(By Loyd Ford) Maybe you’ve been doing it for years. When motivating new advertising salespeople to try selling, you know it’s important to provide them with a mix of encouragement, guidance, and practical advice.
Here’s what you might tell them:
Highlight the Opportunity
Advertising sales can be a highly rewarding and lucrative career. Successful salespeople often enjoy attractive commissions, bonuses, and career advancement opportunities unavailable in other professions.
Believe in the Product
Show them the power of your products. Encourage them to believe in those products or services they are selling. When they truly understand and believe in the value their offerings provide to customers, their enthusiasm will naturally come through in their pitches.
Focus on Problem-Solving
The best sellers don’t come off as “great salespeople.” Emphasize that their role is not just about selling, but first about helping clients solve their problems. Effective advertising helps businesses grow, reach their target audience, and achieve their goals. Frame the sales process as a way to provide solutions rather than merely making transactions.
Training and Development
You better make your point that being in your organization means they will get regular education, experience, training to grow their ability to be effective and grow their income. Assure them that you’re invested in their growth and development. Offer training sessions, workshops, and resources to help them build their sales skills, product knowledge, and communication abilities.
Positive Mindset
Life has ups and downs for everyone. If you focus on the downbeat, your shoulders will always slump. Stress the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. Rejections are part of the sales process, but each “no” brings sellers closer to a “yes.” Encourage your sellers not to take rejections personally but to see them as opportunities to learn and improve.
Setting Goals
Everyone you hire will want to be the #1 seller in your cluster. They wall want to win. That’s different than having what it takes to win. Help every seller set realistic and achievable goals. Break down their targets into smaller milestones, making the process less overwhelming and more manageable. Celebrate their successes along the way.
Building Relationships
You’ve likely heard the phrase “Coffee is for closers.” Don’t you believe it. Rewards are for the relational. Explain that successful sales isn’t just about closing deals; it’s about building long-lasting relationships with clients. By understanding their needs, providing personalized solutions, and maintaining regular communication, your individual sellers can establish trust and loyalty and YOUR BUSINESS gets stronger.
Practice and Role-Playing
Often avoided like the plague, this is a step I encourage you to make a huge part of your sales meetings and your sellers regular experience. Encourage your sellers to practice their sales pitches and objections handling with colleagues or mentors. Role-playing can help them become more confident and better equipped to handle various scenarios. Do you have one of your sellers share an actual pitch and proposal they are going to perform this week? Did you read this last week in Radio Ink? Please. That.
Learning from Experienced Colleagues
Encourage your new sellers to learn from experienced salespeople in the company. Sharing success stories, tips, and strategies can be highly motivating and provide valuable insights.
Perseverance Pays Off
They don’t call it a race because you sit on your couch to be successful. Remind them that success in sales often comes from perseverance and consistency. It’s about putting in the effort consistently, especially when faced with challenges.
Track and Analyze Results
This is a steep challenge for almost everyone. Make sure your sellers know that mastering this process will really help you will rise among sellers. Explain the importance of tracking their sales activities and analyzing what’s working and what’s not. This data-driven approach can help them refine their strategies over time.
Celebrate Wins
Make sure to celebrate their successes, no matter how small. Oh, let me make sure to place this right in the big fat middle of this point: Celebrate your individual sellers and their wins in PUBLIC – in front of others. Acknowledging their achievements boosts their confidence and keeps their motivation high. It also helps motivate the whole team.
Remember, everyone’s motivation and triggers are different, so learn your people.
Tailor your approach to individual personalities and needs. Providing ongoing support, encouragement, and a nurturing environment can go a long way in helping new advertising salespeople find their footing and excel in their roles. It ain’t gonna hurt the old ones either.
Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC). They help local radio with ratings and revenue. Reach him anytime at 864.448.4169 or [email protected]. Read Loyd’s Radio Ink archives here.
