Looking for the Very Best Sales People

Looking for the Very Best Sales People

It’s a crazy time out there.  It seems like so many companies are suffering from shortages.

First it was supply chain issues that were either created or amplified by the numerous complications of Covid-19 shut downs in 2020.

Then came staffing shortages.  Even as businesses wanted to open up after the worst of Covid, many businesses simply didn’t have the people.

I’ve talked to numerous business owners and employers and most are in the same boat of not having the ideal working conditions and employment pay and benefit packages to convince someone to come work for them.

While each week I give them advice, I’ve also been listening to the people who want to work to hear both sides.

And as a result, the company I work for, Federated Media located in Indiana with radio stations in Fort Wayne and the South Bend metros have made a few adjustments and improvements.

As the General Sales Manager of WOWO Radio, I need to hire at least TWO new advertising sales people for immediate openings I have.

While pay and income is important, the people I add to my team are not entirely focused on their paycheck.  Here’s a couple more very important things that I know are important how we accommodate, no more than accommodate, we purposefully incorporate in our culture.

  • Remote work versus 9-5 office hours. Before I came here nearly a decade ago, Federated Media in Fort Wayne created a Work From Home set-up for our advertising sales teams.  Most weeks, my sales team only come to the office two hours a week.  Once for a Weekly Individual Focus Meeting aka One-on-One with me, their sales manager; and once a week for a WOWO Sales Team meeting.  When I was selling and not in management, you would rarely see me in the office.  I was meeting with clients or in a coffee shop.  Two hours a week here, the rest of your work day… go do what needs to be done to create success.
  • Brand New Flexible Paid Time Off policy.  This was launched this summer and basically it means instead of having to use vacation time to take the day off to take help your kids get moved into their college dorm, or whatever is going on in your life, just take the time off.  For sales people this really wasn’t as much of an issue, because sales people set their out schedules anyway, but this really benefits the support staff that work in the office every day.  Guilt Free days off is what I heard someone say.

Here’s what those two things mean for my sales team.  I want you to have a balanced life and do it without feeling guilty or feeling pressure that you have to conform to old fashioned working hours.  I work with you to make sure the couple of weekly meetings we have are a good fit for you too.  Currently our weekly sales team meetings are at 9am on Thursdays.  We used to have them earlier but that created a conflict with one of our team whose child needed to be dropped off for school at a time that created a conflict with an 8:30 meeting, so we changed it a few years ago.  Also, ever since March 2020, our weekly sales team meetings have been on Zoom.  We will return to having them in person in the future but that’s not likely until 2023 or 2024.   I’ll explain more on why in a moment.

All of this work-time flexibility could be taken advantage of by people who don’t have the self-discipline or desire to be productive.  One thing we have always had is a high bar to pass in order to be considered for employment with the WOWO Advertising Sales Team.  Everyone must first take an online sales talent assessment that measures a dozen different talents thru a series of about 60 multiple choice questions.  It takes between 30 and 60 minutes. Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/Work4WOWO .

Only about 40% of the people who take the talent assessments will qualify to move forward in the process.  Someone asked me this summer after they were told their talents did not match what we were looking for, what he could do to improve for the future.  Nothing was my answer.  There is a difference between Talent and Skill.  Talent is part of who you are that doesn’t change; while skill is teachable, trainable and can be improved.  Similar to our height and weight.  Once we become an adult, there’s nothing we can do to increase our height. However we do have control over our weight.  Height = Talent; Weight = Skill.

With the shortage of people looking for jobs, have we lowered our standards?  Absolutely not.  I’ve made the mistake of hiring someone whose talents were marginal and there was only so much improvement they could do… it wasn’t worth it.

How did we get so smart to be able to evaluate a person’s sales talent online?  We didn’t.  We work hand in hand with our sales consultancy, The Center for Sales Strategy who have evaluated thousands of sales people and are pretty darn good.  So good that we use C.S.S. for more than hiring.  They are our partner in on-going training.  Which brings me to my next reason to apply to join me at WOWO:

On-Going Training and Professional Development. I just mentioned the Center For Sales Strategy which is our companies lead sales consultancy.  I also have additional resources and training from both outside experts and internally.  Bottom line is we don’t just bring people on board and wish them luck.  We are always providing training and resources to help you be successful.

I will also be upfront and honest with you.  Currently I’m in my 3rd year as the General Sales Manager at WOWO, after 7 years selling myself for WOWO, plus years of radio, advertising and sales experience elsewhere.  These past 3 years I’ve observed what it takes for someone to succeed and what others have done that have prevented them from being successful.  If you are not willing to do what it takes, and to take the actions needed, be coachable and want to win, then this is not the place for you.

We are an elite team at WOWO and Federated Media.  I was watching the Legacy series on Hulu over the weekend.  It’s the story of the LA Lakers and how they became successful with multiple championships and that is what we are building here too.  Want to see if you can join our team?  Contact me.

 

 

Work for WOWO

Work for WOWO

The final weeks of 2021 are here and I have an update for you. I just started running an ad for an advertising sales account executive to join my team at WOWO.  And I’ve included a healthy hiring bonus.  Here’s the text of the radio ad:

It’s true. Everyone is hiring. But you’re not just anyone. You’re a self-motivated, over-achiever who’s looking for a new career home. Have you considered that home might be right here, working for your favorite radio station? The legendary WOWO radio has been making an impact on our community nearly a century, and I’m looking for our next radio sales account executive to join our growing team. This is Scott Howard, General Sales Manager for WOWO radio. We invest in you before day one on the job: it starts when you take our free sales talent assessment.  Text sales to 46862. That’s sales to 46862 to receive your free talent assessment. With only one sales opening, do it right now! If you wait, you’ll also miss out on the five thousand dollar, $5000, $5000 sign on bonus. That’s right – a five thousand dollar sign on bonus for the next WOWO account executive. Text sales to 46862 so we can start investing in you at Federated Media; or send me an email: scott@wowo.com. Federated Media  an equal opportunity employer.

