Roy Williams was the keynote speaker Friday at the Radio Ink Radio Masters Sales Summit. He told the crowd that one of radio’s biggest problems is that month-to-month cycle where sellers are always trying to make the next month’s budget, trying to keep their heads above water. His advice: sell 52 week schedules.
Williams advised the crowd to go after categories with along purchase cycle such as, lawyers, HVAC, Jewelers and Medical Services. “Radio works best for advertisers with a long purchase cycle, because everyone is going to need them at some point. They are big ticket items with big profit margins. These people have to be won over, but once they are, they will be with you forever.”
Roy’s pitch: frequency, frequency, frequency. “52 weeks, 30 ads per week, 4 dayparts. He says radio works it’s best magic when you help clients become a household name. When listeners think of your client first when their need for that product arises. When they type that client’s business name into Google rather than the entire category.
Roy says to get over what he called the “chickening out period,” you have to be up front and honest with clients and tell them the first 90 days they are going to feel like they made the biggest mistake of their lives. “Doing the right thing hurts at first.”
Roy goes on to say campaigns fail on radio because of bad creative and a lack of frequency. “Radio is the best relationship media. You goal is to make the listener feel good about that client.” He said over and over again during his presentation that frequency is non-negotiable. “Frequency is what makes radio work.”
When it comes to the creative, Roy says he loves using the business owner in the ads to help create confidence in that business.
Hmmmm. stick to the basics. Who’d a thought!