I had lunch with a very good friend of mine just last week. She’s sold radio in a top 50 market for over 20 years. She’s busted her rear drumming up new business, good economy and bad. She drives 30 miles out of her way to pick up checks from her local small direct clients–just [...]

Back in the 1970′s — almost medieval times — several studies took place to discover the optimum number of commercial announcements that could be aired in a “break” or “cluster” without causing listener fatigue.  Depending on the study you believe, I recall the number was between three and five…let’s call it four. After the fourth [...]

How do you define success? For most Radio salespeople, success is making the sale. Closing the deal. Bringing back a nice order. Seeing the sales manager smiling as you turn in the big-ticket, multi-month buy you’ve worked on for weeks. But what constitutes success for the client? What yardstick does he use to determine if [...]

The numbers don’t lie: Radio revenue is taking a nosedive. The economy — sluggish at best in 2008 — looks dismal for 2009. More layoffs are ahead as Chrysler and GM reorganize and downsize, with the ripples of their ordeal affecting thousands of suppliers and hundreds of thousands of workers. And yet… As unemployment approaches [...]

This is an article from a couple of years ago. While somewhat dated, the points are still valid. Besides, recycling is one of the few ways I can be “green” and still live with myself. Somewhere on the road to the 21st century, Radio took a wrong turn. No, it’s worse than that.  Radio slid [...]

With the death Saturday of Paul Aurandt—better known as Paul Harvey—we have seen the passing of a true Radio legend. Harvey’s Radio career began in 1933 when, as a 14-year old high school student, he landed a part-time job at KVOO in Tulsa. While many of us started part-time in Radio, Harvey’s career was exceptional. [...]

“We have a special this month,” said the sales manager. “Anyone who takes our Mega Monster Package before the end of the month will get 20% off.” There is a buzz among the sales reps. This is a good deal! “And it’s good only for new advertisers.” You’ve probably heard this many times before; a [...]

As the drumbeat grows for re-instatement of the “Fairness” Doctrine, it is becoming ever more obvious that most of the lawmakers in Washington have a great deal of ignorance about the free market. In the legislators’ opinion, talk Radio listeners must be required to listen to certain programs — whether they want to listen or [...]

Have you ever agreed to a long-term, low-rate schedule and later come to regret it? It has happened to many of us. The allure of a large gain in total revenue can blind us to the long-term consequences. A wise Radio mentor educated me long ago that each ad on your station is worth exactly…what [...]

Why is it that Radio and TV sales people sell “spots” and newspaper people sell “ads”? Does what you call a thing make a difference? A lot of people on Madison Avenue certainly think so. It’s my position that one Radio ad is equal to one newspaper ad. We demean our product by referring to [...]