Rodney Dangerfield & Media Sales - Steve Grubbs

I am baffled by the ongoing turnover of Sales Managers and Chief Revenue Officers these days at so many media companies. At a time when more and more media companies are competing for marketer ad dollars, and revenue growth is so critical to their success, sales leaders should be key players on their corporate leadership teams. In the most successful companies, they are. However, within many media companies, they are increasingly becoming the Rodney Dangerfields of their organizations.

For those of you not familiar with Rodney Dangerfield, he was a stand-up comedian famous for his "I don't get no respect" routines. And it certainly seems sales leaders don't get enough respect these days for their part in building a company. Rather they frequently get much of the blame when companies fall on difficult times.

Media sales can be hard. There are more media salesmen than ever before chasing a handful of media buyers in an economy where there has been little increase in the total pie of ad dollars. Media sales can be really hard when you're selling a second or third tier cable network or a new product/service that doesn't fit neatly into traditional media buying agency silos. And media sales can be really, really hard when you're selling a new product or service and working for a management leader with no background or understanding of the sales process. These are the management leaders that hear that little voice whispering inside their heads that there's a prettier dance partner out there that will drive greater revenue growth. Or maybe that voice is whispering it's just time for a change. Give me a new dog to hunt, because the old one isn't learning any new tricks.

Below are some of the reasons why Sales Leaders are being fired today (Okay, I've taken some creative license here). Actually, this is what the boss is really thinking when he's saying, "We're going in a different direction".

1) We have the absolute coolest programming (or site or platform) on the planet. The agency buyers should be lining up for this. Even a chimpanzee could sell it, but apparently you can't.

2) We promised the Private Equity guys a 100% increase in ad revenue, but you only delivered 60% growth. I can't recall if we consulted you on these forecasts, but that's irrelevant.

3) We just hired a new CEO. You haven't met him, but the guy he is replacing you with claims he will double our sales revenues.

4) Our consultant says you've underpriced our inventory and that you should be selling mega-packages to mega-advertisers. Our hash-mark ratings are no excuse. (See #1 above).

5) You missed our sales goal by 20%!! Yes, our audiences were down 30%, but you'rethe head of sales, and you missed the target.

6) You missed our sales goal by 20%!! Yes, ad spending was down 10% this year. Yes, you cautioned us. But, how can we believe you after you low-balled last year's sales goal?

7) Lunches, dinners, sporting events, concerts… with all the money you spend on media buyers, they should be spending more with us!

The ad sales unit is only one component in a media company's success, but they are on the firing line, literally and figuratively, every quarter. The programming or product may be weak, the financial plan may be misguided and the marketing may be abysmal… but the sales leader is still held accountable for driving revenue growth.

Yes, there are some superior sales leaders... and some inferior ones. Yes, the best ones can clearly make a difference in an organization. But it seems increasingly sales leaders are often the scapegoats … and certainly, they don't get no respect.

Steve Grubbs is President and founder of Second Act Media consultancy. Second Act Media is an advisor to companies working in the media, marketing, entertainment and sports industries. Steve can be reached at steve.grubbs@secondactmedia.com.

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