Welcome to the Local Direct Chronicle

The Chiquitas of Broadcasting
by Paul Weyland

The following definition of "chiquita" came from my article that ran in July's issue of Radio Business Report. Click here to subscribe to Radio Business Report.

The broadcast industry has a marketing problem with local direct advertisers. It is that pesky perception that what WE do for a living is confusing, complicated and expensive. Instead of perceiving us as resources, we look like pests. Instead of having a knowledgeable marketing and advertising expert to help them grow their businesses, they get to meet their third Chiquita in a year and a half from your station.

It is a shame, but that is what local direct clients think about broadcast advertising, that is, if they even bother to think about using us at all. And guess what? We have nobody to blame but ourselves.

I went to Mexico City a few months ago to do a seminar on broadcast selling. The event was in Chapultapec, a very rich part of Mexico City. And for those of you who have been to Mexico City you know that if you are rich in Mexico, YOU’RE RICH. But even in that very wealthy part of the city there were signs of abject poverty everywhere.

On virtually every street corner there were little girls with grubby faces called “Chiquitas”. They hold out their hands and beg every passer-by for money but they have nothing to offer in return. “Por favor, senor, just a little something,” they ask. You respond, “No Chiquita, not today. This is very dangerous. Do not do this.” But the Chiquitas are very persistent. “Por favor, just a little something for me, POR FAVOR.”

The Chiquitas make me very sad. But they also remind me of practically every broadcast salesperson I have ever met. “Por favor, Mr. Client. Just a little something for my station, por favor.” And the client says, “No Chiquita, not today. But if you send me some information on your station, I will get right back with you.” And the Chiquita salesperson says enthusiastically, “Okay, I will get you some information right back to you.”

Then the Chiquita runs back to the station, cards the account and then gets on the computer and cranks out a computerized proposal filled with horrible stuff that nobody likes to read or can understand, like AQH and CPP and Frequency of 3. You get all of that stuff to your client and then of course, the client never calls you back.

If I were a local direct client who already had the perception that broadcast advertising was complicated, confusing and expensive, I believe I would rather chew on a mouthful of wasps than try to read one more computer-generated report or package from a radio or television station.

See, here is the problem, and opportunity. The average radio or television station has fewer than fifty local direct accounts on the air in any given month. Meanwhile, another medium out there has practically every single account, thousands of them, locked up with annual contracts. That medium is the Yellow Pages, the GREAT MONEY-SUCKING HOLE.

It is not that all of those local advertisers are not advertising, they are just not advertising with YOU. Why? Because of the way we sell. We’re an industry of Chiquitas, giving local direct clients facts and figures that even WE do not fully understand. So, how should we expect anybody else to understand them?

Here is a great test. Explain GRPs, AQH and frequency to YOUR MOM in language that SHE would understand that would get her excited and ready to buy from you BEFORE her eyes turn yellow and cross. It is not an easy thing to do. So, why keep going there with clients?

The best part about beating your head against a wall is that it feels so good when you STOP. Stop confusing and boring your clients with crap ratings proposals they do not understand. Managers, stop confusing salesperson EFFORT with salesperson production. Salespeople, stop being Chiquitas, begging clients for money without offering anything valuable in return.

While I was in college I worked at a small campus men’s store. And two out of five people who came into our store were CHIQUITAS who were trying to sell US something. And all of the Chiquitas who visited us would say the same, cliché things:

Not one single media salesperson ever came in and spoke to us in language that we understood, about how it would be logical and in OUR BEST INTEREST to do business with them. How difficult are YOU making it for local direct clients to do business with you and your station?

By focusing your attention on educating the client in language that he or she would understand, you can do several wonderful things:

We know that educated clients buy more than uneducated clients. We know that our local direct clients have been inundated with Chiquitas from every media and every station.

And, instead of educating clients properly about good marketing, the difference between good and bad advertising and how to calculate return on investment on the advertising they are doing, all the Chiquita has to offer is a report written in hieroglyphics that nobody can or wants to read. All the Chiquita can do is a little chest-beating dance about how they are number one with 24-49 year old women who shave one eyebrow and drive Volvos.

If you are a broadcasting Chiquita, STOP IT NOW. Order my two CDs by clicking HERE IMMEDIATELY and learn to be a resource to your clients instead of a pest. These CDs are inexpensive, so you will still have plenty of money left over for essentials, like beer, cigarettes and Danielle Steel novels.

These audio CDs will change the way you sell radio and television. Remember Chris from last month? He memorized the material and he is breaking local direct sales records in Dallas/Ft. Worth. You could be doing it as well. Make more money NOW. Get your boss off your butt NOW. These CDs can be written off of your taxes!

The choice is clear. Get these CDs and become a rich and famous broadcast account executive. Or, do not buy…and wind up living under a bridge somewhere, snacking on wasps for sustenance.

"I had Paul Weyland come in to do a two day seminar for my sellers to help them learn the way to sell direct business and coach clients on how to write effective copy, and I must say it was the most effective two days I've ever had a staff spend. Paul's insights are right on, his ability to spin a story and keep the attention of our ADD salespeople was excellent, and we were able to bring 23 new business accounts to the group that we had worked for a long time with no success. I recommend Paul for anyone that wants to increase their direct business percentages."

~ Steve Curtis, General Sales Manager
Clear Channel WSSR, Tampa, Florida

"We use a selling strategy developed by a local Austin sales trainer, Paul Weyland, and we have found it to be an excellent way to develop the marketing skills of our reps -- down to teaching them how to develop strong copy. Paul Weyland's system has taught us how to manage the client's expectations. We have a very specific mathematic formula that uses the client's average sale to guage what kind of expectation they should have. In a sense, we negotiate an expecation that is acceptable for everyone, and our experience so far is that very few clients are disappointed at the end of the schedule. If a client doesn't have much money, one thing we suggest is that they own a day -- heavily targeting a limited budget works far better than diluting it."

~ John Hiatt, VP/Market General Manager
Infinity, Austin, Texas

Production is almost completed in the first in a series of creative compact disks entitled Spots Before Your Eyes. This CDR will contain at least 17 audio commercials along with their scripts from various product and services categories. Before or immediately following each commercial, producer Jimbo Kipping and I will discuss the logic and the thought behind the writing and production of each commercial. This will be an excellent resource for radio and television account executives, managers and production people.

You will be able to order Spots Before Your Eyes on line at my e-Store, Weyland's Web Store or pick one up personally at my seminars.

Better, more logical spots will break through the Craposphere™ and make it much easier for your listeners or viewers who are ON for your client’s product or service to remember your client’s product or service. For everybody else, we are starting the BRANDING process.

There is plenty of summer left and boat dealers still have lots of inventory to sell. There is no reason why they should not be using your station to help move more boats. Most boat dealer commercials have the same look and sound. Virtually every ad revolves around financing and listing makes and models. But most of this boat dealership advertising does very little to create desire. Here is a script that touches on some very personal reasons for getting a boat and would definitely break through the "CRAPOSHPERE".

What? I have not been in your market for a while? Let your broadcast association and your station manager know that you want Paul Weyland back in your town. Here is a link to the seminars that I am offering now. Weyland's Seminars

Yes, the Professional Mediator™ is in its final development stages. We should be ready to launch in a couple of weeks. The Professional version has a built-in proposal writer including at least 5 various proposal formats.

The hand-held version and the original Mediator™ are still available free at The Mediator(TM)

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