The Hidden 80/20 Rule

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(By Loyd Ford) We are in a clever business, right? That’s what everyone thinks. Not just radio. The world. Everyone looks for the shortcuts, the cheaper way, the path of least resistance. It’s our human nature. But sales is about human nature, too.

The best sales pros are truly clever. They know the 80/20 rule.

The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, is a familiar saying that asserts that 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event.

In business, a goal of the 80/20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them the priority. For instance, once managers identify factors that are critical to their company’s success, they should give those factors the most focus.

In radio, we start with this. What is essential to the great brands in our business? Having the experience. Listeners have experiences that turn into relationships. It’s local, it’s relational, it’s real. Honestly, sometimes we overlook this on the way to creating what has become a more corporate radio of the 2020s.

The same can only be true in sales. It’s the experience that deepens the relationship. So, I ask: What is the experience of doing business with you? What do buyers and advertisers experience that makes you different or better?

Sales Teams Are Smaller

Ever ask yourself why sales teams are smaller? Sales recruitment is hard. People want to see fewer sellers – not more. Right?

I ask this question a lot. When was the last time you wanted to hear an excuse? Never? That’s right. 

For me, I translate the language of “I want to see fewer sellers” to “I want to see fewer poorly trained sellers. I want to see fewer people who simply want something from me. I want to see fewer people trying to get one over on me.” 

The people in charge of decisions don’t have time for mess. They need solutions.

The Truth Is A Golden Boot

You can reduce your sales department to a core root, but it’s not the true way to bet. Boots on the ground is sales. Ask yourself: In your market, can your sellers see all the businesses that could be utilizing radio? In most markets, the answer is no. In fact, in many markets, this approach has not even been tried. Why? It’s expensive. It’s hard. The chances of failure are high. Right?

When I share that people should be recruiting sellers continuously, some balk at this.

Investing

In investing, they say it’s easy to get caught up in the noise instead of the truth. Emotion takes over and you make the wrong moves at the wrong time. It may be no different in sales. The conflict between Big Business wanting to streamline costs and the most effective advantages of the local radio business has been challenging for years. Now the noise says, “Do less, make more.”

But the bottom line in sales has always been “boots on the ground.” Without that footprint, you lose.

That’s where the hidden 80/20 rule empowers your success. In many organizations today there is so much more to sales than the 20% of activity that actually produces 80% of the results. So, zeroing in on the 20% will increase your revenue next year. Management pushing away the 80% that is ineffective is encouraging success.

Start With How The Sales Team Sees Itself

The most effective way to increase sales is to create an emotional attachment between the success of the company and the income of sellers. Develop a sales culture that focuses on “time spent selling” instead of temporary results.

Deep down we all know when certain activities are executed consistently at a high level the only result is an increase in revenue.

  • Great CNAs.
  • Forward leaning consistent efforts in uncovering advertiser needs and serving those needs.
  • The effective use of creative ideas that potential clients cannot unsee.
  • Getting in front of more people in need with solution options involving your products and services.
  • Make sure purchasing your products and services is actually easy.
  • Having a culture where listener experience and client experience come before everything else.
  • Sales culture that places a premium on sales training, including training on new ideas and opportunities for sellers. Doing this regularly explodes confidence.
  • A sales process involving many multiple touches and consistent follow-up sharing results directly with the client.
  • Unusual fun benefits to reinforce the great experience of doing business with you and your company.
  • Finally, create consistent and regular public praise for sellers based on their activities that produce the most consistent results.

Temptation is easy. Keeping your sales culture focused on the 20% is hard. You can do it if you have a designed process focused on the activities that produce the most. But the more you focus on the items on this list and reduce other activities and rewards, the more the hidden 80/20 rule will increase your revenue.

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.

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