The economic impact of COVID-19 has had devastating effects on your station and local businesses. As we begin to emerge from this crisis, clients will start demanding more from you as you provide solutions that address the new challenges that merchants and consumers are facing. Your pre-COVID selling process isn’t going to be enough. You have an opportunity to restructure how you sell your station’s traditional and digital products and now is the time to redefine your competitive advantage. Going forward, your clients will evaluate you based on your resilience and ability to provide sound business leadership. It is your responsibility to rise above other local marketing reps with creative thought and implementation. Changes to your daily routine and professional life will be required. Come see how to do it!  Register at http://localbroadcastsales.com/lbswebinars/

“Trends in Local Sales of OTT Advertising”

Thursday, June 18, 2020
1:00 – 2:00PM
Presented by Jack Zavoral, Local Media Association

This webinar will explore go to market strategies for local TV stations in the OTT/ Connected TV space.

Programmatic Advertising is one of the most important topics for advertisers and marketers to know and understand. In order to help explain this topic in more detail I’m hosting a 30 minute webinar on the topic three times a week from now through June. Sign-up for the next session for free using the below link.

When: Every Monday/Wednesday/Friday @ 2:00 PM EST
Host: Ben Silverstein – Founder, AdCoach
Click Here to Join: https://adcoach.webinarninja.com/automated-webinars/7103/register

Digital advertising is growing at an exponential pace and more and more companies are shifting their focus to selling digital offerings. However, for those with a traditional media background learning where to start can be a challenge. This webinar breaks down the basics like Targeting, KPI & Success Metrics, and how to build a digital proposal.

When: Every Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday @ 3:00 PM EST
Host: Ben Silverstein – Founder, AdCoach
Click Here to Join: https://adcoach.webinarninja.com/automated-webinars/7231/register

Catch up on COVID-19 inspired sales seminars the VAB has made available free to our members over the last few weeks:

“Working with Agencies More Effectively: Post Pandemic” from 5/21 by Emmie Musser, Güd Marketing

Making Your Mark In A Recovering Economy! from 5/12 by Paul Weyland

The Survival Marketing Workshop from 4/23/20 by Mike Blinder

Enough! Part 1 from 4/15/20 and Enough! Part 2 from 4/22/20, both joint presentations by Derron Steenbergen from Swagger Institute and Speed Marriott from P1 Learning.

Political Advertising Refresher from 4/16/20 by David Oxenford as well as his slide deck.

Broadcasters Can Be Sales Leaders During an Unsettled Economy from 4/14/20 by
Mark Levy.

Selling Through a Pandemic from 3/31/20 by Paul Weyland.

COVID-19: Be the Best in Your Market from 3/26/20 by Gary Moore, Tim Burt, Mary Levy and Paul Weyland.

Veteran sales trainer Chris Lytle has made some free resources available right now:

1. Link to a recorded webinar from March 22, 2020: Prospecting Magic: New Ideas for Landing More First Meetings (Pandemic Edition).
2. Link to a collection of 44 of the best YouTube videos on sales, advertising and leadership to help you bounce back quickly when things “normalize.”
3. Link to an article, Economic Update: April 6, 2020: Partial V Shape. Share it with your sales team and consider having them share it with their advertisers and prospects. It will help people see there’s a plan to get the economy going.

Quarantraining: “5 Ways to Create an Amazing Customer Experience”:

Award winning Customer Service Speaker Shep Hyken is offering his virtual training course “5 Ways to Create an Amazing Customer Experience” free of charge! It’s only about 30 minutes long and you can take it anytime! Register here

Free Coronavirus Ad Swap:

• It’s crucial that your advertiser’s messages are relevant to current reality and we want to help you achieve that.
• Creative Ready is making a series of radio & television commercials available free of charge, which will allow you to swap out current ads while leaving space to insert your clients business name and details.
• Access Creative Ready Coronavirus As Swap spots

Free Access To Select P1 Learning Courses

P1 Learning is giving sales people free access to 11 of their courses to help alleviate some of the fears around the coronavirus, tips on planning for a pandemic and what to say to a client or potential client that is afraid to advertise in these uncertain times.

Revenue Development Resources

Download a 6 minute video from Mark Levy

“It is worth noting that in the days since I recorded that video, the world has changed greatly, with many states implementing longer-term self-quarantine and complete closures for many different types of businesses. That said, I believe that most everything that was in the video is still valid. As a follow up, a number of stations asked me to put together some “best practices” for dealing with these times. Please feel free to share as you see fit”
– Mark Levy, President, RDR

1. Take a look at our schedules that are running to make sure that we don’t lose that which we should keep because of a mistake. This means double checking schedules for accuracy and also taking a look at the copy to see if it is in line with what is going on in the world right now today. As an example Ford has moved his advertising to doing more of here’s what we are going to do to help you through this economic crisis with your car payments etc. There is a clip from the movie “Mr. Mom” that really speaks to this. I am not suggesting stations reduce their prices, but rather share this with the team so they can be thinking about what they need to have THEIR clients do to keep customers buying.
2. As people consider the ramifications for going out in public, speed of service becomes very important. Anything your clients share about how doing business with them will get your audience in and out faster probably has greater importance today than ever before. .
3. If your team is working from home, consider a daily Skype or video GoTo meeting check in with the sales teams just so there is still that sense of community. Video to me is much better than a conference call, as it combats isolation better.
4. Request that sellers actually get dressed for business when they work from home. Having worked from home for a long time, it was easy to think when I first started it that I could wear my fuzzy slippers and still do business. That was not the case.
5. Put a mirror by the phone. The sales team will probably spend more time on the phone than ever before and if they look scared or nervous it will transfer through the phone. Having that mirror by the phone will allow the team to look at themselves and see that they are conveying strength and confidence.
6. Self-growth. There are three books that I recommend all sales people read.
   1. How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients by Jeff Fox
   2. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Yoss
   3. Selling The Invisible by Harry Beckworth
   4. Does Your Ad Dog Bite (Or Is It Just a Show Dog?) by Roy H. Williams
7. Finally, what we believe about what is going on is true or exaggeration is not important.  What is important is what our clients believe. And if their beliefs are crosswise from ours, we get nowhere by arguing with them or calling their baby ugly. Empathy plays a very important role in any sales effort, but probably more so now than ever before. So remind your team to be nice. Certainly they are under stress as are their clients and only by working together can everyone come out on top.