What’s It Worth? Ask for It!

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(By Rick Fink) Here’s a scenario. A media rep meets with a client, completes the fact-finding meeting, and the client tells the rep, “I would like to promote this event or this area of my business, and here is my budget. Let me know what you come up with.”

The media rep goes back to the station, and they begin to brainstorm ideas. During the session, they come up with a great idea but, to promote it correctly, it will certainly take more budget than what the client suggested. The media rep is hesitant to ask for more investment than what the client originally stated.

The question is – “Now what?”

1) Do you put the great idea together and show an investment of only what the client stated?
2) Do you scale the idea back to match the stated budget? Or…
3) Do you lay out the great idea and show the investment that it will take to implement it?

The correct answer, of course, is #3. Ask for what is it worth! Business owners are starving for good ideas and if the idea is strong enough and they are convinced that they will have a successful promotion, the client will find the money.

The worst thing that can happen is that they won’t be convinced, and they’ll say no. Then you either go back to the drawing board or you can have option two prepared for the level of investment the business owner initially suggested.

When the client says, “Let’s do it”, the upside is huge! Besides the obvious of making a larger sale, campaigns with more bells and whistles, i.e., increased frequency, remotes, promotions, etc., will always have a better chance of being successful than a basic schedule, if executed correctly. But the larger lesson is that the confidence gained by the media rep and the lesson learned will be invaluable.

The fear of asking for more or adequate dollars is oftentimes a key reason why campaigns fail to work as well as they could or should. Overcoming this fear can be key to becoming a successful media rep.

Come up with a big idea, figure out what it is worth – Then, ask for it!

NEVER Stop Learning – Get Better Every Day!

 

Rick Fink from ENS Media (www.ensmediausa.com) can be reached by phone at 605-310-2062 or e-mail at [email protected]

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