Steve Lapa – Page 2 – TALKERS magazine

Pending Business: AI vs the Personal Connection

By TALKERS | October 30, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Ready to go back to the future?

We may need more than Doc Brown and Marty McFly to understand this one: product reviews written by A.I., not humans.

It’s the subject of a debate happening between the mighty Gannett company, owner of Reviewed, and a group of writers and editors who work there. According to The New York Times, the writers and editors group claims several reviews were A.I. generated. The posted reviews in question were run through A.I. detection software and the results were a slim to none chance humans wrote the reviews in question. Gannett says, not so fast, the reviews in question were authored by real humans.

Now here is where we need a time machine to take us a few years into the future. Let’s look at the reviews on our favorite go-to shopping, restaurant or travel review websites. How do we know who really wrote those reviews? This could be a whole new level of truth and proper disclosure in advertising.

Consider the possibilities of A.I.-generated reviews. Is every consumer offering feedback comfortable sharing their name on a Google review when many businesses ask for a positive review? There is a simple alternative to the A.I.-generated product review debate, and it’s right in front of you.

The answer should be part of your daily talk radio local sales mission statement. Demonstrate to your advertisers and prospects the proven results your on-air talent delivers every day. Chances are you may be taking for granted how to bring to life the credibility and trust your local on-air talent earns with each show. Global events, roller coaster economies and shifting political dynamics are all part of the daily conversation on your talk radio station. As your air talent distills the issues for the audience, take a few calls and engage in an energetic dialogue, they develop a bond that is unique to talk radio.

So, imagine the difference in the mind of the consumer when they hear the review or referral from a trusted source versus wondering if the review or referral they read is from a human or A.I. generated.

Is that the DeLorean time machine I hear?

Industry Views

Pending Business: When it Matters Most

By TALKERS | October 16, 2023October 16, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

It may seem impossible, but you need to stay in your lane.

As we live through another dark chapter in world history, staying focused on what we do in sales and marketing will be a nearly impossible challenge. We live in a 24/7, always-on world constantly updating everything from everywhere.

As we work on the sales, marketing and management side, the news/talk and information programming side are in hyper mode logging on, weighing in, competing to never miss a beat. I remember when time stood still as the events of 9/11 shocked the world and time stood still. Talk radio hosts, producers and news departments tried their best to digest the events and offer some level of understanding to a listening audience. For the first time ever, the mainland of the United States of America had been attacked.

And here we are, frozen again. This time the events unfolded halfway around the world. Once again shock, unspeakable actions, thousands of innocent deaths, massive destruction. If you have been doing this long enough, we do have some level of experience with shocking events.

Once again, our talk radio hosts, producers and news teams will be a go-to source for millions of listeners across the country. How do we stay focused, selling, marketing, prospecting as local communities react to all this that is unfolding halfway around the world?

— Our thoughts and prayers are with those in harm’s way. As difficult as it may be, try and keep the opinionated politics away from your sales process.

— Keep the conversation neutral. A challenge for sure. If you are prepared there’s always positive to bring to your sales call.

— The calendar never quits. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, are all around the corner and with that a last-minute marketing opportunity.

— Why are 66% of the U.S. adults over 40 overweight? Blame the men, we always skew those numbers. Just helping with a little small talk …

As challenging as the next few days and weeks may become, your news/talk radio station will become an important resource for adults on the go who need to know. As you formulate your presentations, stay focused on the unique benefits only your radio station’s lineup can deliver in times of crisis. Your on-air talent have earned the trust of the audience the old-fashioned way…. by being there when it mattered most.

Industry Views

Pending Business: In Radio Sales, It Pays to Be a Great Listener

By TALKERS | October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Do you still struggle with keeping the dialogue moving in the right direction on your sales calls? Let’s face it, if you are not careful you could violate one of the golden rules of selling talk radio – be a great listener.

First calls are the most difficult, especially in this era of Zoom, Teams, etc. You try your best to develop rapport, build chemistry and move through a needs analysis as you learn about your potential advertiser. High achieving sellers have that special skill of blending questions and fun facts that build common ground while navigating the needs analysis through a range of questions designed to qualify the prospect and confirm a follow-up call.

Sounds simple enough, but why do most sellers fall short in the starting blocks. There is no mystery here to solve, this is Selling 101 that starts with preparation and ends with a commission check. Let’s walk through some start points:

If you are responsible for any of the 26.5 billion minutes viewed of “Suits” on Netflix, you know that Harvey Spector (lead character) earned millions doing homework and knowing how to ask the right questions. How about you? Are you prepared to ask the right questions and listen to the answers that will lead you to comeback with the right proposal? Sometimes keeping the dialogue moving can be challenging. Perhaps you’ve asked too many questions that went nowhere or just resulted in one-word answers. What to do? A recent article in Make It quoted Matt Abrahams, a public speaking expert at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, who suggests saying, “Tell me more” during a conversation is the secret sauce behind improving the communication flow.

Makes sense. Showing genuine interest in what your advertiser is saying, allowing more information to be shared, with you spending more time as the listener helps everyone develop better rapport and move closer to a win-win. I have always been a big fan of another Golden Rule of Sales: “Words matter.” Have you ever finished a call and asked yourself, “Why did I say that!?” It all goes back to preparation. If you know what to ask, how to allow your advertiser to expand on a key point, and do more listening than talking, your sales should increase, and your commission checks will show it!

Industry Views

Pending Business: Still Learning

By TALKERS | October 2, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

I think it was the great Michelangelo who said, “I’m still learning.” Three simple words that can make or break any of us in marketing.

I am still amazed at the success and customer loyalty at Trader Joe’s. Why is it that a homespun marketing approach develops loyalty, when I have found more competitive prices and sometimes higher quality foods elsewhere?

Yet there I was lost in the regular South Florida Sunday crowd, standing in line, basket-to-basket, ready to check out. I have never heard or seen an ad for Trader Joe’s, yet the store was packed. The scene at the 59th Street store in Manhattan was quite similar last year when I spent three months in the city, or the one in D.C. close to my daughter’s home, even the Trader Joe’s in Sandy Springs, Georgia near my other daughter’s home was slammed on a Sunday three years ago.

Too much information for a column on sales and marketing? Believe it or not, I still can’t figure out how with no frequent buyer program, super discounts, or incentive marketing I became such a frequent shopper. I guess just like Michelangelo, I’m still learning.

Here is what I have learned from Trader Joe’s that connects the dots to our sales and marketing world.

— Keep it simple. Ever notice how the prices are clear, easy to read and seem to present a perceived value? How does your presentation packaging stand up? Does it take an IT expert to understand how to interpret your computer driven proposals?

— Everyone has something positive to say. I have never heard any of the folks at any of those locations say a negative word, even when parking was a game of musical cars. How about you? Are still blaming the boss for higher pricing or tighter credit?

— Variety is in the eye of the customer. Other stores with more square footage have greater variety. Sometimes you need it, most of the time you don’t. How many times have you thought to yourself, “There are just too many options in this pitch.”

— Got a complaint? We can fix that. Somebody please show us a local radio station training for excellent customer service. It just isn’t a long-term commitment. Maybe a perceived unnecessary expense in our business.

— Consistency. Like every successful enterprise that is public facing, consistency and dependability build trust and customer loyalty. How about us?

Sales and marketing are a dynamic process that is always adjusting to the competitive landscape and the needs of the customer. And that is why we should all follow Michelangelo’s lead and never stop learning.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Demo Talk

By TALKERS | September 26, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Attention news/talk radio sellers! Get ready to meet your new best friend… and it is not who you think it is.

Take a guess. Could it be a mega budget opening up from an advertiser targeting 55+?

No. How about your closest competitor admitting defeat and conceding it no longer makes sense to compete?

