Prospecting Made Easy(ier)...

Over the weekend, did you watch or read any news? Notice the increased level of uncertainty with regards to the current state of the pandemic? People are still scared, still apprehensive and still uncertain where this is headed. Radio continues to engage, inform, entertain and connect with our audience in increasingly inspiring ways. You would think that business owners and potential advertisers would recognize the updated research about radio's power and your phone would start ringing off the hook. We can only hope, right? (See last Thursday’s sales tip.)

So, here’s hope, with a plan. It’s Monday, so we like to highlight in Radio Sales Today – RAB resources available to our great members. RAB has several tools on our website under the sales tools/prospecting drop-down list at the top. Today, we focus on two of my favorites. (If I’m allowed to play favorites.)

The Consumer Behavior by Format profile, linked for members, is a tool that allows you to match your format to the specific purchasing behavior of your audience. Anything that indexes above 100 means your audience is that much more likely than the general market to attract those types of people.

a) For example, if you have a classic rock station, your audience is 2.14 times more likely (double) than the general market to ride a motorcycle on the weekends. Seems a good place for people who sell motorcycles to advertise, right?

b) This list is organized by index, so the first things on the list are the things your audience buys more than the general market. In classic rock, one has to scroll through four pages to get to 100. Read – there are lots of opportunities in lots of categories.

The Prospecting Success Indicator (PSI) tool is found in our Radio Marketing Professional (RMP) course. We're all under pressure to prospect – PSI. Get it? This simple spreadsheet looks at eight different criteria that you can score each prospect on. It totals up your score and tells you whether you have an excellent prospect, a good one or a questionable one. Using this tool allows you to focus on the suspects most likely to become prospects. The tools work together nicely because the number one criterion for an excellent prospect is station/customer match.

Radio is uniquely positioned to provide great marketing support to local communities and can respond instantly to changes in how the pandemic is affecting us. Radio salespeople are no longer “radio” salespeople, now they are marketing experts with a full suite of products (solutions) to offer local businesses. Strategic prospecting with the tools we just shared could be your perfect storm to getting your revenue back to where you want it, and beyond.

If you have not been through the RMP or just need a copy of the PSI spreadsheet emailed to you, just email me here, and I’ll send it right away.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.