I have received several calls and texts from other sales leaders in our industry asking if we, at Moody Radio Network, have seen a significant loss in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I almost feel bad answering this question because the truth is, we have not. Let me be clear on what I’m saying. We have lost less than 4% of our “On the Books” revenue because of the pandemic. The reply I receive EVERY TIME is, “What? Wow that’s really good, but how?” My answer first and foremost is because of God! Then my second answer is, “Because we prospect the correct way.” What? How do you prospect the right way? What does that even mean?
Below required checklist that is discussed with every partnership.
Every Partnership Must Utilize The “WIN-WIN-WIN Philosophy.”
- The Listener Must Win
We are allowing businesses and non-profits on the air that our listeners can do business with or interact with and feel like they are dealing with an extension of our radio station.
This creates a winning experience for the listener as we share with them safe places to do business.
- The Partner Must Win
This means we must give them the best customer service experience ever!
Did we answer the phone on the first two rings? If they left a voicemail did we return the call within 24 hours? Were we consultants to them or an order taker? Did we set expectations on when the phone would ring or if it would ring at all?
This creates a winning situation for the partner as we have given them excellent customer service. We have acted as consultants by helping them craft a campaign based upon our years of experience and proven results. And lastly, we have given them clear expectations on what to expect regarding listeners calling their business.
- Our Station Must Win
A natural byproduct of the first two happening at the same time is that your station will naturally win.
If the listener is winning and the business partner is winning this creates a winning situation for the station! It’s that simple.
We believe so much in the WIN-WIN-WIN philosophy that we have adopted it as a part of our departments core values. We have even had to make some hard decisions regarding accepting new business as we filter new partners through this philosophy. As a result, we find that we are consistently successful.
The Prospect Must Be Christian or Use Biblical Principles
Here’s where some people struggle. They want a perfect euphoria where we do all our business in little Christian bunny rabbit holes and never really get out of those circles. One day I really stopped and took time to think this through. You know our listeners go to restaurants and stores that are owned and operated by unsaved folks. And, while YES! We would love to give our hard-earned dollars to a fellow believer, the reality is it is not always possible. If I can do business with an unbeliever and to be salt and light in their dark world then I’m going to it every time. You know that prospect or new underwriter is going to listen to your station to hear their spot. How many gospel presentations is that person going to hear while listening? It had better be a lot if we’re doing our job right! So, if that unsaved business owner treats their customers well, I will give them the opportunity to be treated Christ-like by us and by our listeners and to hear about Christ all day long.
The Prospect Must Understand That Pre-Payment Is Required
All new clients are told up front that they must pre-pay prior to airing the first three months. If a client is really upset, it might mean they really had no plans to pay. If the client is brand new and the buy is placed by an agency, pre-payment is not required. We only require pre-payment for direct buys.
The Prospect Must Play Within Our Boundaries
We tell every prospect that we have identified the minimum number of spots one can do in a week and still have an opportunity to be successful. We have also identified the maximum number of spots partners can do without annoying our listeners. So now that we have the minimum and maximum, it’s just up to them on what their budget is as to how many announcements they purchase.
Minimum: 3 per day / 15 per week
Maximum: 6 per day / 42 per week
This also helps when having a conversation about budget. A lot of times it really puts the buyers mind at ease knowing that we are not playing a game.
The Prospect Has Equal Opportunity
We do not allow businesses or agencies to day-part for an increased spot rate to guarantee a specific time of day. We believe that if the frequency and the rotation is correct, everyone will succeed. This is only achieved if everyone can get in front of the listener at all times of the day. A lot of times this is met with surprise by agencies, but we have never lost a buy because of it.
Remember That You Are The Consultant
I remember the best piece of steak I’ve ever had in my life. My colleagues at the time from K-LOVE and Air1 and I ate at Gibsons in Chicago. You could tell that special preparation had been taken to ensure that the steak had been seasoned to perfection and that it was cooked at precisely the right time. But imagine with me if I would have went in there and asked the waiter to have the chef use half the amount of seasoning, to grab a piece of meat that had only marinated for three quarters of the time, and then to top it off I would like them to cook it at twice the amount of heat for 4.5 minutes, reduce the heat, flip the steak and cook it for an additional 7.5 minutes more. Ridiculous, right? No one goes into a steak restaurant and dares to give cooking instructions to the chef. If you don’t like the way they make their steak there are hundreds of different places to go. But, judging by how early I had to make the reservation, it’s obvious that tons of people like the way Gibsons prepares their steak. So, we agree to disagree on steaks and I don’t return. No problem.
