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The challenge is this: Many sales leaders have instituted a “don’t lose a piece of business on price” or a “get every piece of business you can” plan with their teams. Is that our only option? Of course not. We would all like to think that we are deploying our most precious asset (time) in a manner that is likely to yield the greatest return for our clients, our company and ourselves.‍The question is this: How do we know if we are investing our time wisely, How do we know if we are chasing good business or bad?

Remember, your journey to greater sales success starts in your mind. Thoughts shape beliefs, beliefs drive actions, and actions determine results. By tackling your money mindset head-on, you’ll not only feel more comfortable in budget conversations but also see a positive shift in your sales outcomes.

Prospecting in sales is about two things: skill and consistency. The best OOH sales professionals know that even when business is thriving, they need to stay disciplined in their prospecting efforts to keep the pipeline full. Here are five essential techniques to help you attract high-quality prospects.

At the end of the day, your success in OOH sales comes down to the things you control. Will you choose the pain of discipline today or the pain of regret tomorrow? The choice is yours.

Don’t just be another sales pitch. Be the expert. Be the solution. Be the one they trust to help them reach their business goals.

In a recent OOH Sales Mastery session, new clients initially focused on common selling points like competitive pricing and service, but these are often shared by all competitors. The key to differentiation lies in understanding the prospect's unique needs. Salespeople should go beyond surface-level promises by asking the right questions, actively listening, and offering tailored solutions. This approach shifts the conversation from being transactional to becoming a trusted advisor, building confidence in the prospect and establishing a long-term partnership rather than just selling a product.

In the world of OOH sales, there’s one straightforward, yet powerful question that, when used consistently, can significantly improve your close ratio, shorten your sales cycle, and strengthen your relationship with potential advertisers. And yet OOH salespeople hardly ever ask this question.We’ll get to that question in a moment. But first, let’s understand that this particular question is one of OOH Sales Mastery’s qualifying questions. So, before we go any further, let’s get clear about what the word qualifying really means.

When the prospect is talking, shut your mouth; don’t interrupt. You can open your ears or you can open your mouth, but you can’t do both at the same time. Let the prospect finish, then ask questions or make comments. And don’t think about what you’re going to say until the prospect is finished speaking. If you are thinking about what you are going to say, you are not listening!

Make the effort to discover the prospect's specific reasons for buying your boards, as well as their criteria for buying from one media company rather than another. Then, structure your approach and presentation around what you have discovered.

If you haven’t heard the term "ghosting" yet, it refers to suddenly ending all communication with someone without any warning or explanation and ignoring any subsequent attempts to communicate. In today’s world, plagued by incessant spam calls, emails, and texts, it’s no wonder people have become comfortable with ghosting. What used to be considered unprofessional and rude is now commonplace, and while it was once done with a tinge of guilt, it’s now often seen as a necessity.‍

What we tend to forget as OOH salespeople is the buy is only about price when we don’t understand the cost of the problem the prospect is trying to overcome with an OOH buy.

What choices will you make that will determine your results for the summer of 2024?

Recognizing and tackling your call reluctance is the first step toward more effective prospecting and greater success in OOH sales. Address these roadblocks, and watch your closing ratios improve dramatically!

At our firm, we teach a 'rules-based OOH selling system' rather than a 'script-based selling system.' This means we don't provide scripts to memorize and use in the field, which we find inauthentic. Instead, we want you to be yourself while following a systematic process that guides prospects through the sales conversation using your unique personality and speaking style. One of those critical rules we emphasize with our OOH Sales Mastery clients is: TIME KILLS DEALS.

Conclusive result of the study shows: More deliberate practice=better performance.

‍The fastest way I know to build credibility and trust with those you seek to do business with is to be willing to deal with all the obstacles and roadblocks up front and in advance. All of them. You won't look bad for doing so. You won't upset or disappoint the prospect. What you will do is to lock down a more meaningful relationship built upon being the Trusted Advisor…something you will never be if you remain stuck in the show up and throw up, features and benefits selling system.

Whether you’re harvesting crops or harvesting OOH sales, the process is the same. And, the requirements for success are the same – total commitment to the process, discipline, and diligence.

