Breaking Through
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00All right, guys, it's 11 o'clock.
00:03Welcome, everyone.
00:05Thank you so much for joining our Tuesday session.
00:08We have a packed day today.
00:11Our session is 45 minutes, and I really feel like we're going to use every minute of it,
00:15so I'm jumping right in.
00:17Today, we're talking about breaking through to the decision maker to book the appointment.
00:22Now, a lot of these Tuesday sessions we've done, we've done a lot of product and process
00:26training, and we are going to continue to do a lot of product and process training.
00:30Because our solutions are always evolving, things change, and we need to get that information
00:34to you guys as quickly as possible, right?
00:37We did want to change it up a little bit and share some information on the sales side of
00:42the business.
00:43And what's more important than booking the appointment, right?
00:46Everything starts with the appointment.
00:48If the appointment's not booked, nothing else exists.
00:51And instead of sharing just one way to book an appointment, we have three successful sellers
00:56that are going to share perspective and insight.
01:00So we can all learn something, hopefully, and just knowledge share.
01:03So that's really the theme of this training today.
01:06Today, we have with us, with his turkey hat on, Larry Julius, Market Development Manager.
01:13We have Tad Criswell, Director of Digital Sales in Tampa.
01:17Jennifer Margolis, Senior Digital Account Executive in Philadelphia.
01:21Paula Decker, Senior Account Executive in Philadelphia.
01:23Shannon Schaffer, Senior Account Executive in Augusta.
01:28Big Jim O'Brien, Morning Show Host for WCSX.
01:33And Larry's going to kick us off.
01:34He's going to go through the science behind first impressions.
01:38Then we're going to share a video with you that was pre-recorded with the three sellers
01:42sharing their insight.
01:44And then we're going to end with the good to know information.
01:47So Larry, take it away.
01:48Thank you, Ashley.
01:51So the most powerful moment of a sales interaction is the first impression.
01:58Your potential customers form their very first impression of you very quickly.
02:04And according to cognitive studies, that very first impression lasts a long time, sometimes
02:09forever.
02:09And here's why that's so.
02:14Perhaps.
02:16So this is your brain.
02:19Well, not your brain, somebody's brain.
02:21And using MRI scans, neuroscientists at Harvard and New York University identified the area
02:26of our brains that are most involved in forming first impressions.
02:30The first area is the amygdala, which is buried deep inside the temporal lobe of our brains.
02:36The scientists found that the amygdala is able to combine past memories and emotion to
02:42enhance learning.
02:43This is also where we determine trustworthiness of others and where we evaluate danger.
02:49The second area responsible for first impressions is the posterior singular cortex.
02:55This area of the brain is responsible for decision-making and evaluating rewards.
03:00We use this part of our brain to assign value to objects and to people.
03:05So the amygdala and the posterior singular cortex, they work with incomprehensible speed to form
03:15first impressions.
03:17For their own survival, our ancestors needed this lightning-fast process to rapidly determine
03:22if a strange animal was a predator or prey or if a strange person was friend or foe.
03:30In modern times, though, we use this same process to determine what we think are the best Cyber Monday
03:36deals and what salespeople we will do business with.
03:40So how long does it take for a potential customer to know whether or not they will do business with us?
03:46So in his book, Blink, and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, Malcolm Gladwell described a study
03:54from a team of neuroscientists that showed just how quickly our brain makes judgments that form first impressions.
04:02And here's an excerpt from the book.
04:04Imagine that I were to ask you to play a very simple gambling game.
04:08In front of you are four decks of cards, two of them red and the other two blue.
04:13Each card in those four decks either wins you a sum of money or costs you some money.
04:19And your job is to turn over the cards from any of the decks one at a time in such a way that maximizes your winnings.
04:25What you don't know at the beginning, however, is that the red decks are a minefield.
04:31The rewards are high, but when you lose on the red cards, you lose a lot.
04:36Actually, you can only win by taking cards from the blue decks, which offer a nice, steady diet of $50 payouts and modest penalties.
04:45The question is, how long will it take you to figure this out?
04:48A group of scientists at the University of Iowa did this experiment a few years ago,
04:52and what they found is that after we've turned over about 50 cards,
04:57most of us start to develop a hunch about what's going on.
05:01We don't know why we prefer the blue decks, but we're pretty sure at that point that they are a better bet.
05:08After turning over about 80 cards, most of us have figured out the game
05:11and can explain exactly why the first two decks are such a bad idea.
05:15That much is straightforward.
05:17We have some experiences, we think them through, we develop a theory,
05:20and then we finally put two and two together.
05:23That's the way learning works.
05:25But the Iowa scientists did something else,
05:28and this is where the strange part of the experiment begins.
05:31They hooked each gambler up to a machine that measured the activity of the sweat glands
05:37below the skin in the palms of their hands.
05:40Like most of us, our sweat glands, those in our palms, respond to stress as well as temperature,
05:44which is why we get clammy hands when we're nervous.
05:47What the Iowa scientists found is that gamblers started generating stress responses to the red decks
05:54by the 10th card, 40 cards before they were able to say they had a hunch about what was wrong with those two decks.
06:02More important, right around the time their palms started sweating, their behavior began to change as well.
