTED IN BROADCASTING LIVE FROM KBA2021?

As preparations continue for KBA2021 in Owensboro, we are giving your morning show the opportunity to broadcast live from the annual conference. Similar to the the Morning Line at Churchill Downs, stations will be provided broadcast space in the main exhibit hall with guests provided each morning (Monday, September 20th and Tuesday, September 21st). High speed internet access will be provided.

If you have interest in broadcasting live from KBA2021, please click on the link below and complete a short questionnaire.

BROADCAST LIVE FROM KBA2021

MEMBER BENEFIT: A.B.I.P.

ALTERNATIVE BROADCAST INSPECTION PROGRAM

The KBA Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) is a special partnership between the KBA and the FCC. Stations who participate in the ABIP program and are found to be in compliance shall receive a 3-year exemption from routine FCC inspections. The FCC and KBA have an official agreement regarding the alternative inspections and information gathered by the alternative inspector is confidential between the station and the alternative inspector.

ABIP Inspections are provided as a free service to KBA member stations.

LEARN MORE AND REQUEST AN ABIP INSPECTION

JEFF SCHMIDT'S SALES TIP OF THE WEEK

COULD A PHONE CALL CHANGE YOUR LIFE?

Because I’m a student of the advertising game, I remember unusual and weird slogans and commercial copy, like this one:

Can a phone call change your life? This one quite possibly could. Call now and we'll send you this free booklet which tells you how you can get started. The Control Data Institute. Your future could be just a phone call away.

Turns out in sales, a phone call can change your life. Recent survey results revealed in Chains Store Age – The Business of Retail suggest that you should not overlook the importance of phone calls to your customers. Yes, this is specific to retail, but suggest the B2B sales environment is no different in this regard.

According to the Invoca Buyer Experience Benchmark Report:

68% of respondents find the human connection aspect of calling businesses attractive and say they prefer to communicate this way more than any other channel, including online, chat, or email.
44% say they call to do more research because they feel most comfortable completing high-stakes purchases on the phone.
75% of respondents will hang up after being placed on hold.

“In these high-stakes transactions, consumers want to feel confident that they are making the right buying decision, and offering a human touch is the best way to provide that reassurance and build a rapport with them," said Dee Anna McPherson, chief marketing officer of Invoca. "However, this also means that businesses must pay close attention to the experience that their customers are having on the phone and implement the technology needed to perfect it because it can make or break the reputation of their brands."

If clients and prospects aren’t returning your email messages, maybe an old-fashioned phone call could change your sales life. Since many may be out of practice with this skill, we thought we would offer a few suggestions to maximize your phone skills:

Smile. The smile in your voice will be heard loud and clear
Have a planned reason for calling. Rambling calls with no apparent purpose won’t work.
Share relevant research. At the RAB we teach having a valid business reason for making the call. (VBR) This can be research, a specific article, like this one may be about the importance of the phone interaction with customers.
Ask open-ended questions. You don’t want the call to be a one-way blast of information. You’re trying to get engagement. This is done through specific and open-ended questions about the clients’ business category or challenges.
Get right to the point, the “payoff” for the person who took the call. “I’m calling today because…”

And here are some phrases to avoid on the phone:

Did I catch you at a bad time? They wouldn’t have picked up the phone if it was a bad time.
“Just.” Anytime you put the word “just” in front of a sentence you minimize its impact and importance. “I’m just calling today” vs “I’m calling today to share…”
“How are you today?” Unless you know the person and that’s the reason for the call, this phrase (which seems like a caring thing to ask) can be seen as inauthentic and insincere. You’re not calling to find out how they are, so starting that way can be a bad first impression.

We’ve all been frustrated calling “Robo-hell” and automated voice systems. Calling to share this research with your clients and helping them with their customer contact could be a great way to open a conversation about the importance of voice communication.

Could a phone call change your life? Are you willing to try?

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can also connect with him by email JSchmidt@rab.com or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

NEWSLETTER QUICK NOTES

Television stations with locally-produced programming whose signals were carried as distant signals by at least one cable or satellite system in 2020 are eligible to file royalty claims for compensation with the Copyright Office in Washington, DC by this date. Under the federal Copyright Act, cable systems and satellite operators must pay “compulsory license” royalties to carry distant TV signals on their systems. The royalties are used to compensate the owners of copyrighted works broadcast on those signals. Stations that do not file claims by this deadline will not be able to collect royalties for distant carriage of their signals during 2020.