Month: June 2023

Content from BPRIn one of our recent BPR perceptual studies, we tested listener understanding of the term “objective news”. As it turned out, respondents defined objective news in a variety of different ways some of which were consistent with news industry expectations and others which were not consistent with normal definitions of the term.When it comes to news, listeners tend to define “objective” in a variety of different ways. In the study, we were surprised to learn that almost 90% of listeners consider commentary and personal opinion as objective, especially if it reinforces their own views and beliefs. Almost 2/3 of respondents said that humour and satire also qualify as objective news. Of course, “just the facts” ranked highest but the fact that a large percentage of listeners defined objective news in startlingly different ways suggests that the term really has little value in our modern day media environment.These results raise the question as to the way we define and promote our news and information programs.So how do we promote our news and information programs? Here are some possibilities.
Promote local news – Localism has always been one of radio’s assets. Local news, weather and traffic reports define local information.
Promote news as it happens – One advantage that radio has over television and newspapers is the ability to report a breaking news event as it happens. Some programmers are afraid to interrupt a program to insert a news bulletin but the act of doing so makes a powerful statement.
Explain the story behind the headline – Sometimes it is necessary to explain a news story in terms that the listener can easily understand. Subjects such as the economy or government legislation are often difficult for the average listener to digest.
Promote local sport and public events – Nothing says local better than a story about a home town sport team. Forget about objectivity. When it comes to sport, root for the home team!
Offer commentary – Yes, listeners are interested in opinion but only when they feel that they can trust the “expert” expressing that opinion. Promote the expert’s qualifications but also give the listener an opportunity to express their own agreement or disagreement.
News and information have always been a part of broadcast radio. To abandon news and information is the first step toward becoming irrelevant.By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonTime flies when you are having fun! And we in radio, have fun. Because we are half-way through this year, we only have 6 months left to hit our revenue goals for 2023. Are you on target? Are you ahead of projection? Perhaps it is time to review some “best practices” for meeting and exceeding our goals.How we spend our “billable hours” daily will determine whether or not we reach our goals. Reaching goals, or not, determines our paychecks. Unlike attorneys or accountants or doctors, we don’t bill clients for our time. I’ve often thought we should, but nevertheless, we have only so many hours in the day. They must be spent productively if we are to succeed. It’s not enough to be “busy”. We must be productive.What activities should we be doing daily?Every day: X number of new calls. How many calls the number X represents depends on where you are in your tenure as a salesperson. Are you tenured, carrying a large list of clients? Then perhaps making 4 or 5 new calls each day will be enough to cover any attrition and grow your list. If you are just starting out and have very few existing accounts, 15-20 new calls a day will not be too many. It takes a lot of “suspects” to end up with enough good prospects that result in orders.Every day: Appointments should be scheduled to do Customer Needs Analysis meetings. Ideally, that would be four meetings a day, but I’d settle for two. Two needs analysis meetings daily would probably result in one presentation.Every day: Ask for money! Be in the position to present to one or two clients. These presentations are NOT for small dollar, short- term sales. They are for larger, long-term sales. Long-term sales are the only way to build a base of business that prevents you from starting over each month. Plus, consistent advertising is better for our clients. They can’t reach their goals by short- term ad bursts either!Every day: Take care of your existing clients by providing extraordinary service. Define what “extraordinary service” means to each one. Then, make sure you do it! Find ways to go above and beyond. Surprise them. This will cut down on attrition and provide you ways to upsell them along the way.Every day: Spend some time “sharpening your saw.” Whether you read, listen to audio books or podcasts, grow yourself. Learn new things. Keep up with business trends. Invest time in increasing your skill level.Every day: Make sure those paperwork tasks we all love to hate get done. Keep your forms flowing correctly. Keep your workspace organized. Your internal staff will thank you. They might even bring you cookies!Every day: Plan your day. Work your plan. Don’t wing it. Think strategically. Prospect strategically. Work strategically.How we spend our billable hours determines our success. Ultimately, no matter what type of daily planners or CRM you use to please your boss, YOU are responsible for your success. You must use self-management. No one is looking over your shoulder 8 hours a day.Say it together, “If it is to be, it’s up to me.”There’s time for a course correction if you need one. Doing so will put the next six months on track for a successful conclusion to 2023.Happy selling and happy planning! […]