06:08They started favoring the blue cards and taking fewer and fewer cards from the red decks.
06:13In other words, the gamblers figured out the game before they realized they had figured the game out.
06:20They began making the necessary adjustments long before they were consciously aware what adjustments they were supposed to be making.
06:27The Iowa experiment is just that, of course, a simple card game involving a handful of subjects and a stress detector.
06:34But it's a very powerful illustration of the way our minds work.
06:37Here's a situation where the stakes were high, where things were moving quickly,
06:41and where the participants had to make sense of a lot of new and confusing information in a very short time.
06:48What does the Iowa experiment tell us?
06:50That in those moments, our brain uses two very different strategies to make sense of the situation.
06:55The first is the one we're most familiar with.
06:57It's the conscious strategy.
06:59We think about what we've learned and eventually we come up with an answer.
07:02This strategy is logical and definitive, but it takes us 80 cards to get there.
07:07It's slow, and it needs a lot of information.
07:10There's a second strategy, though.
07:12It operates a lot more quickly.
07:14It starts to kick in after 10 cards, and it's really smart because it picks up on the problem with the red decks almost immediately.
07:22It has the drawback, however, that it operates, at least at first, entirely below the surface of consciousness.
07:28It sends its messages through weirdly indirect channels, such as the sweat glands in the palms of our hands.
07:34It's a system in which our brain reaches conclusions without immediately telling us that it's reaching conclusions.
07:41So based on these first impressions, you can see from this study, with very little evidence, our brains had made the quick determination on which course of action to take.
07:53And this is the exact same process a potential customer uses to decide if they are going to do business with us or not.
08:01So does this take our customers three seconds to make this decision, maybe 15 seconds to make this decision, or is it faster?
08:11Well, researchers at Princeton say it's much faster than that.
08:15So these researchers at Princeton showed a set of photographs of unfamiliar faces to study participants and asked them to make judgments about the people in the picture based on five traits.
08:27And these traits included attractiveness, likability, competence, trustworthiness.
08:33And some picture, some participants saw the pictures for just a hundred milliseconds.
08:40Others were shown the same photos for 50 milliseconds and a different group was shown the picture for a full second.
08:46While finally, a fourth group of participants were shown the same set of pictures without time constraints.
08:51What the researchers at Princeton found was that all five trait judgments were made within just one tenth of a second, which highly correlated with judgments made with longer exposure, with longer exposure times.
09:08So just a tenth of a second with very little information.
09:12Our prospective customers make judgments about us, just like they do in the Princeton study.
09:19So the question is, is now, how long do first impressions last?
09:26So a study by researchers at Cornell took the Princeton study one step further.
09:33After briefly showing participants a photograph of four different women for a brief instant, they were asked to rate each woman on how likable she was.
09:43Now, here's the cool part.
09:44Six months later, the participants were actually introduced to one of these women in the photos.
09:51And they never told the participants that they were the same woman they saw for just that brief second 180 days earlier.
09:58And, of course, none of the participants remembered the woman after that amount of time.
10:02But the participants then were asked to engage in a 10-minute game of trivial pursuit with one of the women they had seen and formed a first impression with that six months ago.
10:14The participants, after that game, were asked to judge the woman, again, based on likability.
10:21The results had shown a very high level of consistency between the judgment made after meeting the woman and the first impression made after seeing their picture six months earlier.
10:34So the scientists concluded that when participants met the woman whose picture they had seen earlier, that their brains recalled the first impression and applied it to the subsequent meeting.
10:47So even though the conscious brain had no recollection of a prior meeting, the amygdala and the posterior cingular cortex was able to process that and continue the first impression.
11:02So the moral of the story, you need to do whatever is necessary to help your prospective customer form a good first impression.
11:12Remember, it's formed quickly, that first impression.
11:15It's formed in under a tenth of a second.
11:18And the research shows that first impression can last forever.
11:24Ashley?
11:25Yes, Larry, such good information.
11:28So that's a great segue into our video.
11:32Where we're going to talk about first impressions and how that can lead us into booking a first appointment.
11:39Yeah, we're taping so we can cuss all we want, right?
11:59But we'll leave that.
12:00We'll definitely leave that in because Ashley wanted it lively.
12:03Hi, everybody.
12:04I'm Big Jim O'Brien.
12:05I host Big Jim's House Morning Show here at Beasley's 94.7 FM WCSX in Detroit, Michigan.
12:10Boom, a bomb secret boulevard.
12:11We did that right there.
12:13Anyway, more importantly today, what we're going to be doing, we're going to talk with three very successful sellers from around the company about their perspective on breaking through to decision makers and booking appointments and how important it is.
12:26I think, honestly, just as a note, as someone programming, this is interesting for me and for everyone in programming as well.
12:33More than ever, we have to work together.
12:35And when we get time like this to learn from you guys, it really does mean a lot.
12:40And it helps us do our job as well.
12:42And anything that we can do to support digital and over-the-air sales is really important.
12:46So I want to introduce our three reps here with us today.
12:49Jennifer Margolis.
12:50Hi, Jennifer.
12:50How are you?
12:51Hello.
12:52How are you, Jim?
