Dr. Arvey uncovered research attesting to the benefits of face-to-face meetings while preparing a report: “Why Face-to-Face Business Meetings Matter.” Studies indicate 85 percent believe face-to-face meetings are more likely to result in breakthrough thinking; and 82 percent believe that meetings bring out the best in people.
Attending and utilizing tradeshows for sales is a key skill for almost every kind of advertising sales person. If you sell national trade advertising, the trade shows in your industry are a key source of content and of leads, as well as a place to meet your prospects. If you sell local TV or radio or newspaper advertising attending the local “home-show” will be a source of leads and a great place to chat up potential customers.
Preparing and proposing an agenda at the beginning of the ad-sales conversation has many positive uses. Proposing an agenda for your meeting or conversation can be done on the phone or in person, and works in informal situations as well as in formal presentations.
Ad sales executives need to keep good negotiating practices in mind when the negotiation starts. When a client devotes time to an actual discussion of whether you can meet their price, it is a powerful signal your property is one of a few, not one of many choices.
As we should know from many other industries, when there is a lot of money available, very creative scams will be hatched. Recently Advertising Age ran this article explaining how more sophisticated scammers have developed technology that avoids bot blockers by appearing to be a human scrolling and interacting with a web page.
As a result many media sales managers have a very difficult time with forecasting their company’s business. Will you be up or down next month? How much business should you be forecasting for 6 months from now? Management hates surprises, so the pressure is on.
The advertising sales process is particularly frustrating for inexperienced managers because the purchase-decision process at an advertiser or media-buying agency is so opaque. While one person may be identified as the “buyer” they are often not the key contact in terms of influence.
Your customers have little time for you because they are under so much pressure to be productive. Only if you add value to their day, every time you meet, will you win time with them to build the relationship that gives you a leg up in the competition.
Open the Mind w keyThat is why I loved seeing new research on now b2b buyers separate winners from losers. The research directly supports the ambro.com Strategic Sales Tactics Training for advertising sales that we teach in customized form for media companies and publically through the Masters of Media Selling seminars with MediaPost.
If you are not providing leadership to your customers you will be relegated to the commodity media file. You’ll be the company that occasionally receives business when it suits your customer-base. On the other hand, as a leadership media company you’ll drive new business, win greater market share, and expand your market.
What do dates and sales calls have in common? You probably need to win another meeting or date to accomplish your goal. You are, in fact, building a relationship. You know good and well that talking about yourself too much on a date is a way to make sure it’s […]
Your cold-calling is adding extra targeted, customized, frequency to the rest of your ad-sales-marketing plan that helps you win new business. Your calls are targeted to the prospects with the greatest need or potential for business volume. Think of your cold-calling plan as a personal brand-building process.
