Before I started BBI, I was a market manager for radio stations. As I would often do, I found myself awake at 3:00 AM pondering how to solve various challenges and problems. One night, my middle-of-the-night conversation with my brain asked the question, "What do our customers REALLY want from my salespeople?"

It's a simple question, but may not be one we ask very often as we concentrate on raising our own revenue streams. So, I decided to call up some of our best clients and ask them. Their responses were surprising only because they are so simple, so logical, and so many times totally ignored by us.

Here's what they had to say:

1. Be interested in their business. Really interested. Seek to understand their business.
2. Find out what their goals are BEFORE you bring them a campaign (At this point the "campaign" is probably the latest package your manager asked you to push.)
3. Make the proposal you bring them fit what they need to buy, not what we need to sell. (Refer to point #2)
4. Make an appointment: don't just drop in. Be considerate of their time. Remember, they are running a business not waiting for a radio salesperson to come by.
5. Follow up after the sale and schedule. Find out what happened. Don't be afraid to show your face in case they aren't pleased.
6. Be pro-active in anticipating their needs. Today, with our digital platforms plus multiple radio stations, we function as ad agencies to many of our clients. Be the marketing expert and offer them ideas.
7. Let them clear the copy and hear the ad or see the graphics before it runs. Make sure everything is correct.
8. They want a long-lasting relationship. This last one is the hardest for new sellers as it takes time and effort. It's also one of the most rewarding parts of our jobs.

Simple? Yes. Do we do these things? Not as often as we should.

When was the last time you called on a business, pulled out the "package du jour" and tried to sell it to them? That may have been the first time you called on that business, but you were going up and down the street pitching the package. Did the package fit their goals? Maybe, but probably not. Don't clients usually start asking you to modify the package in some way? That's because it's what we need to sell, not what they need to buy.

First contacts may be made by "dropping in" but to do a customer needs analysis meeting, a presentation, or even changing copy or keeping in step with your clients by doing a "mini-CNA", you need an appointment. The client needs to set aside time to concentrate on their interaction with you. If they won't give you their time, they won't give you their money.

Function as idea and solutions people. Keep abreast of what is happening in the big, wide world that might affect your clients. Be pro-active. External events may mean modifying our messages so our clients remain viable.

For Number 8: It takes patience, time and persistence to build a business. You can't rush relationships, but you can make sure that every interaction you have with a client shows your professionalism and your concern for their business. Take an interest in their business. Know their goals. Bring them solutions.

"It's not about US: It's about THEM"

Happy Selling!

"Pat has written a sales book that is not only for all times, it is especially good for THESE times-times of disruption, times of change. The final chapters of her book are no less grounded in practicality and real-world experience, but they offer invaluable insights into, as one of her chapters would have it, 'doing business in an AI world.' Buy the book. Make the commitment. Thank me later."

            Jay Mitchell

Editor

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