12:53Wonderful.
12:54Now, tell us everybody what market and how long you've been with Visa.
12:57Okay.
12:58I am in dedicated digital for the Philly market.
13:02I came in in mid-April.
13:04I had been with Media News Group for the past nine years, which is a newspaper company.
13:09And I transitioned about six or seven years ago into mostly digital with our digital arm of our company called Ad Taxi.
13:20Well, welcome.
13:22And let me see.
13:23We have Paula Decker here.
13:24Paula, what market and how long have you been with Visa?
13:26I am also in Philadelphia.
13:28And I have been with Beasley since Beasley purchased Greater Media.
13:33And with Greater Media since 1997.
13:36And prior to that with CBS Radio.
13:38So I have worked with primarily selling WMMR radio since 1995.
13:45And then Greater Media took over in 97 and Beasley in 2016.
13:51So I'm totally giving myself away there with those years.
13:57But it's been a great, great experience bringing digital into my portfolio of sales opportunities.
14:07It's a trip.
14:08It's fun.
14:09It is interesting.
14:10It's the new world we live in.
14:11And it's a good one.
14:12I think it's fun.
14:13And, again, I've been here 18 years now, like I said, with Beasley.
14:17But, again, just to that point, we'll get more into it.
14:19But, yeah, learning about digital as well on our side as well.
14:22It's fun.
14:22It's fun.
14:23It makes us very creative.
14:25Although I do have a face for radio.
14:26But we'll get into that later.
14:28And Shannon, is Schaefer right, Schaefer?
14:30Shannon Schaefer.
14:32I got it right.
14:33Okay.
14:33This is fine.
14:34Now, tell everybody what markets you're in and how long you've been with Beasley.
14:37So I'm in Augusta, Georgia.
14:40I have been with Beasley since July of 2012.
14:44And prior to that, I was with Cumulus and Clear Channel for about nine years.
14:52All right.
14:52Well, welcome.
14:53Thank you to all three of you for taking time out today to do this.
14:55Now, we just heard about how important first impressions are.
15:00First thing we're going to get into is how do you ensure a good first impression?
15:04This is really important.
15:06Give us an example of how your phone call or an email to a potential prospect works.
15:11Want to start with Jennifer?
15:12Jennifer?
15:13Sure.
15:14Absolutely.
15:15I think, for me, it's very much about having a warmth about you and starting a conversation.
15:22I think bringing up something relatable is important, too, to kind of get you started.
15:31And person-to-person, that's a lot easier for me to do.
15:36Obviously, over the last six or seven months, we've had to learn how to do it differently
15:41and really kind of work on that over the phone and over Zooms.
15:45But I think it's about being warm and starting a conversation and really asking people about
15:50their businesses.
15:52Do you find, like, with 2020, the year we're in, is it almost, can you, how do you keep
15:57the conversation positive to where it's not such a negative vibe and all the stressors
16:01that are going on in the world right now?
16:02How do you balance it out when you're talking to somebody?
16:05Well, I think it's really important to let people know that they have to stay out there
16:10during times like this, that people are paying attention.
16:13And I think for me, that's been something that, you know, I've really tried to drive home.
16:20Makes sense.
16:21Paula, same question for you.
16:22Well, the easiest way for me personally to make a good first impression is by having
16:31someone that I know who I've done business with give me a referral.
16:37And if that isn't possible, then asking permission to use them as a reference.
16:44So I think a warm introduction is always easier and sort of positions you a little bit more
16:52positively than a total cold call.
16:56But if that's not possible, I totally agree with Jen.
17:00It's just finding a commonality and being warm and not, not mentioning that you're a salesperson
17:11because we all just have sort of a negative impression of someone who wants to sell us
17:17something.
17:18So is it is I'm sorry, go ahead, Paul.
17:21So that's sort of out of the that doesn't even come into the conversation.
17:25Is it harder now because you can't get face to face time with people because more email,
17:32text messaging, the way you're going to reach out to somebody initially where it may be before,
17:35whether it was lunch or over drinks or at a business after hours, has it changed that
17:40dynamic for you as well?
17:41A little bit.
17:42But I think that it was sort of because we're all so busy and we are we are multitasking so
17:48much.
17:49I think that that it has been trending a lot more towards talking over email or asking
17:57for an appointment over email, whereas before it was always that phone call.
18:02And now it's sometimes easier to set the appointment with email.
18:08And with this, with Zoom, we we have a lot of options.
18:15What's harder, though, is to use your experience of saying I was shopping at your store.
18:20I was at your dealership.
18:22I was experiencing their product, service, whatever, because for the last seven, eight
18:29months, we haven't really been able to do that easily.
18:32That's a good point.
18:33Shannon, real quick before I get the same question for you, but I want to mention congratulations.
18:36One of our winners are Drive for Direct Contest, 15 new local direct accounts.
18:41Nothing wrong with that, Shannon.
18:42Congratulations.
18:43Good job.
18:44Congratulations.
18:45Thanks.
18:46Thanks.
18:47So first impressions, I think, are important because, I mean, kind of what everybody's already
18:54said, I like to go in already knowing something about that business in case I don't have the
19:02referral.
19:03At least I'll try to do some homework on the business.
