The Best Added Value is. . .

I had been working as an account manager at Magic 96 radio in Charlotte, NC for a few months when I inadvertently taught myself a valuable lesson.

The first Gulf War was raging and the economy was sputtering along. The advertising market was hurting. Every day was another story about how Giant Advertiser was not going to renew or Massive Car Dealer was going to cut back. Our new General Manager, Dick, had decided to gather the sales team three times per week instead of the usual two times. The purpose of the third meeting was to review activity. Each account manager would take turns talking about their pending business and their most recent results. Sometimes we would commiserate about losses and other times we would examine wins to determine if there was an opportunity to leverage some advantage that had been uncovered by a recent success.

Most of the sales team hated these meetings because everyone's work was laid bare. If you weren't working very hard, everyone would know it. If you had lost four deals in a row and could offer no explanation other than "everyone else was cheaper" the meeting was painful. Personally, I loved these meetings. I was a rookie and there were no expectations that I was going to contribute much to the top line revenue. As a consequence, there was no pressure on me, other than the pressure I put on myself. So, the meetings were great because I was learning about how to sell advertising and I was learning about the behaviors of sales people. Plus, I was learning about how the economy was impacting our position versus how it impacted other radio stations.

I had been working on a deal with a boat dealer. Our radio station was very good at reaching adults between the ages of 35 and 54. We tended to have more men than women and our audience generally made good money. I had no doubt that we could sell boats for the dealer to whom I had been speaking. The deal had progressed to the point where it was time for the prospect to make a commitment. Although I was new, I had closed several deals and I knew that this one was ready to close.

Our third sales meeting of the week was on Thursday and I wanted to go into it with a sale. So, I called my prospect at about 8:15 a.m. to get his approval right before the 8:30 a.m. meeting time. After exchanging pleasantries, I said,

"Bob, we've met a couple of times. The first meeting was dedicated to me finding out about your business. We talked about your typical customer and we discussed the kinds of advertising you've been doing that work and those things you've been doing that don't appear to be working. During our second meeting, we talked about the capabilities of my radio station and I presented a proposal for a radio campaign. Together, we made a couple of changes to the campaign and when I left you asked me for some time to review the plan with your partner. Today is the day that I had circled on my calendar for getting back with you and I am calling to get your commitment."

"Yes, all of that is true but I'm not sure we're moving forward quite yet."

"Really, are there additional questions that need to be answered or some concern that we didn't address."

"No, what happened was that I had a little party at my house the other day. One of my wife's friends owns a business and she and I got to talking. She told me that she advertises with WRFX and suggested that I should, too."

"Bob, WRFX is a great radio station that is right for many advertisers. Magic 96 is the right station for you."

"I don't know, Tim, they are the #1 ranked radio station in town. Plus, they have John Boy and Billy. That morning show is huge. Tell me, what do you have that they don't have?"

By now, account managers were starting to assemble in the conference room. I was worried that not only wasn't I going to have a sale to tell them about, but that I was going to have a loss! I was ticked. I had busted my butt to put together a killer program for him. The campaign was within his budget and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that we were going to sell boats.

What did we have that WRFX didn't have? I could only think of one thing.

"Bob, there is only one thing I can think of that we have that they don't. That is me. I work for Magic 96 and when you buy this campaign you get me. What that means is that I will make sure your commercial is produced to our highest standards. I'll play it for you before it airs and if you want to make changes, I'll get them done quickly. I'll personally take your schedule to the traffic department and make sure that your commercials are placed in our best available time slots. I will call you during the campaign to make sure that you are getting the response you expected and if you're not, I'll do everything in my power to make adjustments to improve the response. When the campaign is over, you'll get an accurate and timely invoice along with the scripts you need to apply for your co-op funding. I can only do all of that if you buy Magic 96."

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Excuse me, Bob?"

"You're right. I was very comfortable with everything we had put together until that one conversation at my party. I trust you and I'm ready to move forward with the program."

"Thanks, Bob. I'll start working on the commercial right after this sales meeting."

I grabbed my stuff and hurried into the conference room.

When I told my story, the veteran sellers just sat there with their mouths hanging open. Dick was smiling as he said,

"In our business, every client expects 'added value'. Everyone in this market tries to do that by offering traffic sponsorships, or no-charge spots. Today, Tim found out and reminded each of us that the very best added value always has been and always will be you."