Pending Business: Recruitment 3.0
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
It’s that time of year. College graduates are pushing out resumes. Are you open for entry level sellers? Any turnover on your sales team this year?
In April, we reviewed new data impacting today’s college graduate entry-level sellers. 97% are open to jobs unrelated to their new degrees. 56% of Americans, as in their parents, do not believe a college degree is worth it anymore.
There’s more. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, a survey by college healthcare provider Timelycare, shows 53% of (2023) graduates want a full work-from-the-office environment, while only 21% are good with total remote. Are we saying entry-level sellers WANT to work from the office? These young people want the commute, politics, and distractions of the office workplace environment. Are you kidding me? The good old days?
The survey results do make some sense when you stop to realize most of the new grads spent a good part of their COVID-impacted college lives logging into classes, missing several semesters of lecture hall instruction and dorm life.
Now comes the closer: these isolation years caused these new grads a lack of “soft skills” or what we used to call social skills. Recruiters, colleges and universities are now coaching these new grads in everything from “How to Start a Conversation,” to proper in-office dress, to eating at the same pace as your business lunchmate.
Not kidding here, all you 50- and 60-something sellers and managers. This round of recruiting entry-level sellers is totally about “How To…” and you may want to consider video and an eBook once hired.
Let’s face it, with AI coming fast, the future is here and like everything else in sales, there is no clear “How To…” handbook. But recruit we must as nothing happens without a seller. Loyalty is quickly fading as new, younger sellers want a different experience.
Let’s prepare a starter list for recruiting entry-level sellers in today’s world. Here are 10 suggested questions and concepts to cover the basics:
— Why do you want to join our sales team?
— What do you think is the most important quality a seller must have?
— How would you define a sale?
— When was the last time you experienced rejection? What did you do?
— Give me an example of a recent success in a competitive situation.
— If you could do anything professionally, what would it be?
— I am going to hand you my pen. Sell it to me.
— What is the difference between a Winner and a Champion?
— What do you think the most important thing an advertiser wants to hear from a seller?
— Tell me what specifically brings you to sell for _______?
I’m sure you have your own recruitment strategy/profile. Is it current? For the seller, that younger team member may be different from what you expect. The best seller I coached was an Art History major.
Steve Lapa is the president of Lapcom Communications Corp. based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Lapcom is a media sales, marketing, and development consultancy. Contact Steve Lapa via email at: Steve@Lapcomventures.com.
Morning Charity Foundation has raised more than $1.4 million and has written hundreds of grants, including a $ 7,000 donation to the Broadcasters Foundation of America presented on June 2 TALKERS 2023 held at Hofstra University. The Hurley in the Morning Charity Foundation also presents an annual Charity Gala at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. This year’s event takes place on September 29 and this year’s guest of honor and keynote speaker will be FOX News superstar Brian Kilmeade.
May 2023 PPM Data – Information for the May 2023 survey period has been released for Austin, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Greensboro, Memphis, and Hartford.
from the 2023 TASTE AWARDS. “What’s Cookin’” won its award for Best Food or Drink Radio Broadcast in a ceremony that took place in Beverly Hills. Horn says, “We are thrilled to have been selected as the TASTE AWARD winner in the all-important Best Food or Drink Radio Broadcast. It’s quite an honor to be recognized by those who voted for “What’s Cookin’ Today” and it’s quite an honor to bring the show daily to our incredible national listening audience.”
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indelible and immeasurable.” Since 2008, Kitchin has been president of the talent management firm, Sound Mind LLC, with a focused effort toward managing the businesses of high-profile radio and podcast personalities as well as production companies. He also serves as a strategic advisor to Oxford Road, a media placement agency specializing in audio advertising, with a focus on podcasts and audio integrations. The nine-year-old agency is a leader in the audio space on behalf of more than 50 clients. Kitchin also serves as chairman of the National Radio Hall of Fame to which he was appointed in 2014. Since assuming the role, he has reinstituted national public voting for two of the six categories of induction and has doubled the voting participant panel. Under his leadership, more than 75 radio icons have been inducted. Prior to launching his own firm, Kitchin was one of the founders of Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., in 1987. The company grew to be the number one radio network in the country syndicating 90 radio programs and services to more than 4,600 radio affiliates, reaching 190 million listeners weekly. He started as executive vice president of sales and by 1998 at the age of 37, he assumed the role of president/COO, one of the youngest in the country to run a $300 multi-million-plus radio company. During his 10-year tenure at Premiere, Kitchin directed and oversaw all talk and music programming and services featuring a wide array of the nation’s most popular personalities. In addition, he supervised Premiere Radio’s other properties: Mediabase 24/7, the industry’s leading music monitoring service, MJI Programming, and FOX Sports Radio. Kitchin started his career in station management at WFMK-FM in Lansing, MI, and KTYD-FM in Santa Barbara, CA before serving as sales manager of the Katz Radio Group Network in Los Angeles. 