19:07If I don't, a lot of times I do have the name already, but I like to go in with, you
19:14know, we've had some good success with companies in your same field or, you know, so, so and
19:22so told me to call you and this is why.
19:25So, I mean, I think the answers we've already gotten are all kind of about the same, but you
19:31do always want to make sure you know something about the business going in to see them or
19:36calling them.
19:39Makes sense.
19:40All right.
19:40Moving on here.
19:40Now, question number two here.
19:41When prospecting via email or phone call, how do you prepare for your outreach?
19:46What are your best practices?
19:47And do you have a preference that you feel works the best?
19:50I know for us on air, obviously, we show it, although it doesn't sound like it some days,
19:55and we think about how we're going to talk to our listeners.
19:57And I'm always interested because you as account executives, when you're reaching out to a client,
20:01what a method behind that?
20:03Want to start with all the time, Paula?
20:05What do you do?
20:05How do you prep yourself for that?
20:08Well, of course, I start by doing some homework online.
20:13I visit their website.
20:15I think we're all going to probably say the same things.
20:20You know, you would never just cold call without being prepared.
20:25So, visiting the business's website, doing some research, trying to find some recent trends,
20:32and, of course, all of the tools that we have available to us,
20:38maybe requesting a top-line instant positioning piece about the industry,
20:46or doing something like using the appointment prep tool or the digital footprint tool in top-line,
20:53visiting Larry's website, the HubSpot for trend information.
20:58I'll leave some answers for everybody else, too.
21:05But I think, you know, we just have, and, of course, you know, old school RAB.
21:10I check in with RAB frequently.
21:14I look to see if there's co-op available, things like that.
21:20Shannon, same question for you.
21:21How do you prepare for your outreach?
21:23What are your best practices?
21:24Again, a lot of the same answers, but it's doing research on the business first,
21:30checking out their website or their Facebook page,
21:34seeing if they have upcoming events we can tie into or maybe tie them into with us,
21:42co-op, you know, just all those different things.
21:46And then just, I mean, you just have to know going in.
21:49And I'll also say you asked about phone calls or emails.
21:54Phone calls weren't the best for me.
21:56Emails, for some reason, I don't, I don't, I don't know.
22:00I don't get great response from emails.
22:03But knowing what to say when you call, I think, is key.
22:07Jennifer, same thing for you.
22:08Same question.
22:09And I think this is interesting of the different types.
22:11And your outreach practice, your best practice.
22:15And I really try to research the business, not only the business, but the market that they're in.
22:22I really try to get a feel for the competition as well that they might have around them
22:26and kind of get an idea of what they do.
22:31And, you know, just get a feel for their challenges.
22:34Try to break it down.
22:36I also try to find the point of contact, do a little research
22:40and try to find exactly who the point of contact is with the businesses.
22:43So there was something that came up.
22:47And the third question here for all three of you, and thank you for the time today, too.
22:51When booking an appointment with a prospect, how do you find a valid business reason to schedule the meeting?
22:56We used to always joke in the programming side.
22:58It used to be the time when you had Palm Pilots.
23:00You'd walk around and we'd hear you call somebody going,
23:02so how's your son Timmy doing in soccer?
23:05And we would laugh.
23:06It was like a running joke with us.
23:08But then a valid business reason, everything you guys have talked about so far is you're helping them.
23:17It's not, am I wrong in this?
23:19I'll start with Shannon.
23:20Is it a prospect?
23:22You're offering them a solution for them, not so much our brand, right?
23:26Am I getting confused in this or is that accurate?
23:29No, that's correct.
23:30So usually when I'm calling, trying to set a meeting, I will, it depends on the time of the year.
23:38But if it's, again, event-driven, then I'll kind of use it as we have this event coming up
23:43or we have this sporting thing on our stations.
23:47But it's also about just telling them, hey, we want to come and talk to you
23:51and learn about what you're trying to achieve.
23:54You know, we have three things here that we always say, and it's goals, challenges, and strategies.
24:00And let us come and help you, you know, get the answers to those questions and just help them.
24:07You know, again, 2020 is a year unlike the rest.
24:11And so a lot of people, a lot of businesses are looking to us to help them achieve these things.
24:18Paul, I was thinking about you with MMR.
24:20I mean, the heritage of the radio station as well was such a big brand in the Philadelphia market.
24:25When you're finding those business reasons, is it easier or are there higher expectations
24:30when you do reach out to somebody?
24:33Well, I've sold a lot of radio.
24:37And when you have call letters that have kind of heritage and instant recognition,
24:43it is an attention grabber and it is a lot easier.
24:47And WMMR also has a very big morning show.
24:52I mean, all of our Philadelphia stations are excellent and all have their big radio stations
24:58and they're highly rated.
25:00But the morning show on WMMR has a lot of power in their name.
25:09That's the Preston and Steve show.
25:10They do a lot of charitable work in the market.
25:13And it just seems that when people hear that, their ears might perk up.
25:20With WMGK, John DiBella has been around for many, many years.
25:24So there's name recognition there.
25:25All of our stations, the sports station, Andy Summers on WXTU, Benefem,
25:32they all have recognition.
