Innholdsfortegnelse for October 15, 2018 i Radio Ink Magazine

As I sit here pondering a blank page, trying to decide what to write about this month, I am struck by the similarities between a blank page and a manager’s first day in the office. Both usually come with a mandate and a set of expectations. A manager customarily receives a list of marching orders. She or he is charged with executing a plan and achieving certain set goals. In the case of a blank page, the mandate is to fill it with words that will connect with readers and hopefully inspire, remind, goad, or otherwise provide them with some food for thought. In both cases, there is always that first seed of doubt. Can I do this? Am I ready and able to keep this ship on course and…

The annual Radio Wayne Awards were presented last month at the Radio Show’s annual Advertiser Breakfast. The awards were named in honor of “Radio Wayne” Cornils, who served as EVP of the RAB and SVP of radio at the NAB, and whose career was a model of hard work and dedication to the industry. These awards recognize the people who make the radio business work, every day. Congratulations to all the winners!…

Don’t expect handouts, and get your butts and brains to work on time — and that goes for baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and anyone else who wants to be successful! To set the record straight, I am a baby boomer, and I have nothing against any generation. I know many from each generation who are focused, hard-working, successful individuals. It was 23 years ago that I decided I want to be a coach (manager) instead of a player (media account rep). I figured my competition might be a little smarter than me, but I also knew they couldn’t outwork me. See, I was a farm kid, and a high school and college wrestler, which is a pretty tough combination to outwork. I was blessed because my dad, my…

There are many lessons diary markets can learn from PPM markets, which measure actual listening versus perceived (diary) listening. With that in mind, please consider these key points that, if implemented properly, could be the key to higher ratings this fall. Music in the morning counts. There are only a handful of personalities who can do content that is better than an extra song. For many years, we believed that “bits” in the morning were more important than music. PPM has quickly taught us this is not the case. If you are a music station, make sure you are playing at least eight to 10 songs an hour in the morning. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. is the “sweet spot” for adult-driven stations. In PPM markets, if you do not get the…

“I hire the best people, and let them do their jobs.” “I get the right people for the job, then get out of their way.” These are great things to say — and you’ll see that a lot of the people on our annual lists say them, or something like them. And don’t get me wrong, these folks absolutely mean it. But these are also the kinds of things everybody knows good managers and good leaders are supposed to say. And sometimes it seems people just repeat them without thinking about whether that’s actually happening at their stations. Because hey, you’re saying the right things, and how can that do any harm? In fact, there are lots of right words radio is saying these days, things like “industry unity” and…

The 2018 Radio Show was held in Orlando last month, with podcasting and the possibility of further deregulation among the top topics, along with the future of radio’s dashboard dominance. Attendance was up and the mood was positive! Here are some images from the event.…

Some of us met up at the Radio Show in Orlando and discussed rate resistance. Several people thought advertising agencies were becoming more demanding than ever. Others complained about local direct clients. “Especially in small and medium markets, they just don’t have the budgets anymore to buy broadcast.” More on that in a minute. The greater truth is this. Those with the biggest objections to higher rates and higher budgets are not the agencies and not the local decisionmakers, but instead our own local broadcast salespeople. Huh? Yes. In fact, I’m ashamed to say that most resistance to radio advertising rate increases and higher budgets for local direct clients comes not from clients themselves, but instead from radio and TV sales reps. One of our Radio Show group said he’d…

I’ve noticed that people who are smart and know what they are talking about are usually the worst explainers. This is due to a condition called “the curse of knowledge.” When speaking about a subject we know intimately, we assume our audience has a higher level of familiarity with our subject matter than they actually possess. Consequently, we believe they are “connecting the dots” when in fact they are barely following what we are saying. I’m talking to you about making better sales presentations. I’m talking to you about writing more effective radio ads. To become more persuasive, all you have to do is add the words “which means…” to every statement of fact you make. You can do this out loud or in your mind. Either way, you will…

If there is one communication skill you should master, it is listening. Actively listening can be the key to opening more sales and providing better customer satisfaction. It can also build better relationships with your coworkers. At times, listening may be difficult for us. Research suggests that the average person hears between 20,000 and 30,000 words over the course of a 24-hour period. How can we process so many words in a day? The key is to focus on listening. If we are listening only occasionally, we may miss critical information our clients are trying to share with us. When we listen with intention, we have the ability to build trust and uncover where the real opportunity is to help our clients. But has listening become a lost art? Today,…

Here’s an important question program directors should ask: what is holding back your talents’ digital creativity? Is it a lack of time, lack of ambition, handcuffs from corporate, lack of support, lack of understanding, lack of trust? All of these could be cited as excuses by both talent and management — but which barriers do you have the power to remove? There’s nothing stopping Sheri Lynch. She’s one half of Bob and Sheri, a morning show syndicated by Westwood One that reaches nearly 50 markets. “You need more than 30 seconds to tell a story and build a relationship with a listener,” says Lynch. “A relationship so deep and real that they’re willing to travel and change their habits for you. That’s something radio hasn’t done a great job of.”…

Our 2018 top managers are certainly a group of experienced and successful leaders. They come from all over the country and from large, medium, and small markets. They’ve accumulated hundreds of years of combined radio and management experience. Some are leading 20 employees, others 50, many 100 or more. They may operate a single station or run multiple clusters across several markets. And they have several things in common: they constantly brag about their people, they know how to build a winning team, and they’ve all had great mentors. To help you become a better manager heading into 2018, we peppered our list of Best Managers with tough questions. We asked these great leaders to tell us how they’ve been able to achieve the success they have for so long,…