Give 'Em a Deal, or Give 'Em an Idea? - Bob Sherman - MediaBizBloggers

Early this week a colleague an atypically good manager was complaining that this blustery winter was wreaking havoc with his advertising supported business The retailers that he relies on to purchase advertising are finding their stores empty of customers and so they are tightening their belts and cutting their ad spendquotWell you39ve at identified your problem now whatquot I askedquotI39m going to offer a great pricing package for an immediate long term commitmentquot was his response His strategy to get customers who won39t advertise because their customers won39t shop for nonessentials during a tough snow fall was to lower his prices Here39s the message that strategy sends to his advertisers quotMy business is way off because your business is way off So I39m going to cut my price to you so my business will get betterquotNow if I39m a retailer approached with this proposal I39m thinking quotLet39s see I39m getting killed because no one is coming in but I can get less killed per ad if I take advantage of this seller39s problem Hey thanks but no thanksquotMake today the first day of the rest of your business life by telling yourself that every client you ever contact will immediately quotget itquot that it is him first last and always that you serve Not you and not your boss HimSnow Everyone is holed up in their homes and no one is going out to buy a new suit car washing machine What39s the strategy to get them out and over to my haberdashery dealership or appliance centerquotMr Jones Automotive News which no doubt you read reports that 17 of Americans intend to get a new car this year Clearly weather like we are experiencing today will not bring them out to execute that intentionBut what if you made an extraordinary offer good this snow week only and offered to pick folk up at their homes and drive them backfirst come first served in your weather prepared vehicle so they could see the new Altima And what if while in your showroom they could register to winetc etcquotquotMr Jones you will have an enormous share of voice because every other dealer has cut his ad spending Second those responding to the offer will be Intenders and so you will have a more than fair shot at selling them And finally your share of sales to Intenders will improve in what otherwise would have been a nothing weekquotWhat happened here A conversation about the client39s interest took place He probably listened and your stock with him went way upGreat SellingBob Sherman has 40 years experience managing relationships between media companies and advertisers in old and new media from radio cable and TV to the Internet and from sales executive to chief executive and from the biggest media corporations to his own entrepreneurial companies He is currently in partnership with Pilot Group LLC Bob can be reached at rshermanpilotgroupbizRead all Bob39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Great Sellers Go To HeavenCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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