Close, but this could be better. This is the part where your new best friend becomes such a giant ally, making your demographic pitch so valid, you are left stone-cold speechless. This is where “The Golden Bachelor” answers the double “Jeopardy” question and you could become the next Ken Jennings of news/talk radio ad sales. Give up? Here is the story line.

The New York Times article “TV Networks’ Last Best Hope: Boomers” saluted, validated, recognized, and just about honored the news/talk radio 55+ audience value proposition. We could be talking about a new day for news/talk radio sellers.

When the highly resourced sales teams from linear network TV begin telling the same demographic value story that news/talk radio sellers have been telling forever, well then, it is time to start popping the champagne in your local sales department.

It seems that linear network TV programmers are finally conceding the 60+ audience is the remaining core audience for your favorite network television programs. According to the article, franchise programs like “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “The Voice” have median viewers over 64. Wait, what? Dr. Meredith Grey and the crew at Seattle Mercy are now appealing to seniors? It may have taken 400+ episodes, but the last man standing is indeed grey! The sellers at NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX could start singing from the same demographic page as news/talk sellers and the harmonics are sounding wonderful.

Please don’t be silly enough to think this will ever get truly competitive. No friends, this is where everyone wins if the selling stays at the value level. Media habits are changing at mach 4 speed, and nobody knows the change part of the business better than the terrestrial radio business. From fragmentation to consolidation, we’ve seen it all. Is the best yet to come?

Smart radio sales teams will embrace this opportunity. Do you still pitch the “older demo” value proposition with the anecdotal Grace Slick is 83, Mick Jagger is 80, and Elton John is 76? Time to start talking about the scene where 70-year-old Jerry Seinfeld says to 74-year-old Kramer, “I’m movin’ to Florida! You comin’ with me or not?”

Industry Views

Pending Business: A Little Change Can Do You Good

By TALKERS | September 18, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Last week, with little time left on the clock, Disney and Charter Communications made a deal so that Charter customers could continue to watch Disney programming. Phew! Just in time for 15 million Charter cable customers to have access to that 53-year-old American institution called “Monday Night Football.”

It’s amazing how the two sides came together just in time to preserve the TV viewing habits of millions of football fans and all those millions of ad dollars sold into the broadcasts. Although both Disney and Charter lobbed streaming options at viewers to help ease the temporary pain, in the end, cooler heads prevailed, and a deal was struck.

Not so fast, somebody buried a headline.

Just before Labor Day, the Charter guys were claiming the current cable TV bundling model ain’t what it used to be, in effect acknowledging the nearly 5 million people a year who cut the cable. The cable bundle value proposition is changing before our blurry gameday eyes, and more options are becoming accessible every day. Does any of this “I can get this somewhere else” ring familiar?

Try this at home. Ask any Gen Z people you know how often they listen to the radio. (Gen Z are roughly between nine and 26 years old.) Now ask the Millennials you know (roughly 27 to 42 years old). The results will frighten you as you realize the greatest freebie electronic entertainment ever invented is losing the future faster than cord cutters on steroids.

If you have been in the terrestrial radio business for longer than five years, you are aware of the melting ice cube future of radio. Even our friends in the newspaper business are changing with the times, looking for writers who will report specifically on Taylor Swift and Beyonce. They tour the world generating crazy numbers in ticket and music sales. Their appearances and social media impact everything from fashion to politics. How is that for changing a future value proposition?

Sports fan or not, are you in touch with the Coach Prime phenomenon happening at the University of Colorado? The story was featured on the soon-to-be 56-year-old “60 Minutes.”

Deon Sanders is changing college football in Boulder as fans gobble up seats at over $500 a piece.

The point of this column is simple. From cable to pop culture to Coach Prime, leadership is innovating, finding new ways to re-invent and re-package a premise as old as song and sport, a premise much older than the terrestrial radio business. Maybe we can all learn from what we sell.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Persistence vs Passion

By TALKERS | September 5, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Which is the more important “check the box” trait – persistence or passion?

Is it easier for your air talent to answer that one? Of course, we want passionate on-air talent – those who live for the opportunity to get behind the mic, break it all down for the audience or deliver the critical information that can save lives and calm the fears of an anxious audience.

In a week, for the 22^nd time we will remember the events of 9/11. During that historic window of time, I had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the passion that drives great on-air talent to power through the most difficult unknown to stay close to their audience and calm the fears of an audience in shock.

But we must also consider the day-to-day. How about your on-air talent and their producers who compete every day for that exclusive interview that will surely drive audience levels, advertiser results, and maybe a bonus or promotion?

They power through the multiple calls that are not returned, the polite put-off and unkept promises. Especially stinging is when a competitor winds up with the prize.

Persistence or passion? Stop. Right there you must consider the Abraham Lincoln theory of persistence. His mother died when he was nine, he went bankrupt at 27, had a nervous breakdown before he was 30, lost eight elections, finally in 1860 was elected president of the United States and one year later faced the greatest internal conflict in the history of our country – the Civil War.

Let’s go to sales.

Anyone passionate about selling? My number one theory in recruiting sellers from South Florida to San Francisco was and still is, nobody grows up wanting to sell radio advertising. On the other hand, many of us were and still may be passionate about being ON the radio (before or alongside podcasting, YouTube, Rumble, Tik-Tok and Instagram). The passion to perform runs deep through all media, music, theatre, sports, the law, medicine, even business. The passion to sell? Now that is one complicated conversation.

For what it’s worth, here is my theory. It takes both passion and persistence to be great. What attracts any high achiever to a long-term career typically begins with a passion play. A love for the game and the need to achieve. The harder you chase the dream, the more persistence comes into play. The more you learn the ins and outs of refining persistence, the more you will hit your stride in performing.

And there you have it! Touch those three magic “Ps” every day, passion, persistence, performance and the fourth will come your way: Profit!

Industry Views

Pending Business: Head Start

By TALKERS | August 28, 2023August 29, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

It’s time to start planning your holiday strategy.

Wait, what? You have not finished Q3 and here I am pushing Q4?

The fourth quarter is easily the most time consuming, thought provoking, overwhelming mish-mash time of the year for every Baby Boomer and Millennial walking the planet. Especially those of us who earn our keep marketing. The transition window from Q3 to Q4 is the perfect time to lock down your plan and that window is about to open.

Let us review priority planning:

If you sell at the national level, your upfronts are in play and gradually moving to the won-lost report as you juggle and balance your daily avails.

If you sell at the local level here are five thought starters, so start thinking:

— Second Opinions. As we review everything from our insurance, financial, legal and medical needs, everyone can use another set of eyes on the prize. Plans change, laws change, life happens. Suggest messaging that works. Start prospecting now.

— Gift Giving. Last year over $200 billion was spent on the holiday season. Will your audience spend more this year than they did last year? Considering online research is a part of daily life, when do the purchase decisions really begin?

— Politics. You don’t need this column to remind you nearly 13 million watched the debate on August 24. Voters are interested in how this tumultuous political scene will ultimately play out. Politics is big business, and nobody covers it better than talk radio. We are in this window through 2024, get focused on where you need to be.

— Holiday Travel. Just this past week, our family get together was impacted by airline delays, rescheduling, and traffic. Travelers will plan earlier and smarter. You may or may not have contacts at the airlines but consider all the businesses that thrive based on travel and tourism.

— Weather. Is there a market that is immune? From hurricanes and wildfires to snowstorms and floods, weather is a factor that can impact your business flow in both a positive and negative way. As we say here in Florida, Be Prepared!

I am guessing you have thought about everything you’ve just read. I never assume the gap from thinking to doing happens. You know what they say about assuming…

Industry Views

Pending Business: TV Knows Best

By TALKERS | August 21, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Bulletin: “Linear TV” is no longer the winner.

