Radio advertising sales involve personal solicitation or media representation companies, with salespeople working in the office or field. Sales depend on both new and existing customers, and involve researching prospects’ businesses and creating tailored packages. Approaches to new clients include appointments or cold calling. Demographics are important in matching advertisers with their potential customers. Creative campaigns involve programming stations and advertisers. Sales techniques vary based on station size, audience, and personal style. Vendors may entertain potential customers with meals, free events, or items.
Soliciting local businesses personally or using media representation companies to coordinate media campaigns are just two ways to sell radio advertising. Some salespeople work exclusively from their office; some prefer to work in the field by contacting potential customers; and many salespeople combine office work with field work. Although most people associate marketing with new customers, radio advertising sales depend on both existing customers and new customers. A salesperson must be skilled in both areas of radio advertising sales. Typically, a radio advertising salesman spends a lot of time researching prospects’ businesses and creating specific packages tailored to each client.
Typically, there are two ways to approach a new client: by appointment or by cold calling. Cold calling means that a salesperson comes to a business without an appointment or prior contact. Larger radio stations may have one or more people make appointments for field agents; but at smaller stations, a sales clerk may have to pull double duty, spending part of the day or week making appointments and then meeting with the customer. Contacting the prospect is usually only one step in selling radio advertising because it is often a complicated and lengthy process.
Radio advertising sales office work includes tasks such as finding businesses, creating advertising campaigns or potential commercials, and interacting with walk-in customers who come to the radio station looking for commercials. In general, the station expects salespeople to arrange prizes, arrange remote broadcasts at customer companies, and other sales-related work. Often these activities involve special events, such as a client’s housewarming celebration, festival, or other event. Exhibitions, such as home exhibitions, trade shows, and similar events typically allow the advertiser to target customers within specific demographics. Knowing how to match advertisers with their demographics is essential to successfully selling radio advertising.
Demographics is information about the listener who is the advertiser’s potential customer. Some of the information may be listener statistics, such as ages, income ranges, occupations, and other information. Media representation companies often use station demographics to determine if their advertisers match the radio station’s listeners.
Often times, selling radio advertising involves getting creative and combining the need for programming stations and advertisers. Many times a vendor will work with programmers to create a show hosted by an advertiser or schedule an advertiser to be a guest speaker. Some examples of advertising clients that do well in this type of campaign are garden centers and a gardening show, financial planners and a financial advice show, plumbers or contractors and a home improvement show.
Radio advertising sales techniques vary based on many factors, including the size of the station and its audience base, whether the station is a standalone station or has one or more sister stations, and the style of the sales manager and personal. Some salespeople prefer to work from home, using the internet and networks. Other people prefer to work from the office. Many times vendors entertain potential customers by taking them out for meals, offering tickets to free events, or giving them free items.
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