I’ve always believed there is a better way.

Recent research shows that many of what I call “enlightened” CEOs, believe that improving your culture can improve your Operating Profit by as much as 20%. But it takes work and it takes time. Here is what some of what we have done and some of what it takes:

1. It takes a clear understanding of what your culture is, what you want it to be and a willingness to do whatever it takes to change it, because you believe that great culture and great results are synonymous.

2. It takes leadership. If you do not have strong leaders you are going to fail and even a great culture won’t save you. The people leading our groups need to believe it and be able to “transfer the belief”. They need to be fearless and be able to act with courage to do what is right. Easier said than done when the pressure is on.

3. Hire people that have the qualifications of course, but first and foremost, hire people that fit the culture.

a. Take pains to explain the culture during the interview process
b. Test their cultural fit and everything else in the interview process
c. Make sure they see lots of people and listen to your people if they think they might not fit

4. You need to put your people first. Always. Every decision needs to be about what is right for the people and believe that it will be returned 10-fold. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

5. Empower your people to be wrong and discuss it, not hide it. They need to know that it is all about succeeding as a team and everyone has a responsibility to help others succeed, not watch them fail.

6. Put team success ahead of individual success. This is one reason to carefully examine the type of person you hire. For example, at NRS Media I’ve never believed that we should hire people that fit true, driven “commission sales” profiles as Account Directors, because our team’s goals and the client’s goals must supersede any personal agenda.

7. It’s a no-brainer, but do everything you can to make your people successful in the field. Remove barriers, get them what they need to be successful and rally the rest of the company behind them.

8. Remove all negative motivation and introduce all positive motivators

a. Do not penalize your people (claw backs) unless it is something where they can control 100% of the outcome
b. Reward your people and let them catch up with their real lives, as often as possible. “Well Days”, vacation days and holidays are great tools. No one gains one minute of productivity by reducing our people’s time off. The opposite occurs
c. Remove the Tension between Business Development and Operations and F&A. All groups need to respectfully work as a team. They need to understand and appreciate the other group’s roles and responsibilities. No silos can exist

9. Have regular meetings to reinforce the culture but more importantly live it every day
a. Daily conversations to reinforce the importance with the team and confirm your support

b. Weekly team meetings which include management, operations and business units to share best practice

c. Monthly group meetings – we call them “Town Hall” meetings. We update the staff and have them update us. Use every opportunity to check the pulse of your culture.

10. Celebrate victories with vigour. Everyone needs to know that when we succeed we celebrate.

Larry Bleau is President of NRS Media Canada. Larry has an extensive background in marketing, advertising and media and regularly consults on business culture.

The best training always begins with a clearly defined Why. Why is this important to the organisation, and more essentially, why is this important to the participants? Staff need to be clear on why they are doing a task or what they will gain from training. Otherwise, it makes the exercise meaningless and ineffective, because our brains require clear definition in order to know how to focus. Yet too often we leave this step out and assume it is self evident.

A simple way to achieve this is to give a short frame-up of what is going to be covered in the training, and then ask the participants what they would like to take away from it. However, be careful not to let people give you too vague an answer, such as “I’d like to be a better communicator”. In such instances, drill deeper by asking what specific aspects of communication they feel they need to improve, and how they will know when they’ve achieved this.

As cheesy as it sounds, a positive mental attitude to learning is essential. The aim of any effective training is to change behaviour. Therefore an effective learning experience must enable us to step outside our comfort zones and create new behaviours. In order for us to do this, not only do we need a positive attitude but we need to be able to overcome any fears we may have. One of the most effective ways to doing this is through having FUN. By creating an environment of playfulness, where mistakes are okay and people can feel empowered we make it okay to try new things.

In a wider sense, the environment in which the learning takes place will also have an impact. We are all aware of the usual hygiene and comfort factors when booking training venues. But some of the current theories have gone far beyond this. For example there has been considerable research into the effects of music and how introducing certain types of music can improve brain performance and perhaps even boost IQ. Whether this is the case is debatable, but we can at least be sure that music does have an effect on our moods and emotions, and can therefore have an impact on how well we learn.

By delivering the training in small sections we encourage understanding. By providing a brief break or change of focus or activity every 15 minutes or so we allow the learners to chunk the information and make it easier to absorb. Regular opportunities to review the learning, whether though group summary, discussion or even quizzes, greatly enhances recall.

We know that our brains are divided into two hemispheres, and that each area has a dominant responsibility for different functions. In general, the traditional western educational methods tend to use our left brain – reading, writing, listening, and logical activities. Now, however, the importance of involving the right brain in learning; through images, colour, music, creativity and intuition is becoming increasingly clear and has been shown to improve the brain’s overall performance.

