Anyone see Jerry Del Colliano's blog today? Hitting close to home.........

[mmnassour]

Apparently Jerry is back on the warpath against Clear Channel in general and perhaps Austin's cluster in particular. Here's the quote:

From a Clear Channel worker:

"These sales tactics have been in place with CC for over a year. Dialing for dollars! ..... the sales team at CC Austin have had quarterly campaigns (one day sales) or what they refer to as a call to action in order to generate bucks to make goals. The sad things is that the CC Austin sales team, which by the way, includes KASE 101 one of the cash cows in the CC barn has had their commissions cut way below any of the numbers you are talking about Cumulus having. 20%... give me a break, that would be a huge incentive for these people."

"Try not making your goals at 8%... try working in an environment where you are selling across the cluster and competing for what was once sacred ground, accounts that the AE's developed on their own are now open for who ever can sell it gets the cut or in this case the split. You have to share the business with another station in your building. Granted, if it is new business you can own it but you have to watch your fries because that makes you a target. It is hunting season in the building and everything is fair game".

Worker against worker. Stress that is impacting the health of the sales force. Desperate consolidators.

Yes indeed, I'm very glad I'm not in radio sales at this point. But if this is for real, I can't even imagine working under these conditions.

FWIW, the entire article is at: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/radio-cumulus-offering-punitive-pricing.html

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I read Jerry daily. Every day as I click to open up today's installment, I ask myself: What else is there left for him to rant about, what new wrinkle can he expose? And every day, there it is. Gory, bloody and disgusting.

I have this vision of the industry. It's like when I was a kid living in the south end of Texas among the mesquite, the cactus, the Century plants, and some rabid, deranged animal shows up at your little manicured piece of civilization. It heaves, it convulses, and finally it dies... and you either get your shovel out to bury it, or if it is large, call the rendering plant to come get it.

"Hello? American Proteins? I have this dead creature out by the goat pen. What is it? Oh, it's about the size of a thousand radio stations. You got'a truck that can handle that?"

 

[TheBigA]

It must be nice to have enough money that one doesn't have to work any more. One can sit on the sidelines and criticize everyone else. That's my view of his blog.

Here's the truth: It IS dog eat dog. If it wasn't, he'd be complaining that radio is too complacent. Sales always has been competitive, and management has always tried to motivate people this way. He wrote that Cumulus salesmen were complaining that their commissions had been cut from 25% to 20%. That's still above the average commission for radio sales, and certainly above the average for most other types of sales. I recently bought a new car, and had a chance to observe the internal workings of car salesmen. It ain't nice, friendly, and polite, and they don't make 20% commission. Try selling real estate. Commission is 6%, which you often split with another agent. If that kind of life doesn't appeal to you, don't do it. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the fire. But if you go to any other industry, you'll see the exact same thing.

 

[mmnassour]

No disagreement with your "dog eat dog" analogy. I think his point is that you shouldn't have to screw your employees in order to make a buck. OTOH, I don't think anyone would disagree that radio was a nicer place to work when it was the local station selling ads to the barber shop down the street.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

He wrote that Cumulus salesmen were complaining that their commissions had been cut from 25% to 20%. That's still above the average commission for radio sales, and certainly above the average for most other types of sales. I recently bought a new car, and had a chance to observe the internal workings of car salesmen.

If I recall correctly, the 20% commission is ONLY for brand new business... a sale to a customer not previously on the station. Commission on repeat orders from an existing customer... much lower. Commission on a sale that comes via an agency.... 5%

Car business? I ran the computer that made a number of car dealerships operate. If you want to move the conversation to that arena, hang onto your hat. The radio station does not go and BUY a manufactured product, add on a local mark-up and sell it. There is no way to make a head-on comparison of the two business but I would start here: The TOTAL value of an advertising sale could be compared the the GROSS PROFIT on the car transaction.

So I am ready to buy a new Camry and I expect to pay about $24,000 in round numbers. So the dealer pay $21,500 for the car and at the dealer level we book a gross income of $2,500. The car salesman gets maybe 25% of that? And he hasn't got a hope of selling me another car for 7 to 10 years. The radio salesman calling on the car dealer can come get an order month after month after month.

I am a few years away from the experience but my memory is that I saw a number of car deals where the salesman got 50% of the gross mark-up. NOW, before someone yells: FOUL BALL! Yes, we may be ignoring the issue of "factory holdback" which will end up in the dealers account at some later date....IF HE MEETS his/her quotas AS A DEALER.

I think the message that Jerry Del Colliano was really harping about was a policy of hanging a sword over the heads of radio sales people. We have ste a total sales quota for you. Miss the quota and we take away your commission on your biggest, best account. That, my friend, is FOUL BALL, even in a rough and tumble business world.

 

[radioboy]

I realize people have to work, but sales over the long haul under these conditions will continue to drop.

I sold radio advertising in a difficult market for just over 8 years. One month, I was able to bring in
$30k net to the station.

The bulk of that was built on having a relationship with the client. And being open and honest enough to tell a few
others that our station (a standalone) just wasn't the best fit for them to get customers into their business. That led to referrals.

But $30k in sales = 0 in commission sales = NO MORE. No way would I put up with that ever again.

Today I would not sell for any of these companies.

I became an independent content producer and sell my own ads.