Sales Manager of The Week – JVC’s John Griffo

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One of John Griffo’s AE’s tells Radio Ink, ” Griffo makes you want to be as great as you possibly can. His style reaches deep into your soul and motivates your every fiber. He’s brash, comedic, pushy, professional, exasperating, convincing, and never apologetic in his quest to deliver results to any and all advertisers.”

JVC Broadcasting CEO John Caracciolo tells Radio Ink John Griffo is one of the best sales managers he’s ever worked with. “He leads by example and recognizes the talent and skill of every member of his team. His relationship with clients and partners is classic, he knows everyone in the market and makes them all feel special. He’s the unofficial Mayor of FT. Walton. I’m extremely thankful to have him in a leadership position at JVC, he will play a significant role in the future success of this organization.”

John Griffo oversees four radio stations for JVC in Fort Walton, Florida. He leads five salespeople. Here’s our interview with our Sales Manager of The Week JVC Broadcasting’s John Griffo.

Radio Ink: How did you get into radio and radio sales?
John Griffo: After years working on Wall Street- a life event brought me to the panhandle of Florida. Searching for my next career down here I was driving around one day I heard a recruitment ad on the radio- I applied and after several interviews I got the job. Honestly before I heard the ad- I never even thought about radio as a business.

Radio Ink: How did you know you’d be good at selling radio? When did it click?
John Griffo: To me sales is all about having conversations- the more conversations you have- the better your sales numbers would be- of course you must be genuine and have their best interest in mind.
During the interview process I thought to myself- I used to sell complex option strategies sometimes in the seven-figure range- radio must be simpler to sell – and it was.

It clicked from day one- literally the first cold walk in I did- I sat down and hand wrote a contract and got a signature right then and there. Ten years later he is still an annual client.

Radio Ink: Why are you a successful leader of salespeople?
John Griffo: I treat them the way I always wanted to be treated as a salesperson. I took all the good from my former mangers and left all the bad behind. I treat them as they are, my equals.

Radio Ink: Tell us how you spot a great salesperson
John Griffo: If they are not nervous during the interview process- that’s usually a great sign. If you are nervous meeting me about a job- how will react when you’re meeting prospects and asking for the order? This job is all about conversations and confidence.

Radio Ink: How do you keep your team motivated?
John Griffo: Math is a very strong trait I possess. I help them track and plan on how to hit budgets months ahead of time and simplify it to how many accounts they need at our average to get there. We meet once a week to track where they are to that goal and adjust on how we will get there- never in a punitive way.

My focus is that overall number. I like to think I created team atmosphere where even someone who may be struggling to hit their own goals can get a confidence boost by helping the team win the game.

Keep the office fun.

John Griffo and his sales team.

Radio Ink: Over the past 18 months, what are you most proud of?
John Griffo: A few things:
– In 2021 it was easy beating 2020’s number. As our first year of being JVC Broadcasting- we surpassed 2019, 2018 and came very close to beating 2017’s numbers as well.
– And we hit budget every month for a year straight with 9 of those12 months going into those months at budget.

Radio Ink: What are your expectations for 2022?
John Griffo: Meet and exceed Sales goals and have a ton of fun doing it.

Radio Ink: What advice, in this competitive environment, do you have for other sales managers across the country?
John Griffo: Don’t get caught chasing the month. Sometimes you need a reset- you may have a few down months- take the hit and work towards making it up with long term business.

Reach out to John by e-mail and congratulate him on being chosen our Sales Manager of The Week at [email protected]. Nominate your sales manager HERE.

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