25:35But Jim, to your point, MMR, just the heritage, because we've been around for 50 plus years,
25:40is a little bit easier, perhaps, when you drop those call letters.
25:46But when we're making calls for digital, new digital business,
25:52I don't lead with the callers for the radio station.
25:56Because in my experience, why would someone want to do business in a digital capacity with a radio station?
26:08So then the positioning is Beasley Media, Beasley Digital Media.
26:14So there's that slight differentiation.
26:18Jennifer, same question for you.
26:19I think that it's really about setting the table and building a trust with people.
26:28And they want to know that you're with a company that, you know, is one they can trust.
26:37And so there are actually, when I do kind of give my little spiel about where I'm coming from,
26:43I definitely bring kind of the brand into it.
26:47And I, you know, I do say, because it helps them trust you.
26:52And I think that's the most important thing, you know, finding people want to do business with a name
27:00and a brand and a company that they trust.
27:02So I do actually touch on that when I'm actually, as they say, setting the table in a needs assessment
27:09and letting them know where I'm from.
27:11So how do you determine who's your new business target?
27:14How do you determine who you're in a digital world?
27:18How do you do that?
27:19Shannon, how do you do that?
27:20How do you?
27:21So for me, I don't really judge on new business.
27:26I mean, to me, everybody has a need for radio or digital.
27:32Me personally, I have great experience with people in the service industry,
27:37whether it's heating and air companies or, you know, plumbers or whatnot.
27:43So I kind of hone in on that category.
27:47But really, I mean, everybody needs our services.
27:51So there's not just one specific category that I target.
27:56Yes.
27:56Okay.
27:57Same question for you.
27:58I totally agree with Shannon and another tool that we have available to us is something
28:06called Media Monitors and Miller Kaplan.
28:09And Miller Kaplan will show you spending.
28:12So in a lot of ways, what I'd like to somewhat figure out is if they have, if they're already
28:20spending in the market, but they're not spending with us.
28:24So that might be one VBR.
28:30I wouldn't say VBR because I'm not going to say, hey, I see you're spending money in Philadelphia,
28:35but you're not with us.
28:38So, but at least they have to have a need.
28:42They have to have pain and they have to have money.
28:46So we all know this isn't big news, but if they have the need and they have the pain,
28:54they'll find the money.
28:55Right.
28:56Okay.
28:56Thanks so much.
28:57All right.
28:57So let me ask the question here.
28:58Your worst outreach story and what did you learn from it?
29:01I think that's important.
29:02Your worst outreach story.
29:03And what did you learn from it?
29:05Jennifer, Paula, Shannon, who wants to go first?
29:09I can go.
29:11Oh yeah.
29:11Okay.
29:12All right.
29:12Good.
29:12Why not?
29:13So mine comes from, I was actually with my old company and I had gone in as a referral
29:22to someone from another client and he basically showed me the door.
29:28I mean, he didn't want to talk digital at all.
29:30He was very old school, very print.
29:32You know, he just wanted to do print media.
29:34And, you know, it was, it was one of those first experiences that I had where it was just
29:40a blatant no, like not even, um, it wasn't even really a nice no.
29:46It was just kind of like, you know, get out of here.
29:49Um, and 16 months later, that guy called me and, and, and it, and it just, and said that
29:57he was ready to talk digital.
29:59And it goes to show you, it was one of those people, they say not to burn any bridges and
30:04sales, and it was not somebody I would have ever contacted again.
30:07I mean, it was just, it was dead in the water there.
30:10Um, and I never would have thought that this guy would have come back and, and called me
30:16and said, you know, Hey, I'm, I'm, you know, I was very set in my ways.
30:19And I realized now that this is something I need to do.
30:22And you were very nice despite me not being nice.
30:25And I'd like you to come in.
30:27Um, so I think that taught me, um, that you never know.
30:32I mean, you, you can never really, um, count somebody, count somebody out.
30:38Um, you know, if, if you just try to give that first impression, which is very important,
30:43um, and, you know, handle things with grace, um, then it might, you never know, it might come
30:50back to you.
30:50So, so you never rule anybody out in, in, in sales.
30:53I learned that.
30:55Paula, same thing for you.
30:56Is there an experience similar to that or what, and what happened?
31:00Yeah.
31:00Um, so this is quite a long time ago when I was a pretty much of a rookie seller and I
31:09made the biggest mistake that everybody knows about and hopefully not everybody makes.
31:16And that was that I was making those cold calls all about myself and my business and, and my
31:22product, my radio station, we can help you.
31:25And I'll never forget.
31:26But it was when not everybody had emailed, this was the mid nineties and not every company
31:32had a website.
31:34And so prospecting and cold calling was old school.
31:37We were calling.
31:38And I called a high end electronics company, the owner incessantly.
31:44And his, um, assistant or gatekeeper never put me through.
31:50And I just kept calling and calling and calling.
31:52And finally, one day I get a message from our sales assistant and it was written on one
31:58of those pink pads that, you know, while you were out, God, that was so long ago.
32:02Right.
32:03Oh my gosh.
32:04I can't believe I'm telling this.
32:06And all it said was, I'm not interested.
32:11Tell her to stop calling me.
