(By Loyd Ford) This is not meant to be a fun article. This is about becoming more aggressive and seeking opportunities frankly necessary to move your business forward if you are a local radio owner, market manager or a sales manager today. This is important (like your pipeline).
I tell my friends, “This ain’t like the 20th Century.” Like Vietnam wasn’t like World War II. A Tesla isn’t like a 57 Chevy. Things change.
When life changes in business, it’s usually always harder. Change that makes your business life harder requires sharper skills and more of a killer instinct because successful business requires profit.
First, the elephant in the room: Hiring is tough. We all know this. It has always been tough, but in the 2020’s you also have quiet quitting and radio’s lack of self-confidence in attracting the best sales talent to go with the regular mix of X’s and O’s in hiring the best people. It’s just different here.
So, how do you tilt the odds in your favor and find more competent salespeople now?
- Socialize with sellers of all different kinds in your market today. If you are not consistently familiarizing yourself with sellers in all kinds of industries in your market today, you are missing great hires for your sales department.
- If you know me, you know I use this a lot: Instead of saying “I can’t,” please use this instead – “How can I ______?” If you use the question instead of the declaration of doom, you are 99% more likely to end up somewhere positive and likely to find a solution to individual problems in a wide variety of areas. Today we just happen to be looking at hiring good salespeople. You’re welcome.
- Radio needs do address confidence. Our business is literally the best local connection for over-the-air-radio, live events, promotion, digital marketing, endorsements, social media and more if we choose to be. We need to tell the radio story better and be proud of the amazing mature business we belong to today. By the way, if your employees (including your sales manager) is not as tied to your mission, the air will certainly be taken out of your recruiting. Our business is based on creativity and therefore is limitless. Let’s stop acting like we are like other businesses; we’re not. This is local radio. Charged with creativity, we can do anything and it’s still more fun than most jobs.
- Consistently build a board of sales experts for multiple purposes; to help give you a reflecting board for ideas and idea creation and as a future hiring funnel for sellers.
- Develop a keen interest in learning the miserable sales jobs in your market. I know, I’m terrible, but sellers who are crushing it but hate their job are great potential candidates for selling radio. The same goes for sellers who love what they do, love the industry they are in but hate their bosses. Keep your eyes open, mingle and learn.
- Learn DISC profiles (if you don’t know, look it up). You know how the old advice was “always be closing?” Welcome to the 21st Century: Always be DISCing. Always be watchful of the clothes sellers (and others) wear, the way they carry themselves and look for people who match the profile of great sellers for your organization. This should be a regular part of your recruitment process.
- Consider developing a robust intern program that brings younger people into your business and introducing them to number 3 above (see limitless). This isn’t an old school internship; Radio needs to do a 100% better job introducing the excitement of our business to outsiders. This internship should also have teeth and help build resumes of the students and should involve multiple high schools and the local college or colleges. This is something that teaches and blends knowledge of the students through promotion, digital, social media, on-air, sales and every single aspect of the business so you can tell who gets fired up and would make a great seller.
Am I Suggesting Recruiting Sellers Is Easy?
No one is saying that recruiting is easy. In fact, easy is over. However, if you put into place strategy that involves the 7 things in this article, your recruitment of sellers will get better. You will also begin to add good sellers from places you wouldn’t expect unless you had a strategy that involves these things.
Now is the time to develop managers with great recruiting skills to look beyond the regular X’s and O’s and capture unusual opportunities in other businesses and bring them to 21st Century Radio.
Recruiting isn’t as obvious as it used to be. Now we must sharpen our creativity and our killer instinct to grab the best sales talent and elevate our revenue impact.
Time is finite and revenue won’t wait for you. Having a strong plan that incorporates these things will give you more confidence, more opportunities and more success. That’s worth doing.
Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC). Reach Loyd at 864.448.4169 or [email protected].