In OOH Sales Mastery, we teach and relentlessly reinforce a simple principle, an impossible-to-forget idea that carries massive implications for optimal revenue production: qualify hard, close easy. One of the big problems we see, though, is that people sometimes imagine they’re qualifying hard, but aren’t. Why not? Because they aren’t completing a non-negotiable element of qualification: qualifying the potential buyer’s Pain, (or in layman’s terms…their problems, issues or concerns). If we haven’t done that, we have no place making any formal recommendation or presentation to the buyer. And, as a result, we can’t expect to close easily. When we qualify effectively their Pain, what are we doing? We’re clarifying, in emotional, practical terms that resonate for the buyer, exactly what all the potential costs are for not taking action on a problem that’s keeping them from getting where they need to go next in their world. One of our most famous tools for clarifying the emotional impact of those costs is known as the Pain Funnel. It’s a powerful series of questions that is designed to allow the prospect to self-discover not just what is happening but why it is happening and most importantly, how does that issue affect the bottom line.

We work hard on the front end before we ever reach out to someone. We create a hyper-personalized message. That may not be what all of us are used to doing, but it’s what we need to do if we want to beat our OOH and other media competitors. Before we ever reach out, we want to find some things that we can talk about that will help us to make this case to each one of our prospects: Of all the people in the world, you are the only person on the planet who could have received this particular message. If we don’t make that case, then we don’t even make it onto the radar screen. I realize that’s a paradigm shift. What used to work just doesn’t anymore. I can’t keep doing what I always did and expect I am going to get different results. I realize it takes some effort on our side. But that’s the reality. And I promise you it takes less time and effort than you may think.

Human behavior is a funny thing in that it tends to be very predictable. For instance, people tend to buy based on the emotion of the moment and then justify their decision intellectually. Almost all of us repeat this cycle over and over again when we are buying most things. When we are in the scenario above, we also must remember this about human behavior as well and use it to our advantage. For most people, fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain.

Over the years I have posed a pivotal question literally thousands of times to OOH professionals: Is selling merely about telling? Unfortunately, more than you might guess responded that they believed that it was. Often, when people find themselves in a selling situation, they believe they should educate the prospect about OOH advertising, about how we do what we do, and why we do it. What we do that sets our medium apart from all others.‍ Often, when people find themselves in a selling situation, there's a prevailing misconception that prospects need an exhaustive education on OOH advertising—insights into how we operate, our methodologies, and what distinguishes our medium. However, this approach misses the mark.

‍As we are closing out a very strong 2023, we're actively engaging with our OOH clients, guiding them through comprehensive goal-setting exercises to position themselves for success in 2024. As sales professionals, understanding our driving force is crucial. What are we aiming to achieve personally? Clarity on meaningful personal goals allows us to chart a course for success – after all, one can't hit a target they don't have!

May 2024 be a year of unwavering commitment and accomplishment for us all. Setting goals is just the beginning. The real test lies in our commitment to taking actionable steps. Reflect on your life, both personally and professionally. Where are you merely "trying" instead of wholeheartedly committing? The distinction between the two can shape the trajectory of your personal and professional life in the year ahead. Remember, in the words of Yoda, "Do. Or do not. There is no try."

If a prospect evades a straightforward answer or provides a clear "no" response, it signals a lack of willingness to invest further. In such cases, it's likely time to close the file. Your next steps will determine whether you descend into the sales limbo of hope, a state we aptly call being addicted to "Hopium." In this state, positive outcomes are elusive, regardless of your efforts.

Pay closer attention to your child's persuasive tactics – you might discover some valuable sales lessons. You'll not only gain insights into their creativity, determination, and conviction but also realize that these qualities are equally important for a successful career in OOH sales. Wouldn’t you agree?

As a professional, they do what they did as a novice OOH salesperson…on purpose. They talk less, listen more, and “accidentally” close more sales.

In sales, it's not uncommon for salespeople to secure a buying decision from a prospect one day, only to receive a call the next day, with the prospect wanting to put the sale on hold or, even worse, cancel it altogether. It's a frustrating situation, and you may have experienced it too. So, what went wrong in these cases?

As an OOH sales professional, your tasks often fall into two distinct categories: those you enjoy and those you'd rather avoid. While the enjoyable tasks get checked off quickly, the less appealing ones can be easily postponed, leading to classic procrastination. ‍

Never forget, everyone’s favorite topic is themselves. If you want to create an environment where you establish rapport have the prospect share with you exactly what you need to know to properly solve their business issues…shut up, you talk too much. Be a better listener!!