32:13And it was like, oh my gosh, because I was just calling about, do you want to talk about
32:19buying advertising on our radio station?
32:21Do you want to talk about, um, getting on the air on WMMR?
32:25And I had no idea what he, what his company, his business needed.
32:30If he needed anything, certainly didn't need me.
32:34And, um, like Jen, many, many years later, they became a very good, um, partner with our
32:42radio station, not with me, with one of my colleagues.
32:45I know, but, uh, yeah, it was, it taught me a big lesson and I'm, and I'm really glad
32:52that if there was a client party, did you just duck out of the way to make sure they
32:56didn't see you?
32:56You're like, nope, nope, nope.
32:57I don't know.
32:58I was just calling and calling and calling tell her I'm not, but I just get this message.
33:02I'm not interested.
33:04Tell her to stop calling.
33:06It pretty much was just like, okay, I get it.
33:09But again, that was, um, you know, making it about us and the radio station and aren't
33:19we so great.
33:20And, you know, that's really not at all how you sell.
33:23You, you always.
33:24I got my wife to go out with me though.
33:25I kept calling and calling and calling and calling.
33:27It worked.
33:28It worked.
33:28It's always about, it's always about them.
33:31And as it should be.
33:32I think actually both of our stories bring up the point that, um, they might not be a
33:37today client.
33:38They might be a tomorrow client.
33:41Um, and it's all about timing too.
33:43So they might not be ready for us, but, but you're, you're out there.
33:47You made an impression.
33:48And when they are ready for, for you, um, hopefully they'll remember you, you know, and I think
33:54that, you know, um, it's, it's, it's about, you know, need.
34:00So on, on the program inside of it for us, I tell everyone on our morning show, be nice,
34:05be nice.
34:05No matter what they say, be nice, be nice.
34:07Um, I had a lady two years ago.
34:09I met her at a veterans day parade here in Detroit.
34:12She just reached out to me this morning.
34:15She goes, I mentioned two years ago.
34:16I hadn't listened to the station for a while.
34:18I started listening to the show and I know you're a veteran and you're doing this and
34:21I want to help.
34:22Had I didn't even, it took me a while to remember her name and it wasn't like, oh, I'm so great.
34:26It was just that I was nice to her.
34:28And she remembered that.
34:29So you guys are absolutely right.
34:31It's just, you'd be polite and treat people the way you want to be treated.
34:35Right.
34:36Yeah.
34:36Unless you're a Lions fan here in Detroit and then we just quit.
34:39We give up.
34:40Um, Shanna, what about you?
34:41Same thing.
34:42I mean, your worst story and what happened?
34:44Um, honestly, I was trying to write my brain on this on Friday.
34:51Um, I don't really have where anybody's been rude or ugly or told me to get out.
34:59Um, it's, but people are nicer in the South.
35:06I even went to my sales manager and I was like, I'm not really sure how to answer this.
35:11I've been doing this a long time.
35:14Um, and maybe that is, maybe it's cause we're in the South and everybody is nicer and they
35:19just tell you in a nice way.
35:20They don't want to do business.
35:22But I think kind of what it's all about being persistent too, but persistent in a good way.
35:29So you may have to call on that business for a year before you ever get that first meeting.
35:37Um, but then I think at some point they, they give it to you cause they're just like,
35:41Oh my gosh, is she ever going to stop calling?
35:44Um, but then they like what you have to say.
35:46So, um, it's just about staying in their face, but in a nice way.
35:53Now, come on.
35:54And we tell the truth in the South.
35:56When someone says, bless, bless your heart, that that's a polite way.
35:59That's a polite way of telling you.
36:01I I'm really not.
36:02I'm done.
36:02Oh, bless your heart.
36:04Right.
36:04I know this is true.
36:06And unfortunately, that is something I say all the time.
36:10Oh, no.
36:12You're a potty mouth.
36:13Oh my gosh.
36:15It's true.
36:16Bless your heart.
36:17Cause you can't say the other word.
36:18We have friends in the South.
36:19We're like, Hey, we're, we're getting snow up here.
36:21Oh, bless your heart.
36:22I'm like, yeah, whatever.
36:24Yeah.
36:24That sounds about right.
36:26So is there on the other side of the coin then, um, Jennifer, is there like a story
36:30that was just like, bam, it was your best outreach story.
36:33Yeah.
36:34Um, I have one who, who is a long time client, probably, um, about five years.
36:40Um, and, um, he actually is with me at Beasley now.
36:44Um, I walked into a construction zone.
36:47I mean, they handed me a hard hat and I walked in and it was a rainy day.
36:52It was like, it was spring.
36:53It was chilly.
36:54It was rainy.
36:55I had my trench coat on and my, my, um, suit and I walked in and the hard hat and, and,
37:01um, he told me, and we started a conversation.
37:04The owner was on site.
37:05They, it was, you know, there were workers everywhere and they were building this, this,
37:11um, trampoline park.
37:13And, um, you know, we, I was there for an hour and a half, just talking to him about his vision
37:17and what he was going to do and all of that and getting to know him.
37:21And he told me that that's what, that's what won him over from go.
37:25And that's why he wanted to go with us, um, for his grand opening.
