How One Salesperson Billed $10 Million

10

On Day One of Radio Ink’s Radio Masters Sales Summit, Michael Doyle made a presentation called ‘What is Prospecting in 2022.’ Within his presentation, Doyle interviewed Dave Cohen who sells for Cox Media Group in Atlanta and has billed over $10 million for the company, much of it from new business. Here’s how he does it.

Cohen told Doyle that he relentlessly attacks one category, HVAC for example. He then deploys a strategy to prospect the top 10-15 prospects in that category.

Cohen says he first does the research in the category to determine the prospects. He does detailed Google searches, digs into the website of each business, checks Angie’s List, Zoominfo.com, reads reviews, etc. Anything he can do to dig into that category. He spends 20-25 hours researching each category.

He then ranks them from #1 to #15, with #1 being the top prospect.

Cohen’s next step in the process is to send each prospect a short introductory letter in the mail to try to secure an appointment. He sends the snail mail letter, he says, “because nobody uses the mail anymore.” It’s an old-school way to stand out in the crowd. He asks for a 15 minute interview in his letter. The letter is a ‘personal marketing resume.’ It’s a brochure about you. You are trying to stand out.

Michael Doyle at RMSS Day One

Cohen says he then wants to touch each prospect once per week, whether it’s by email, a note on LinkedIn or voicemail. “They are short messages, always referencing the letter he sent in the mail.” Cohen says from the list of 15, one or two always respond.

Doyle says this prospecting formula is making Cohen rich.

When Cohen gets the appointment he wants to know if the prospect is “motivated to grow.” He asks the client about revenue and growth goals. “I love it when clients are aggressive. You want people who have growth goals.”

Cohen is attacking several categories the same way. He says the average time from the initial letter to close is 3 years so obviously he’s closing other deals while he works on his categories. One client that spent just under $1 million with Cohen took nearly 5 years to close. “The timing has to work for them. It’s a long, slow cycle. The Majority of salespeople give up. I will relentlessly pursue people for years if they are worth it.”

Doyle says prospecting in 2022 is about having prospective clients in the pipeline. “People don’t prospect because they don’t want to prospect.” He says a salesperson’s job is to provide leads to clients. “Be a specialist. Prove your credentials.

Since 2008 Cohen has billed tens of mllions of dollars in radio advertising with CMG. He’s sold over $10 million in 2022 so far. He told Radio Ink yesterday selling radio is his dream job and the last three years have been record years for him.

Reach out to Dave to congratulate him at [email protected].

10 COMMENTS

  1. Ten million dollars in non agency, non rep firm, local direct retail billing is an awesome accomplishment! I love his relentless system. Most AEs give up too soon! Congratulations David!

  2. Mason and Bob:

    I’ll leave y’all with this: Reading is FUNdamental. Especially when you do it for comprehension. $10 Million ALREADY this year … 2022.

  3. This guy is really good at what he does for 2 reasons…
    1) He’s relentless and every no is one no closer to a yes.
    2) He does a lot of homework. Most salespeople wouldn’t spend this kind of time
    looking for new accounts. It works for him.
    Those who are willing to work really hard at what they do are always successful.
    Congratulations Dave!

  4. Sorry, $10 million in 14 years is not impressive. When I was a GSM in LA, I had sales people who billed $5million in 1 year! Granted, LA is a bigger market, but the difference isn’t enough to justify lauding Cohen’s accomplishments. $10 mil in Atlanta in 5 years would be impressive.

    • Since 2008 Cohen has billed tens of mllions of dollars in radio advertising with CMG. He’s sold over $10 million in 2022 so far is what the article says

  5. $10 mill since 2008??? In a top ten market?? I have a rep in Akron, OH that’s billed that in ten years and then some. A top ten market rep should easily be billing over $1 mill per year.

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