Radio Wayne Spotlight – Alpha Seller Carla Bailes

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Carla Bales is a seller (streetfighter) for Alpha Media in Anchorage. She’s also a finalist for a 2022 Radio Ink Radio Wayne award later this month in Miami during the Radio Masters Sales Summit. Our awards are sponsored this year Quu.

Radio Ink: How long have you worked in radio and how long have you been in sales?
Carla: I started in radio in August 1999. Prior to that, I had worked in retail and sold/managed the membership department for an athletic club so I’ve been selling since I graduated high school in 1989. A former athletic club employee came to my club for a radio remote with the station he had gone to work for. I had always been a radio listener. I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and would call in to request songs and attempt to win contests. I recall the early MTV days when there was concern that “video killed the radio star” but radio was always my first love for music. When my friend and I were 22 and out at a club, she won a trip for two to Las Vegas to see Rod Stewart through the sponsoring radio station. Naturally, she brought me and the radio coolness factor went up exponentially! Talking to someone who was actually selling the commercial airtime and got to be a part of exciting promotions like concert giveaways and on air remotes piqued my interest. His boss took me to lunch soon after to give me a deeper dive into radio sales, and hired me soon after.

I went to work for a rapidly growing company that was new to the market. They had purchased three existing stations and started the first CHR in our market. It was exciting to learn and grow with these stations, but also very challenging for a newsier. There were format flips, on air talent changes, and a ton of turnover in the sales department. I was recruited after 2 ½ years to sell TV for the local CBS and FOX affiliates. I sold there for 4 years. This time enabled me to hone my marketing knowledge and sales capabilities. I was recruited to go back to where I started in radio, this time as the Director of Sales.

We were still experiencing a lot of change within the company, both locally and at the corporate level. This was a time of steep learning curves and change, but I built a strong team and created much needed infrastructure within the sales department. The 2008 recession drastically changed the landscape at our company and in the market. I was recruited to sell for a competing station group, and decided it was the right time to make a change. I sold for a few months, then I was promoted to GSM. Within a year, I was recruited to manage the ABC, FOX and CW affiliates. Again, I started in sales, but was promoted to GSM within a few months. I knew I wanted to sell, but management opportunities seemed to follow.

After two years managing in TV, there was an opportunity to manage three local radio stations for one of the heritage groups in the market. I had always worked for the start up or the underdog in radio. These stations had been the same format and were owned by the same company for over two decades. I was replacing someone who was retiring and managing a staff that had tenure and proven success in the market. I was thrilled! Our revenue grew rapidly the first couple of years. Then we were purchased by a large, growing national company. Change was inevitable. We eventually merged the sales teams into one team representing all 7 stations instead of 3 separate sales silos. None of this change was easy, but a lot of good came out of it.

Fast forward 5 more years and it was already 2020. I was the DOS for 7 radio stations, and while our market had experienced some recent challenges, we were having a strong Q1 and our forward pace was looking bright. We were sent home on Friday, March 13, 2020 to “flatten the curve” along with much of the world, and today the sales staff is still working from home.

The work from home dynamic and navigating all of the challenges during this time took its toll on all of us. We had no sales turnover the first 18 months, however, we were not immune to the “great resignation” and lost two seasoned AE’s toward the end of 2021.

Even before that happened, I had been considering my own future and how I wanted to spend the “twilight” years of my career. I knew I wanted and needed something different, I just didn’t know what it was. While I still love this industry, I needed a change. I decided I wanted to go back to my first love and sell full time. I managed a couple of house accounts while I was DOS, and found the time that I spent selling was the most rewarding and satisfying. I told my Market Manager that I wanted to sell full time and he supported my decision.

That was over 7 months ago, and it was the BEST decision for me. I have an entirely different perspective and renewed appreciation for this position. With our evolution into digital strategies, I’m learning so much while also having the opportunity to put my years of marketing experience and time management to good use!

Radio Ink: What do you do on your own to keep your selling skills sharp?
Carla: I subscribe to as many trade and business newsletters and publications as possible, and more importantly, I read them. Whether daily, weekly or monthly, I carve out time to read and learn as much as I can. There’s still so much change happening all the time. Even with 23 years in marketing, I’m still learning every day. I also participate in industry webinars and other ongoing education and training that is offered.

Radio Ink: How do you stand out above the competition when you walk in to see a client?
Carla: I always walk in with a level of curiosity. I do my research so I’m knowledgeable about the industry and their business. This gives me an idea of what their challenges and opportunities may be, but I never assume to know what their pain points are. That comes with a proper needs assessment, showing genuine interest in their success, being knowledgeable, honest and empathetic. I find this leads to establishing trust early on. I learned a long time ago that being trusted is the most important element to being successful in sales. I never take the trust my clients have in me for granted.

Radio Ink: What do your clients love/dislike about radio?
Carla: Many of my clients have been using radio as part of their marketing mix for years, if not decades. The media landscape has changed drastically, but one thing remains constant – radio works! I think advertisers appreciate the immediacy they see with radio – from the ease of production and getting schedules on the air, to the results of getting customers in their door, traffic to their websites or their phones ringing.

Analytics and attribution are more important than ever, which poses one of our biggest challenges when compared to digital offerings. We’re accustomed to using data in radio using ratings measurements, but when dealing with local clients and agencies, we need to find additional ways to show our value outside of ratings points. New tools that measure radio attribution and conversion are a great start. Streaming metrics are also proving to be a valuable tool. We’re making progress, but advertisers want and expect more from us.

Radio Ink: Tell us about your best sale ever.
Carla: This is such a hard question because I always feel like my last sale is always my favorite sale! If I had to choose one, I’d have to say it was about ten years ago just after I started working with my current station group. We have the honor of being a St. Jude Country Cares Radiothon partner on KBEAR, our country station. We had been a partner for over a decade at that time, however, we hadn’t been involving local sponsors at the level we could or should have been. I created a title sponsorship that covered all of Q1 (the Radiothon is typically at the end of January) giving us a revenue opportunity during the most challenging time of the year. The client also gives a substantial donation to St. Jude as part of the package pricing. I sold the package to Continental Auto Group, a local dealership. The on air staff and a sales representative were invited to Memphis to train for the radiothon and share ideas. We had the unique opportunity to bring the client with us to Memphis to participate in the conference and visit St. Jude Hospital. Their Marketing Director was able to see the amazing work that St. Jude does and all of the work that goes into their fundraising efforts. Even more importantly, I got to spend quality time with a client who has become one of my dearest friends. Even as automotive budgets have been shrinking, they have continued to sponsor our Radiothon every year since.

E-mail Carla to congratulate her on being a 2022 Radio Ink Radio Wayne finalist in our Streetfighter category at [email protected]

Register for the Radio Ink Radio Masters Sales Summit HERE

Previous Profiles of our finalists:
Beasley Media General Sales Manager Marta DeLisi.
CMG Atlanta D.O.S. Kris Hackett Lucas

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