I am often asked by clients, what is new in media sales? What do you have that is new? What is the new and improved way to sell?
While clearly there are new things that are happening in media sales all of the time: constant changes on the digital landscape, keeping up with social media, trying to keep up with all of the changes in your client’s business, emerging new industries, etc. But there are times when the “new and shiny” overshadow the fundamentals.
It is really irrelevant what the new way to sell is if you don’t have a good foundation and execute the basics and fundamentals:
- Are you fully staffed?
- How is your Talent Bank?
- Do you have a staff full of talented salespeople?
- Do you spend most of your time focusing on key accounts and target prospects?
- Are your sales metrics sufficient enough to know what is happening within your sales department and among your staff?
- Do you as a manager have a relationship with all of your super keys?
- Do you have a good relationship with all of your account managers?
- Do you have regularly-scheduled individual focus meetings?
- Are your management questionnaires and plans for each of your salespeople up-to-date?
- Do you have weekly regularly-scheduled in-field days with your salespeople?
- Do you have a strategic sales plan that you adhere to?
- Do your salespeople have complete weekly sales plans before the week begins?
- Do your sales meetings motivate and educate?
- Do you talk about HOW to develop sales rather than just HOW MUCH you are going to sell?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with new and improved, adjusting to the changing sales landscape, keeping up with what is going on in your industry and your clients' industries, being aware of the latest trends.
But your success in all that is new is going to be predicated on how you execute the basics and the fundamentals. I believe there is a quote that is apropos: The end depends on the beginning.
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