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delighted to have him as a guest in this setting and at this time.” In a fast-paced session sponsored by Collette guided travel tour specialists, Ruddy and Harrison engaged in a candid conversation about positioning, programming and navigating the infrastructure of modern media including print, digital and radio as well as cable news/talk television. 
How about a collective “thank you” to the 45th president of the United States for keeping your talk radio programming relevant, timely, unpredictable and most of all engaging?
gathered outside the Federal courthouse and calls from Mike’s nationwide audience giving their perspective on this unprecedented moment in our nation’s history. In addition to broadcasting his nationally-syndicated talk show from Salem/Miami….Gallagher and “Mike Gallagher Show” staffer Tracee Stockwell will then head to the Federal Courthouse where political supporters of the 45th president are organizing what’s being billed as ‘a peaceful rally in support of President Trump.’” Video of the Gallagher special will also be cleared live on the Salem News Channel.
cable channel while speaking on WABC’s “Sid & Friends in the Morning” program. When asked by the Post about details of a bid for CNN, including how much he’d pay, he said, “It’s up to the investment bankers to come up with the numbers… We could always bring partners in, but I want to run the place. We are capable of putting down a substantial amount of money.” Catsimatidis added, “I’d go run the place tomorrow morning, and all I’d want is $1 per year and a piece of the upside,” saying he could “double the profits” in a brief period of time. 
within the realm of the company going forward?” “How can radio remain true to its roots and mission as an audio medium and theater-of-the-mind without missing the opportunities provided in a multiplatform environment?” plus more. Pittman says that this is a “golden moment” for both radio and the larger field of audio in which it is and will remain a major player. He pointed out that “25% of iHeart’s stations do not play music” and that more and more shows on the company’s music stations are “actually talk shows that play little or no music at all.” He reaffirmed the company’s awareness that personality plays an important role in the presentation of music and it is its intention to pivot back in that direction. He candidly addressed the divide between the coastal elites who influence the direction of national media but are largely out of touch with the heartland and the rest of real America. 
SalemNOW for rental or purchase. SalemNOW general manager Robert Ellis comments, “It’s a privilege to partner with The Epoch Times to offer their incredible film, LEAVING CALIFORNIA, on SalemNOW.” The film’s writer and producer Siyamak Khorrami 
comments, 
have embraced YouTube as the number one podcast platform, especially with podcast discovery. Cumulus Media EVP, marketing and president, 
community’s access to Michigan’s most influential political, civic, and business newsmakers.” Moving to mornings is current early afternoon host Guy Gordon, who becomes host of “JR Morning” from 6:00 am to 9:00 am. “All Talk” with Tom Jordan and Kevin Dietz airs from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. Following “Focus” will be the 
newly created “JR Afternoon” show with host Chris Renwick from 2:00pm-4:00pm, followed by “The Mitch Albom Show” from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Additionally, WJR is bringing back “SportsWrap” with host Sean Baligian airing from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Cumulus Detroit VP and market manager Steve Finateri says, “Launching the ‘Focus’ show will give Paul W. Smith the opportunity to expand, on and off the air, his unmatched relationships with Michigan’s most influential newsmakers, for the benefit of our audience and our advertising partners. WJR is ‘The Great Voice of the Great Lakes’ and going 100% local is a big win for all Michiganders who count on WJR to inform and educate us about everything happening here in our state!” WJR program director Mike Wheeler adds, “What a lineup! Each of our talent is a brand unto themselves and have a unique vision and take on the events that shape the news. We are absolutely living up to our claim that WJR is where Michigan comes to talk.”
I’m sorry.