How are you advertising YOU?

We in advertising sales expect everyone to understand that someone who is selling anything to anyone needs to advertise it.  We talk over and over again about the need to have people know you before they need you.  So how do we advertise ourselves?  Use that company business card?  Maybe a few disorganized thoughts on a one-sheet or a couple of wrinkled letters of recommendation?  Okay lets take a look at what we could be doing and SHOULD be doing.

We usually go through a number of steps with every new customer.  We start with a Customer Needs Analysis followed by research into the problems uncovered, misconceptions and goals as well as a complete rundown on all competitors and how they do in the same categories.  From there we use some national research to help us come up with the key points that will move the prospective customer of that business into a buying cycle.  Finally we put together a presentation complete with an advertising schedule, SPEC ads and an explanation of what is needed to accomplish the goal.  This brings the question:  Since we do that for people trying to grow their businesses, shouldn't we be doing it for ourselves too?

So, lets start with a SELF CNA.  Want to know how to do one?  You'll find it HERE.  Dig in and get to know yourself, your goals and the misconceptions that exist about you and your profession out there.  Write down a complete list of all of your competitors, their advantages over you and visa versa.

You can see where this is going so we will skip the next steps which are the standard steps you would follow for assembling a presentation.  But you must STILL DO all of the steps.  You are assembling a package about YOU.  This will also come in handy when you are presenting yourself to others.  So on to the ads.

You have by now uncovered what the misconceptions are about you as a sales person, the needs of your prospects and your competitive advantages.  You know what the first objections will be so make sure that is in there.  So it is time to start writing SPEC ads.  Have you ever noticed how well endorsement ads work for products?  Well if you will consider yourself a product, then why not record a few people telling stories about what you have helped them do?  Not your stations... YOU.  The recording app on your cell phone will do a bang up job for this and the background noise makes it more real.

The schedule?  Well what kind of schedule would you suggest for a stock broker?  Write yourself that same schedule.  Copy change?  Yep, every week if it was up to me.  What will you talk about?  The research you have done.  The new things happening.  The customer who you just did a home run with.  The person who benefited from the PSA schedule and ads you worked on.  There is always something to talk about... so use your radio station to do it!

Sell YOU!