Linear TV is tech talk for combining over the air and cable TV, and according to Nielsen, July 2023 was the first-time streaming TV was the winner, as streaming captured most TV viewing.

From Netflix to YouTube, we are watching more content on streaming channels than linear TV. You have read about the resurgence in “Suits,” the legal drama that originally aired 2011-2019 and is now drawing 18 billion minutes of viewing on Netflix. Whether those 18 billion minutes are part Meghan Markle curiosity or part writers’ strike, does not matter. Those 18 billion minutes of viewing helped drive streaming viewership to an all-time high. Maybe streaming grabbed a page from that old radio handbook that starts with “Content is King.”

But the companies controlling the streaming ad-free experience on Netflix, Disney, Hulu, etc. seized the opportunity and raised rates. Soon, it will cost you more every month to watch your favorite content ad-free.

Wait a minute! Did I just say the ad-free experience as in commercial free or no interruptions? Did the streaming guys just take another page from the well-worn radio programming handbook and turn the commercial-free model upside down to increase income? Streaming channels will deliver commercial free programming and charge you anywhere from $13.99- $21.99 a month as the fees double and triple depending on when you started your subscription.

How about our friends at Amazon Prime jumping on “Thursday Night Football,” or Apple and Peacock pushing baseball? Do not forget the YouTube NFL packages starting at $250. No, this is not a veiled plug for paid programming, nor is it a critique of the value propositions offered in the streaming world. Time for a long look in the mirror:

— The commercial-free experience began when radio programmers dropped the commercials, programmed longer, commercial-free segments to drive listenership and ratings up. In the short term it worked. My hand is in the air, guilty as charged. Maybe I was one of the lone radio management voices who asked, “Then what, run the spots and drive the audience away? Are we sending the wrong message?” We were dumb. After commercial free came rates, packages, and promotions. None of us said, “Raise the rates when the commercial-free stops!” The streaming guys got it right – just raise the rates.

— There is no older radio programming mantra than “Content is King.” You can name the iconic talents with one word, Howard, Rush, Imus, yet major radio organizations struggle as they search for great, soon-to-be iconic talent. It is faster, easier, and more lucrative to become a Tik-Tok, YouTube, or Instagram star.

These are all just examples of how radio was first in and stopped innovating. There is some good news on the horizon. Facebook is stepping back from the news business as news organizations ban together and ask for compensation. This could be the first chink in Facebook’s 113-billion-dollar ad armor. Maybe not. Either way, the old school top-of-the-hour newscast, or large market all-news radio should be re-imagined, opening the door to the next generation of innovators.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Nobody Cut Their Way to the Top

By TALKERS | August 14, 2023August 15, 2023 by TALKERS

EDITORS NOTE: In addition to conveying a powerful message, the article below by industry expert, consultant and TALKERS contributor Steve Lapa contains a tremendous limited-time opportunity for the readers of this publication to partake in a free offer to receive a valuable radio sales support tool. We strongly suggest that readers involved in any way with radio sales read this article and take advantage of Steve Lapa’s offer at the end of the piece.

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Radio station personnel could be facing the worst environment – ever!

Endless bankruptcy headlines. Painful personnel cuts. Soaring retail prices. A number of radio companies are struggling, preparing for the worst and there is no cavalry in sight. No matter where we start sorting through the current tsunami of problems, every solution typically ends up in the same place: more income.

I could never understand why we don’t just cut to the chase. It would be a lot more efficient and a lot less painful if we all agreed on one premise – nobody cut their way to the top. Cost conscious, attention to expense detail and planned expansion is one thing… however destroying motivation, morale, passion and attraction for the radio business is fatal. Yet we continue to repeat the same mistakes. What do they say about doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different outcome?

Imagine if you invented the medium today. Simple advertiser pitch: reach 83-90% of the US population for a CPM lower than your favorite Starbucks drink. Yet, radio still has the never-ending low man on the electronic media totem pole advertising image. Consider all those direct response advertisers who started on radio and “graduate” to TV. Where were the radio sellers partnered with creators focused on performance? It’s a mess, I know. What does it take to power through a mess like the one we are in now? How do we come out the other side generating income for our companies, our families, and ourselves?

Start by looking in the mirror. Re-commit to getting your skills razor sharp and get your focus laser targeted. If you are a seller, manager or owner, re-educate yourself. If you are on the programming or on-air side, passionate about your content, help your sellers and managers. Time to learn the skills necessary to help your team and yourself at the same time. The radio business is becoming so undervalued and distressed, beaten down by too much debt and not enough disciplined, strategic thinking.

Let me step up. I AM WILLING to share my 40+ years of proven sales and management performance system with you for FREE. No risk, no exchange of dollars, because if we do not fix the radio problem NOW, we all go down together. Radio companies are preparing for the worst. Stop waiting, stop hoping. Go to https://3MinutePlanner.com and take advantage of my offer to help. Sellers, managers, owners, new-think programmers and talents, time to mount up and join the radio cavalry!

Industry Views

Pending Business: The Agony of Complacency

By TALKERS | August 7, 2023August 8, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

What happens when the world-wide leader is for sale? When they stopped spanning the globe 25 years ago, I thought the budget cut would help the leader. I could still hear the great Jim McKay describing the agony as Vinko Bogataj rolled down that ski slope in utter defeat. There were so many different images of the thrill of victory, but for most of the 37 seasons of “Wide World of Sports,” the agony of defeat was forever connected to that helpless Yugoslavian skier.

Maybe the real story of Disney/ABC/ESPN’s “Wide World of Sports” is lost in the silo of being first in on the marketing ladder and not recognizing opportunity.

The world-wide leader was the first to televise Wimbledon, the Indy 500, and who could forget the Pro Bowlers Tour? Not recognizing the need to expand into targeted sports coverage, pre-empt competitive efforts, and experiment with new media may be a flaw in an otherwise crown jewel. Did Mickey Mouse see the “Rugrats” coming? You mean history repeats itself when the successful get complacent and positive paranoia is the domain of the dot-com entrepreneurs?

Ok, it’s getting a little heavy here. This column is about sales and marketing, not business theory or case studies. Or is it?

The lessons here are classic and are a direct connect to your commission check.

ESPN is searching for answers, and when billions in ad sales, cable fees, streaming subscriptions and theme park attendance isn’t enough to goose the growth curve, well, Houston, we’ve got a problem. But let’s learn how to work with what surrounds us.

— What are the biggest challenges to your business base?

— Can you identify the challenges in your control, and which are not?

— How would you rank your competitors?

— As your local ad market shifts into more digital advertising, who are the winners?

— Can you name the five biggest digital-social media ad spenders in your market?

— Do you keep updated on new ad marketing opportunities presented to your clients?

Forgive the blurry lines that connected the dots in the Disney-ABC-ESPN story. The business lesson, however, is clear. Sellers can only control what they are asked to sell. But when complacency sets in at any level, take a time out and rethink your playbook.

Industry Views

Pending Business: The Big 20 Countdown

By TALKERS | July 31, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

No, this isn’t about college football or New Year’s Eve. Wait, maybe it is.

This is about getting you to start the 20 benchmarks every news/talk or sports talk manager, seller, even owner should be reviewing, analyzing, and preparing on their 2023/2024 calendars.

Call me the Detail Doctor, because as we all know the dollars are in the details.

Let’s start with August:

— College Football kicks off at the end of the month and your packages are closing out.

— The NFL season kickoff is full of new competition, so close, close, close.

— Labor Day is on the way and depending on your market dynamics unique packages could swing momentum your way.

— Early 2024 upfronts should be game planned now.

— Review your recruitment profile.

September:

— Election Day is 9 weeks away. Are you ready?

— Do you finalize goals/budgets for 2024?

— The Jewish community observes High Holidays at the end of the month.

