JIM DOYLE & ASSOCIATES
THE LEADERS EDGE
Volume 11, Issue 27
January 30, 2015
Dear Leaders Edge Colleague,
Are you settling for mediocrity?
I had a conversation this week with a Group Head
whom I admire. He’s pushing his group of stations,
mostly in medium markets, for local sales growth over
10% this year. Many of you reading that would say
he’s crazy – 4 to 6% maybe, but plus 10? NO WAY.
Before I launch into my thoughts, I have to
acknowledge that larger markets with lots of
transactional business have less control over their
destiny. If large transactional clients aren’t buying the
market or have significantly cut budgets, that’s a factor
that can be tough to overcome.
But lots of you are in medium and smaller markets. And you have a lot more control over
your fate. You have the ability to create business. You can make more sales calls, ask for
bigger dollars, target specific categories, bring special sales initiatives to the market.
You don’t have to settle for mediocrity. You can be different.
This group head and I share one belief very strongly. We both believe there are significant
upside opportunities in our core businesses. I love our new digital offerings and get really
excited about what we’re able to do to help clients in that area. But I also believe we have
huge upside in our core business. Why am I so passionate about this? First, I know what a
small percentage of the businesses in your markets are advertising with you this month.
There are so many businesses we aren’t even calling on!! And I also see, every single week,
dramatic advertising results. Powerful stuff.
You don’t have to settle. Challenge your team and yourself to think bigger.
One TV station I know, in a pretty small market, has added over $1.2M this year in
incremental business, just by relentlessly using our UPGRADE Selling® process. What’s that
doing to their pacing? They’ll be up WAY over 10% this year, and that follows huge growth
last year as well.
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I have a fear. It’s rooted in my strong belief that what we think about expands. So if we think
all we can do in today’s media landscape is grow 4-5%, that could be our reality, and that
would be such a shame.
So raise your sights. Ask yourself what a plan would look like that pushed your revenue way
higher. Stop thinking about making budget and start thinking about excellence!!
Don’t be mediocre!!
REMINDER…
If you really want to get insights on GREAT leaders, don’t miss our Leaders Edge Webinar
with Don Yeager THIS MONDAY, Feb 2nd; 12 Noon ET, 9 AM PT
I shared Don’s bio with you last week. He’s a former Sports Illustrated editor with twenty
one books, including one on leadership with the legendary John Wooden. He’s also personal
friends with great leaders like Duke’s Coach K, as well as being one of the most sought after
leadership speakers in the US.
Put this on your calendar right now, so you won’t miss it!! But you do have to pre-register.
Do that here: CULTUREOFGREATNESS
In This Week’s Edition:
1. President John Hannon reminds of an overlooked opportunity your staff
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needs and wants in You Have To Make Time For Sales Training
Senior Consultant Phil Bernstein explains how low gas prices aren’t
good for everyone in The Upside Of The Downside Of Low Oil Prices
Street Beat from Senior Vice President Pat Norris
Let’s Talk About Customers
Thoughts to end your week
1. You Have To Make Time For Sales Training
From President John Hannon
Jim Doyle & Associates has been in the television sales training business for
over 23 years. We often receive messages asking us to “sell up” training
products to a decision maker. The requestor has recognized a training
deficiency and has identified that our products or services could help with the
issue. They turn to us for assistance in getting their request for purchase approved.
One of these requests came to our attention via email last week. The subject is TV’s only
24/7 virtual interactive training platform, Doyle On Demand: www.doyleondemand.com.
The request reads: “…our team would love nothing better than to learn from the information
you present in Doyle On Demand and turn it into increased commissions... I forwarded your
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information to our corporate heads, asking if there was some way we could do this as a
company. I was shot down. Is there any way you can convince our corporate sales
management to sign on? I know this would give us an edge over our market competition.”
