We are local radio. For us, the more creative we are and the more skilled we become at building strong relationships, the more we can create revenue growth.
Don’t you need more revenue growth today?
Are you ready to try to create your own lead generation and then get your team to follow you?
Start At The Sales Manager Level
For a radio sales manager, making sure your team has leads coming out their ears takes a smart, sustained approach to lead generation, qualification, and distribution. Doing so will also keep your wheels in motion and your sellers leaning into more visits with more potential customers each week.
Here’s how to build a local-direct lead engine that actually delivers:
Use Your Station’s Data
Tap into your contest entrants, newsletter subscribers, and streaming logins — all those names and email addresses are potential B2B leads, especially if you offer sponsorships or promotions. Don’t have a B2B email newsletter on marketing? It’s time to start one.
Cross-reference listener data with business categories to build hyper-targeted campaigns (e.g., a home improvement retailer targeting your weekend DIY listeners).
Leverage Warm Intros and Referrals
Create a referral incentive program for current advertisers: “Refer a business, get $500 off your next campaign.”
Internal ‘warm-up’ campaigns: Have every seller call five (5) happy clients and ask for two intros to other local business owners — track and reward this.
Remember: When you talk about it in a sales meeting consistently, it’s more likely to get done.
Create or Buy Smart Lists
Purchase B2B data from vendors like Dun & Bradstreet, Info USA, or ZoomInfo with filters for business type, size, and location.
Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to spot local decision-makers (especially useful for multi-location and franchise leads).
Build Lead Magnets
Offer free ad audits or “Local Business Visibility Reports.
Host webinars like “5 Ways to Get More Local Customers in 30 Days.”
Create an invitation-only event called “Digital, Event & Traditional Marketing.” Invite one business owner from individual categories and expose them to your expertise on a variety of marketing options for their business.
Put out a downloadable advertiser success guide or case study collection with an email gate.
Mine the Market Relentlessly
Business license databases: Cities and counties often publish new business registrations. These are golden.
Chamber of Commerce directories: Join and scrape.
Google Maps & Yelp sweeps: Assign team members to map out entire sectors (e.g., HVAC, legal, salons) by zip code.
Event sponsorships: Local expos, fairs, and festivals — every vendor is a potential lead.
Keep the CRM Clean and Flowing
Leads go in one place (no scattered spreadsheets).
Assign leads smartly by industry or geography.
Monitor aging leads and reassign dead ones with a new angle or fresh voice.
Bonus: Make the Sales Team Hungry
Make A Game Of It: Create a monthly prize for the most new leads added by a rep.
Public “lead battles”: Who can bring in the most appointments from a cold sector in 5 days?
Growing sales is about momentum, activities, and how many people your individual sellers are seeing day after day with the right offers. It all starts with motivating your individual sellers to grow their activities that often lead to sales.
Done right, your team should never be stuck asking, “Who should I call today?” — they should be choosing from a pile of promising prospects regularly with the goal of churning the entire market from different angles, geography, and category.