October:

— Tweak your Q4 packages.

— Thanksgiving

— Christmas. Sunday/Monday this year.

— Too early for New Year’s Eve? Sunday/Monday this year.

— Financial Category. We all want second opinions, right?

— Legal. ditto

— Lock in your 2024 goals.

— Monitor pacing for 2024 upfront.

November:

— Check your crystal ball for final 2023/early 2024 performance.

— Daylight Saving Time ends. Change those clocks!

— Start thinking Vegas, baby for the February 11, 2024 Super Bowl.

— How did those upfronts close?

December:

— Renewals for 2024 done?

— Pacing for 2024?

— Actual selling days in the month is deceptive.

— Review those wins AND losses.

— Happy New Year.

This exercise is a simple, functional start point. Every seller, manager, and owner will add, delete, or adopt this list. My hope is you will move to do something to help your 2023 income finish big and 2024 start even bigger!

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.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Pulling the Rug Out from Under

By TALKERS | July 24, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

When was the last time you went shopping for a quality living room rug? Not an oriental, because that is just too easy. We’re talking high quality living room rug that will blend in and stand the test of time… and the dog. Next to fighting with a credit card company, it’s the worst shopping experience ever.

Try this at home when you have nothing better to do. Chances are you want to find the rug of your dreams, so you check out the major department stores. Up the escalator, walk through home furnishings and an employee may or may not be available. Most likely not, so you head to an adjacent department, and someone sends someone who barely knows the product and selection.

This scenario is repeated at most major department stores today, so off we go to our favorite furniture store where rugs are an accessory, like belts in the men’s store. No go here. Time to head over to the carpet, tile, and rug store.

Employees here are a bit more available and knowledgeable, but the quality and selection are just not quite right. Time for the expensive specialty store where expertise and service are #1 and so is price. $10,000 for that!

Time for the online experience to take over with countless purchase options, reviews, and confusing virtual reality options. This is getting painful. The attempted purchase is frozen in frustration. What does this have to do with what we do? Live and learn.

— Are you always available for your advertisers? When business is soft you lob in a mandatory attempt and move on. When business is through the roof, are you quick to return a call or open a new door?

— Do you simply walk through the same motions, or reflect the energy and enthusiasm of an exciting program lineup? Think of the rug seller, flipping through those rugs. Boring!

— Do you earn the price or just blame the boss? Since day one, some sellers find it easier to blame the boss instead of earning the value proposition.

— Are your advertisers frozen in frustration? Feel free to use the phrase that pays. Defrost that frozen decision maker before your competitor does.

A great program director once told me, the best on-air talents observe life with a pad and pen. Their notes come to life when the mic goes on. The same is true for great sellers and managers. Every purchase experience can improve your next call.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Shorter and Faster is Better

By TALKERS | July 17, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Looks like Major League Baseball is about to show the radio business how to score the winning run. Major League Baseball decided it was time to reverse the aging fan base, declining gameday gates, and shorten three-plus-hours of in-game boredom.

Despite the downhome storytellers doing play-by-play on radio and innovations of TV coverage, the game was getting tedious, and it was time for Major League Baseball to change or slowly but surely face the fate of the dinosaur.

Sound familiar? Yes, there are some baseball innovations that entertained people like the infamous mascots of yesteryear, but MLB is about the hallowed Hall of Fame heritage of pinstripes, red socks, and Dodger blue. Change means risk and in baseball swinging for the fences is a 1 in 18 shot.

Getting a little too close for comfort? Fans and sponsors needed a new spark to ignite baseball fever, so MLB responded with a pitch clock to speed up the game and bigger bases to bring back one of the most exciting plays in sports. Guess what? Games are being played faster, gameday attendance is up 8%, TV viewership is up 14% and according to the Insider, social media views are up 67% as under-35 demographics are up 14%. Let us start connecting the dots to our business.

— News/talk radio relies on a 55+ audience. Nothing wrong with the “money demo.” But talk radio needs to look ahead to what happens AFTER the election cycle.

— Most daily talk shows are three hours long. So were most MLB games… until this year. Shorter became better as attendance and viewership shot up. Wake up radio programmers, hosts, managers! Do we have the courage and budget to program and sell shorter, faster moving programs? Radio is so stuck in an outdated model; the low growth is about to make another appearance in bankruptcy court.

— Fans got excited and social media exploded. Last time I checked, Savannah, Georgia was Nielsen radio market #145. No news/talk radio station in the top 100 U.S. radio markets has as many Facebook followers as the Savannah Bananas baseball team.

— Fans and sponsors needed a new spark. What has your radio station offered lately that is new, exciting and lights the fuse for sponsors and listeners?

Recently, a 21-year-old baseball star stole two bases then decided to steal home and the fans went crazy. Through the years we have seen the play. But every time it happens the fans in the stands are on their feet, cheering, high fiving, and re-living every detail of the excitement. Baseball is back, bigger and better than ever. All of us can learn from today’s changes in America’s Pastime.

Industry News

Napolitano’s Podcast, CMG Partner for Sales and Marketing

By TALKERS | July 13, 2023July 13, 2023 by TALKERS

Judge Andrew Napolitano, his Ampere Parkway Productions, Lapcom Communications, and Crossover Media Group enter into a partnership to expand sales/marketing of Napolitano’s “Judging Freedom” podcast. Crossover Media Group managing partner Sue Freund tells TALKERS, “The addition of the ‘Judging Freedom’ podcast to our portfolio is an honor. This partnership signifies our commitment to bringing diverse voices to the forefront. CMG has seen the positive results the judge delivers for advertisers which has further reinforced our enthusiasm for being involved with – and taking – this podcast to the marketing community.” Lapcom Communications president Steve Lapa – who writes a weekly (Monday) column for TALKERS – comments, “The ‘Judging Freedom’ brand resonates with over five million fans each month. We look forward to the expertise of the Crossover Media Group team as they take ‘Judging Freedom’ to the next level.” Napolitano adds, “We are thrilled to embark on this exciting marketing partnership with everyone at CMG. Their expertise and dedication fit perfectly with our vision for the ‘Judging Freedom’ podcast.” Napolitano’s storylines have included legal, government, and national security issues. The partnership begins with Napolitano’s 30-minute interview of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Good News Bad News

By TALKERS | July 10, 2023July 10, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Survey says, the good news is, 49% of local direct advertisers use AM/FM radio.

The bad news is, the same survey says, 65% of that same group uses social media advertising. Advantage +16% for the digital team. The good news is, you are comfortable selling/managing digital and social media vehicles because like it or not your local advertiser is leaning in on the digital/social media advertising opportunity.

Survey says, more bad news, 54% of the local direct advertiser group is buying event-sponsorships. The good news is, you are comfortable selling/managing event-sponsorships because like it or not your local advertiser is leaning in on the event-sponsorship advertising opportunity.

Now for the closer, survey says, over 50% of these local advertisers are now budgeting only 2% of gross revenues on advertising. Thank you Borrell for the researched eye-opener and thank you pandemic for shrinking the local advertiser’s marketing dollar.

Show of hands, please, anyone reading this totally surprised? The online digital/social media advertising world has been on a double-digit growth tear as long as anyone can remember. The growth continues as AM/FM sellers stand by and watch the parade go by, sorry guys. The facts are… there are roughly 310 million smartphones in the U.S. According to the last Edison survey, 68% of U.S. homes own 1.5 radios. In round numbers 338 million radios at home. Wait, what? Are there almost as many smartphones as AM/FM radios at home? Anyone own more than one smartphone? I thought there was a radio in almost every room in your home. Not anymore, you say? Quite different from the average five radios per household when many reading this column earned their first double digit commission check as a member of that fun loving sales team. The times are a changin’ and I hope you are changing with the times. Let us start here:

Update your value proposition for “Why Radio?” Make it current and relevant to today’s media ecosystem.