Did you feel a tone of rejection in this request? This gal really wants to improve. She’s
looking for another tool for the toolbox to enable her sales team to surpass those big 2015
budget numbers that have recently been passed down from corporate. Will this one sales
training product solve all of her problems? Maybe not, but this “ask” plays into a bigger
issue that may be occurring in the walls of your media outlet right now.
You’re trying to get a handle on the inventory, while trying to make up lost political
spending. Q1 buys are late and your Regional VP wants an explanation on slow pacing. In
the middle of this pressure cooker, you’re working on a plan to make the 2015 budget and
you forget to submit that corporate request on your staff’s digital revenue! There’s no time
for AE sit-downs, no time for planning, and… no time for sales training.
Yet, when the smoke clears and the bulk of today’s madness is behind you, what
expectations will you lay out for your sales team? Undoubtedly, the requests of your sellers
will include some form of SELLING, whether local direct, new business, digital, share
increases, etc. Is it reasonable to expect sales to improve if there is no consistent effort for
improving the skills of sellers?
Winning AEs hunger for improvement and appreciate the value of sales training. The top
10% will make an investment in themselves by purchasing items like sales audio/video
training and books with their own money. Great managers feed AEs with consistent, thoughtprovoking, skills-improving sales training. A well-trained staff is more cohesive, and morale
is higher. Turnover is not a roadblock for operations that value sales training because
increased performance improves incomes. Management opportunities, at all levels, are more
plentiful as corporate begins to recognize new talent.
Back to the issue of no time for training. You have to plan for it. As a manager, you need to
identify the times of the year when commitments will simply not allow you to lead or even
attend some of the training sessions. It’s not too early to rethink your 2015 training calendar.
Keeping your peak and minimal participation times in mind, be sure to spread the weekly
meeting host duties among the whole sales department. Include dates for guest speakers,
video sessions, field trips, and corporate training initiatives. Lastly, don’t be afraid to
delegate a portion of the effort to a mid-level manager or to senior AE’s who you may be
grooming for future management roles.
You can reach John Hannon at [email protected]
It’s here! The Television Industry's Premier Sales Training Platform
For those serious about consistently growing revenue...This multi-million dollar virtual
interactive sales training platform is loaded with life experiences, ideas, and tips on how to
dramatically increase your digital and television sales, and how to insure your clients get
results. Check it out here:
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2. The Upside Of The Downside Of Low Oil Prices
From Senior Consultant Phil Bernstein
Much of the country is thrilled with low gas prices. In oil country, not so
much. As oil companies make less money, they’re canceling exploration
projects and laying off workers by the thousands. As out-of-work oil
employees stop spending money, there’s a ripple effect among the many
businesses that depend on these workers.
But even this downside has an upside for some. In an oil town last week, I met with a
bankruptcy attorney who is expecting an increase in his practice after four years of declines. I
also spoke with a real estate agent who specializes in luxury homes, and expects to see many
of these houses go on the market  oil company executives who lose their jobs will either
have to downsize or move out of town. She believes that unless the real estate market
completely collapses, there will be buyers for these homes and she will do quite well.
Both the bankruptcy attorney and the real estate agent are planning to launch their first-ever
television and digital advertising campaigns this spring.
The lesson here is that the pendulum swings back and forth. Whenever someone is losing
money, there is somebody else in a position to make money. The question to ask yourself if
you’re in oil country is, “Who is going to make money in this new environment?”
A few other categories that come to mind are:
o Divorce attorneys – financial strain may cause marital discord. A few years ago, I met with an attorney in Denver who focused on divorce and bankruptcy. He told me that sometimes the divorce causes the bankruptcy, and sometimes the bankruptcy causes the divorce o Rent to own businesses – furniture, appliances, sheds o Pawn shops o Gold buyers o Auto repair – people who can’t afford to buy new cars will need to fix the ones they have 4
o Home repair and remodeling – Not necessarily a slam dunk, but an interesting possibility. Some people who would have remodeled will put it off. But there are others who might have moved up to a nicer home who will instead have to stay put. Those people will have some money to put into renovations. According to Investopedia, “Renovators hire when builders fire.” o Vocational training and community colleges – enrollment often has an inverse relationship to the economy. As the economy rises, enrollment drops. In oil country, it may now go the other way. You can reach Phil Bernstein at [email protected]
3. Street Beat
From Senior Vice President, Pat Norris
The Landscaper’s Window
Let me first clarify that I’m referring to landscapers who do large landscapes
and “hardscapes” projects (patios, fountains, tiered levels, trees, shrubs,
commercial) vs. those who primarily cut grass, mulch, weed, and do spring
and fall clean-ups, although some landscape companies have those divisions. During several
recent landscaper calls, I learned that
NOW is the time they like to advertise.
