To sell radio is to fight. Every day you fight to get your foot in the door, fight to get a slice of the revenue pie from an infinite amount of competitors, and fight against the decision maker’s “no.” That’s why Radio Ink‘s Radio Wayne award for best individual seller is named the Streetfighter of the Year award.
Like the best streetfighters, the best radio sellers are scrappy, adaptable, and never, ever give up. For our upcoming September issue of Radio Ink, who better to ask about squaring up against the biggest challenges in radio sales today than these indefatigable champions?
“I believe the only challenge in selling radio is the challenge you may have within yourself. There are so many businesses that could benefit from the help of a marketing professional. Clients know their business, but not how to advertise it. Set yourself up in your community as the person to know, branding you as the expert.”
“Time. Finding time to prospect new accounts. Finding time to manage current accounts. Finding time to meet with prospects and provide them solutions. Finding time to put these solutions to paper and present them. Radio salespeople wear many hats: marketing consultant, copywriter, collections agency, digital advertising expert, graphic designer, and optimization specialist. Juggling a busy schedule and prioritizing responsibilities has been the biggest challenge as a radio sales professional.”
“I think the biggest challenge is educating people on how viable radio is today. It’s been around so long, it’s not as sexy as many of the new digital marketing platforms, so it doesn’t often get the credit in people’s minds that it should. We need to brand the effectiveness and strength of radio more to business owners.”
The 32nd annual Radio Wayne award winners will be crowned at the Radio Masters Sales Summit on September 10 at the Cincinnati Airport Marriott.
See what all our Radio Wayne finalists said, plus read more about another fight – the fight to save AM radio – in the next issue of Radio Ink out Monday, September 9. If you are not a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Order your digital or print subscription today!