We all have a dominant learning style. This is our preferred way to perceive, process and memorize information and it is usual for this to be one or a combination of the three main sensory receptors; visual, audio or kinesthetic (touch and feeling). Therefore, to maximize the effectiveness of any training, it should incorporate elements that engage all of these styles.

The visual element is one that most trainers feel comfortable accessing. We may use Mind-mapping, encourage staff to draw a picture to summarise their learning or note-taking. More recently the power of visualisation techniques to make the end goal “real” is being recognised. I have already highlighted the benefits of music and this also accesses the audio for some learners. More directly, we should ask staff to review aloud in their own words. And our own oral traditions show how rhythm and rhyming enhance recall.

We are multi-sensory and it is the involvement of the other senses in training that has been viewed with more scepticism. Whilst our memory of smells is the most immediate memory system some may balk at using smells, for example lavender, to anchor new learnings in their memory. However there is still a lot to be said for incorporating as many of our senses in the learning experience as possible.

The importance of role-play and practice is also well established. Interestingly, movement is believed to be very powerful in locking information into our memories. So making sure that staff are moving, dancing, and walking around throughout the training will maximise their learning. Even more powerful for me is the fact that a typical 50-minute meeting could decrease the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain by 15 per cent. Therefore getting them up and moving ensures a more thoroughly oxygenated supply of the blood to the brain, and therefore more efficient brain performance.

Finally, we can take the old adage that if you “Can’t Do – Teach” as an instruction. Older children benefit greatly from being able to teach their younger siblings. The benefits can be replicated in training by making staff accountable for someone else’s learning to ensure they pay attention and really learn the material. Ultimately, curiosity is a big driver and by ensuring that there is plenty of scope for asking questions, testing authenticity and allowing learners to be critical in their approach, we will deepen their understanding and speed their absorption of the subject.

More importantly, all of the above techniques create variety and a flexibility of approach that keeps learning fresh. And those that deliver it!

Rod Power is the Managing Director for NRS Media’s European headquarters and has worked with NRS Media for many years including roles as COO and Head of Organisational Development. Rod is renowned in the areas of Leadership Training and Human Resources Development. Before joining NRS Media, Rod consulted to various media organizations in the areas of Human Development and Sales Strategy. As an executive coach, facilitator and keynote speaker he has helped people and organizations regularly over-achieve their sales targets.

I am often asked is there a right way and a wrong way to get appointments with new clients.

Here are some common mistakes many direct media sales people make when they try to make appointments, and what to do instead.

Mistake #1: Calling the client during trading hours

I often see this when direct media sales people are calling an advertiser cold. They call during business hours.

What to do instead: Phone your advertisers before the phone rings at their place in the morning, and after the day has finished – if you phone before the main business hours you usually get the decision maker. If it is a store with just a few employees then the chances of getting the owner are pretty good. Why? Usually the owner is the first one in the store, setting up and getting ready for the rest of his employees to join him or her. If the company you are calling is bigger then you get to avoid the gatekeeper and you catch your decision maker before they set off to meetings all day or just before they leave for the day.

Mistake #2: Talking to the non decision maker

Many direct media sales people call the non decision maker.

What to do instead: If you’re planning for appointment setting or general prospecting, do a little research. It’s a simple phone call to the business during trading hours to find out who makes the decision on advertising and marketing at that business.

Mistake #3: Not having an outcome for the call

Often direct media sales people do not have any purpose or outcome for the call.

What to do instead: Be clear on why you are calling a client. If it is to invite them to a meeting or seminar, be precise, have scripts if necessary (more on that later), but make sure you have a plan, sound professional and do not waste the client’s time when you make contact. We are all busy.

Mistake #4: Speaking too fast and making mistakes on delivery

What to do instead: When you make contact with a client, or even get voicemail, immediately slow down, take your time to either deliver the message or get the appointment. You know what you are going to say, but this is the often the first time you might have spoken to this client, and they do not know anything about you, your product, or your medium. Remember – it is not a race to get off the phone.

Mistake #5: Not being willing to use scripts

What to do instead: If you make appointments or are prospecting on a regular basis I highly recommend using scripts. They are a useful tool if used correctly. When I train direct media sales people they often resist using scripts because they feel it is rote selling. Scripts are only a guide, but the great sales people use them all the time because of one important element, they become natural over time.

Mistake # 6: Not repeating phone numbers and contact details

What to do instead: If you have to leave a message make sure you repeat the vital information twice. “Hi it’s Mike here from The Capital Times please call me on 04 888:888.” Then repeat it again and remember to slow down.

