(By Loyd Ford) What happens this time of year? People have their company Christmas and holiday parties. A lot of people spend more time thinking about family. And, hopefully, you map out your battle plan for a solid 2024. What’s in that plan?
- Hope for the best; plan for the worst. Let’s face it. We’ve had a year of fear about continuing inflation, recession, and economic pullback. What is it Warren Buffett says? “Be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” Right now people are talking about how the Fed has engineered a “soft landing.” I’m from the school of “It isn’t over.” That doesn’t mean I’m fearful; it means I believe in being prepared. Those who are prepared do better.
- No matter what happens, clients will need to grow business. That’s our business. If there is a recession, advertisers will need advertising to bring in those customers. If times are good, advertisers will need to bring in those customers. Same story.
- While advertisers need to bring in more customers no matter economy and other factors, knowing which clients or advertisers are on the move is critical. This goes back to prep. How is your intel? How does your team work together to focus on where money is flowing because money is always on the move? Money doesn’t stay. It flows. Part of our job is figuring out where money is on the move in our market and capturing more of it.
- When the economy is challenged, your relationships mean even more. This is why we recommend constant relationship building. Even more than this, we recommend training sellers to consistently bring benefits to their relationships with clients and potential clients. One day it may be what saves your revenue growth. On another day, it may save your butt.
- No matter what the year ahead brings, radio will need to work to make our industry relevant and higher profile. This falls on local market managers and local owners as much as it does big companies. If you are in a local market, you are boots on the ground (and nothing beats boots on the ground). As I stated above, “It isn’t over.” If you want to have a strong 2024, you will hear my warning. Plan for your local brands to be strengthened and to create a higher local profile. It will pay off for you in revenue and overall value.
- Focus more on training sellers and making certain that they know more than your competition about solving problems using your products. We often spend so much time focusing on revenue this quarter, this month and this week that training reluctantly slips to the back of our priority page. Make it your mission to do better. The better trained your sales team is, the better your opportunity to grow your business.
- Take nothing for granted. As they say in TV insurance commercials, “Life comes at you fast.” I always say, “There’s always room for the unexpected.” There’s value in keeping a sharp eye out and fundamentally understanding that conditions change sometimes when you least expect them. Expect that this regularly happens and you will stay focused on what matters most: Your people, caring for them and motivating them to move ahead even when things challenge the team.
- Those who stay calm in a crisis are much more likely to win in the end. No matter what the new year brings, we will have opportunities if we consistently look for them. The best leaders show calmness when the team is challenged. Doing so gives your team confidence and can allow them better focus. This produces the best results.
Welcome to the future. We’re in the technology century, but remember that relationships still matter the most. Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool all people some of the time and some people all the time. But you can never fool all people all the time.” Think about your positive impact on 2024. You are the architect of how you react to whatever happens. You can’t control next year, but you can control how you react and that can make all the difference.
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.