Sharpen your new selling skills. Get ahead of the curve and leave your competitors in the dust.

Ask yourself, “What happened?” The numbers of smartphone users are growing. Maybe not as fast as in the past but growing. The number of AM/FM radios in the home is shrinking. Look to your leadership for some answers.

When the trend is NOT your friend, it’s time to think like the great leaders who built our country and media empires, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

Industry Views

Pending Business: You’re Halfway Home

By TALKERS | July 5, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Congratulations! You’ve made to the halfway point this year.

Stand by to prepare for the second half of the year like you never have before. This upcoming second half could be so confusing even WAZE may not get you home.

The economy is sending so many mixed signals it is almost impossible to distinguish flashing warning signs from healthy growth curves. From home sales to new car sales, prices are holding as mortgage rates are at a 15-year high and new car prices redefine sticker shock.

Hiring in many categories was robust over the last few months, signaling a better economy ahead. Here comes the tricky part. For most in the news/talk sales world, the next quarter isn’t exactly on fire and as usual precious few sellers and managers are working on Q4 as they wrestle with the headwinds they now face.

Sorry to report there is no fast fix or instant solution. But let’s at least try to review some basic game planning:

— Are you still spraying and praying, or have you zeroed in on growth targets? Every survey says, “revenge travel” and dining out are big factors in local economies this year. What’s on your target list?

— Open your eyes. What’s hot and what’s not? Here in Florida, there are two Peloton stores in two major malls as well as a full display in our local Dick’s Sporting goods. All three venues are forever uncrowded – as in empty. Yet have you checked out the price of bicycles, golf clubs, or leisure wear? The consumer is spending, but not where you may think.

— Back to the basics. Medical, dental and general wellness should always be on your radar as most of us are ready to invest in health and happiness. Does the category profile show on your target list?

— Unpredictable economies require smarter financial and legal plans. Are your listeners ready for a financial check-up? Laws change and staying current with tax and estate laws is always a challenge. The news/talk audience always over-indexes on financial qualitative.

— How is your competitive periscope? Are you aware of any new media competition that may be carving into budgets? Have you come to terms with the growth in local digital marketing or is your head still in the sand?

The second half of this year is up to you. Make it or break it, it’s your call.

Industry Views

Pending Business: What Will You Focus on Today?

By TALKERS | June 26, 2023June 27, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Simple question, tricky answer. Unless you are organized.

If you are a professional athlete, you are paid to put points on the board or stop the opponent from scoring. Did you ever watch a competitive body builder work in the gym? Some have a journal and a tripod to mount their mobile phones recording technique as they work through their routine, carefully blending form and precision. The professional entertainer? Paid to sell tickets. Professional politicians? Easy, get the most votes.

Professional ad seller? You get paid to close business.

Is the better question, “What business will you close today?” Of course, it is. Wait, most sellers never start every day with the stomach-churning question, “What business will I close today?” Maybe that question is a little too focused. After all it drills down the process to the very measurable result of being organized, skilled, and focused. Just like that high achieving athlete or getting a ticket to that sold-out performance, someone was ready to answer that elegantly simple question, “What will you focus on today?”

Let’s start the process of learning how to better sharpen our focus skills. Suppose we start with an easy how-to, as in how-to prioritize your call activity. Your sales calls will fall into five major categories:

— New Business. The lifeblood, the very oxygen of the radio business. Remember this: radio advertising, when measured honestly (political ads, COVID economics adjusted) is a single digit growth business. Unless you are making developmental calls, attrition, competition, and the wobbles in the economy will overwhelm you. Make the developmental calls a priority.

— Renewals. The most efficient sale you will make is the business you currently have. Work on renewals when timely.

— Service. My experience is this is the number #1 weakness of most radio ad sellers. Learn how to follow-up, check-in and listen without looking for a transaction. It’s about making sure your rapport is healthy and ready.

— Collections. Do you need an explanation? Just be sure of your numbers and documentation before you make the call or send the email.

— Internal. Collaboration with management, programming, production, or biz ops starts here.

Simple enough. Five columns to list, prioritize and budget your daily call activity. Owners and managers who are reading this, help your sellers when they get distracted. What will you focus on today?

Industry News

TALKERS 2023: Video of “Generating Talk Radio Revenue in a Digital World” Panel Discussion Posted

By TALKERS | June 20, 2023June 20, 2023 by TALKERS

During the coming days, videos of all of TALKERS 2023’s numerous sessions conducted June 2 at Hofstra University will be posted, continuing today (6/20) with the panel discussion, “Generating Talk Radio Revenue in a Digital World.” The session, sponsored by The Ramsey Show, was introduced by syndicated host and radio executive Doug Stephan of the Good Day Show/Stephan Multimedia (pictured at right) and moderated by Lapcom Communications Corp president, Steve Lapa (pictured above). Panelists (pictured below from left to right) include Vince Benedetto, CEO, Bold Gold Media Group; Paul Gleiser, host/owner, KTBB-FM-AM, Tyler, TX; Michael “MZ” Zwerling, host/owner, KSCO/KOMY, Santa Cruz; Todd Starnes, host/president, The Todd Starnes Show Syndication/owner, KWAM, Memphis; and Paul Vandenburgh, host/owner, WGDI, Albany, NY. See video of the session here.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Thank You, Mr. President

By TALKERS | June 12, 2023June 12, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

How about a collective “thank you” to the 45^th president of the United States for keeping your talk radio programming relevant, timely, unpredictable and most of all engaging?

The interpretation, speculation and compilation of facts, opinions and reporting will be non-stop until this chapter of the news cycle meets the next chapter. This is a never-ending saga that keeps the dial locked into your talk radio frequency. This is the content that keeps the electronic water cooler crowded with listeners who can’t get enough.

Whatever comes next in this chapter of history unfolding in front of our collective ears and eyes is the oxygen that keeps the talk radio world alive and well every day. By the way, the 45^th president of the United States just may have pulled your typically soft talk radio summer sales out of the basement and pushed you into an express elevator to the penthouse.

Are you still feeling the drumbeat of the naysayers predicting how talk radio will age out? Or better yet, run its course? My prediction is talk radio is about enter a phase previously unmatched in American broadcast history. Seriously. When was the last time a former president of the United States owned the headlines and collective headspace of talk radio hosts and listeners worldwide for so many years? Never.

Let’s get ready to refresh our summer vacation schedules, seasonal sales packages, rates, and most of all strategies. Start here:

— Sell the concept. Leave the opinions and banter about indictments, politics and the law to your on-air talent. Focus instead on the unique value of the engaged audience.

— Experts are important. Chances are your talk radio hosts will be smart enough to break down the issues and lean on experts to help the audience understand the ramifications. Credibility and consistency can make your coverage stand apart. Show your advertiser what makes your coverage different and better.

— Talk radio goes where TV and video can’t – the car, the beach, even the backyard. Sell the need to know on the go.

— Unfolding the unpredictable. Your listeners want the “inside scoop” on what the next chapter of this saga looks like. Your on-air talent look for every opportunity to give their listeners a peek behind the opinion curtain. The seller’s job is to bring the value of that connection to life on every sales call.

Talk radio is alive and well every day. It’s up to you to show your advertisers the value of instant access to a trusted voice.

Industry Views

Pending Business: The Spoken-Word Advantage

By TALKERS | June 5, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

I’m sorry.

Please accept my apologies for NOT believing radio, AM radio, news/talk radio is dead. Just ask most of the panelists at last Friday’s TALKERS 2023 convention.