I hope you understand the point I’m making. We do radio. We know radio. We know what works. It’s our job to consult (not dictate or be rude) but consult the partner on what works. If in the end you still disagree, that’s fine. Disagree in a Christ like way and walk away. Someone once told me, “I’ve never worked in radio but I’ve bought radio.” Nice, I’ve never cooked crab legs but I’ve ordered them before. That doesn’t make me a chef. Our job is to consult, coach, and teach that partner. This means even the agencies that have been doing this for 30 years. But as my colleague Bryon Poirier says, “Do it with sugar poured all over it.”
There are many more things that we do to ensure that our partners stick with us year after year but this sums up the top five criteria that must be met when prospecting. Remember, the station you work for is a treasure. People pay to keep you on the air. The country and rock stations can’t say that. So, go into these conversations confident, because you have a product that works and one you can be proud of consistently.
Jamin Baxter
Director of Business Development, Moody Radio Network
Jamin Baxter serves as Director of Business Development for Moody Radio Network. He has 15 years’ experience in non-commercial radio sales and over 25 years’ experience in general sales. On the side, Jamin started Bax5Media which operates as the parent company of Inside Morgan County (www.insidemorgancounty.com) as well as two podcasts. Keeping It Young (www.keepingityoungpodcast.com) which is celebrating their first 50,000 downloads in their first year and Life of Sales (www.lifeofsales.com). A third podcast will be starting this Spring entitled The Church – Under-insured and Exposed. Baxter is passionate about creating a streamlined system that all non-commercial Christian Radio Stations can use to keep their Underwriting Departments generating revenue while keeping the integrity of the station and the voice of the station front and center.
The team at 94.9 KLTY has served the Dallas/Fort Worth community for over 35 years. In 2020, the need was never greater. Through their local campaigns, Christmas Wish and Speak Love, they were able to assist many families who were impacted by not only the pandemic, but by hard times in general. The Speak Lovecampaign helped first responders, teachers, servers, food service staff, and many more within the community throughout the year. In 2020 94.9 KLTY’s Christmas Wish campaign brought Christmas joy to hundreds of families in the DFW area. They provided vehicles, food, toys, and other forms of relief to families in their community. They could not have reached any of these needs if not for their listeners and their generous donations to 94.9 KLTY’s nonprofit programs. In total, Speak Love and Christmas Wish raised more than $160,000 for those in need in Dallas/Fort Worth. They also recognized those sacrificial front-line workers and first responders who keep our community safe. Each week, 94.9 KLTY honored them, raised funds throughout the summer, and then presented each first responder with a check as a token of their gratitude. With countless families in need because of the pandemic, 94.9 KLTY also helped the Tarrant Area Food Bank distribute food essentials on multiple occasions in September, October, November. It is 94.9 KLTY’s sincere honor to serve our listeners in Dallas/Fort Worth.
LIFE 96.5 seeks to empower and serve the Sioux Falls area by reaching out in faith to help make it a better place to live and work. They want to lead their listeners to Jesus and help them grow in their faith through opportunities to love and serve others. In January 2020, LIFE 96.5 listeners donated over 950 brand new baby items during the Sioux Empire’s Largest Baby Shower. The Baby Shower grows every year, demonstrating their community’s love and support of the couples who are choosing life for their unborn children. LIFE 96.5 listeners, in partnership with Dacotah Bank, provided gift cards and cash donations to the Sioux Falls School District social workers to meet the needs of 1,000 homeless students. LIFE 96.5 also invited listeners to participate in a city-wide prayer parade, where they prayed for health care and government officials while driving past hospitals, schools, and city government offices. During the months of September and October 2020, LIFE 96.5 listeners provided over 250 twin sheet sets and 100 mattresses to the Sioux Falls Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization for children who are sleeping on floors. Through LIFE 96.5, listeners also made a difference in the lives of patients spending Christmas at Avera Behavioral Health Hospital. Each patient received a Christmas stocking filled with gifts and a note of encouragement. In addition, each Saturday morning LIFE 96.5 staff host Life Connection, a program featuring community leaders and discussing the needs and concerns of the Sioux Falls Community.
