(By Spike Santee) Zig Ziglar likes to describe selling as a transfer of emotions. If we as professional sales people can get our prospects as excited about our product as we are, then we’ll able to make a sale.
As radio broadcasters, we are leaders in the community. Ninety-three out of every 100 people listen to radio. That means that nine out of 10 consumers walking past your prospect’s door can be reached with radio. No other medium even comes close to the level of consumer acceptance.
We have a lot to be excited about in radio sales. We can grow our success every time we meet someone new and share our excitement with them.
Here are 10 ways to sell with emotions:
1. Tell People You’re Excited. Simply telling the people you meet how excited you are is the most effective ways to sell with emotions. When someone asks “How are you doing,” say something exciting like “super fantastic” or “better than good” or anything other than “okay” or “I’m getting by” or “so so.” Just that one little technique can set the stage for a more positive and more productive encounter. When you walk into the room with a great big positive attitude other people can’t help but like it. We have a lot of fun with the “super fantastic” response. I say it in about a thousand different ways, every time with a little different emphasis on this or that syllable, always loud and with animation.
2. Determine the True Felt Need of the Customer with an Effective Customer Needs Analysis. This really must be at the top of the list because you can’t proceed with any solutions-based proposal if you don’t have an agreement with the prospect as to what you’re tying to accomplish and why it is important to find a solution. This may sound more like intellect than emotion but as you’ll come to find out the more you probe, the reasons why it is important to find a solution are always emotional reasons. Just think about it yourself. How many prospects respond with a ho hum attitude when you talk about how advertising can increase their sales. It’s almost like they aren’t even listening. How many times have you heard “I have all the business I can handle”? Once you know what the real “felt need” is and what it’s worth to the prospect, you’ll be able to return to that objective/reason any time the prospect needs a pep talk.
3. Reach an Agreement on How To Measure Success. If you listen to your Roy Williams tapes, he is very adamant that there is a difference between success versus results. This may appear to be an intellectual sales step but I believe that by the very definition, this is an emotional sales step. I might be splitting hairs here but to me success is an achievement of a goal, results are the outcome of some actions. People often exclaim, “Ah, success at last!” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say, “Ah, results at last!” At the Wizard of Ads, success is measured in gross sales. Why? Because of the three worlds of the business owner, we can only influence the world outside his front door, the world of perceptions and feelings.
4. Use Testimonial Tapes or Testimonial Letters. This is an emotional sales technique because as the prospect is listening to or reading the testimonial, their imagination is working overtime asking, “Will this work for me?” The prospect is going through an emotional checklist or a mental comparison of their own situation with what they know about the customer in the testimonial. When they hear what you have done for other customers, your prospect starts to feel comfortable that you can help them too.
5. Use Spec Commercials. Spec commercials (spots are something on your tie) can be one of the best emotional sales tools in your tool box, when done properly. The spec commercial must say the right thing. The key to advertising success is saying the right thing over and over and over and over until someone has a triggering event. That’s how we bring buyers and sellers together. If you run out to a prospect with a poorly planned spec commercial, it could damage your chances with that prospect forever. When you prepare a carefully crafted spec commercial that says the right thing, the prospect will begin to feel comfortable that you are beginning to understand how they feel about their felt need. You are building up their confidence level in you. When you play the spec commercial you can ask the prospect a trial closing question like, “Do you feel like that commercial says the right thing”?
6. Use a Flip Chart to Present Your Ideas. The Flip Chart can’t help but be an emotional sales tool because it sets the stage for a presentation. A presentation is inherently emotional. The presentation sets the stage for emotional responses that result in larger sales. Take the example of the head of lettuce versus the bag of salad. The presentation of the head of lettuce as a bag of salad brings four times the money. Why does Starbuck’s get four times the money for a cup of their coffee than what Dunkin Donuts gets, presentation. Why does a martini at Tavern on the Green in Central Park cost more than a whole bottle of vodka, it’s all in the presentation. A well-crafted presentation is emotional because you are telling a story about how your plans can satisfy the true felt need of the prospect. Your presentation will articulate the benefits the prospect described in the Customer Needs Analysis. Your presentation will stimulate the prospect’s imagination of how great life will be when you satisfy their felt need. At the end of your presentation you can look the prospect in the eye and say, “How do you feel about that?”
7. Get the On-Air Personalities Involved in the Presentation. We are in show business. The on-air folks are celebrities to our listeners. When people describe their listening preferences, they say things like, “I love to listen to KLOS” or “WLS plays my favorite music.” They use terms of affection to describe their feelings about our radio stations. Ask the on-air folks if they’ll go with you to see a prospect. Ask them to write a note to the prospect inviting them to advertise on the station. Get the personalities to record a message to the prospect describing what their show is all about and invite them to advertise on the show. The on-air folks can play a very emotional role in the process of selling.
8. Invite the Prospect to the Radio Station for a Tour. People are intrigued by radio. Ninety-four out of every hundred people listen to the radio every week. Most people start their day listening to radio when their clock radio wakes them in the morning. The average person spends about three hours every day listening to their favorite radio stations. We are an emotional medium. When you invite a prospect to “come down and take a tour” they walk right into an emotionally charged behind-the-scenes experience. Make sure you do it right. Send out a note to everyone the day before and on the morning of the tour. Tell everyone on the staff who is coming by name and by company. If there is a special message you want to convey, go see your coworkers and set the stage, let them know what you’d like them to say.
9. Make Yourself Go See New Prospects Everyday. I feel like I can win everyone over to my point of view. I grieve when I can’t. But I don’t grieve too long because I’m wasting time not getting on to the next person who will enjoy what I have to offer. The sooner I meet new people, the sooner I’m going to have my next success. Make sure you are loaded up with your latest sales materials and Play Book. When you show up excited about the problem-solving power of your radio station, you will get a positive emotional response from your prospects. They will be interested in learning more. People are looking for answers now more than ever before.
10. Have Fun! This is the most important. Radio sales is the best job in town. All we have to do is go around town and introduce people to how we bring buyers and sellers together. Radio is an integral part of the community. We don’t have to lift heavy objects or dig ditches. All we have to do is go around and meet people and share our excitement and ask people if they want to join us.
I hope these ideas motivate you today toward more enthusiastic activity.
Spike Santee is the author of The Four Keys to Advertising Success and the president of SpikeSantee.com. Contact Spike at (785) 230-5350.