Mistake #7: Not following up to confirm the appointment

Our clients are all busy people and many sales people are so excited when they get the appointment that they do not follow up in any form. They are happy they got the appointment and it’s in their appointment schedule, but it may not be in the client’s schedule.

What to do instead: Before you get off the phone, make sure you get the client’s details as well as email, so you can confirm with them the time and date. I have heard so many stories of sales people turning up at a client’s business only to discover that the client forgot and is away from the business doing something else.

Mike Brunel is a Director of NRS Media, and has worked with the business in an Executive capacity since 1992. He was instrumental in establishing NRS Media’s presence in the North American market in 1995 and in the inception of the Image Plus™ program. He developed some of the original training manuals, which now stand as best practice internationally. Mike also conceived and established Talking Media Sales, which provides guidance and insights for direct media sales professionals.

Lifetime customer value – what does it mean to your sales strategy?

Understanding the value of client loyalty is a fundamental yet often overlooked component of successful media sales management. Here we examine how to analyze and implement lifetime value metrics to improve long-term profitability.

What is Lifetime Customer Value (LTV)?

In an increasingly volatile and competitive media sales environment, nurturing and building client relationships is fundamental to achieving business success. Yet acquiring a precise picture of the true lifetime value of a client relationship is a concept that eludes many media sales teams.

Daily, weekly and monthly sales targets regularly push the relationship-building and long-term value imperative aside in favor of short-term revenue goals. However, all successful businesses, media and non-media, must understand lifetime value (LTV) metrics and implement strategies to build and grow LTV. To break it down, the lifetime value of an account is the net present value of the future stream of cash flow attributable to that account. The formula looks like this:

Estimated Average Lifetime Value = (Average Sale) X (Estimated Number of Sales)

The objective of lifetime value is to take the sum of all of your interactions with a client, in terms of both revenue and cost, and develop strategies to grow that relationship for maximum profit.

What does this mean in the context of media sales? Lifetime value will help your sales team understand what each client costs, where the breakeven point is and what each client’s lifetime contribution should be based on present levels. This will help improve marketing efficiency and sales profit.

Understanding LTV also allows for:

• more accurate revenue forecasting

• improved ability for long-term planning

• more focused growth strategies

• increased long-term profitability of each client

This knowledge will have a significant influence on your sales planning and decision-making and will reveal which clients are most valuable and which clients are least profitable. Incentives and strategies for increasing the value and profitability of existing clients can be implemented more easily, to both increase present value and increase the long-term loyalty of clients. Statistically it costs up to seven times more to acquire a new account than it does to renew an existing account, yet few media businesses invest the same resources into growing existing accounts as they do into finding new ones.

Return on Customer (ROC) – the new school of thought

The newest school of thinking on the subject is being driven by one of the world’s most recognized authorities on loyalty marketing, Don Peppers. Return-on-customer (ROC) is Peppers’ latest methodology for tracking client value.

“Too often, businesses have not been looking at the future contribution a client would make, and the way that contribution might increase if the client was happy with the business,” says Peppers. “Our goal was to come up with a solution that would simplify how businesses can take better account of the way clients create value in the future, as well as in the present.”

Peppers suggests that while businesses tend to focus on return-on-investment (ROI), this is based on a presumption that cash is the scarcest resource, when in actual fact it is customers that are the scarcest resource for any business.

“For customers to create any kind of value at all they must engage with a business,” he says. “In that respect, customers are scarcer than cash. A business can go to a bank and borrow against an investment and get a return. However, there’s no secondary market for customers – you can’t go to a bank, borrow some customers, create some value and pay it back later with interest.

“We realized that if businesses were going to create long-term value from clients, they needed a financial metric that addressed three fundamental issues – that clients create all value; that they create both long-term and short-term value; and that clients are a scarce resource, so you must maximize the value you create from each one.”

The formula Peppers uses for measuring ROC is this: the profit made on a customer for a particular period, plus the change in lifetime value of that customer over the same period, divided by the original lifetime value.

Bring it all together

Monitoring LTV and ROC undoubtedly present significant challenges for a media business focused on direct sales. The analytics required to truly leverage the full value of these metrics is beyond the scope of many media businesses. However, an understanding of the principles of lifetime value and return-on-customer will lead to a greater focus on retention and increasing existing client spend.

By becoming increasingly client-centric and long-term focused, you have an opportunity to build trust, actively encourage repeat business and loyalty. The long-term impact of a positive experience your client has with your media brand is of far greater value than short-term cash gains made via a ‘quick sale’ approach.

There are always going to be external factors that will positively or negatively impact LTV, but by controlling what you can control (that is, your interaction with clients and the incentives you can apply to encourage more spending), you can better predict future revenues.

