by Scott Howard | May 5, 2021 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, Sound ADvice
Whether it’s fishing, hunting, selling, or advertising, setting the bait is key to alluring or attracting that which you are trying to capture.
Since the beginning of time, it’s been known that you only have one opportunity to make a good first impression and regardless of if it’s a fish, wild game, or humans, you don’t have very long to capture their attention.
Your advertising message faces the same challenge. What your ads say, how they sound, and how they are delivered in the first few seconds, dictates whether your potential prospects will tune in or tune out to your message, or continue to read the message.
Reporters and authors have long known that the headline and the first sentence are what dictates whether the reader tunes in and continues on with the rest of the story, or tunes out. In an effort to develop the all-important “creative hook” at the top of your ads on websites, many headlines end up with more “creative” than “hook”.
In order to get the maximum effect out of your ads, we recommend you carefully consider the first few seconds of every ad, blog, text, email, or post that you create.
Here is a bonus tip. Oftentimes, you will find that the best line of any ad or letter, or the best words/sentence, is in the middle. When you find it, move it to the first line, or use it as the headline.
To read the 8 Power Openings you can use to capture more attention for your marketing efforts, click here.
And to receive these Sound ADvice tips in your email every week, sign up for Sound ADvice in the box below
by Scott Howard | Apr 7, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
It’s a weird and wacky world out there right now.
We are hearing stories about the record number of people who are filing for unemployment, the devastating stories of people dying from this mystery virus that we have yet to get a handle on because it is new to the medical and scientific community.
Some of us are working from home, other are at home trying to figure out how to occupy their time.
As business owners and managers, I understand you want some answers, but the answers to the questions you really want aren’t available yet.
We don’t know what the final tally will be healthwise or financially. We are living in the middle of a movie and this is not your typical romantic comedy or action flick where we know the good guys always win. This is real life, your life, my life and the lives of the people we work with and live with.
You want answers, you want solutions, and while I wish I could give you a road map to follow exactly…
I can’t because each of you have different circumstances and variables that will determine the steps to take.
Instead I am going to take a moment and share with you some resources that I shared with my team.
Near the end of February, I was offered and accepted a promotion to become the General Sales Manager of WOWO Radio. WOWO is one of a dozen stations owned by Federated Media in Indiana and the past few years the WOWO Local Sales Team has been the largest producer of revenue for our company. I’ve been part of that team for nearly 7 years.
Less than 4 weeks after the promotion to lead, manage and coach our team, Black Friday hit. It was my wife’s birthday March 13th and the orders to stay at home were causing businesses to scramble and try and figure out what to do next.
One of the things I prepared for my team was a list of some resources that have helped me over the years. With the extra time you have and your desire to find some answers, this list of resources could spur your thinking and creativity.
In 1986 I made the switch from having fun and being creative as a radio personality in the programming side of the business, to needing to learn how to apply that creativity and fun to the money making side of the business, the advertising, marketing and sales side.
Roy H. Williams: https://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/ I subscribe to this and have fun digging into the “rabbit hole” in each memo.
https://harveymackay.com/ Has a bunch of resources and I’ve read and recommend his first two books, Swim and Naked.
https://www.gitomer.com/ has free stuff you can sign up for.
https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586 Is a book I bought when I first started in the advertising side of radio in Detroit. Great stuff.
I subscribe to Art’s emails: https://businessbyphone.com/
And circling back to Roy Williams, some of his partners also write great stuff that you can subscribe to: https://wizardofads.org/articles/
I also have over 1400 articles and over 150 podcast episodes that I’ve created at my own website: https://www.scotthoward.me/ and I update with fresh material every single week.
I have been learning for over 30 years and continue to soak up wisdom from others.
I also have a weekly newsletter called Sound ADvice that is free and delivered to your email Wednesday mornings if you sign up for it.
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by Scott Howard | Dec 30, 2019 | Sound ADvice
Onboarding
Getting Them Off to a GREAT Start
Today, hiring good people is a challenge in itself; keeping them is a whole different ball game.
