It has been my experience, that great OOH sales reps are made, not born. Great talent is always nice, but it’s the day-in and day-out hard work that separates the good from the great. In my experience as a OOH sales leader, I look for, and develop 7 key skills and attributes that help AE’s be successful. The ones that embrace these, and continue to develop on their own, usually reach the top levels.
In no particular order:
Strong Communication Skills – Clear, persuasive, and effective communication is essential for presenting and closing deals. An OOH rep always wants to be prepared and LEADING the back-and-forth dialogue.
Resilience and Persistence – As OOH reps and managers, we sure do face a lot of rejection when prospecting. Those that have great ability to ignore the rejection and continue pursuing the “yes”, these people will be the most successful. Prospecting must be done every day. And we must forget all the “non-yesses”.
Relationship Building – It is so important for an OOH rep to build and maintain strong relationships with clients. Understanding their needs and providing tailored solutions is vital, and a very learned skill.
Negotiating Skills – Customers may need the billboards. But they will always try and get more for less. Effective negotiation skills to close deals that are beneficial for both the company and the client are very important. 2 great books that I have read over the last 12 months are Never Split The Difference, by Chris Voss and Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher.
Time Management – Time is an AE’s most precious commodity. I teach my OOH reps all the time to protect all you can “the GOLDEN SELLING HOURS”. Admin tasks can be done early in the day, or later in the day.
Customer Focus– Quite simply, this is the prioritizing of the needs and satisfaction of clients to ensure long-term business relationships and repeat sales. We should never set out to sell a “one-time” 3-month OOH campaign. This will do you, nor the client any good.
Creativity – We usually have a plan A every day that quickly gets blown up. Or our customers do not buy our Plan A recommendation. It is very important to be creative on coming up with a creative plan B or C approach. Thinking outside the box to provide innovative advertising solutions and ideas to clients is always a plus.
Charlie Callari, is a senior sales leader in the OOH industry and is always looking to network within the industry. He can be reached at 423-618-8635 or ccbillboardking@gmail.com.
To receive a free morning newsletter with each day’s Billboard insider articles email info@billboardinsider.com with the word “Subscribe” in the title. Our newsletter is free and we don’t sell our subscriber list.
Paid Advertisement
