In my media sales training sessions, a recurring question emerges: “How do you manage to achieve substantial sales while juggling numerous commitments such as speaking engagements, running conferences, and maintaining a marriage of 29 years with someone while overseeing multiple businesses?” The answer, I believe, lies in becoming a time management ninja and also having a comprehensive “3D sales strategy” – three dimensions crucial for my success in the dynamic world of advertising sales. The first dimension involves effective prospecting, the second revolves around conducting impactful meetings with advertising prospects, and the third focuses on closing the deal with style and ease.
Before delving into the intricacies of my strategy, let me clarify a common misconception. I’m not inherently super-organized or strategically wired in my approach to media sales and ad sales training. Quite the contrary, I’ve found success by embracing simplicity and relying on the power of three. Three words in email subject lines, three sentences maximum in email bodies, three pricing proposals on each advertising sales calls, and follow-ups every third business day. It’s a rhythm that keeps me focused and organized without overwhelming complexity.
Now, let’s explore these insights further – three simple tweaks designed for individuals like you to incorporate into your advertising sales call strategy, enhancing business success.
Tweak #1: Identify Your Prospect’s Unique Advertising Business Problem: When you enter meetings with the goal of securing lifelong customers in advertising sales, start by engaging your prospect in a conversation about their most pressing business problems related to advertising. Dive deep to uncover the scale and duration of the advertising issue, seeking to understand the steps they’ve taken to address it. This approach positions you as the solution provider and an advisor, aiming to alleviate their advertising pain and create a lasting impact.
Understanding the unique challenges your advertising prospects face is pivotal. Imagine asking them, “If I could wave a magic wand and eliminate one of the pain points your business has right now, what would that be? How could I be the biggest help to you?” This not only unveils their pain points but also positions you as the potential remedy, aligning your marketing products or services with their needs.
Tweak #2: Move from Seller to Advisor: Building on the first tweak, the next step involves identifying the duration of your prospect’s major pain points related to advertising or their business. How long has this issue persisted? Delve into the timeline, understanding the journey your prospect has taken in attempting to mitigate the advertising or business problem. What actions have they undertaken, and how effective have these measures been? This step provides valuable insights into their experience and sets the stage for you to move from being a seller to being an advisor. Salespeople sell stuff. Advisors get paid to recommend solutions.
Understanding the duration of your prospect’s advertising problem is akin to understanding the context of their struggle. Have they been grappling with this challenge for a month, a year, or even longer? This information equips you to tailor your approach, recommending marketing solutions that not only address their current needs but also consider the longevity of their pain points. This is where you move into full time advisor role. Meaning you don’t sell… you tell about your recommendations to relieve their pain. In addition, this is time of the sales call where you will also share the successes other advertisers have had with your media company. Stay ethical in what you share. Focus on longevity with your media brand rather than results of a specific campaign. Now, if you have case studies to share, do it. But, you do not need specific campaign data to share that an advertising client loves working with you and your company.
Tweak #3: Make Closing the Sale Easy for You and the Advertiser: The third aspect of the 3D advertising sales strategy is psychological. After you have recommended marketing solutions based on the success of other advertisers, then it is time to close the sale. I like to use the 1-10 closing technique. You say, “On a scale of 1-10, where one means you are really not interest and 10, where you are ready to cut me a check, where are you?” Prompt your advertising prospects to admit where they are at with you and the sale. If they say five, then you answer their questions and try and get them to an eight or nine on the scale. If they are a four, answer their questions and try and get them to be a six or seven. This admission sets the stage for a winning scenario, especially if your advertising product or service aligns seamlessly with their needs and they just need a gentle nudge. In addition, this last tweak helps you as it is a natural way to close out a meeting. During this last tweak, encourage your advertising prospects to voice their challenges aloud. Have them admit that this has been a problem for an extended period, and they’ve explored various avenues, but the issue still lingers. This admission not only reinforces the severity of their need but also positions you as the agent of change, the individual or entity capable of making a significant difference in their advertising and business endeavors.
Concluding each of these points, emphasize the necessity of having a systematic plan for every advertising sales call, advocating for a structured approach. Whether it’s identifying the customer’s advertising problem, determining its duration, or assessing previous attempts at resolution, every advertising sales meeting should follow a similar plan. Adapt to the unique qualities of each advertising client, remembering the importance of flexibility within the overall strategy.
In media sales training, a common observation is the absence of a systematic approach on sales calls. Recognizing the need for a roadmap in advertising sales, understanding the significance of following this 3D process is paramount. The objective is clear: build deeper relationships with advertising customers, providing actionable insights for immediate implementation.
Advertising sales is a challenging field. With these simple tweaks, I firmly believe you can utilize the 3D advertising sales strategy to not only achieve greater sales success but also identify repeatable patterns and position yourself as a problem solver AKA “advisor” in the ever-evolving landscape of advertising sales.
Never forget, if sales was easy, everyone would be doing it. They are not. You are a part of the chosen few selling and looking to impact the business of your clients for years to come.
Ryan Dohrn has trained over 30,000 salespeople and works monthly with over 200 media sellers. Plus, he still sells media every day too. Learn more online at http://360AdSales.com
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