I grew up in New Zealand, and during my formative years, learning how the world of media sales works, I was hugely influenced by a guy called Doug Gold.
Doug owned and ran the More FM empire in the early to mid-90s, making some serious hay while the sun shone, before selling up in 1997.
It really was the golden age of media sales, but despite the fact that selling radio advertising then was probably the easiest it’s ever been, Doug didn’t stand still and do what everyone else did.
Instead, he 'ate his own dogfood', determinedly marketing the services of his radio stations to businesses in their respective local areas.
Doug believed in frequency of communication, and back then he did something that was unheard of - communicating with advertisers on multiple levels. Monthly 'love letters' to customers, personal calls to major clients from him, customer service releases, unexpected bonus advertising, complimentary primetime upgrades – so that More FM was coming at them from all directions.
What Doug understood, was that the more your target market KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you, the more receptive they’ll be to your sales approaches.
By putting in this groundwork, Doug was able to elevate More FM’s relationship with the local business community, reducing friction in the sales process and – ultimately – making it a lot easier to sell advertising.
Things have moved on now, and it might not be cost effective for you to send letters out every month, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow in Doug’s footsteps. The principles are just as relevant today, for broadcast or print, and chances are your competitors aren't applying them.
Do your own B2B marketing to advertisers in your local area – via email, events and social media – and more people will:
- have heard of you
- know what products and services you now offer
- trust you
- be receptive to approaches from salespeople
It’s not rocket science, but it works.
After selling up and banking his cheque, Doug headed for a quiet life in France for a while with his family.
I don’t know what your version of ‘a quiet life in France’ is, but I can assure that you’ve got more chance of achieving it if you embrace the power of marketing as preparation for selling.
