Selling with spec creative is the most effective way to build a successful career in Radio advertising sales. This article will help you learn how to overcome the most common stumbling blocks to selling with spec creative. When you’re done reading, you will easily know how to sell using spec creative on every single sales call.
First, we need some perspective. Take a lesson from the biggest advertising and creative agencies in the world. Do you think they hire a film crew and record a TV commercial before showing the client different creative ideas using storyboards? Of course, they don’t; that would be too costly. They would waste a lot of time and their own agency’s money trying to guess what creative idea the client might approve. Just because production costs in Radio are less than in television doesn’t mean we should be cavalier about the process.
Most of the value of any creative branding message is contained in the words used in the commercial, not the production services. There will always be a production company willing to do the work for less money. The creative idea is the most valuable component of the commercial. That is where your focus needs to be.
Poorly selected words and wonderful production make for an ineffective commercial that won’t be remembered. But carefully crafted words that articulate a meaningfully different value proposition will always pull mediocre production across the threshold of consumer awareness and make its way into the consumer’s long-term memory, which is advertising success.
When you follow these easy steps to selling with spec creative, you will also build up some protection against your low-priced competitors who call on your new client with a cheaper offer.
To best describe these effective techniques for selling with spec creative, listen in to the sales call as this salesperson starts selling with spec creative from the moment they walk through the prospect’s door.
Thanks for meeting with me today. You have a very nice store here. I’m very impressed with what you’re trying to do here. I believe I could write you a very compelling branding message about your business. What types of advertising have you done in the past? I pulled some stuff off of your website. Is this the branding message you’re trying to communicate? How is that working out? Is that the message you want to stick with?
Not only is this salesperson selling with spec creative from the very first moment, but now they are also conducting a creative Customer Needs Analysis. They are talking with the prospect about the prospect’s branding efforts. The salesperson hasn’t said anything about their Radio station. This call is off on the right foot.
You see, selling is not telling. Selling is asking. Selling is asking questions to learn the real needs, issues, and concerns affecting your prospect.
The salesperson is asking the prospect to do the talking. The salesperson is asking the prospect to talk about their business and their previous advertising efforts. They are asking the prospect about their opinion of their previous and current advertising efforts. The more questions you ask, the more needs you uncover. The more needs you uncover, the more sales you can make.
You are not going to be doing much telling in this sales call. You are going to be doing a lot of asking. Your goal is to learn what the prospect wants to communicate about their business so you can return in a week with a custom-written, emotionally compelling branding script. Listen to how this salesperson wraps up this call.
I have really enjoyed learning about your business and the things you are trying to do here. Based on what you have told me, I’m even more convinced I can write some great branding messages about your business. I have so many ideas in my head right now that I can’t wait to start writing them down. Could I come back and see you next week at this same time and show you what I come up with?
The skillful salesperson recognizes the possibility that if the prospect can meet this week at this time, there is a good likelihood they can meet again next week at the same time, so they ask for a second meeting on the same schedule. If this prospect becomes a regular customer, this time slot could become their regular meeting time every couple of weeks.
When you finish writing your prospect’s branding message, you will not turn it in to be recorded. Not yet, at least. Why would you? The words you have written have not been approved. You don’t know if you are even on the right track yet. You don’t want to waste time and valuable resources recording a branding message before the prospect has approved it. Most of all, you don’t want to wear out your welcome with the production department.
Some Radio folks may disagree with me on this point. They may say returning with a fully produced branding message is better to demonstrate your capabilities and eagerness to earn the prospect’s business. They may even make the case that Radio’s quick turnaround in the creative department is one of Radio’s best-selling points.
Radio, indeed, has great flexibility regarding the creative process. Still, I strongly believe that we have squandered the very value of Radio’s creative strength and flexibility with a cavalier attitude about the work that goes into writing and recording a branding message. Have you ever heard another salesperson complain that advertising agencies push television advertising on their clients because they can charge them for video production services?
Let’s listen in as our salesperson returns with the branding message script to the prospect.
Thanks for meeting with me again. I am so excited to read you the words I’ve written that could be used in a branding message. Of course, we will get some professionals to record this if you like it, but let me just read the words to you.
When the salesperson finishes reading the branding message script, the scene is set to ask this very powerful closing question; “Could we run something like that”?
With few exceptions, you will surely get some affirmative response. The prospect may want to change a few things, so you can make the changes right there, re-read the branding message script, and ask, “Would it be okay to run it like that”?
When the salesperson receives another positive acknowledgment, they can begin discussing the proposed branding message schedule. The negotiations will go much more smoothly and ultimately lead to a sale because the prospect has “bought” the idea of the branding message. They want to advertise so consumers will hear their branding message.
There is a significant reason not to record the branding message before the prospect approves the words. When you treat Radio’s production value so casually, not only do you devalue your product, but you give away a wonderful opportunity to increase your value as the creative director on the account and a surefire way to protect your business from your no-good, low-down, price-cutting competitors down the street.
We all know the first call your new advertiser will get when the first commercial hits the airwaves will come from the other media with the standard offer that they can sell it to them cheaper. When you position yourself as the creative director on the account, you make it more difficult for your competitors to steal your business based solely on price. Let’s listen in as your competitor makes their case.
Competitor: Yes, I heard your commercial on WXYZ, and I wanted to let you know that my station has lower rates. I can sell it to you cheaply.
Advertiser: Well, that’s interesting. Who is going to do my commercial at your station?
Competitor: Oh, don’t worry about that, we’ll have someone in our production department take care of that.
Your competitor has just done you the biggest favor in the world. They have singled you out as a special branding consultant focused primarily on the customer’s message. Your competitor has just created a huge problem for themselves.
They have created an unanswered question in the customer’s mind: who will do my commercial at your Radio station? They unknowingly increase your value when they tell the customer not to worry about it and that “someone” in the production department will handle it. Now, the customer is forced to give up the one thing your relationship is based on: you and your attention to their branding message. Your customer bought your scriptwriting skills. Your customer bought your attention to their branding needs. Your customer did not buy you because of the low price. Your new customer bought you!
Ah, you say that’s all fine and good, but you’re not a good branding message writer. Excuse me? Are you not good at writing a branding message script? Well then, you had better get good at it or get out of this business. Fortunately, many wonderful resources can help you get good at writing effective branding messages. Even if you think you’re pretty good at writing effective branding messages, refresher training can only help.
Being a good branding message writer and selling with spec creative on every sales call is the competitive advantage that your no-good, low-down, price-cutting competitors down the street can never overcome with low price alone.
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