At times, an effective salesperson must demonstrate toughness, even at the risk of seeming unlikable. Therefore, don't simply equate sociability with success. A proficient consultative OOH salesperson will probe, and pose difficult queries to uncover their clients' business issues. They do this to offer the best possible solution, helping clients overcome significant challenges or capitalize on significant opportunities. Are you ready to undertake such responsibilities, or are you too preoccupied with the desire to be universally liked?

In sales, telling is not selling. It's critical to pose detailed questions or share relevant anecdotes that will help potential clients uncover the advantages of OOH advertising (or leasing their land) for themselves. People may be skeptical or even deny the validity of our claims, but they will never dispute their own realizations. In our OOH Sales Masteryclasses, we encourage salespeople to think of themselves as guides, leading prospects on a journey of self-discovery about their business through carefully designed queries.

Leave the features and benefits aside. Dive beneath the surface, uncover the prospect's genuine motivations, and ask questions that expose their pain, using their own words. Pain is an immensely powerful emotion that prospects will do anything to avoid. So, forget about features and benefits. When you effectively evoke emotional pain, particularly in the present moment, and demonstrate that you have the means to alleviate their distress, you're one step closer to closing the deal. ‍

OOH Salesperson walks through the prospects door and greets the business owner with a big, friendly smile and wonders if they ever considered billboard advertising to get their message out. It’s their lucky day! We have an available board right near their location…it’s perfect for their business AND I’ve got this beautiful piece of spec art that would be just the ticket. Sound familiar?

The average OOH salesperson spends most of their time with prospects who never become clients, and only about 30-35% of their time actually selling. Without an effective method to qualify prospects, salespeople often waste time in unproductive conversations. A systematic approach to qualifying prospects could significantly increase face time with qualified prospects and drive revenue growth.

Who really knows what the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters will bring in the way of an economy…Anemic? Strong? Recessionary? I for one am very bullish on out of home in 2023 no matter the economy as long as we make sure and do the things that we are in control of. 

As a professional OOH salesperson, do you have an intentional method to how you manage your book of business? Have you broken down your clients into strategic categories with a defined approach as to how you are going to manage those relationships?

Retaining and growing your most valuable clients hinges on more than just delivering impressive results; it’s about delivering success on the customer’s terms. Central to this strategy is the cultivation of high-level client executive relationships, where value—defined from the client’s perspective—is at the heart of every interaction.To foster and sustain these critical relationships, regular client-executive meetings are not just recommended; they are essential.

There is no one-size-fits all sales coaching model. There are only approaches that have been shown to be successful in particular situations. As the coach, you must identify each individual salesperson’s personal “success code” – and use that code to unlock the salesperson’s potential for success. Here are five tips that have been proven to help OOH sales leaders unlock that code.

How you invest your time each day determines the degree to which you are successful in your personal and OOH business life. Create daily habits that make productive use of your time. Stick to your daily routines. Every productive minute pays dividends down the road in the form of heightened leadership skills and OOH expertise, good health and strong relationships. These daily habits have a cumulative effect which eventually shows up in the form of a greater degree of success than you ever realized you could have.

Most OOH leaders spend a large amount of time, effort, and energy looking for an applicant. The interview process is typically relatively short and usually consists of the leader being unprepared. Unprepared to ask pertinent, behavioral based information gathering questions that will allow us to have a greater insight into the individual that we are thinking of investing in by making them a member of our team. What’s the default for most OOH leaders when they are unprepared for the interview? Spend 90% of the interview time talking to the candidate about the company, the job, the kind of person we are looking for, the benefits we offer, how they would get paid, etc. And then the onboarding process is non-existent. Typically, people are welcomed into the company and then asked to spend time with a seasoned OOH veteran who is supposed to show them the ropes. Experience has shown that on its own, this is not an effective onboarding process. Not for salespeople, not for operations people, not for bill posters, not for real estate developers, not for anyone.

There is a concept I have talked about in a prior OOH blog post that is a very simple yet highly effective account management tool for keeping salespeople focused on what their priorities should be while working their entire book of business. It is called the KARE model, which is really just an acronym for the 4 basic “buckets” that we should group our clients in to better understand how to efficiently and effectively “handle our business” and serve our clientele. As OOH leaders we need our own “hack” to keep us focused on certain priorities to handle our business and serve our employees and customers.