89.5 KVNE exists to glorify God by encouraging people, connecting their community, and pointing people to Jesus Christ. When their community was turned upside down by COVID, they knew they had to jump into action and mobilize their listeners to make a difference for Christ. To best serve their local community, KVNE held multiple drives to support local ministry partners and those most impacted by the pandemic. They collected 1,500 gift cards (totaling more than $15,000) to benefit those in need because of shutdowns, gathered over 12,000 diapers for foster families, and collected 150 care packages for senior citizens. They also collected 1,032 fans for the Salvation Army and over 1,000 pairs of shoes for kids heading back to school. Additionally, listeners donated 1,512 care packages for the homeless in East Texas, and KVNE hosted two blood drives to help those fighting the coronavirus. People across East Texas needed connection during the pandemic, so they organized a social media outreach, called Praise Defeats, a coordinated time where listeners shot videos of themselves singing “Raise A Hallelujah.” The videos were shared thousands of times, as they deepened their community’s connection. In addition, KVNE launched a Hispanic Christian music station (Fuzión), started a worship station (Lift Worship), and began a Bible Teaching Station (The Well) – all to help people grow in their faith. God allowed them to impact His Kingdom in profound ways and serve their local community powerfully during an unprecedented time when people needed hope like never before.
Since 1986, The JOY FM has made community service a hallmark of its ministry to listeners – first in Sarasota, and then expanding to Tampa, other Florida markets, and most recently to Atlanta and Middle Georgia. Even with this growth, community outreach remains hands-on, with legacy events like T-Shirts for Turkeys, which helped feed more than 28,700 families in all markets served last year. 2020 created new challenges for serving, so The JOY FM innovated several service projects to accommodate contactless delivery and social distancing. JOY Drop and Restock, a brand-new outreach, collected 30 tons of food to restock local food banks hit hard by the pandemic. Partnering with Natalie Grant and Hope for Justice, Team Freedom approached a grand total of $1,000,000 in 2020 to fight human trafficking. As listeners faced political rhetoric and serious questions about race and justice, as well as practical challenges like hybrid classrooms, The JOY FM programming (on terrestrial signals, as well as its LF Radio and JOY Worship platforms) responded with a recommitment to our mission of “Helping You Find JOY.” Resources for listeners, such as the Off Air with Carmen podcast, was provided to help listeners wrestle with big questions like Christian citizenship. Possibly The JOY FM’s most relevant community service effort for 2020 was prayer. The JOY FM’s Prayer and Crisis Referral service interacted with 620,936 listeners in need of prayer or help. Of those calls and texts, 4,949 listeners reported praying to place their faith in Jesus Christ.
“Hope Starts Here” is more than The Light FM’s tagline. It’s their mission. In 2020, they were intentional in regularly offering community-needed resources and hope-filled encouragement. They hosted their 5th annual Make a Difference training to encourage listeners to share God’s hope and saw 14 people begin a personal relationship with Jesus. The Light FM also visited eight local Law Enforcement agencies to share words of encouragement and care baskets. They partnered with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and artists of Winter Jam for a private concert and time of prayer with families battling pediatric cancer. The Light FM listeners from five different cities donated 258 wheelchairs, 262 crutches, 259 walkers, 71 transport chairs, and 66 canes to Wheels for the World, which brings mobility and the hope of Christ around the world. During stay-at-home orders, The Light FM began offering free monthly virtual events, including: a graduation ceremony, featuring artists and Bible teachers; a conference with Crown Financial on how to manage finances during the pandemic; Girl Talk LIVE, a women’s event with worship and Bible study; God’s Hope in Crisis training with chaplains of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team; a pastor appreciation event for local churches, featuring Chip Ingram and Matthew West; and a Family Christmas Night with live music, games, and a devotion from The Light FM staff. Even throughout the pandemic, The Light FM also found ways to be out in the public, safely, with six drive-in events featuring movies and live music.
