Radio is not selling a tangible product. You are selling what cannot be see nor touched. We sell to business owners and agencies that have been hired to take care of marketing for that business. Everyone knows they need to advertise. Imagine this: you need a home to live in. Now I have to be that home you select. Much goes in to that. I have to be in the right neighborhood, have the perks you want in the home and I have to be affordable for you. Beyond that I have to stand out against every other home out there. Every home out there is trying to get that family in their home. I can't sell you if you don't know about my home.
In a nutshell you begin by meeting the business owner and learning about their business. You learn about the owner personally and their schedule. If they're checking in an order Tuesday morning, it's not a good idea to try to meet. You visit regularly exchanging ideas from notes you took, building trust and a relationship as you go. After several visits you both know one another and you can submit a proposal for advertising that matches their budget, their goals and what they like.
To say a salesperson can sell ice door to door in the Arctic is a great joke punchline. In reality they are saying the person reads people so well they can customize their proposal with extreme accuracy.
Regardless of your sales skills you will never sell anybody what they don't want and don't like. Anybody that would try that is surely lacking the ethics and credibility needed to maintain a sales position. Even a car salesperson isn't going to try to force you to buy a pick up when you're looking for a subcompact car. People buy what they want and like, period.
Selling agencies is a different type of sale. Here the ratings matter and cost per thousand matter. If your cost per thousand is too high, you might have a great product but they are hired to manage their client's marketing getting them the biggest bang for their client's dollar. You get preference by working to help the agency. If you can better their cost per thousand or offer a creative touch to their campaign, such goes far in getting the sale. If the agency knows you are doing more than just taking an order but also working for their continued success, it is much easier to be on that buy sheet. Replies: