Wayne Jones is the VP of Sales for Cumulus in Baton Rouge. He oversees the sales operations for four radio stations and a team of 15 people, including AEs, sales managers, and sales assistants. He is also one of Radio Ink‘s Future African American Leaders in Radio and will be featured in our March 6 issue. Let’s find out why. Here is our extended interview with Wayne Jones.
Radio Ink: How long have you been in the business, and why did you decide on radio as your career?
Wayne Jones: I’ve been in the business for almost 10 years now. And as I always tell people, radio found me. I was minding my business at a show in Dallas and a mentor says “you should really look into radio sales. I think it would be a great career for you!” One day on the job I knew my passion for music and meeting new people combined with my drive to help people and their business grow would lead me to a lifelong career in this business.
Radio Ink: What makes you passionate about the radio industry?
Wayne Jones: I love the music. I love meeting new people. I love watching people grow. That experience alone is enough to get me out of bed and out to work each morning. I also love the organic nature in which radio impacts the community. Since the creation of the modern radio, families have crowded around the radio to get entertainment, news, and music. And still today people still do the same.
Radio Ink: What made you successful at selling radio?
Wayne Jones: My ability to build relationships with my clients and make each individual advertiser I work with know how invested I am in making sure OUR campaign works! When clients understand the fact you have just as much “skin in the game” for an advertising solution to work as they do it definitely elevates the relationship to a partnership and creates a stronger bond while eliminating the whole feeling of the buyer/seller mentality.
Radio Ink: What are your goals, both personally and to make the industry better?
Wayne Jones: A fully omni-present approach to being a media solution. We have to integrate radio digital as well as social into each and every campaign to truly reach our highest potential of consumers. Radio isn’t just terrestrial anymore. People listen on their phones, in their cars, at their desk, even at the beach on their tablet. We have to understand that people are consuming media differently and that we must make sure we not only stay current with our advertising solutions but ask for the value these additional mediums bring.
Radio Ink: Why do you think you’ve been successful to this point in your career?
Wayne Jones: Drive. Ambition. Passion. As simple as it sounds I actually care if our solutions work and if they can be duplicated in multiple markets to continue to show the world our medium is vital to advertising and reaching not only the masses but targeted audiences as well.
Radio Ink: If you were promoted to a much higher position of leadership tomorrow, what would you do to improve radio?
Wayne Jones: Implement an on-boarding/training program that completely integrates the sale of broadcast radio with digital and social media support. Every campaign should include dollars dedicated to all advertising tools we have within our wheelhouse. This business is consistently evolving and will be totally different in 10 years. We need to prepare for the future today.
Radio Ink: What advice would you give to someone just getting started in the business?
Wayne Jones: Don’t sell radio. Make relationships. Don’t be a salesman, be a sales consultant. Learn from your peers and senior reps but make your approach your own. Lastly, know all the products you have at your disposal. Radio is so much more than the spots and dots between the stop-sets.
Reach out to Wayne to congratulate him on being one of radio’s future leaders at [email protected]