37:28And, and then, um, like I said, he's been with me for about five years.
37:32Um, he said, because you, you, other people wouldn't have never have walked in here.
37:38He said, you know, you walked in, you put a hard hat on and you, you, you know, kind
37:42of wanted to see what was going on.
37:44So, um, you know, I think it's about kind of being, um, you know, being a little bold
37:49in certain situations and, and, you know, really kind of doing what other people wouldn't
37:54do, um, you know, in a good way, not in a bad way.
37:59So I do bless your heart.
38:00See what I did there.
38:03Well, Paula, same question for you then.
38:06Is there one that was just like, wow.
38:07I mean, one of those great outreach stories.
38:09Well, um, I'll use an example that's current and I, I'm sure there are others that are better,
38:16but this one is kind of relevant because we are in the pandemic times.
38:20So about a year ago, um, I was prospecting a company that is a, a doggy daycare and veterinary
38:28hospital, and they have multiple locations in our Philadelphia region.
38:32There's eight locations.
38:34And I saw on LinkedIn, that's another tool that, I mean, I think we didn't really mention.
38:39We look up whoever we're going to be talking to.
38:43If we know that person's name, we look them up on LinkedIn.
38:46So anyway, I saw on LinkedIn that this particular company was, had a listing.
38:51They were seeking a new marketing director.
38:53So they thought, oh, this might not be the best time to call.
38:55But, uh, that was maybe October of last year.
38:58So I kind of kept checking in with LinkedIn and with their website.
39:03And I noticed when they did hire a new marketing director, I also noticed who the, one of the
39:09owners, one of the partners of the company was, and I somehow made contact with him and
39:14asked, oh, have you hired your new marketing director?
39:17Would you mind referring me to her?
39:20Which he did.
39:21So then it was easy to, when we started to email, um, sort of name drop her boss, which
39:28was great.
39:29And anyway, so then pandemic, pandemic, pandemic hits and everybody shuts down and everybody
39:36is home with their pets and their business.
39:39Nobody's taking their pets to doggy daycare anymore.
39:41So there I'm thinking, oh my gosh, what are they going to do?
39:44They still did offer veterinary services, but there was no marketing going on at all, other
39:49than some LinkedIn and social media that they were doing there on their own.
39:53So I just kept in touch with her, um, through the spring and the summer.
39:59And, uh, when we, when things did start to open up again, I sent her a funny note and just
40:05said, what are our pets going to do when we all go back to work?
40:08And I sent a picture of my dog and like kind of looking forlorn and, um, and she called
40:15me a week or so later and said, you know, we're getting back up and running and, uh, let's
40:21start talking.
40:22And specifically, let's start talking about digital and radio.
40:26So, um, I think that we, we have a zoom call on Friday, this Friday as a matter of fact,
40:32so it's not closed yet, so I can't say that it's a great success story, but I think that
40:37being relevant and keeping, uh, keeping in touch with someone just through an email or
40:44a quick note or commenting, um, on their LinkedIn, when they're posting something on LinkedIn,
40:51maybe sharing it or commenting on it.
40:53Same with their, um, Facebook.
40:55So I think that if they can kind of see you being, um, involved, interested and interacting
41:02with their business, then it kind of, it makes it easier for you to go further.
41:08Makes sense.
41:08Engagement.
41:09Yeah.
41:09Shannon, same thing for you.
41:10What's that, that your best outreach story?
41:12Um, so it's probably in the last couple of years, um, there's been a heating and air slash
41:21plumbing company that I was trying to get meetings with, um, finally after about a year of calling
41:31and again, being persistent, um, I finally got a meeting set up last summer.
41:36So in 2019, um, and we, um, turn, turns out his wife had been sick and back and forth in
41:44the hospital.
41:45And so that's kind of why it took so long to get meetings.
41:47Um, so anyway, so we had our initial first meeting, um, he was doing some television advertising,
41:55wanted to wait till, you know, his contracts and stuff ran out, promised he was going to come
42:00on, um, in the beginning of 2020, um, and one thing led to another and he kept pushing
42:09meetings and pushing meetings.
42:10Well, we finally got the contract signed, um, in March of this year, um, for radio and
42:17for digital.
42:18So on both ends, um, he has, you know, kind of the same thing.
42:23He, he told me in the meeting when we finally got the contract finished that, you know, thank
42:28you for all the follow-up.
42:29Thank you for being persistent.
42:31Um, you know, thank you for being there with him while his wife had been so sick.
42:36Um, and he is up for renewal, um, the end of this year and has already stressed how well
42:42things have worked for him, um, and how everything will continue into next year.
42:46So I think again, just with, um, the times and, and he's HVAC and plumbing and the radio
42:53just in the digital work so well because people were home, um, and noticing things that needed
42:58to be fixed.
42:59So, you know, kind of in this situation, maybe the pandemic actually worked in our favor a
43:04little bit too.
43:06Um, but he's, again, it was just a matter of contacting him every couple of weeks and
43:12staying in front of him and not letting him forget that.
43:15Hey, don't forget, you know, he said, you were going to come, come do business with us.
43:19So let's get it started.
43:21See, that's fantastic.
43:22And, um, last thing I want to say, first, most importantly, thank you.