For sure, the news/talk AM radio sector is navigating the choppy waters of change, like it or not. The microsecond breaking newsflash so currently common in our digital world has forever changed the basic pillars of the AM radio news/talk world: programming, audience engagement, sales, and tech. Change and adapt we must. To paraphrase Charles Darwin, “Survival belongs to those who adapt to change, forget about being fit.”

Surprising as it may seem, the five local owner-operators who joined me for our “Generating Sales in the Digital World” panel all agreed on one thing: commitment to their local community. And where there’s a local sound, there is a local sale. Just look at how local owner-operators are growing their AM news/talk operations to win more sales every day. Todd Starnes’ KWAM, Memphis is expanding its local news department, while trendy players like Vice Media and Buzzfeed shut down news efforts. From the Hudson Valley and Albany in New York state to Santa Cruz, California, local owner operators are on calls personally driving local sales. The tech friendly media kit at KTBB, Tyler, Texas tells the story of “The Spoken-Word Advantage.”

These entrepreneurs are fearless when it comes to competing with large group-owned properties that may be better positioned to win national dollars delivering scale local owner-operators can’t match. But wait, they are all proving there is more than one way to win business. While some large-scale group operators struggle with the perils of stock market delisting, 80% of my local owner-operator panelists feel confident 2023 will be bigger and better than 2022. How about you? Is there an air of pride and confidence on your sales team that 2023 will close ahead of last year?

When it comes to the digital race, the truth is many local owner-operators are still learning the best way to compete. Local ad budgets are quickly shifting to incorporate more and more digital, mobile, and streaming initiatives. To a large extent, sellers follow the path of least resistance to the ad money as local managers try to project where the ad money is going. The message last week at the TALKERS 2023 convention was the local news/talk radio business is alive and well and still growing, with an understanding to adapt to change is to survive.

Industry Views

Pending Business: The Fastest Billboards

By TALKERS | May 30, 2023May 31, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Until NASA approves company logos on rockets, the fastest billboards an advertiser can buy move at over 200 miles per hour, weigh less than seven ounces and are three-hundredths of an inch thick.

Who wants fast-moving billboards? The longer you can read the message the better, right? Not a problem when a marketer identifies a hard-to-reach target combined with an engaging new opportunity. No, these are not the colorful logos you see on NASCAR vehicles or the old school logos on Formula 1 cars. These are the new-age digital billboards on Formula 1 race cars.

These new billboards are the first of their kind, strategically placed on Formula 1 cars. These magnificent machines, featured at races around the world, can reach speeds of nearly 250 miles per hour. When a race car is moving that fast every ounce of weight counts, hence the paper-thin design. You see (excuse the pun) it is all about a camera angle and what the viewer sees when TV coverage cuts to that strategically placed camera and over 2 million viewers are looking on. Angles count.

Formula 1 racing not a threat to local radio ad sales, you say? Not yet, but when over 13 million people watch the top 12 Grand Prix races worldwide, it’s just a matter of time. The Formula 1 billboard lessons for local sellers and managers are not simple “how many calls, how many closes?” The Formula 1 billboard story is about:

— Sales and marketing innovation in a sport that is nearly 130 years old. The idea of creating a paper-thin, super lightweight digital billboard is an amazing accomplishment.

— Try again. How many times have you pitched a package to an advertiser who told you what was wrong with your package, only to lead to frustration at not winning the business? Can your manager quickly adapt to the advertisers’ needs? Managers, please read that last sentence carefully. The designers of the digital billboard were sent back to the drawing board until the weight and thickness worked for these incredible race machines.

— While you are thinking about getting your pitch together, somebody is already moving forward. In plain English: you snooze, you lose.

— Collaboration is the way to win. It took sellers working with engineers, working with marketers to make the concept work. How about you? Are you comfortable selling in collaboration with teammates?

The sales and marketing innovation clock never stops. How about you? Is your learning clock still ticking?

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. Steve Lapa will be moderating the “Generating Revenue” panel at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2 at Hofstra University.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Get Your Head Straight

By TALKERS | May 22, 2023May 22, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Are you a multiplatform juggler? If you sell or manage for a radio station, the answer is yes.

Why? Because it’s been part of the radio ad sales DNA since radio advertising shrunk to single digit growth.

Maybe someone reading this column can research or remember the last time radio industry pre-pandemic ad sales grew at double digits. It’s a tough putt, for sure.

Radio sellers were the first to reach across the aisle and “cross-sell” event sponsorships, concert tie-ins, publications, prize catalogues, bridal fairs, recruitment fairs, half-off fairs, sports and leisure tie-ins, hurricane guides, meet and greets, and it all started with a simple concept called a “remote.”

Radio ad sales strategy has come a long way since the first five-year plan had no projected double-digit growth. Even worse was the negative growth forecast for many markets. I remember that famous local market slogan “last one out, please turn off the lights.”

Those simple, linear, fun-to-present packages that required nothing more than easy-to-follow graphics, reasonable pricing, and a testimonial letter required little training, re-skilling, and new technical understanding. The toughest questions were about electrical outlets, display details, and when do we load in?

Covid killed some of those income generators, but you can add in pre-pandemic tired, low-energy sellers and managers taking concepts for granted as the final nail in the coffin.

Wait a minute. Aren’t brides still making decisions? Is inflation driving us back to coupons and looking for daily deals? Seems like sports-related advertising always thrives, right?

Some concepts will return, others will be reimagined, and a few are gone forever. Back to the future. Digital and social media sales will shape your sales future whether you like it or not. The digital/social media growth trend is moving at a non-stop, double-digit pace, pushing every competitive sales team to learn more and sell faster.

Smart, energetic thinkers are planning the next move, reshaping the past for what will sell tomorrow. It’s been almost 25 years since the first Blackberry phone. Sometimes innovation leaves iconic concepts in the dust. Here is where all of this goes. Get your attitude ready to learn and earn.

— Your glass is never full. The next time a manager introduces a new opportunity open your thinking

— Ask questions. Remember “new” is a powerful sales world door opener. Be sure YOU know how this new opportunity works. Leave your ego outside the sales meeting.

— Local advertisers like a competitive edge. Procter & Gamble built the most successful package goods marketing in the world with “New and Improved.” Learn from the legacy winners.

Managers and sellers want to win new business. Are you prepared to learn how?

Industry Views

Pending Business: Obstacles to Sales Productivity

By TALKERS | May 15, 2023May 16, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

What will hurt your chances of sales success more, graduating from a low-ranked college or attending too many inefficient sales meetings?

Not exactly a trick question, but enough to make you stop and think.

Remember when having a top-tier college degree was all that mattered? A recent article in the L.A.Times recalled the classic 1999 study that proved where you received your college degree really didn’t affect your career, except for maybe the networking part, maybe not. The bottom line is you don’t need a degree from Harvard to earn a respectable income as a top seller or manager in the media industry.

On the other hand, attend or lead too many inefficient sales meetings and the result may be a career killer.

The recently released 2023 Microsoft Work Trend Report is a wakeup call for every seller and manager in any business, especially ours. The top five “Obstacles to Productivity” in the report read like a what-not-to-do if you are a leader or hope to lead a sales team in the future. There are even a few warning signs if you are a team member struggling to cope with rudderless sales meetings. Let’s review some takeaways from the report and learn how to right the ship before you take on too much water.

— Goals. Every meeting should have clear, simple, actionable goals presented in an easy-to-understand form. The seller should know exactly what action points to implement to improve performance. Can you check the box?

— Perspired or inspired? Every week I talk to a seller working for one of the larger broadcast groups who feels the ready, fire, aim of product overload. Many radio station sellers can sell anything in any market that belongs to the company represented. Would a sales rep at Home Depot in Florida sell you a snow shovel with the same expertise as a rep in Buffalo? How come the biggest companies in the radio business barely surviving on the NYSE don’t learn from the companies that sell at almost $300 a share.

