Radio Ink Magazine May 9, 2022

Radio. For every device over which it is heard, there is an idea as to how to enhance the end product or its content. Everyone is a programmer. Everyone has a better way to bring new life to the medium. And some actually do know, or have credible, knowledgeable thoughts on the matter. But no one really listens. We know that because for at least as many years as I have been involved in some aspect of the industry, too little changes. Only the technology, the platforms on which radio is delivered, have evolved. That’s in spite of the fact that the drumbeat continues to be “content.” That it’s all about the content. Yet the reality is reduced localism in many markets and a continuation of heavy spotloads. Which is not to say…

The Great Game of Business does not come with an instruction manual. The assumption of most players is that customer acquisition — lead generation — sales opportunities — is how you win the game. But the understanding of a highly skilled player goes deeper: 1. Customer acquisition (lead gen) 2. Conversion (closing the sale) 3. Remove the friction (from the buying experience) Highly skilled players understand that exponential growth is unleashed by improving the conversion rate. Big differences in top-line sales and bottom-line profits flow from small improvements in conversion. Highly skilled players are usually successful, but the master players — the paradigm shifters — the system disruptors — the kings and queens of their categories — turn this highly skilled order of operations upside down. This is the methodology of every master player: 1. Remove the friction 2. Customer…

The use of call letters may have faded in branding stations, yet there remain “sales” call letters we use in sales meetings to shift the focus from the salesperson to the customer. Many of us are familiar with the near-acronym “WIFM,” meaning, “What’s in it for me?” (This is not to be confused with 100.9 WIFM, which has proudly served the Yadkin Valley in Elkin, North Carolina, since 1948.) “WIFM” in sales-speak describes a selfish approach driven by commissions or company goals that takes salespeople off track. To stay on course, you need a set of letters promoting a path of collaboration, starting from the customer’s view instead of your own needs. What Is WLLS? WLLS represents “Watch, Listen, Learn, and Solutions.” Each letter stands on its own in value. In…

As I wrap up almost 30 years of owning and operating Media Staffing Network to start my next phase of life, I’d like to share my thoughts on needed changes for talent acquisition. During that time, we have seen many changes in content with the introduction of digital and social media and targeted texting. Ways to reach the consumer have grown, and we have seen the competition for ad dollars increase while, in many cases, radio is getting a smaller chunk of those ad dollars. Business has changed drastically. But has your recruiting? In 1993, when I started this business, many high-level C Suite executives told me, “There will never be a need for a business like yours. Radio will always have a line out the door of people wanting to be…

Sheri Lynch’s story is unique. Unlike many of us, she didn’t talk up intros into a Radio Shack cassette recorder. She never planned on a career in radio. She was a TV producer about to leave broadcasting to pursue a graduate degree in anthropology. Until she met Bob Lacey. Bob had a clear vision of what entertaining women in AM drive could be. Sure, there were women on the radio. But all he saw were women relegated to sidekick positions while the big-voice “main man” got all the mic time. And all the laughs. Often at the sidekick’s expense. He wanted an equal partner. He wanted someone who could connect with the women in the audience who were ferrying kids to school, managing a career, raising a family, and maintaining a…

What are your hobbies? I’m gonna be honest and admit it: it’s aliens. I’m a total space and science and sci-fi nerd. But I also love to cook, live to read, and have taken up needlepoint to save my pandemic sanity. It’s supposed to be yoga for the mind, but I still feel pretty twitchy. Campy roadside attractions, abandoned buildings, anything murder-y — all my things. Who is/was your role model, and why? People who find the strength and will to turn despair into power are my heroes. Example: I know two incredible women, Christina Wade and Erin Santos, who both lost a child to cancer. Devastating. They took that unimaginable grief and turned it into activism — each founding nonprofits that have been hugely impactful for families and communities. When it comes to…