The greatest challenge of media sales is the intangible nature of the sale. If you work at the shoe store in the mall, you can show your available wares and offer a selection based on style, color, fit, etc.

Sellers with tangible assets have the advantage of being able to do a demonstration or allow the customer to touch or sample their products. For most of us in media sales, we don't have that luxury and learning how to overcome that challenge is the first step to a successful career selling media.

Since selling a tangible asset has an advantage over selling an intangible one, those of us in media sales must work hard to make our product more touchable.  There are many tricks of the trade for doing so. 

Right now, on my desk is a miniature billboard (4" tall x 12" wide) that was given to my radio station by the outdoor advertising company that was pitching our business.  The purpose of the desk-mounted billboard is to give our marketing department a good idea of what the actual billboard will look like as it skies above the interstate.  They have given us something to touch and to pass around the office and to put on the conference table when we debate the merits of outdoor advertising.  Smart and effective.

If you work at a newspaper or a magazine, you provide tear sheets to advertisers to show them what their ad looked like when it ran.  And, of course, you could do a mock-up of an ad for a prospective customer.  This tangible demonstration gives the seller and the prospect a starting point for a discussion about what is possible.  When the prospect voices an objection to a specific, such as color or typeface or layout, the seasoned seller will skillfully move the sale forward.

Internet companies do sample web pages and radio companies put together speculative commercials and sports teams create mock-ups of their stadiums.  And, it's all good!  Let me give you one more idea to make media sales tangible for your prospect.  An idea that doesn't require more work or more time.

Learn your prospect's primary motivation for a potential advertising campaign and tell a great story about how buying your product can make their dreams come true.  Let me give you an example: 

Imagine that I am a life insurance seller and you are on the fence about buying a policy from me.  I then launch into a story about the day your youngest child graduates from college.  The graduation caps piercing the blue sky and the optimism of youth soaring on the gentle breezes of a sublime Spring day. 

Except that you aren't there. 

Luckily for your three-year old daughter you made the right decision to insure your life and her dreams.

Okay, selling media may not lend itself to something as dramatic but you get the picture.  When you learn about the professional and personal goals of the advertiser you have the elements necessary to tell a great story. 

Maybe your prospect dreams about growing from a single pizza store to a 200-unit chain or from working in his basement to having a twenty-person consulting firm in the penthouse suite.  Or, maybe your prospect wants to grow their business so they can hire someone to run it and spend more time with their family.  Maybe, your prospect is a big company that would like to have a more fun/hip image.

There are thousands of reasons why people advertise.  Your ability to make what you do tangible starts with an understanding of what your prospect is trying to achieve.

Once you know that, paint the picture of success in your prospect's mind and remind them the future is shaped by the decisions they make today.

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