Grant Arnott is Managing Director of The Media Pad, a specialist content agency delivering business information and thought leadership across a range of sectors. Grant is editor and publisher of both Power Retail and Power Marketer, online resources for e-commerce, digital, mobile and marketing professionals. He is regularly sought after by leading business media for comment on marketing, media and e-commerce issues.

We all want a return on the investment we make in any training. The problem with most training programs is that they’re ineffective. That’s because they’re not learning programmes, although they are often dressed up to be.

What’s the difference? Training programs will deliver a lot of great theory, practical tips and tools, but it will be up to the individual to put these into practice. Let’s be honest, most don’t.

On the other hand, Learning programs have only one objective – to change behaviour. There’s a big difference, especially when it comes to getting a return on investment. It is only by changing behaviour that you will reap rewards from any development program. If there’s no demonstrable change, your people will continue to do what they’ve always done and you will gain little or no return.

In their excellent book on changing behaviour, Switch, Dan and Chip Heath describe why this occurs. They liken a person’s make-up to a Rider sitting atop an Elephant, the Rider being our conscious intellect or will-power and the Elephant being our subconscious, emotional selves. If you direct the Rider (give the intellect great theory, tips and tools), it can pull on the reins and get the Elephant to head in a different direction… for a while.

But if the Elephant has no vested interest in going in the direction the Rider is telling it to go, good luck to the Rider! In other words, if your training isn’t getting people emotionally involved, affecting their subconscious behaviour, after a surprisingly short period of time they will revert to their old behaviour.

Anyone who has gone on the diet/exercise roller-coaster can relate to this. You intellectually know you should eat well/exercise, and for a short time you take conscious control with your will-power. Then the sugary snacks start whispering your name, or the bed covers develop a super-human hold on you first thing in the morning and you’re back to where you started from.

So the first step in any learning is to move participants into an emotional state where they are open to changing their behaviour. Then you must constantly reinforce the negative effects of the old behaviour and the positive benefits of the new.

One of the best ways to do this is through practice, with constructive feedback immediately afterwards. “Role Play” is one of the most hated expressions in the training lexicon by participants, but that’s because they know their ‘Elephant’ is about to be engaged. Training without practice is just entertainment.

There are many more techniques you can use to “motivate the Elephant” which I will discuss in later blogs. However, to truly ensure you secure your return on investment, you must utilise the third element of the Heath brothers’ change framework – Shape the Path. If the Rider and Elephant are in a jungle, with only one path they can follow, then they are likely to go in that direction.

So to my mind, what matters most is not what happens in the training room, but what happens afterwards. What is the sustained process of follow-up, supported by systems, that ensures your participants are adopting new behaviours and puts them back on the path if they are not? This is what most training lacks, and without it you are in danger of adding your training spend to the entertainment budget.

Rod Power is the Managing Director for NRS Media’s European headquarters and has worked with NRS Media for many years including roles as COO and Head of Organisational Development. Rod is renowned in the areas of Leadership Training and Human Resources Development. Before joining NRS Media, Rod consulted to various media organizations in the areas of Human Development and Sales Strategy. As an executive coach, facilitator and keynote speaker he has helped people and organizations regularly over-achieve their sales targets.

Finding the right customers for your business is an ever-present challenge. We’ve put together some top tips we’ve gleaned from working with clients over the past 20 years or so. Keep these tips top of mind and your prospecting polished.

1. Qualify every single prospect – this way you’ll only approach those prospects that you know fit with your product or service – it will save you time in the long run and focus your efforts on finding valuable long term partners

2. Build relationships – building rapport with prospects increases your chances of a sale significantly, and sets you up for the long-term

3. Think past this month’s budget – are you looking at the total potential for the relationship with this client or just scrambling month to month?

4. Make sure you get their details 100% correct – don’t make them think twice – nothing annoys people more when you’re asking them for a commitment than getting their details wrong

5. Broaden your search – have you really exhausted all search opportunities and left no stone unturned? What search tools have you used?

6. Do your research – find out what their business does, who makes the decisions, what their advertising budget is, Why they should buy or use your services – arm yourself with as much information as possible

7. Take a long hard look at yourself! – Where have your lapsed clients gone? Are you keeping them warm or are they buying elsewhere?

Vicki McLean is the General Manager of NRS Media International and has been with NRS Media for five years in various roles including as Director of Sales. She is experienced in a diverse range of media services including radio, newspaper, out of home and television, has managed various radio stations, and has an outstanding track record for revenue and profit performance. Vicki’s roles have extended from Direct Sales, Agency Sales and Marketing, through to Operations and General Management.