KBA'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

August 26, 2021

KBA ANNOUNCES DATES FOR 2022

CONFERENCE TO REMAIN IN OWENSBORO, KY

One week after postponing this years annual conference, the Kentucky Broadcasters Association is announcing a return to Owensboro in 2022. The conference will be held September 25-27, 2022. Drop these dates on your calendar as we highly anticipate seeing you in-person next year!

STATE ASSOCIATIONS URGE FCC TO HOLD THE LINE ON ANY REG FEE INCREASES

During a recent teleconference with the FCC, State Broadcasters Associations discussed the financial challenges faced by broadcasters, particularly small market radio stations, and the impact of the proposed increases in regulatory fees for FY2021 on their operations. The Associations stressed the important role these broadcasters play in their local communities, particularly given the loss of local newspapers in many areas.

State Broadcasters Associations therefore urged that the Commission hold the line on any increases in annual regulatory fees for broadcasters for FY2021. They noted that the increases broadcasters face are due almost entirely to the Commission’s decision to treat its work under the Broadband DATA Act as Commission “overhead” to be spread across all FCC regulatees despite the fact that broadcasters have no connection to, and do not benefit from, that work in any way. Click here to read the Notice of Ex Parte Communication.

MCCONNELL URGES VACCINE IN NEW PSA

ASKS KY TV STATIONS TO AIR ANNOUNCEMENT

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell released a new public service announcement, produced by the NAB, urging Americans to take the COVID vaccine. Leader McConnell appreciates any airplay that Kentucky television stations would be willing to contribute to the cause of vaccine awareness.

DOWNLOAD PSA HERE

FEEDING KY REQUESTS YOUR HELP

SEPTEMBER IS HUNGER ACTION MONTH

Feeding Kentucky, the largest charitable response to hunger in the state of Kentucky, would like your help spreading the word about Hunger Action Month and Hunger Action Day on September 17th. As we navigate the recovery from COVID-19, it is more urgent than ever to take action against hunger in Kentucky.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

POYNTER WEBINAR:

REPORTING ON DEATHS BY SUICIDE

SEPTEMBER 15TH 12:00 - 2:00 PM EDT

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, in fact far more people die of suicide than homicide, yet it gets a fraction of our media coverage. This workshop will help you find ways to cover this epidemic of preventable deaths by boosting your awareness, knowledge and skills in covering this vital topic.

We will:

Expose some myths about suicide.
Document some of the most vulnerable populations.
Gun violence is a major part of any discussion about suicide.
This workshop is focused on reporting about deaths by suicide, not ignoring it.

This workshop is led by The Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins and Kelly McBride who have taught thousands of journalists worldwide how to ethically cover difficult issues. Tompkins is Senior Faculty at the Poynter Institute. Kelly McBride is the Institute’s Senior Vice President and leads Poynter’s ethics program. Together they combine more than 65 years of journalism and teaching in newsrooms including the biggest networks and newspapers to the smallest markets in all 50 states, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, Japan, Ecuador, Iceland, Czech Republic and beyond.

This webinar is provided as a free service to KBA member stations.

JEFF SCHMIDT'S SALES TIP OF THE WEEK

HEY, CAN YOU HELP US OUT?

Chad, wearing no mask in a COVID world, Purple shirt, blue tie, a vest from a three-piece suit, rings on multiple fingers, and hair slicked back marches right up the back steps to the deck, stands less than 3-feet from us and says, “Don’t worry, we’re not Jehovah’s Witnesses or Bible salesmen.” An offensive open to say the least. I knew my next sales tip was about to be written. Chad hands my wife what looks like raffle tickets and says “would you like to win $1000 worth of groceries?” Carolyn, my wife, is one of the most honest and nicest people you’ll ever meet. She hands the stack to me and I look at the fine print, 1 in 20,000 odds and agreement to allow them into our home to do a vacuum demonstration lasting 30 minutes. Here’s Chad’s pitch:

Chad: Have you ever heard of the Kirby Vacuum?
Carolyn: Yes, we own one and have for about 10 years, love it.
Chad: Well, that’s great you already know of the quality. We’d love to demonstrate the new model with the new features by cleaning a room in your house.
Carolyn: We’re very happy with our vacuum and don’t need a new one.
Chad: Where to you get it serviced and where do you buy your bags?
Carolyn: At the local Kirby dealer in town and that’s where we buy our bags too
Chad: I’m not supposed to tell you this, but you know you can get bags cheaper on Amazon? Also, I’d love to give you this free bag of fragrance you can put in the bag.
Carolyn: No thanks.
Chad: So, you don’t need a 1,000 worth of groceries, and you don’t need a carpet cleaned and you don’t want a free bag fragrance package? We get paid to clean rooms, not sell, can you help us out?
Carolyn: We have all hardwood floors. (Her first lie, as I can see she’s getting agitated)
Chad: Do you have any friends in the neighborhood or family in the area that we could talk to? (Bold, asking for a referral when we’ve shut him down)
Carolyn: No, we just moved here, and all of our family is out of state. (I was shocked at the depth of her lie now growing, since we know all the neighbors and our 4 of our 6 kids all live in the area)
Chad: You sure you don’t know anybody that could use a room clean or $1000 worth of groceries?
Carolyn: (Now angry) No, thank you, we’re not interested, have a good day.

Some sales tips write themselves. Don’t be Chad. I didn’t even know they still did door-to-door sales of vacuum cleaners, let alone during a global pandemic. My wife reaction was not positive and certainly not interested and actually a bit scared. “They were unreal, I’m so glad you were working from home today”

This is the type of sales approach that gives sales a bad name. Terrible opening, aggressive pitch, bad objection handling, and no rapport building. Sadly, Chad is not alone. While our sales process doesn’t involve going to people’s homes, in a B2B world we do have the occasion to make cold calls in people’s places of business. This is why it’s critical to do research BEFORE the call and bring something of value. And we don’t mean fragrance bags, a scam lottery, or free cleaning demonstrations. It’s worth repeating the three skills necessary for success in sales:

Empathy
Expertise
Problem Solving Skills

You demonstrate those by your preparation, your approach, and your authenticity in dealing with clients and prospects. Chad showed none of those qualities. What he did was try to get us to “help him out” making his money by allowing him into our home. No thanks.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can also connect with him by email JSchmidt@rab.com or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

To learn more about RAB's online certifications, on demand webinars and Leadership Masterclass, please go to kba.org, Member Benefits, RAB Total Access. Provided as a free service to KBA member stations. If you need assistance logging in, please contact Amber Rhodes at amber@kba.org.

NEWSLETTER QUICK NOTES

RAB LEADERSHIP MASTERCLASS BEGINS SEPTEMBER 30TH

Empowering, equipping and inspiring the managers of sales teams is vital to the growth and success of an entire organization. The RAB Leadership MasterClass (LMC) is designed for that purpose. It combines the highly-acclaimed Certified Radio Sales Manager course along with monthly group coaching to address the on-going challenges our sales leaders face.

RAB's Leadership MasterClass is provided as a member benefit to KBA member stations.