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September 01, 2009 at 08:00 PM
So you’ve landed yourself on the air on a talk radio station in your community and developed a show format that positions you as an expert in your field. You have developed a listener base and found a few sponsors, but the $64,000 question is how will you turn this broadcast exposure into clients?
One thing is for certain: Having a radio show does not automatically generate prospects or revenue. There are dozens of financial and insurance professionals who deliver an information-packed radio show each week and receive listener questions via email or on-air calls, but they are still not able to trace a penny of revenue to the effort they put into the show each week. So what’s the missing piece?
You must give the audience reasons to contact you and then repeatedly ask them to do so. Marketing people refer to this as a “call to action.” And if you follow the three-step approach outlined below, your listeners will trust you, reach out to you, and actually want to do business with you.
Step 1: Give them reasons to trust you and value your input
Your biggest problem right now is that, whether they’re right or wrong, your audience does not trust you. Don’t take this personally — it’s our whole industry and headline after headline of Ponzi scams and six-figure bonuses for corporate executives who have decimated shareholder value. So your first order of business is to show your listeners that you can be trusted.
I was in Florida last week and, as I drove to a Sunday brunch with friends, I tuned into a local talk station to see what was going on in the Tampa Bay area. I tuned in to a financial advisor who was explaining the revisions to the mandatory distribution rules in such a way that even a 5-year-old would understand the options and suitability. Then, he segued to a little self-promotion, the refrain of which was, “Never, never, never have I lost a penny of my clients’ money.” He said this over and over. Well, I was ready to call the guy myself, and I’m in the business.
Now — here’s the best part — the next words out of his mouth were, “Call me right now and Sophia will set up an appointment so we can discuss what we need to do to protect the money you have put away for your retirement.” This guy gets it. He has mastered the call to action.
Here’s the formula:
- Offer valuable content to your listeners — something they need to know.
- Show them you are honest, an expert, and interested in solving their problem.
- Ask them to call you now.
The ones who call are known as the “low-hanging fruit.” Add them to your database of prospects and commence your sales process.