When it comes to hiring and adding new people to your business, it’s imperative that they get off to not only a good start, but a GREAT start.
In the human resources world, bringing on a new employee is referred to as “onboarding”. A definition of onboarding is, “the action or process of integrating a new employee into an organization”.
A new employee should never show up to work on their first day and sit around for an hour trying to make themselves useful because the manager didn’t have a plan or wasn’t prepared.
Not only is a strong onboarding process key to the employee’s and the business’s success, but it can also determine how long that employee stays with the company.
An article by Process Street, an onboarding company, quoted a survey that stated “Employees who participate in a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay with an organization for 3 years” and “15% of employees said the lack of an effective onboarding program aided in their decision to quit”.
Don’t confuse onboarding with orientation. Orientation is a one-time event. Onboarding is a series of formal, well-planned events that start the day they are hired and can last from one month up to a full year.
Everything from having their workstation ready and business cards printed on their first day to pre-planned weekly and monthly reviews is part of making sure employees feel welcomed, know what’s expected of them, and how they are doing every step of the way.
A good onboarding system only needs to be created one time, then it can be used over and over with only minor tweaks going forward.
To see the 9 Tips for Successful Onboarding, click here, or, you can find many examples and suggestions by simply googling “onboarding”.
What you just read is part of my Sound ADvice weekly marketing and business tips email newsletter. You can join the hundreds of other subscribers that receive it free in their inboxes Wednesday mornings by filling in your information in the box below. Our next issue will be sent after the holidays.
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by Scott Howard | May 14, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Every once in awhile, it’s good to take a look at what has helped you become successful and today is one of those days.
In 2009 I wrote and published an article on 7 Sales Secrets that generated some national attention.
I was 6 years into my position as an advertising sales person with a group of radio stations and saw that there were lots of reasons why people were not successful and I wanted to do what I could to help them succeed.
These 7 Sales Secret Tips apply to you if you work for someone else or are running your own business and they are timeless, not matter what the technology changes that have taken place or will occur in the future.
I’ve updated these tips for 2019:
The 7 Secrets are neither original, nor secret.
1. People don’t want to buy what you are trying to sell them.They want to buy a solution to their problem/need/want. The classic example is people don’t buy a drill because of the shiny black handle. They buy a drill because they need to create a hole. What is the other persons real problem/need/want?
2. Price is not important. Value is all that matters. While there are limits to what someone is willing or able to spend, if your customer sees no value in what you are offering, there is no price cheap enough to overcome a lack of value. You can discount yourself out of business and you can also train your customers to only buy from you when you offer a discount. The companies and people that having staying power go beyond price and offer value, Do you?
3. Objections can lead to a yes. An easy “yes” means you either know your client very well, or you’re just being an order taker. I know it sounds harsh, but objections are conversation starters, and these conversations can lead to customizing a solution to their problem/need/want. I rarely have a package or program that I “pitch”. Instead I know why options I can offer. Do you know the difference? Which leads us to…
4. You have to listen and learn, more than smile and sell. I do my homework and am prepared with research about my customers and their business. I also look at their competition and we talk about them. We talk about their goals for the future, their past history, what they have done that was successful and what didn’t work too. Too often salespeople are only focused on what they have to sell instead of seeing how they can help their customers. If you are focused too much on what you want, it will show and you can actually repel people from buying from you.
5. Your customer knows more than you give them credit for. We live in an information age with easy access via the internet. Your customer has done their research. However…
6. Your customer knows less than they think they do. Just because the information is available, doesn’t mean they know how to use interpret it and use it to their advantage. That’s where you come in as the expert. Which means that you better know your stuff inside and out. You are personally responsible for your own education, not your boss. Be your very best. You need to also talk with your customers in such a manner that they understand. Don’t limit yourself to insider jargon.
7. Relationships are forever. Apply the Golden Rule. Treat others with the same honesty and respect that you would like to be treated with. Keep relationships alive with your customers, potential customers and even those that may never become your customers. After a few years I had developed relationships that began paying off in ways I would have never imagined. Now that I have more than 16 years in the media and marketing world in Fort Wayne including working for WOWO radio since 2013, I am enjoying the fruits of my years of cultivating my own brand and reputation. How about you?
