By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
BLOCK ISLAND, RI — Chutzpah!
That’s the way most AM/FM radio vets reacted to the recent SiriusXM ads. By now you should know about the upheaval over the “Why waste your time with AM/FM radio?” broadside attack launched last week.
Imagine, a frenemy like satellite radio calling our baby ugly. Chutzpah! Nobody does that to the people who gave most satellite radio talent their start, right?
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Can we please stop the whining!
Have you noticed that annoying trait creeping up more often in your daily routine? From hospitals to hospitality, airlines to air conditioning repair, understaffed businesses are short-handed, resulting in unproductive pushback.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Halftime is over.
July is here and Q3-Q4 is looking a little foggy. The crystal ball is clouded with recession, inflation and new competition.
The good news is by now you’ve met with your manager and second half adjustments are in place. You have agreed on the course correction expectations and the game plan that will help you power through the dynamics of a constantly changing business environment.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — When the Supreme Court first ruled on Roe v Wade in 1973, talk radio was a fledgling niche format struggling to help re-establish fading interest in AM radio. Fast-forward 50 years to last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that could drive well-programmed talk radio stations to the forefront of every community.
As the ruling to reverse Roe v Wade works through societal and financial issues, could 50 years of history be reversed? Could the impact change the next 50 years of talk radio? Here are three possible shifts that could change your talk radio marketing strategy.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Seems there was a research release rally last week. Did you show up?
Probably not. Based on my sample base, most sellers were heads down doing what they like to do best. How about your manager? Did the boss bring something new to the tool kit? Sorry, bosses out there. If not, no worries. Read on as we scan my yellow highlighter for the quick notes.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Always taken for granted, forever undersold by radio sellers. So goes this 112-year-old celebration. Could it be because it was created as a complement to its senior partner, Mother’s Day? Or could it be because it was started in Spokane, Washington? It really doesn’t matter. Father’s Day is now a $20 billion dollar business that rarely dominates a radio sales meeting. Did you have a full sales meeting devoted to selling into the Father’s Day gift giving cycle?
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — What is with the plethora of bar graphs showing us what we already know? Do we really need another thermometer “Why listeners consume radio/audio” graph?
I guess we do need another study for the tidbit that is the premise behind hundreds of thousands of daily newscasts. This all started with a caveman pounding out the news on a log, then discovering fire, realized smoke signals attracted a bigger audience and the concept of results from a newscast was established. Maybe some of us are still at the campfire, or still selling like it.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — What critical personality trait connects you, the seller, to your leading talk show host? I’ll bet you never gave that a minute of your time!
This important trait in every top seller and top talker is present on every sales call and in every show. It is not a skill or learned technique, but if this one trait doesn’t shine properly, performance will suffer. Pause here as we zoom back.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — That’s what happens when most of your sales or management life is spent at one station or in one market.
On the one hand, you know your station and market inside out. You are the tour guide who can navigate the advertiser through every fork in the road. You are proud of your station’s heritage and conversant with the demographics, psychographics, and socioeconomic profile of the population that resides in your coverage area. Rates, packages, program lineups, and historical revenue figures are at the tip of your tongue. Any out of the ordinary question is answered with a fast access, “Let me get back to you.” All are important traits that are critical components for top sellers and managers.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Somewhere along the line someone changed the lyrics.
Our advertisers, our customers, became “partners.” Now that’s weird.
Do our advertisers (customers) really want a partnership in the true sense of the word? Or do our advertisers want what everyone else wants: maximum value at the best price?
Supermarkets don’t call shoppers partners, yet we are regular spenders seeking value for the dollar, same with the gas station. No partners at the produce section or the gas pump, just us regular customers.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Here is a tip or two to help you increase your income.
Drop these two old school excuses from your sales banter and get closer to the winning side of your business interactions.
I am as serious as your commission check. What I am about to share, fresh from the field, is as old as your first pocket calculator with the same limitations of performance, yet I hear this day after day in my marketing work. It’s old, tired, and needs to go.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Last week was one for the media history books. For stock market watchers, last Friday was a nauseating roller coaster ride. In case you were off the grid, here’s just a taste.
Netflix lost $50 billion in value, CNN+ shut down after a month, Meta (Facebook) has already lost almost half its value, and Elon Musk may still wind up with Twitter. A top 50-market radio station we use in my marketing work raised rates by 250% as ratings slid.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — News and talk radio sellers are boring.
Sorry if I offended you. But that’s what I see in the marketing work I do.
It’s all about numbers on paper. If ratings are not part of the pitch, it comes down to a laundry list of predictable guests, a boilerplate bio, and whatever else is fast and easy.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — How easy is it to do business with you?
I’m betting it’s more difficult than you think. Most professional sellers rarely “eat their own dog food,” as in be the advertiser at your talk radio station.
Try this exercise. Be the client trying to make an advertising inquiry. Is the experience of going through the switchboard at your station friendly or is it the typical “if you know your party’s extension….”? Is it a confidence builder or killer as you go undercover and try to navigate becoming an advertiser?
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Imagine the next wave.
The Great Town Hall Debate is a video game designed by experts, where players pick political parties, moderators, topics, questions, debaters, venue and media coverage. Can our video game be so advanced you can program facial expressions, gesture reactions, even voice volume and inflection? Maybe some gaming wizard is working on the concept as you read this, or maybe not. But let’s go with it for a minute and sell it.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Have you noticed the marketing driving the madness this March? The marketing machine seems to be present everywhere — especially the sports book marketing. It’s reinventing how marketers use some old school media.
Last time we noticed, our friends in the bus shelter business simply painted bus bench backs or posted large signage in the bus shelters. This static advertising supported branding, location-based ads, and in the case of the old school bus bench, catchy phrase, logo or headshot and phone number.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Maybe it’s time take a minute and reimagine how news/talk radio is sold. I am serious. Because your company is offering audio options like:
1) Fight clutter with less inventory.
2) Offer host-read endorsements.
3) On-demand.
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Let me be the first to predict this year will be one of the biggest Mother’s Day sales cycles on record. Call me crazy, but everything on my broadcast sales radar is pointing in the right direction and the wind should be at your back. See if this fits your profile:
Yes? No? Maybe?