Month: December 2024

– Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson.December 2024. It’s nearly 2025 and I can’t believe I’m writing this column. Or more exactly, I can’t believe I’ve been requested to write this column. The subject was requested by a sales manager I know who for reasons that will become obvious, must remain nameless. Ditto the exact location but suffice it to say this occurred outside the USA. That having been said, this same situation could occur anywhere.Scenario: an eager young female salesperson is calling on a male client. She is invited to dinner by the client. At that dinner, she is propositioned. I’ve been asked to give advice on how to handle this situation.Here in the USA, the “Me Too” movement brought this problem to light a few years ago. It gave women the courage to say not just “No” but “Hell No”. Once the light was shined on the perpetrators, it became less common.Unfortunately in some cultures (sometimes even still in the USA) the female is considered as “inviting advances” or “causing” the situation. The suggestions given below will help avoid that issue. I must also say that in all my years in sales, I never experienced this problem. But I do know people who have, and not all of them were female.I am surprised that women the world over haven’t revolted more about this situation than they have. I have worked in some cultures where women are holding important positions in our industry but still face cultural mores that place them in a subordinate position to men. In those cultures, this problem would be ignored because officially it doesn’t exist. The culture of this sales manager is one such place.So, what advice do I have for ladies today?1.      Approach all clients in a business-like manner. This does not mean that you can’t be friendly. It means that you send no signals other than “I’m here to meet your business needs and ONLY your business needs.”

2.     Dress in a business-like manner. Women especially have more trouble finding business clothes that are stylish but not necessarily fashion forward. Much of today’s fashion is not suited for business. We need to look like we are serious businesspeople. A credible image is an important first step.3.     If a client suggests dinner, propose lunch instead. You pay for it. If you must go to dinner, you pick up the check. You pick the place and make it somewhere you are well known. If the waiter appears to know you, the client will be less likely to behave out of line. Arrange to have someone with you. Take a production person, a manager, someone associated with the account so that it’s not obvious that you are bringing company for protection.4.     If you suspect that this client has ulterior motives, decline dinner.5.     Shame is a powerful thing. If you ARE propositioned, act totally shocked. Say that you CANNOT IMAGINE that a person of their standing in the community (might be a religious community) would suggest such a thing. Perhaps you misunderstood? Give them a way to save face and back out.6.     Try this line: “Mr. ____ I’m happy to work with you and your account and take good care of the advertising for your business. If you need anything more, I will be happy to provide you with names and numbers for workers in THAT profession.”7.     If nothing else works, trade the account. NOTHING, NO ACCOUNT is worth sacrificing your integrity. If no one else wants it, fire that account.8.    Just say “No”. Make that “Hell No”.My first boss gave me a piece of advice that I’ve held on to for years. He said, “Pat there are too many nice people out there to call on to deal with those who aren’t.” Amen and Amen! […]

Audio entertainment platform Pocket FM’s global revenue soared 496% to INR 1,051.97 Cr ($123 million) in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 176.36 Cr ($20 million) in the previous fiscal year.Pocket FM is a company based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, specialising in the media & entertainment sector. The company was established in 2018 by Nishanth S., Prateek Dixit and Rohan Nayak.With a community of 200 million listeners, Pocket FM offers more than 75,000 audio series, powered by a community of over 250,000 writers worldwide. It offers diverse content across multiple languages and genres, including romance, drama, thriller, fantasy, science fiction and action thriller among others.Users spend an average of over 115 minutes of daily listening on the platform.Its current core markets are the US and India, and it has recently forayed into Europe and Latin America. Its content competes with Kuku FM, Spotify and Amazon’s Audible.In a statement, the company also said that it managed to trim its global loss by 21% to INR 165 Cr ($ 19 million) from INR 209 Cr ($ 24.5 million) in FY23.A significant portion of Pocket FM’s revenue comes from its microtransaction-led subscription model, which generated a revenue of INR 934.73 Cr ($110 million), up 484% from INR 160.05 Cr ($ 18.9 million) in FY23, the statement said.Revenue from advertisements surged over 600% to INR 89.34 Cr ($ 10.5 million) from INR 12.5 Cr ($1.47 million) in the previous fiscal year.

According to its MCA filing, Pocket FM’s operating revenue from the Indian entity almost doubled to INR 260 Cr ($ 30.5 million) in FY24 from INR 129.7 Cr ($15.2 million) in the previous fiscal year.Its India arm’s net loss dropped 77.1% to INR 15.7 Cr ($ 1.8 million) during the year under review from INR 68.7 Cr in FY23.The company credits its growth to its freemium model, which allows users to access a limited portion of audio content for free while monetising binge-listening behaviour through coin-based microtransactions.The platform allows users to unlock additional episodes by purchasing coin packs starting as low as INR 49.According to Anurag Sharma, Chief Financial Officer, 70% of Pocket FM’s revenue comes from the US, followed by 15% from India, and the remaining from other markets.In March this year, Pocket FM had raised $103 million in series D funding, in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Stepstone Group. This nearly doubled the company’s valuation to about $750 million from $390 million when it previously raised $65 million in its Series C round in March 2022. […]