43:26Thank you, Paula.
43:28Thank you, Jennifer.
43:29Thank you, Shannon, for the time today.
43:31And I know everyone who watches this really appreciates it.
43:33And, um, I want to say something on behalf of everyone in programming.
43:36When it comes to digital, we're learning and we like to learn no matter what we say.
43:41And, and the feedback from, from sales on what we can do and what we can do to help
43:46you is, is immeasurable for someone who runs a morning show.
43:49And, and, um, uh, you know, I apologize for the gray hair, but I have two kids.
43:52There's nothing I can do about it.
43:54So it just comes with two boys, but anything that we can do to help you, let us know.
43:59You're not going to hurt our feelings if it's not the way you want it.
44:02Um, I can't speak for everybody, but I can tell you from our experience, we're learning
44:05too, and in this new world, and I think we're all going to be better for it on the
44:10other end of this.
44:10I think we're going to be a better business, a better Beasley because of it.
44:15So thanks.
44:16I agree.
44:17Again, so much for your time.
44:18I really appreciate it.
44:19Thank you, Jim.
44:20Thanks for having us.
44:22You're welcome.
44:22And bless your heart, Shannon.
44:24Bless your heart.
44:27So key takeaways from the round table.
44:30I think, uh, what we covered today can be summarized into really two phases, uh, which
44:35is identifying your prospects through research.
44:38And the approach of using the research to land the meeting.
44:43So in order to maximize the efficiency of our time, we just want to be strategic with
44:48our outreach efforts.
44:49This includes using market trends and research tools that we have at our disposal, client
44:56referrals, working with familiar categories, and researching businesses' websites and social
45:03media pages.
45:05Once we've done our research and identified our process, we now want to apply that strategic
45:10approach to give the prospects a compelling reason to take the meeting with us.
45:17Now, recently, we've been trending towards using more phone and email outreach because
45:20of COVID.
45:21We've had less of face-to-face, uh, interaction.
45:24So being genuine and personal with the prospects, with our outreach has never been more importantly.
45:31We want to make it about their business, not about us.
45:35And again, we want to do our homework and have a valid business reason.
45:39We want to leverage market trends, client referrals.
45:44We can highlight success that we've had with businesses like theirs, share common goals, bring
45:51up challenges, and offer solutions.
45:54If we're effective with these steps of the sales process, we should get our foot in the
45:59door, um, and in front of a lot of new business opportunities that can lead to, uh, uh, us growing
46:05our book of business exponentially.
46:08So we really look forward to more sessions like today where we can dive, uh, deeper into
46:15more of the process of driving new business.
46:19And again, we want to thank Jen, Shannon, and Paula for your time today and all the great
46:26input that you've provided.
46:35Great, Larry, I think you wanted to add something that was shared.
46:41Yeah, I just want to follow up on one thing that, uh, that Paula had said about LinkedIn.
46:45One tool we have available to us.
46:47I'm not sure everybody knows about it is through Futuri, which is available to everybody on this
46:52call where they will upon request, analyze a prospect's LinkedIn profile and provide a in-depth
47:01personality report on that prospect.
47:05And I don't know who's familiar with, with the disc, uh, disc analysis.
47:10Um, a lot of you participated in that before, but it will give you a complete disc profile
47:15of that prospect and what is the best tactics to use when meeting that person, how to talk
47:23to them, what to show them, and what's the best way to make really a first impression with them.
47:27Awesome.
47:31Thanks so much for sharing that, Larry.
47:33Sure.
47:33And I just want to echo what Tag said.
47:35This was one of our biggest projects for our Tuesday session.
47:39So everyone that contributed, uh, I just want to thank you so much.
47:43And I hope you all agree with me that we can learn from each other.
47:47So more knowledge sharing in these sessions to come for 2021.
47:52And, um, I'm looking forward to that for sure.
47:54Last thing I want to share is just the good to know information for this week.
47:59Believe it or not, the holidays are coming and Thanksgiving is around the corner.
48:06So I want to share with you right now to ensure that your request is processed for all request
48:12types and live before the holiday, we recommend submitting the request no later than November
48:1919th, I'm going to share the schedule with you on the recap email tomorrow and on the
48:26finish strong Friday email that goes out each Friday, uh, up to Thanksgiving.
48:32But when you see an asterisk near the request on the schedule, the asterisk indicate this timeline
48:38is for creative requests, RDS, ONO orders, and third party tactics for any additional requests,
48:48turnaround times by type, please see the turnaround time document that's on Academy.
48:53I will also upload that on the email that sent tomorrow along with on Friday.
48:59I just want to make sure you guys are ahead of the game and all your requests are processed
49:03in the time you need them by.
49:05So I'll send that all out to you so you guys could have the schedule.
49:09And then if you have additional questions on the schedule, please let me know or reach
49:13out to Rachel Pond.
49:16That is it for today's session.
49:18I know it was a lot of information.
49:20Of course, it's going to be on Academy.
49:21I'll send out the email tomorrow with the link to the recording.
49:24And I hope you guys enjoyed it and we'll see you guys in a few weeks.
49:28Thank you so much and talk to you guys soon.
49:31Bye.