That’s it. A half dozen plus one Sales Secrets, that shouldn’t be secret. Your comments are always welcome. Reach me at Scott@WOWO.com if you would like my help or have more to add.
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by Scott Howard | Aug 29, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Today, I have a few key tips for anyone in the business of sales, which is not limited to people who sell for a living, but nearly all of us. The three words I want you to remember is: Help People Buy.
This month, the company I work for, Federated Media, experienced a tragic loss with the unexpected death of Charly Butcher, the host of Fort Wayne’s Morning News on WOWO Radio. Charly began his career with Federated Media in the 1980’s on WOWO’s sister station, WMEE. His life touched countless numbers of people as made evident by the stories and tributes.
One story I heard from my coworker Tracy was how a car salesperson was struggling with a sale but then Charly stepped in to Help People Buy:
We were at a remote at Fort Wayne Subaru and they just got in one single BRZ sport coupe in bright red that was stunning. This guy about 23 was looking at it with lust and the sales person just could not close the deal no matter how hard he tried. Charly went to the guy and said “I tell you what…you buy this car now and I will put you on the air live on Monday to brag about it. You can tell all your friends you will be on WOWO Monday morning.” The guy agreed to it on the spot and sure enough he got his 5 minutes of Fame on Charly’s show that Monday. We had a happy customer, happy sales person, happy manager and Charly was so proud of himself.
I’ve recently told you about my most recent car buying experience, which was filled with unnecessary sales pitches, because by the time I went to the dealership, I already decided exactly which car I wanted and all they really had to do was take care of the paperwork.
Today, I’m going to share with you another bad buying experience I had.
The afternoon after attending Charly Butcher’s funeral, I needed to visit some funeral homes for a brother-in-law who was just transferred to hospice care. Yes, it was a dreadful week, but sometimes you have to plow through it to get things done.
I visited 3 places and told each exactly what I was looking for:
I am here to get price information for direct cremation for the upcoming passing of my brother-in-law who is likely in the final week of his life. I am getting this information for my wife who will be making the decision of who we use. No public funeral or additional services are needed, just the bare bone basics. A family memorial will take place in a few months out of town.
That was the story I told all three funeral homes. From what I said, if they were listening, they would know that I am looking only for their price and I was not going to be buying anything today. I told them I was price shopping only.
So what happened?
At funeral home number one, I get what I am looking for, the bottom line price, in writing, but first the guy shows me his powerpoint on who he is, how many funerals they have done over the past 10 years complete with the standard bar chart.
He was not listening to what I said, he was stuck in selling mode. I redirected him to get the info I needed and left.
Funeral home number two was worse. Two guys, teaming up to sell me, after I told them exactly why I was there. They even asked questions about my wife and I that had absolutely nothing to do with why I was there. Like, “how long have you and your wife been married?” I almost walked out. In the end, I got the answers I wanted and a bad taste in my mouth to never do business with these two salespeople.
Funeral home number three was actually the best. When I told him the same story I told the other two, he actually listened and told me that they are not the least expensive for cremation services. I appreciated his honesty instead of his sales pitch and we talked more. I learned a few things that made me want to transfer some of my own business to them in the future.
I learned a few lessons that day about the sales process that I am going to apply to my work, and hopefully you can apply these same lessons in your company:
How to Help People Buy
- Listen first to find out what they think they are shopping for so you can focus on what they want.
- Ask questions to clarify what they are looking for as an end result.
- Answer their questions first, then ask how else you can help them.
Funeral home number two, almost had me walk out in the middle of their sales pitch, can you imagine having a potential customer come to you and then walk out because you were too salesy?
I bet it happens more than we realize.
By the way, I wrote a piece about Charly Butcher and his impact with WOWO and the community, but did not create a podcast for that article because it contains a few videos. I invite you to read and watch by clicking on the link to this article on my website at ScottHoward.me
Here’s the link: https://www.scotthoward.me/remembercharly-butcher-of-wowo-wmee-fort-wayne/
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