They want to quote and schedule their
work before the winter thaw happens, or in
other geographic areas, the plant life starts
to come back from winter hibernation.
They want to know what they need for
crews, equipment, and material before the
weather breaks and they start working. By
the time April rolls around, they’re often”
too busy” to talk advertising and are
engaged in the jobs they’ve won. The full
landscape job can run from $8000 to
$100,000 with most averaging between $12,000-15,000.
A great creative idea is to offer “Free landscape design and 15% off if you book your job
before March 15th!” They find many families are having a graduation, wedding, anniversary,
family reunion this year, to be held at their house, and they want to make sure the yard is upto-date and looks spectacular. Make your list and go online to determine the services they
offer and that they meet some of the clarification guidelines I previously laid out. You also
need to meet with these companies early in the morning or late afternoon, and if it’s
snowing… in the snow states, they’re out plowing!
You can reach Pat Norris at [email protected]
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4. Let’s Talk About Customers
I hear a lot of things being discussed around sales departments and being talked about by
sales managers.
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We talk about ratings
We talk about revenue share
We talk about our new products and about our companies focus on digital
We talk about budgets. We talk about our newest sales initiative
But I wonder if we’re talking enough about our customers?
We do not have a business without customers. Customers are not a set of avails, they are not
a cost per point, and they are not what share you got on the latest transactional buy.
They are real people in search of their unique definition of results for the advertising money
that they spend.
What is the culture in your sales organization? Do you love customers?
We are all talking a lot about how our world is changing. And it is. Technology will
challenge all of us. Everyone who reads this email has some technological challenge that is
impacting their business right now. In fact, we have many of them. Our radio managers are
challenged by cell phones… satellite radio… and lots of ad clutter. Our TV managers are
challenged by DVR’s… by cable… and by a younger generation that consumes video rather
than watches television. Our cable managers are challenged by competition from satellite and
other forms of distribution. Plus, fragmentation as existing networks get cannibalized to
create digital tier platforms. So we all have challenges. And the world we manage is not
going to get easier for any one of us.
That’s why it’s essential to pay more attention to customers.
I think that every organization ought to have a REQUIRED KEY account program. If an
account is one of your top spenders and if there is local access, you must have a plan to
nurture that client. The plan must be managed and activity inspected.
I believe that senior managers ought to be involved on a weekly basis with customers.
There’s nothing more powerful than the top people in an organization reaching out to the top
people in a customer’s organization, and there are very few things that could have as great an
impact. Senior managers need to get out of their offices and see their customers way more
than most do in our business.
I believe we need to be talking about results. We need to be focused on results. And we need
to get better at producing results for our customers.
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I believe that our production departments should be elevated in stature rather than having
budgets slashed. We need to recruit great people in our production departments to do our
client’s commercials, so that when we get the opportunity to do production, the commercial
is really special. I believe that we should have an entire organization that is committed to
customer results.
We do not have a business without customers and yet, it’s the thing we talk about the least.
Isn’t that sad?
5. Thoughts to end your week
“One man with courage makes a majority.” -Andrew Jackson
“You miss 110 percent of all the shots you never take.” -Wayne Gretsky
“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.” -Thomas A. Edison
“It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.”
-Helen Walton
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
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Copyright © January 2015 Jim Doyle & Associates
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