"When You Got Money, You're Funny…." - Steve Grubbs - MediaBizBloggers

For years I have listened to those in the media sales community whine about their frustrations with the media agencies. They've pointed to canceled meetings and un-returned phone calls. They've complained about being shuffled off to junior level personnel who are not empowered to make a decision, or worse yet, they were subjected to that old Three Stooges routine where each of the three Stooges just point at the other two, and nobody makes a decision.Some of this complaining I'd write off simply as "sour grapes". The agency wasn't buying what they were selling, and probably for sound reasons, but they didn't like it. However, until you walk a mile in someone else's shoes&#8230; you don't really appreciate their predicament.Last week, I participated in meetings with three different media agencies, where we&#160;pitched some branded content projects in partnership with one of the top TV distributors. At two of the three agencies our reception was very professional. They offered constructive feedback. They seemed truly interested in seeking out new ideas for their clients. They were generous with their time and very professional in their demeanor. We'd love for them to buy our projects, but if they don't, I'll respect that decision.The third meeting was very different. The agency team showed up ten minutes late&#8230; not a big deal. Their most senior group leader canceled at the last minute&#8230; disappointing, but it happens. We opened the meeting by respectfully asking how much time we had for our presentation (we had scheduled an hour). The terse response, "You've got 20 minutes". Huh??Let's discount the callous reply. Let's ignore that we traveled a great distance from NY to meet this group. Let's overlook that this response was directed to the President of Sales of a significant and growing network. Let's postulate that this person was having a bad day, or she was a last minute substitute in the meeting for her boss, because she clearly didn't want to be there. If this were an isolated situation, then I'd write it off as an unfortunate experience.However, now that I am on the outside peering in, I will tell you that this type of experience is unusual but increasingly common. All agencies are understaffed and time challenged these days. They are inundated with requests for meetings and presentations. And given the quality of many sales presentations, it's no surprise that a certain level of ennui and frustration sets in.Based on some rudimentary calculations, in my previous life (the First Act) I probably sat through more than 5,000 media sales presentations over the course of three decades. Less than 5% of these were truly exceptional. Maybe another 20% were a complete waste of time. The majority of them just plain sounded alike after a while. Yawn. There were several times when I wanted to throw an ill-prepared or particularly grating salesperson out of my office. Through it all I always tried to be respectful of them and hear them out&#8230; even when I was having a very bad day.Good manners and respect aside (and they should never put aside), there are important reasons why agencies should be cognizant of how they treat salespersons. First, media owners won't stop selling. If you don't hear them out, you cede your role as "gatekeeper". They will either approach your client directly or knock on the door of one of that client's other agencies. They will circumvent you, and your behavior has given them permission to do so. Second, agencies never know where the next big idea will come from. They will likely never see it, if they treat media sellers shabbily, because they'll go to your competitors first. Third, the salesperson calling on you today, may be your client or your boss tomorrow. Yes, I've seen it happen. (Or, in my case, I might be friends with your client or boss today.) Finally, when clients are in the hunt for new agencies partners, they frequently ask salespeople for their point of view on agencies. It takes a long time to build a reputation, but it can be blown apart very quickly.Years ago an old bartender told me, "When you got money you're funny, but when you're broke, you're a joke". Some agency personnel need to remember that it's their client's money and not theirs. Without it, the agencies aren't so funny.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.Read all Steve&#8217;s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at My Second Act.Check us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggers.comFollow our Twitter updates @MediaBizBlogger

"When You Got Money, You're Funny…." - Steve Grubbs - MediaBizBloggers

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