 

The #FortWayne April 19th Job Fair

Once again, WOWO Radio and Federated Media is hosting another job and career fair that is absolutely free to attend.

Fort Wayne Job Fair April 19th

All the costs have been paid by the companies that will have booths at the event April 19th.  Doors will be open to the public from 2pm to 6pm at the SPORTONE PARKVIEW FIELDHOUSE located off of Lima road just south of Coliseum Blvd.  If you need to GPS it, the address is: 3946 Ice Way, Fort Wayne, IN 46805

Most of the companies that will be there are listed on the employer list tab at this website.

Please pass this along to friends and family that are looking for a job, a career or just a change.

We already have plans in place for the next one October 25th at the same location and same time.  Contact me now if you want more information on reserving a booth for your company.

Fort Wayne Job Fairs for 2016

Due to the overwhelming success for the employers who joined WOWO radio and Federated Media during the two Fort Wayne Job Fairs we hosted in 2015, we have two Fort Wayne Job Fairs planned in 2016.

Two job fairs planned for 2016 in April & October

Two job fairs planned for 2016 in April & October

At the last job fair, some employers waited too long to be included and we ended up with a waiting list of 20 companies that were left out because they simply did not register in time to secure a booth and we sold out all of our booth space.  Don’t let this happen to you.

We promote the Fort Wayne Job Fairs on all of our Federated Media radio stations including our host station WOWO.  Along with WOWO listeners, there will also be listeners to WMEE, K-105, ESPN, Big 92.3, and 98.9 The Bear coming to the Fort Wayne Job Fairs.  We use the full strength and power of these stations online presence too. All ages, all skill levels, all types from all over Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio will be joining us to talk to H. R. folks as they seek their next career opportunity.

The event is free to attend, only cost is for the employers that want a booth.  We have room for 50, but once again, we will have some who wait and will be left out.

Bottom line: Do you need to recruit employees this year?  Contact me, Scott@WOWO.com . I have multiple ways for you to find the candidates you need including these job fairs along with using our radio stations and online digital targeting campaigns.  We’ll set up a time to meet and review your needs and figure out which options are best.

 

Do You Love Your Work or Just the Money?

Do You Love Your Work or Just the Money?

A friend of mine, Andie is her name, recently started her own company after bouncing around at a few different positions the last few years.  When we first met, we both had been with our employers for a number of years and then ventured out to try new things.

Andie and I spoke briefly this month and reflecting on that conversation, I’ve seen lots of people do what Andie has done.  I’ve done it too.

Maybe you have gone through this, let’s check.

You worked somewhere for awhile and then for some reason decided to leave.  For me it was a group of radio stations where I did nearly everything that I wanted to do and was getting bored and didn’t like the direction they were heading.  For Andie, her background was in the paper industry selling to ad agencies and print houses.

Over the eight years I was with those stations, I had people regularly approach me with offers to join them. Sometimes it was as a new business partner, sometimes it was in addition to my work for the radio station.  I did some of that, formed my own company, ScLoHo Marketing Solutions and earned a bit of side income.

Then one day I decided to jump ship.  It surprised my radio co-workers as I was the one who had been at that company longer than anyone except for a couple of the air staff.

Here’s the critical point:

The new job I took was not going to be a stepping stone, It was going to be my profession for the next 8+ years, like my last employer was.  But a few months into it, the position changed and I learned things about the company that I didn’t like.  But I was stubborn and stayed with them 6 months longer than I should have.  Years later, when talking to the radio stations I left, I learned that they would have welcomed me back.  But even though I didn’t burn any bridges, I had shut the door on that chapter of my career.

Anyway, what was supposed to be a life changing career move into the digital media world was at the best, a big learning experience and I returned to radio with a different company.  That was also a career mistake and the warning came sooner than before.  The very day I was signing my contract they asked me to make compromises. Their style of doing business eventually drove me away.  When I left I had 6 offers and decided to take another break from radio.

Again I was taking a position that I could do for the rest of my life.  It was organizing and running the social media outreach for 6 brands for a locally based national internet retailer.  I say local, but it was an hours drive from home and required me to be at the office daily.  I would leave home at 6:30 and return 12 hours later most days.  I also worked weekends from home and monitored our social media.  Why did I leave after 10 months?  The company changed.  Specifically my boss left and was replaced by a temporary boss who was clueless about what I did, but wanted me to make changes that for the most part were not good.

Each of these career changes were originally going to be permanent. However each simply became a learning experience.

As you decide what to do for money, be open to making changes.  But also use each experience as part of your ongoing education.

One final thought,  if you are working somewhere that you truly hate, first examine your attitude and if you decide you are not a good fit, do everyone including yourself a favor and look for someplace else to work, or start your own business like my friend Andie did.

By the way, looking back on the past 4 years, I see how each of those positions I took have added to my experience and abilities as I serve my clients today, along with helping me to sharpen my focus for what is important in my work and personal life.