Category: Sales
Pending Business: New and Improved
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — New and Improved — two of the most powerful words in marketing so effective that the world’s biggest packaged goods marketers use the sell line over and over, generation after generation. So, why is it that when we introduce a new talent to our advertisers we stop at describing “product” (your NEW talent’s) features, skipping over what this NEW talent brings to your advertisers’ investment?
Pending Business: Some Good News
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Last week’s employment news was encouraging. Over 900,000 new jobs and counting. The biggest increase we’ve seen in more than six months.
Although surrounded by some controversy baseball is back. For 100 years baseball and radio have enjoyed a legendary partnership. This year streaming will play a major role with flagship radio stations around the country. Hopefully baseball fans, sponsors, and the businesses that depend on game day are feeling a lift.
Pending Business: Checking In
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Checking in for advertisers’ performance feedback is a dying part of the sales process. The phrase that pays, ”How are we doing?” part of my sales culture for over 45 years is gone. My marketing work in over 50 markets showed me how fast this part of the sales process is eroding. Houston, our sales teams have a problem and nobody cares. Chances are automated check-ins show up more often than you do. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Pending Business: One Year Later
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Last weekend, as the Uber left a bustling Florida airport and headed towards my home, in the distance, hovering overhead in a perfect spring sky was the iconic Goodyear blimp. Since the 1955 Rose Bowl, when the Goodyear blimp responded to the NBC request to carry a TV camera, the blimp means live sports and that means sponsorships.
There you have it. In one brief sentence, more clues that business is coming back. Masked Uber drivers are out and about again, masked travelers are filling airlines, hotels, and airports. Albeit at a tempered pace, sponsored outdoor sporting events are feeding local economies. It may not be at past levels, but remember last year at this time? Take what you can, when you can.
Pending Business: Attitude Is Everything
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The thing about your attitude is you are in control. So why let the professional attitude give way to short cuts that may send the wrong the message? Here are two real world examples that hit home this week.
Negotiating any deal to a win-win can be delicate surgery. The economic variables, personalities, and now the lack of body language feedback can make the process frustrating. As we move to a hybrid sales-work environment of on-line, in-person, Zoom, and mobile, negotiating takes on a new dimension. Depending on your tenure you may find yourself at the pause point of “Let me check with my manager.” Time, resources, and expectations are vested in the process of negotiating and that requires your best professional attitude to the give and take. Checking in with your manager can be a signal to your buyer that this will drag on. You risk the good vibe of a win-win melting away during the time it takes you to check in, get a reply from your manager and re-start the process. Consider changing the attitude from “checking” to “confirming.” There is a difference between “checking” and “confirming.” Which sounds more professional to you? Which one says, we are close? Talk to your manager and try it the next time you are in the midst of back-and-forth.
Pending Business: Habits
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communication Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — I am a fan of the thousands of interviews, articles, and self-help books that share somewhere between five and 50 habits or traits of successful people. After many hours of comparison, the habits or traits seem to become more and more universal: exercise, meditate, eat right, stay organized, have specific goals, keep positive, never stop learning, don’t respond to email right after you wake up, and many more.
Pending Business: Stop Fighting, Start Selling
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Sounds like the title of a business book — maybe someday — but for now let’s explore how this four-word mantra can increase your sales and grow your income.
My marketing work brought me three back-to-back-to-back episodes of sellers who would rather debate or argue than sell.
If you’ve been selling news/talk for longer than three years, there’s a good chance you can relate. The trigger can be the frustration that grows from a rate hurdle, time-consuming package that still doesn’t hit CPM or CPP parameters or maybe it’s a creative concept that misses the mark.
Pending Business: Rush Changed How We Sell
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Before Rush generated big ratings, local talk radio went something like this:
Morning Show – Local topical talk with news, traffic, weather, and sports all presented by local personalities.
General Talk – Do you remember Bruce Williams welcoming callers?
“Experts” – Dr. Laura (now thriving on SiriusXM) – interacting with callers about relationship issues.
Sports – PM drive shows with local personalities debating callers, before it became a full time format.
Pending Business: Reminder
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Sometimes we forget what we get paid to do. Sounds silly, but it’s true.
A recent experience reminded me of the temptation every seller and manager faces when presented with seemingly impossible buying parameters.
The knee-jerk reaction is to simply pass, without thinking twice about everyone downstream impacted by the decision, especially your on-air talent. They may be earning fees connected with the decision to pass. Your on-air talent are typically disconnected from your decision flow and only know their monthly talent fee check shrunk. Let’s back up and revisit the fast decision to pass.
Pending Business: Host Read Commercial
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — It’s great, this newfound interest in the host read commercial.
You’re certainly seeing the articles, interviews, research, and industry visibility showcasing the recent resurgence in the host read commercial. Longtime sellers, managers, owners, all know the host read never really went away. From the days of Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson to today’s talk radio talent, many of whom can be identified by just one name – Rush, Howard, Rome – they all kept talking and reading the bullet points.
