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The author is owner/president of Sound Advantage Media. 

The automotive industry constantly trains sales personnel to stay up to date with the latest techniques so they can sell more products in the coming season. 

Radio, however, lacks consistent follow-up, which can make account executives feel undervalued and overlooked. 

This absence of ongoing support contributes to a high turnover rate among radio account executives.

Use questions to find answers

Here is what separates professional account executives from salespeople left scrambling: Salespeople talk too much.

Great questions drive great sales.

[Related: “Why Advertisers Should Turn to Broadcasters in Digital Marketing”]

Questions uncover problems. They reveal priorities, expose urgency. Asking better questions can help you feel more confident and in control, creating clarity in your sales process.

Top-performing account executives understand this one circumstance: The quality of your questions determines the quality of your income.

Better questions often reveal deeper problems. Deeper problems create stronger opportunities for a sale. Here’s an example of better discovery calls:

• Why are you exploring this now?
• Timing. The question explores the trigger behind the conversation. The trigger could be:
• Leadership change
• Failing internal system
• Competitive threat
• Missed target or performance issue

Understanding trigger events provides vital context. It helps you feel more insightful and strategic, understand what created the urgency, and make your solutions more compelling.

What are you doing today?

It’s critical to understand the buyer’s current reality. This question reveals the following:

• The existing process or system in place
• What are the limitations of that system?
• The level of dissatisfaction with that system

Most deals are lost because salespeople assume the problem is larger than it really is. Often, you’ll find the current solution is barely working. 

Sometimes you discover it’s actually working well. Both insights are valuable. You’ll find the real competition isn’t another station. It’s not doing anything and sticking with what already exists.

What about your station or cluster?

Once the process is understood, exploring consequences is crucial because it shifts the conversation from product features to business impact, making the sale more compelling.

If business hasn’t increased, then what?

This often shows something telling: the cost of inaction.

Many station clusters or standalone stations operate with problems for years because the consequences feel manageable. Often, those actions are larger than they appear. This would include:

• Lost revenue
• Reduced productivity
• Personality churn
• Competitive disadvantage

When buyers consider the impact of not solving the problem, urgency increases. This is when consideration of long-term implications is in order. One other piece of information to consider:

Radio delivers 24/7 live content to local markets. Business messages entering a local market aren’t inserted; they become part of the community, part of the moment. 

Radio ads are not served. You broadcast it — on any platform — in a living, breathing community. Digital moves individuals. Live moves markets.

Nelson Mandela said, “I never lose. I either win or learn.”

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