She didn't know any better, so she sold a radio ad schedule to WalMart.

Many if not most radio advertising salespeople avoid calling on big box stores such as WalMart. After all, there are other prospects out there that are more accessible and likely to entertain a presentation to buy radio advertising.

So, it was a pleasant surprise to hear from a station client of ours this past week, telling us of the success they'd had selling sponsorships to our Patriot Day (9/11 Remembrance) salutes.

Kelly Dillner, sales manager for KACY in Arkansas City, Kansas, wrote:

“We sold sponsorships of the Patriot Day features to a pharmacy, an HVAC business, a plumbing company, two insurance agencies, and our local Walmart. 

Just playing the demo for clients left some of them teary-eyed and asking, 

‘Do you remember where you were that day?’ 

We offered three different ad packages as you suggested, 

and very few took the lowest-priced option; 

most of them took the medium or high option.” 

When I got to "and our local Walmart," I paused and silently congratulated that salesperson for doing what so many of us wouldn't think to do. She called the WalMart manager, played a demo, presented her three package options, and invited their participation. This is as basic as it gets in radio ad sales, a simple, straightforward, disciplined approach that continues to get results for those who practice it.

If I recall correctly, it was the late, great radio sales trainer Jim Williams who taught that "Advertising is a relatively simple business made difficult by complicated people." He was also fond of quoting this ditty by Ogden Nash: "A simple rule of thumb. Too clever is dumb."

Keep it simple. You'll sell more advertising, you'll write more effective advertising, and you'll get better results for your advertisers.