Frequency gets results

Sales is a repeatable process. If you've had any exposure to RAB training, you know that following a recipe or an organized system of essential tasks in the proper order leads to far greater success than winging it. Some refer to this as a "sales cadence." It's the order and sequence of expectations and standards that you require based on the uniqueness of your market to achieve success. According to CSO Insights, a sales team performance research firm, job clarity leads to better performance, motivation and job satisfaction. This begs the question: Does your team know clearly what is expected of them?

Neal Gladner is the director of sales and marketing for U.S. Stations in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He's also a long-time friend and supporter of RAB. Neal has an incredible gift of making the complex simple, and his results in terms of staff longevity, performance and impact in the market speak for themselves. Frequency is one of the keys to advertising success. (There are four.) Neil has found a way to put frequency to work as a management tactic to ensure that the crucial initiatives that he wants his team to focus on are front and center daily. He does this with his email signature for internal communication. Here is Neal's email signature:

Things to remember:

-10-10-10

-Don't say it if you can ask it.

-It's not the prospect's job to call you back.

-Always think about the journey of your customer's customers.

-Update Account Manager daily

-Know your numbers

And here is the explanation of each point: 10-10-10 — All sellers are expected to always have 10 prospects per week, complete 10 C.N.A.s and ask 10 people to spend money in some way. (Renewals, sports and branding plans all count.)

Don't say it if you can ask it. — When a client says something that you feel the need to defend, don't defend it. Ask about it. If a client says "everyone is listening to satellite radio," instead of saying no, I can show you research that says they are not. Respond instead with something like "Why do you say that?". Understand their objection even when prospecting instead of responding to it. You can always introduce your research later but know why they say it.

It's not the prospect's job ... — My pet peeve is when a seller says, "I call and call and can't get them to call me back." I remind them it's not the prospect's job to call you back. It's your job to say something that makes THEM WANT TO CALL you back.

Always think about their journey, especially in creating a presentation or writing copy. Think about the prospects/clients of your client. Put yourself in the mind of the consumer and why they should do business with your advertiser.

Update Account Manager — This needs no explanation. (CRM system.)

Know your numbers — Always know where you stand regarding your goal for this month. We reward with Friday afternoon off for proper pacing. So, by July 31, you should be at 85% of August and 55% of September. If you do that, you get Friday afternoons off for all of August. Still, this is the most powerful incentive I offer. Know where you are against your goals; know where you are against the 10-10-10. Know your business!

Six points to remind his staff each time they get an email from him. Sounds like a recipe for success. The power of what Neal is doing is the message, frequency and consistency it delivers. Your recipe might be similar or completely different. The question is, does your team know clearly what's expected of them? How are you reinforcing and reminding them of those standards?

Neal, thanks for sharing.

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