— Soft sales = more meetings. Seriously? In the age of Zoom, Teams, etc. the 2023 Microsoft Work Trend Report still identified “Too many meetings” as one of the top 5 obstacles to productivity. Can we all just hit the pause button on old-school command and control meeting overload? There is a difference between re-skilling and repeating old material. There is a difference between re-strategizing and re-selling a rejected concept.

The AM radio business is in the emergency room in desperate need of a fresh approach to sales. FM radio could be next. Are you looking forward to your next sales meeting?

Industry Views

Pending Business: Father’s Day

By TALKERS | May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

You have still have six weeks to make Father’s Day your sales success. Stop taking for granted, this always undersold 100-plus-years-old celebration.

Father’s Day is a $20 billion 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?

Your most valuable sales asset, your on-air personalities, can be helpful in brainstorming, collaborating, even creating unique sales opportunities. They know their audience.

The National Retail Foundation projects only an $80 difference in the average gift spends between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Still the typical radio ad sales team rarely takes the time necessary when it comes to brainstorming this annual opportunity. Unlike Mother’s Day where “natural” categories like flowers, candy, dinner, spa days, even jewelry make the annual target list, what does your target list look like for Father’s Day? How creative is your Father’s Day planning… especially since neckties are still out?

Could it be because Father’s Day was hatched in Spokane, Washington as a complement to its senior partner, Mother’s Day?

It really doesn’t matter. These takeaways may help guide your thinking as you approach any holiday marketing. Let’s start with a Father’s Day profile that should broaden your thinking:

— Forget the old school. Consider this: 81% of gift givers are looking for “unique” or “experience” oriented gifts. A true opportunity to open your prospecting targets. Would Dad enjoy a weekend staycation?

— Like it or not online shopping is becoming the norm, yet when it comes to Father’s Day, nearly 50% are still shopping at retail locations. Another reason to freshen up that prospecting list.

— Despite inflation, 76% of Americans will celebrate Father’s Day.

— The average spend is projected at $171. Not exactly Christmas numbers, but welcome income to any retailer.

Sellers and managers often overlook obvious income opportunities that could come easily. Chances are your local talent have a connection to Father’s Day that could make a difference on a sales call. Don’t overlook the opportunities right in front of you as you approach the next sales call.

Happy Father’s Day!

Industry Views

Radio Sales Pro Steve Lapa is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | May 4, 2023May 4, 2023 by TALKERS

One of the radio industry’s most respected experts on sales and marketing, consultant Steve Lapa, is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Lapa is president of South Florida-based Lapcom Communications Corporation – a consultation and marketing firm that specializes in helping radio stations and program providers stay afloat financially and actually thrive in these uncertain times of digital media disruption. His career goes back more than four decades during which he has served in various management capacities at some of the nation’s biggest radio and television operations in addition to working with major names in talent. Harrison and Lapa engage in a productive chat about the existential challenges facing radio as well as some of the age-old techniques of sales and marketing that withstand the test of time. Lapa, who will be moderating the sales panel at the forthcoming TALKERS 2023 conference on June 2, states, “We have to get radio out of the emergency room and into recovery.” Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Pending Business: Harnessing Desperation

By TALKERS | May 1, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Are you desperate enough to be a superstar seller or great manager?

Fellow fans of the NBA, especially all of us based in Miami or Milwaukee, know the name Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 28-year-old, 6’ 11”, 240-pound NBA superstar is affectionately nicknamed the Greek Freak, reflecting his Greek-Nigerian roots. In the past few days, his words dominated the sports news cycle. An emotional two-minute response to a question posed by the Milwaukee Bucks beat reporter Eric Nehm set off a viral frenzy.

Not a basketball fan? Antetokounmpo has 15 million Instagram and 3 million Twitter followers who know him well. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who earns about $40 million a year playing basketball, was asked by Nehm if he felt his team’s 2023 playoff performance was a failure as they lost to the lower seeded Miami Heat and were eliminated from the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Antetokounmpo’s answer was so riveting even a competing owner, the super shark himself—Mark Cuban – complimented Giannis in front of Cuban’s own 9 million Twitter followers.

In just over two minutes in the setting of a globally broadcast press conference, the Greek Freak explained how he does not process “failure.” His brain computes performance, goals, and achievement. Failure is not part of his competitive world, getting closer to his goal is. In a previous interview, Giannis described the desperation he feels from the fear of losing everything he has achieved is his motivation. The NBA MVP ego part is great, but for him it’s about the feed your family, make your parents proud part. Wow! A star performer who is honest enough to share how desperation pushes his performance meter for fear of losing it all.

How can sellers and managers relate when most are focused on “make the month?” Let’s start here:

What motivates you? Is it the money, the challenge, the ego gratification of a job well done?
Are you the hardest working seller or manager in the organization? Do you still waste your time lobbying for an “E” for effort?
How do you process not winning the business? Failure or one step closer on the next opportunity?
Are you focused on improving an important aspect of your performance? Commitment to improving is mission critical to every aspiring star.

Next time your motivation meter is low, search for a most memorable 2-minute motivator courtesy of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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. Steve Lappa will be moderating the “Generating Revenue” panel at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2 at Hofstra University.

Industry Views

Pending Business: You

By TALKERS | April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

I’m one of the lucky ones. In my marketing work I get to speak with radio/audio sellers and managers around the country at companies privately and publicly owned, as well as that increasingly rare breed – the radio station owner/operator. They all share one common fault. Yes, I said fault. Can you guess what it is? Probably not, because you too may share the same fault.

I’m one of the lucky ones as I was warned about this early in my career. Before we look in the mirror, let’s recall what Harry Beckwith said in his 2011 book, You, Inc. His premise was, “The first thing you sell is yourself.” Having trained hundreds of high achievers, my experience is that premise is one of the most subjective statements you will ever hear. How do you sell yourself with grace and humility? How does your ability to sell yourself stand head and shoulders above the next seller on the Zoom call or in the advertiser’s office without over-the-top braggadocio? While on calls with one high achiever, there was always a pause point where that seller took a side bar that started with, “Believe me, I’ve been working for ____ for __years…..” Sound familiar?

After a few calls on the same advertiser, the tenure pitch gets stale. The focus on “me” gets confused with building credibility through proven performance. Sorry, but You, Inc needs an update.

You see the missing link – the fault most sellers and managers share – is the lack of investment in “You.” In plain English, most sellers and managers fail to invest in themselves. We fail to recognize it takes a financial and time investment to keep our skills sharp, our minds focused on performance, and our teams coordinated with a win-win attitude.

There is a reason why high-level tennis professionals work and compete under the watchful eyes of well-compensated coaches and trainers. Pick a competitive career, from sports to entertainment, and somewhere in the mix you will find a coach, mentor, or trainer paid to help improve performance. But rarely will you find a seller or manager in the highly competitive radio/audio sales space investing in improving performance. Sorry to all you managers reading this, but who is coaching you?

Books, seminars, videos, online programs were and are still part of “stay sharp, stay current” training. Sales and managing sales departments is a moving target with change built into every day. Recruitment, strategy and digital dynamics move ahead with or without you. It is never too late to understand the investment necessary in “You” to keep sales and sales management skills improving every day.

Industry News

Steve Lapa Launches 3 MINUTE PLANNER™, a Sales Education Tool

By TALKERS | April 18, 2023 by TALKERS

Steve Lapa, well-known broadcast management & sales expert and TALKERS contributing columnist, has launched a new website, 3MINUTEPLANNER.COM™, which provides an innovative platform designed to simplify sales meeting strategies with easy-to-follow “3 Minute” explainer videos and accompanying downloadable eBooks. This video-based re-education is the first of its kind in the industry, providing managers and sales teams with the resources that support their success.

