The media, ad, and digital advertising sales industries face some of the most challenging difficulties in today’s marketplace.
Because of the size and complexity of most advertising and media purchases, a conversation about detailed ROI calculations, multiple channels, and shifting target demographics is required, no matter what the prospect needs to promote.
Furthermore, businesses selling ad space and media must frequently deal with these difficulties through an intermediary – an ad agency — acting on the buyer’s behalf.
Adopting a consultative approach through personalized ad sales training, media sales training, and training for digital ad sales professionals is the way forward, and working with Pearl Lemon Sales, a leader in the customized sales training space across a wide range of verticals, but with a special level of expertise in advertising sales, is one of the best ways companies can help their ad sales and media sales teams boost their own performance and their company’s bottom line.
Advertising, digital advertising, and media professionals face a faster rate of change than any other industry. Disruptive technology is transforming the landscape, shifting objectives on a regular basis.
No one is suggesting here that ad sales have ever been easy, but until the advent of the Internet, a limited number of channels made it easier. Now clients must choose how to divide their finite ad budgets and media spends across an ever-growing range of options.
As more – and more complex – ad models emerge, customers looking for a competitive advantage want to keep up. As a result, sellers must keep up as well. Effective sellers overcome these challenges by focusing on the customer.
Consultative selling is something Pearl Lemon Sales focuses on a great deal in their ad sales training and media sales training programs. And there’s a very good reason for that. Clients don’t want to be sold to, they want help, and by adopting a consultative selling approach, that is just what the most successful ad sales teams provide.
A sales professional who 1) listens to their concerns, 2) isn’t aggressive, and 3) delivers pertinent information are the three most crucial parts of a successful sales experience, according to buyers.
Aren’t these all reasonable requests? Of course they are.
While some ad sales professionals claim to understand what consumers want, research shows that there is a significant gap between what they say and what they really provide.
50% of ad sales professionals say they avoid being pushy, but 84 percent of consumers believe they are.
Only 62 percent of buyers agreed with 83 percent of ad sales people, who believe they listen to their prospects’ needs.
Only 45 percent of buyers agreed that media sales reps do research on prospects before calling (so they can offer relevant information).
So where is the disconnect coming from? In our experience, working in the ad sales training and media sales training fields, ad salespeople do know that they should be adopting a more customer-centric and consultative approach, they are aware that this is likely to result in better sales performance and more closed deals.
The problem is that they are so used to solution selling, and may have only ever been trained to sell that way, that they struggle to adapt their sales style to a more consultative approach. Those difficulties are often compounded by the fact that their sales managers face the same issues, so any in-house ad sales training they may have received has not helped a great deal either.
Maintaining a client-centered mindset requires the use of questions. A consultative strategy is built on the foundation of the answers to these questions.
When an ad sales, advertising, or media sales professional asks questions to uncover needs, they gain a clear image of how the prospect views the industry. More importantly, the seller will become aware of the client’s real needs and which of the solutions they are selling will really meet them.
It’s vital to get a handle on these fundamental requirements for two reasons:
As the seller gains a deeper understanding of the customer’s problems, they will be better equipped to position a solution that meets those needs.
Many media and ad salespeople claim the same level of efficacy. The more a seller uses performance data to differentiate themselves from the competition, the more they mirror everyone else.
In order to set themselves apart, sellers must first determine which of their offerings is most relevant to the prospect. Only by taking the time to pay attention to customer needs will they be able to answer this question.
Ad sales no longer has any one size fits all solutions, and the more an ad salesperson can demonstrate that the solutions they are suggesting are truly relevant to the prospect’s needs, the more likely they are to trust the seller and make the ad and media buys they suggest.
Working with Pearl Lemon Sales for ad sales training and media sales training will bring your sales pros into contact with sales trainers who are also active salespeople, working both for outside clients and for the companies under the Pearl Lemon Group. That’s not the case for many other sales training companies, whose teams know many of the right theories but haven’t actually tried to put them into practice for years.
Ad sales training, and media sales training, from Pearl Lemon Sales not only effectively teaches ad sales teams to effectively utilize consultative selling to boost their close numbers but can also help ad sales managers adjust their onboarding processes – and their own sales mindset – so that new hires are better positioned for success from the start.
We call it the ad sales training that keeps giving, because once the concepts are understood, practiced and mastered they can be passed on as new members join your sales team, which, after boosting your business thanks to ad sales training and/or media sales training from Pearl Lemon Sales are additions you will need to make!
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There are plenty of good careers out there. Ad and media sales is a good career. More importantly it is a good career if you are good at sales.
Have no fear, if you need to improve in your sales skills, you can rely on us to provide you the ad and media sales training so you can break glass ceilings and have greater success.
Knowledge and skills gained from our media and ad sales training include:
Give us a call today to learn the full scope of what we will cover in our ad and media sales training.
This sales training is for everyone and anyone with in the media space or ads space. So, if you run PPC campaigns for clients, then this training is for you. If you manage social media accounts this training is for you.
All in all, this sales training is designed for those that work within the create space in terms of marketing and brand management.
Ad and media sales training is important because your sales professionals need to be able to connect with prospects to close sales and build relationships. Nurturing and maintaining relationships are critical in sales to be successful in business.
If you are looking to improve your ad and media sales team’s skills, give us a call today!
If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us! If you’d prefer to speak directly to a consultant, book a call!