To sell more OOH faster we must know what buyers, in this case professional buyers, want from sales reps. I interviewed Ali Broback, Chief Client Officer, Partner at ODN, and Matt Broder, VP of Media, at ODN to uncover the things they want OOH sales reps to know.
Kevin:
Clients have problems and needs, and some are more immediate and unforeseen than others. Sometimes if a client has an immediate problem, management may throw a big fit about it; “We’re not doing that!” I explain to management, just because we don’t solve their problem, it doesn’t mean their problems are going away. They’re just going somewhere else to get them solved.
Ali Broback
You’re totally right! I’ve talked to so many reps that feel that they have some clients who always require a quick turn. Every single request is 24 hours or 48 hours. So, you lose your urgency after a while. If everything’s quick, nothing is quick then. We try to set expectations for the client. If we can have a week (lead time) that is great. Then we give our reps a week, and they so appreciate that.
Matt Borders
Because we’ve been doing this for so long, we know who to go to when we need a favor. More experienced reps are more likely going to be the ones that stand up to management and advocate more for us versus somebody who’s been in the job for a month. They (new reps) don’t really understand why we’re asking for what we’re asking for. There’s a way to navigate that just comes with experience.
The other thing that happens when you do this for 30 years, all the people who used to be our reps are now sales managers and general managers. You go back to relationships. You understand you’re developing this relationship not for one or two years, but sometimes it’s 15, 20 years. These are the GMs that started out as reps understand the importance of helping us.
There are plants where somebody comes in and wants to be the hero and raise the revenue and put all these crazy rates in place. Maybe we don’t work with XXX company in XX market on this. Maybe we work with the same company in another market to get the same inventory because we know the GM in that market, and they’re going to help us.
You would hope that the people in the leadership in those locations would understand our needs. You’re right, we’re going to go somewhere else if you’re not able to help us.
Ali Broback
I would encourage reps, if they have a client that is in need of something that is a little bit above and beyond, and are getting pushback from management, set up a Zoom with their client and management.
As soon as a manager can look me in the eye on Zoom and understand what I’m dealing with my client, they have a much better insight. It’s better than the rep walking into his boss’ office and saying, “Ali needs us to extend the hold another two days.” The boss may likely say; “Sorry, we got to sell our inventory.”
Kevin
It is so easy for management to assume, oh, Ali’s got another problem. Kevin’s got another problem. It’s not Ali’s problem; it’s not Kevin’s problem that’s being relayed. They are the messengers. But the way the Romans did, they liked to shoot the messenger. It’s unfortunate because it really stands in the way of constructive collaboration.
Ali Broback
I encourage a Zoom call as often as I can, especially with management. When I kick off a client planning season, I get on a Zoom with almost 100 people at a particular company, every single sales manager, GM, anybody across the entire country. I tell them exactly what to expect for markets we’re buying, budgets, and everybody hears the same thing.
When I started doing that, Kevin, it went from, “Oh, we’re not going to hold inventory for X, Y, and Z.” And now they see the big picture. They see I’m a real human and that we’re working with other real humans, and we’re all in this together. We’re all trying to raise all the tides for out-of-home. Let’s get in this boat together. It’s been game changer since I started doing that.
The OOH Sales Academy is over half full!!!!
Space is limited so secure a competitive advantage now for your sales reps in 2025. Enroll them in the next session of the OOH Sales Academy beginning January 14, 2025 and running for 12 weeks. For details, visit my website: https://oohsalesfaster.com/sales-academy/ or contact me at 612-387-5349. You can be invoiced in either December or January
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