As an effective leader you simply cannot allow your people’s problems to become yours. Once it becomes yours, they no longer have a problem. You can allow them to ask for advice and guidance on what their next step should be. Once that next step is determined they will own the responsibility of following through. These Monkeys rarely seem like such a big deal to help out with. Often, we think it is just easier to tell our people not to worry about it, you’ll handle it. They are distractions. These distractions, or monkeys, if not managed will stop you from achieving your own important goals or objectives.

‍Understand this about developing playbooks for each of the roles; you will not do this throughout the building in one day. It is a process. Begin with where in the organization do you believe it will have the biggest and most immediate impact. You will then methodically work through the organization until you have completed a playbook for every role. Secondly, you are never really done with this process. You must set a cadence of how long it will be (on a regular basis) before we review and update the playbook for each role and calendar block those dates.

Determining whether your sales culture is high-performing or broken requires a keen understanding of these key indicators. By assessing the clarity of purpose, communication dynamics, emphasis on learning and development, data-driven practices, recognition systems, and adaptability, you can fairly and objectively judge the health of your sales culture. None of this just happens—it's intentionally implemented through continuous and thoughtful efforts.

Go ahead, be honest, do you have any leadership blind spots that have slipped up on you over the years? Are you really leading your OOH team proactively or do you find yourself tending to “react” to whatever the day/week has in store for us? Blind spots can adversely affect you or any leader. Frankly, they’re easy to miss – and capable of causing immense damage without ever getting noticed.

One of the mistakes that we see often with leaders of OOH sales teams is that they spend an inordinate amount of their time working with the team members that are not performing at an acceptable level. Sometimes spending as much as 75% of their time on the weakest performing salespeople. Trying desperately to raise the bar on their performance, often they will by in large neglect interactions with the high performers on the team.‍It may sound counterintuitive to not focus all your efforts trying to improve the reps who have the most opportunity for improvement. However, think of it this way. If you have to lose a salesperson, who would you rather see go? The high performer or the one that never seems to come close to reaching the minimum level of production you expect. The most valuable investment you can make in your salespeople is your time, your attention, your guidance and your coaching. ‍While we are not suggesting that you shouldn’t work with and spend time with the under performing reps, we must avoid at all costs the perception that the only way to get your attention is to under perform.

Let me throw a couple of statistics at you that will blow your mind. According to a recent study conducted with hiring managers…1. 92% of hiring managers polled could not specifically describe what characteristics/attributes would be required for a new hire to be successful in the role they were hiring for.2. With the benefit of hindsight, those same hiring managers were asked what percentage of the new hires in the last 5 years would they confidently describe as “best fit” hires for their roles. Their answer? Less than 15%‍. How can you find the best candidates for your OOH sales position if you don’t really know what you are looking for?

Listening is a skill not everyone possesses naturally. While some excel in it, many find it challenging. As an OOH sales leader, effective coaching demands deep, empathic listening.

Salespeople fall into behavior-belief models categorizing them as high, variable, or low performers. Their position is shaped by behavioral choices and internal beliefs. Just as poor choices lead to low performance, positive choices and small, achievable goals propel salespeople towards higher performance.Embracing change becomes a pivotal factor in an OOH salesperson's success. The journey through denial, resistance, exploration, and commitment isn't just about adapting to new strategies; it's a transformative experience reshaping beliefs, behaviors, and, ultimately, performance. As salespeople and sales leaders navigate these stages of transition, they unlock the potential for remarkable growth and success, affirming that the ability to change is not just a skill but a crucial element of sustained excellence in the ever-evolving world of OOH sales.

In sales, where losses often outnumber wins, a cookbook becomes a valuable tool for maintaining self-esteem. By implementing a cookbook not only for your sales team but also for yourself as a sales leader, you'll likely witness a significant boost in your numbers. It's time to shift the focus from managing results to managing the behaviors that drive success.

The Success Triangle is a proven formula for OOH sales success – and a proven formula for every other kind of success. OOH sales leaders, and all leaders, can benefit from learning about this model and implementing it with their teams. So, what is it?‍ Those three corners on the Triangle can nurture your people. Those three corners can drive their ascent to their fullest and highest potential, not just in sales, but in life. Those three corners are a vital imperative for personal sustainable growth. Let’s look at each of them now.

