The Catalyst

Current “conventional wisdom” is stunting broadcast television sales growth.

The saying, “do what you did, get what you got,” could not be more appropriate than it is to broadcast television today. Prior to the economic meltdown, broadcast television was considered a no-growth industry by Wall Street; worse, it was losing revenue share in key ad categories like automotive to inferior media like radio, cable and internet. To assume that once the economy turns upward, television will begin growing — something it didn’t do in good times — is at best, doubtful.

The economy doesn’t have to improve for television to build better sales results. The economy is not holding us back, conventional wisdom is!

Until we debunk our broken sales departments, television will continue to languish in its old model.

There are at least four “conventional wisdom culprits” that cripple television sales; some or all of these four culprits are present in nearly every local television station across the US:

1. The “carrot-and-stick” approach will deliver consistent new business results within the conventional sales structure.
2. A single salesperson can handle both the sales function and client service — and can deliver at a high level in both areas consistently.
3. Sales departments can function at a high level without the disciplines of measuring performance — especially on essential performance criteria like close ratio.
4. A single sales manager can adequately manage, compensate, and optimize both the new business sales and the client service functions.

Though there may be instances where some of these culprits exist at high functioning broadcast stations today, this is a broken model. The long-term sales potential will be capped by the shortcomings of the structure. These flawed assumptions are part and parcel of an old-school broadcast sales model, built during a different era of the industry.

We’re all well aware today of the increased emphasis on local sales, and some stations have responded with a smart move in this direction. They’ve identified rainmakers, the salespeople who can not only over-deliver in the new business column, but also know how to generate success for their advertising clients along the way. They are enabling these rainmakers with a support team, a toolbox, and a compensation plan that is fair and motivating.

The interesting part of it all is that, they are not reinventing the wheel here. Broadcast TV needs only to look at other similar industries to see how a simple change in team structure and compensation will deliver huge gains. Did we also mention a declining cost-of-sales? That’s part of the deal too.

Those that lag behind in addressing the new balance at the local level will operate at a disadvantage.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IMPLEMENTING ESA’s RAINMAKER MODEL?
ESA & Company has a plan that’s perfect for your team. This plan is customizable, assumes no additional headcount, fits any size market, will accelerate new business growth at a shrinking cost-of-sales, and is FREE for ESA member stations.

INTERESTED? Contact ESA today for your Rainmaker kit.

Craig Reumund is a Senior Consultant with ESA & Company. He meets with hundreds of local business owners each year and has significantly changed the fortune of thousands of local businesses over the past 20 years.