According to Lapa, The 3 Minute Planner™ is designed to help radio managers and sales teams by providing concise, practical strategies that can be applied immediately. The three-minute videos cover a wide range of topics, from sales strategies to account management and client relationship building. Each video is accompanied by an eBook that expands on the topic, providing additional tips to help sellers and managers improve performance.

Lapa tells TALKERS, “Radio sales is about constant competition and pressure. The 3 Minute Planner™ is designed to provide managers and sales teams with the strategic guidance they need to succeed. Our video-based re-education approach makes it easy for anyone to learn and implement new strategies quickly.”

The package features over 100 topics and strategies, allowing managers and top sellers to tailor the content. Lapa says, “The 3 Minute Planner™ provides a clear, concise format that is easy to follow and apply, making it an ideal tool for busy sales teams who need to make the most of their time.” Interested radio broadcasters can visit 3MinutePlanner.com for a free sample.

Steve Lapa will be moderating the sales panel at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2 at Hofstra University.

Industry Views

Pending Business: NAB – Never Assume the Basics

By TALKERS | April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Welcome to the NAB edition of Pending Business.

Wait, not that NAB. I am talking about the NAB that affects every manager and seller in the broadcast business, especially radio. This NAB is all about Never Assume the Basics.

Timing could not be better. Borrell and Associates just released a report that validates the Covid pandemic-driven changes in the local advertising marketplace. The shifts are so big, they most likely will change the ad world for a long time. The report shows the measurable local advertising marketplace is now at approximately $143 billion dollars. If you believe the numbers in the report, 67% of local ad dollars are placed in digital media advertising. Simple math says 33% of local ad dollars are now split, radio, TV, all print, outdoor and direct mail. Now that is a genuine showstopper!

These numbers are a tough pill to swallow, especially for those of us who remember the days when (print) newspapers were the king of the hill of local ad dollars. Whether you accept the numbers or not, the trend is your friend, and no manager or seller wants to be left behind. The major drivers behind this seismic shift in local ad dollars are the giants of social/digital media. Members of what TV personality Jim Cramer calls the FANG set – Facebook, Amazon, Google – you know what I am talking about. The shift in local dollars happened and continues happening right before our collective ears and eyes. Some of us are changing with the flow, others are still satisfied just reading a competitive radio monitor report during the Monday morning sales meeting.

Let us pause right here and get back to the danger of assuming the basics. You know what assuming can do, so let us regroup. Zoom back and take a treetop view of how you reconcile the basics of:

— local ad budgets

— sales prospecting

— packaging

What’s changed in your approach to prospecting? What NEW information and new businesses are you targeting? How has your competitive information flow adjusted to reflect local market changes? What is the newest package concept in your sales arsenal? Are you up to speed on the newer social and digital media initiatives in your local market?

Make no mistake, I am not advocating breaking the foundation. Yet we cannot ignore market dynamics. Some companies are driving change and growing in the digital/social media ad space, while others are slower. The great Teddy Roosevelt said “Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!” Leadership is never easy. When it comes to sales, it should be a constant goal. Do not let anyone push you out of the way.

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. Steve Lappa will be moderating the “Generating Revenue” panel at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2 at Hofstra University.

Industry Views

Pending Business: How Would Elon Musk Price Radio?

By TALKERS | April 10, 2023April 11, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Theory vs. practice is always a fun exercise. What happens when someone is bold enough to step out and break the mold to achieve their goals? Do you stop and learn, or do you simply stay in your comfort zone and take a pass?

The headline was “Tesla Drops Prices Again” and they beat their quarterly sales goal. Do you drop your prices to make your sales goals? We are not talking about summer specials, weekend paid programming, or sports packages. Tesla made flat-out price reductions to roll the dice on volume, confident in the product and the marketplace to drive volume for the second time this year.

Ever visited a Tesla store? You will be shown a price card. Every time I asked a question, they tapped a keyboard. No real selling, just facts. Let us do a deeper Tesla-style analysis.

Why drop prices when you have nearly two-thirds of the EV market? Is it because your competition is gaining on you? Because you will miss your quarterly projections and you don’t like losing? Because an incentive to buy is about to expire (government credit)? Because you are a world class disruptor? Because you know by lowering prices you will own the news cycle? Because there is still room for old school price wars to stimulate demand and distract the competition?

Survey says, all of the above. How about the opposite? What if Tesla’s strategy was like what most of the radio managers and sellers reading this article would do? The “urgency” trigger. “Buy today, because prices will go up on ______.” The radio/audio “urgency” pitch strategy is so predictable – seasonal, political window, a change in management policy, sell-out level. Heck, Teslas are on back order and they still dropped prices. WWED? What would Elon do? Probably fire us via Twitter. Back to earth and our highly competitive radio/audio world. Here are the takeaways.

— Know your competition. My current experience in one of America’s largest radio markets is price strategy IS driving volume and helping a great radio station make goals. The higher-rated competitor is standing still as the business shifts.

— You don’t have to be loud to be a disruptor. Sitting Bull won by knowing how to sell his idea. He organized, collaborated and was patient. He won by quietly disrupting then got loud when the timing was perfect.

— Do your homework. “Urgency” as a price lever has been around since the Mad Men ran Madison Avenue. Have you ever reviewed how your urgency plan can be maximized? Or is the strategy played out?

— Who Cares? If you lower rates today until New Year’s Eve, will the rate reduction create enough local market buzz to drive the volume to beat your goals? You can always raise rates once your foundation is comfortably in place. Oops! Did I just demonstrate real world grid card selling?

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. Steve Lappa will be moderating the “Generating Revenue” panel at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2 at Hofstra University.

Industry News

Pending Business: Attracting New Recruits

By TALKERS | April 3, 2023April 4, 2023 by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

Ask any sales manager what the #1 challenge they face is and nine times out of 10 the surprise answer is not “more business.” Generating more business takes a well-oiled machine that starts and ends with a focused, well-trained sales team. And therein lies the challenge question I hear every week. “Where can I find more good salespeople?”

With all the sophisticated technology available today – from Zoom and Teams to data mining and social media – it is hard to comprehend why any viable radio station would have difficulty recruiting “good salespeople.” I rarely faced that challenge in any of the markets where I worked. No matter what the ownership structure or market size – from Buffalo to San Francisco – recruiting and retaining “good salespeople” was only an occasional problem.

If you are a manager at any level, in any market, responsible for recruiting and training “good salespeople,” you may never view the task the same way again if you follow these six simple steps:

1) Recruitment should always be on your “To Do” list. Always, period, the end. Like the sun rises every morning, recruitment is a regular part of your day.

2) Times are changing, build your bench. If your sales team is a mix of generations, any given team member may decide to move on for reasons you may not understand. Be prepared. Turnover happens, don’t be ambushed.

3) Do you have a written profile of the ideal candidate for sales? Sound crazy? Try it right now. What are the three must-have qualities of every successful seller on your team? Those qualities may now be changing with newer digital, social media, and programming changes.

4) Is your compensation structure competitive? This is one of my favorites. Depending on ownership you may or may not have the degree of flexibility you want. However, you may find a friendlier structure through performance incentives.

5) Would you trust members of your current team to interview a candidate? I used the technique often over 15 years. Sometimes the culture in your sales department is unique or you may feature team performance incentives. The power of teams is a proven winner in most businesses.

6) Are you plugged in to the new-think of today’s entry-level seller? Here are some current facts that may change your view of recruiting younger sellers:

a) A study at the University of Chicago showed 56% of Americans think a college degree is not worth the money. Wow, is that different from most job postings!

b) As job markets become unpredictable, 97% of graduating seniors are open to alternative careers, as in not their major, this according to a study by iCIMS.

Finding “good salespeople” should never be viewed as a management headache. Once you make the commitment, the next great seller could be your next interview.

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