As an OOH sales manager, your core responsibility is to empower your sales team to consistently excel and enhance their performance. Whether it's selling outdoor advertising or navigating complex negotiations for new locations, land leases, or easements, your influence is pivotal. Regular sales meetings, coaching sessions, and in-house training are integral components of your strategy to ensure your team is accountable, on track, and equipped with the necessary skills.

Have you ever taken a moment to decode what truly motivates each member of your OOH team no matter their role? Is it financial gain, the allure of status, or the thrill of achieving awards and goals? Motivation is a complex force, but it can be categorized into three overarching themes.

Ensuring your focus remains on these fundamental pillars can be the difference between good leadership and exceptional OOH leadership.

Enhancing the efficacy of your OOH sales team often requires more than just overseeing from the office. When you accompany them on sales calls, you're presented with an invaluable opportunity to see their skills and challenges in real-time. This first hand insight often reveals a more nuanced view than what's relayed during regular sales reviews. This isn’t to suggest that your team isn't honest; rather, personal interpretations can sometimes offer a colored view of events. By witnessing their interactions firsthand, you can pin point areas for growth and offer tailored support.

A bloated ego creates vulnerability for manipulation by others. If we subconsciously seek positive affirmation, it can render us predictable and susceptible to being led into decisions that harm ourselves, our team, and our organization.When we believe we’re the sole architects of our success, it can lead to being more rude,selfish behaviors, and a propensity to interrupt others. This attitude is particularly evident when faced with criticism or setbacks. An overgrown ego can obstruct our ability to learn from mistakes and hamper our appreciation of llessons derived from failure.Perhaps most damaging is that a large ego constantly searches for information that aligns with its beliefs. Essentially, an inflated ego can cause a strong confirmation bias. Consequently, we may lose perspective and find ourselves in a leadership bubble, where we only perceive and hear what we want, losing touch with the people we lead and ultimately our clients and land leaseholders.

‍We believe that early investment in active listening and development will prevent the need for continuous crisis intervention, aligning with Emerson's law: "To get more, give more." If you aspire to have a high-performing, self-reliant team, intentional listening and development are imperative. Otherwise, you risk perpetuating a cycle of constant intervention, forever echoing, "Up, up, and away. This is a job for Superman."

As a leader in the OOH industry, it is essential to evaluate the health of your sales organization by addressing these key questions. By focusing on pipeline health, developing remote selling skills, and safeguarding key customer relationships, you can navigate the uncertainties of the 2023 economy and maintain momentum for a successful year.

As a leader, are you effectively coaching your team? It's intriguing to come across leaders who claim, "I have highly experienced individuals who know how to perform well. I prefer to stay out of their way. If I have to get heavily involved, then I need different people." While this mindset is not uncommon, I've always found it somewhat puzzling. Americans have a strong inclination for sports and often idolize athletes in baseball, football, basketball, golf, and more. Isn't it odd that even the greatest athletes—Babe Ruth, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods—never went a day in their entire careers without someone coaching them to reach their peak and stay there? Yet, our experienced team members supposedly know what to do and don't require coaching; we should simply stay out of their way.

There are certain foundational aspects that must be in place if your OOH company is going to be as highly effective, efficient and as profitable as it can be. One of those things, in my opinion, is to have a culture of accountability. In our 40+ years of running media companies, training, coaching and providing executive coaching we have NEVER seen a company realize its full potential without a culture of accountability.

Many of our OOH clients have heard me tell the story of one of my great mentors I’ve had in my career. I still talk to him several times a year… and have for the last 40+ years! He had such a deep and profound effect on me that it would be impossible to overestimate his value in my life…professionally and personally.

There are certain foundational aspects that must be in place if your OOH company is going to be as highly effective, efficient and as profitable as it can be. One of those things, in my opinion, is to have a culture of accountability. In our 40+ years of running media companies, training, coaching and providing executive coaching we have NEVER seen a company realize its full potential without a culture of accountability.

A fallacy that many leaders buy into is that to be fair and equitable to the people who are part of my team, I need to treat each of them exactly the same. It’s understandable…most of us have heard some form of that most of our lives. I would beg to differ.