What are you really selling?

Like any industry where sellers are responsible for the presenting and positioning of their respective products media is no different as each and every one of the sellers I come in contact with generally want to tell me what’s wrong with the competition rather than focus on what’s right with their product. Generally speaking, we are plagued with sales presentations that misrepresent the competition as a way to bolster the value of their own product. I have had sellers tell me that I shouldn’t buy a competitor because the value of the competitors companies stock had dropped due to lower earnings forecasts or other factors that have nothing to do with the effectiveness of the medium or product they are selling.

Where are the days when sellers presented a valid business reason that would enable the buyer to invest in value rather then rhetoric? Where are the days when creativity trumped ratings delivery? Where are the days when buyers and sellers mutually looked for ways to get the result rather than justify a measure of efficiency like CPM or CPP?

Having spent a many years on the selling side of the Broadcast industry and now on the agency and client side has opened my eyes to what’s wrong with today’s sellers. They are often untrained or trained with a focus of selling against their competitors rather than focusing on the benefits of their own product. I often hear “my ratings are better than theirs” or “we are number one in your demo”- seriously?

I reward those that give me a solution for a clients problem as they are focused on the right thing and rarely reward those that make a claim that that there product is better which is often unsubstantiated or substantiated incorrectly.

Did Henry Ford tell those that were looking to buy his car why it is better than a horse and buggy? Doubtful! Each and every media has a place and although some may deliver results better than others, they will all deliver when the right message is targeted to the right consumer.

It’s that simple!