Innholdsfortegnelse for February 25, 2019 i Radio Ink Magazine

I do not know, nor would I pretend to fully comprehend, the ruts in the road or the challenges others have faced over a lifetime. I can only draw on my personal experiences, and from there, try to project into the stories of others. And so, I don’t know what it’s like to be a minority as defined by society today. “WE ALL BUY TOOTHPASTE.” But I do know what it’s like to be in the minority. I know what it’s like to be taunted by grade school classmates over a religion unfamiliar to them. I have felt the sting that comes with being left out because my heritage didn’t find favor with some parents. And as an adult woman in an era before women increased their seats at the…

What is the best length for ads? The correct answer is: whatever it takes to make it a great ad! The only wrong answer to this question would have been if you had suggested just one option. We need to first understand, believe, and realize that no one listens to your radio station for the ads. When I am interviewing a prospect or a client, I always make this statement (along with a question): “People do not watch TV or listen to our stations to hear the ads. There is only one time a year when we intentionally listen to or watch ads and actually enjoy doing it. Do you know when that is?” About half of the people get it. The answer is the Super Bowl! I make this…

Sales can be a lucrative career, but on occasion it can feel like a real drag. Even the very best of us in the media sales business have had down times. After all, sales always has been and always will be primarily a mental game, with ups and downs, complete with some lackluster times but punctuated by moments of absolute glory. When you find yourself in a slump, it’s important to remember that your situation is only temporary, provided you’re doing your best to pull yourself out of it. Here are some things to remember to get yourself back into the game. Dwelling on negativity only makes things worse. I really believe we are destined to become what we think about. When you feel a dark cloud forming over you,…

Michelle Duke has been in media all her life. After a stint in the newspaper business, she landed her dream job with the NAB Education Foundation in 2005 — it was actually a job opening she came across by accident while she was Googling another job. When she read about the skillset NABEF was looking for, she knew right away that was the job for her. That was in 2005. And she says that every day she arrives at the NABEF building, she’s thrilled to be there. Duke is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations at NABEF. She sets strategic and tactical direction, builds partnerships, and oversees the design, development, and management of NABEF’s leadership initiatives. In her 14 years with the foundation, Duke has developed the concept for the…

Being the father of 17-year-old triplets has its challenges, the biggest of which is communication. I come from a phone generation, and they come from a text generation. Though I’ve adapted to their world, they have not adapted to mine. At moments when we’re awaiting responses from a friend about going to the movies or some other activity, they don’t want to pick up the phone to get an answer. Using the phone is, well, uncool. Everything in their world is text, Snapchat, Instagram (but not e-mail or Facebook). Sadly, this goes beyond my kids. It’s impacting the culture of sales as well. When following up with a salesperson in one of my companies about the progress toward selling a major account, I asked a specific question, only to learn…

Lisa Layne, GSM for Delmarva Broadcasting’s Country WXCY in Havre De Grace, Maryland, thinks there is a time and a place to talk about sales numbers. Layne works with a core staff of five salespeople who have been with the company for at least seven years, and the 25-year radio veteran tells Radio Ink that she talks numbers with her talented staff, but not in the usual way. Radio Ink: What is your idea of the best sales meeting ever? Layne: The ones when we don’t talk about the numbers. I’m sure many have been in the meetings where the sales manager comes in and says the numbers suck and if they don’t improve, you’re going to be fired. We are going to talk about the numbers during one-on-ones anyway,…

When someone says, “Figures don’t lie,” know this: Figures lie, and liars figure. Never trust a weasel with a calculator. Do you remember the mortgage meltdown of 2008 and The Big Short, the movie that was made about it? There is a scene in that movie where investors Mark Baum and Vinnie Daniel go to visit Georgia Hale, an employee of the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s: Georgia Hale: So, all righty, FrontPoint Partners, how can Standard and Poor’s help you? Vinnie Daniel: Well, we don’t understand why the ratings agencies haven’t downgraded subprime bonds, since the underlying loans are clearly deteriorating. Georgia Hale: Well, the delinquency rates do have people worried, but they’re actually within our models. Vinnie Daniel: Says you. Mark Baum: So you’re convinced the underlying mortgages…

I dedicate this article with full admiration, homage, and credit to the late great George Carlin, who gave us the seven words we can’t say on television (and radio). Yes, we’re talking about commercial copy here, not your on-air hosts’ daily banter and rants. So let’s get started. What are those nasty words? Don’t worry, you won’t need parental permission to say them. Delicious. Yes, I really did say the “D” word. Have you ever heard of a restaurant that doesn’t think the food tastes good? Of course not. But like all cliches, this one has got to go. Come on, you can think of a better word than that. Remember: our job in radio involves making the listener see, hear, touch, feel, and taste whatever we are describing. Yes,…

In sales, it is very black and white: you either achieve your budget or you don’t! We are one month into the year. How are you performing? Did you exceed your January expectations, or did you fall short? If you fell short, do you know why? The good news is, you still have 11 more months to shift your business and meet your goals! We just completed the biggest month for resolutions. Many set a goal to stop smoking, lose weight, drink more water, or start exercising, and the list goes on. We all have good intentions to accomplish something new that will improve our lives. In sales, we too make resolutions. They may be to create more income by growing our current business or by generating new accounts. Are…

Now in its seventh year, our Future African American Leaders in Radio list includes people from every aspect of the business and from all over the country. And, this year, we have one leader from outside the radio industry, but she makes a very big impact. Every member of this list was nominated by a respected peer and voted on by a panel of experienced managers across the industry. Each nominee responded to an extended Radio Ink questionnaire that asked them about their passion for the radio industry, why they chose radio as a career, and what advice they have for young broadcasters looking to break into radio. In the pages that follow, you’ll read a shortened version of the answers our 2019 leaders provided. We suggest you subscribe to…