Despite radio rsquo;s strong audience reach and cost-efficiency, major misperceptions among advertisers are causing significant underinvestment in the medium. These challenges mdash;and how the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) is addressing them mdash;offer critical insights for all local media sellers, including newspapers, billboards, TV, magazines, and digital. Like radio, these platforms often face outdated assumptions that affect their share of ad budgets. This article outlines key data, strategies, and messaging that local sellers can adopt to better position their value in today rsquo;s competitive media mix.

Sales teams aren’t losing deals because they lack effort—they’re losing time to inconsistent prep, scattered follow-up, and vague positioning. This article outlines 10 proven AI prompts that help local media reps and agency professionals move faster on the work that actually drives revenue: discovery, conquest strategy, objection handling, proposals, and next steps. Each prompt is designed to produce clearer thinking and cleaner execution—so you sound more strategic, not more “salesy.” The result is a repeatable system that helps teams win more meetings, protect renewals, and build bigger, longer-term contracts.

Understanding how different generations consume media and interact with advertising is critical for local media sales success. A recent pair of studies reveal that Gen Z favors social media and interactive content, while Baby Boomers rely on websites, reviews, and informative messaging. Gen Z still values email—particularly in professional settings—but with different expectations than older cohorts. For local media sellers, tailoring content formats and advertising strategies to each generation's preferences is key to boosting engagement and driving ad revenue.

A number of industries and potential advertisers can benefit from grant money. Nonprofit organizations usually rely heavily on grants to finance operations and special projects, but the media can also benefit from these funds. Partnering with a nonprofit organization to apply for grant money gives your station a chance to help the group reach its goals, while generating revenue for your station.

Lead Change is a leadership media destination with a unique editorial focus on driving change within organizations, teams, and individuals. Lead Change, a division of Weaving Influence, publishes twice monthly with SmartBrief. Today’s post is by Michelle Ray. Six days before the world shockingly and unexpectedly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was enjoying a lovely breakfast with a young woman named Chelsea.

Sales teams are vital to business growth, yet they often face high turnover and low morale. Effective sales training programs not only enhance performance but also play a crucial role in boosting employee morale and retention. Investing in sales training provides salespeople with the skills and confidence they need, reducing stress and increasing job satisfaction. Research indicates that companies with robust sales training programs experience significantly lower turnover rates, with improved employee income and retention.

I hear this a lot from business leaders — and it’s always kind of sheepish: “Chris, how do we actually make a sales process?” And I get it. Sales processes don’t just happen. They don’t just appear out of thin air. Instead, growing companies realize that they don’t actually have a sales process in place, so they either let their sales reps do their own thing — or they cobble something together that pleases no one.

Back-to-school shopping in 2025 is starting earlier than ever, with 67% of K–12 families beginning purchases by early July—driven by inflation concerns and a desire to secure deals. Despite this early start, 84% of shoppers still have half their shopping left, creating a key opportunity for local media to influence purchasing decisions. K–12 families plan to spend an average of $858, while college households expect to spend $1,325, with electronics, clothing, and supplies topping the list. Online and discount stores remain dominant shopping channels, but local media can boost relevance by promoting value, supporting community events, and tailoring messages to both K–12 and college audiences.

US manufacturers allocate approximately $36 billion to $70 billion, annually, as co-op funds for which many (if not most) local SMBs, dealers, retailers and advertisers qualify to add to their advertising budgets. Some brains are obviously not so clear about the value and availability of co-op dollars, and how to use them, because approximately $14 billion to $35 billion are never used.

How one company used existing remote team management experience to take the rest of its sales staffers remote and set them up for long-term success Remote work went mainstream in 2020, and the forced experiment showed us that working from home doesn’t have to derail productivity. In fact, a 2020 survey from FlexJobs shows that 51% of respondents said they feel more productive in their home office than at a traditional workplace.

If you are a sales leader or sales manager, you struggle to get everything done. You want to work with your team, but you often find yourself being pulled into meetings and conversations that have no ability to help you reach your sales targets. It can be difficult to decide what gets your attention and what doesn’t deserve your time.

As leaders, a key element of our job is to maximize the performance of each person on our team. We do this through hiring the right people, training, giving them tools/processes/programs/systems to help them perform, providing the right support, eliminating barriers to their performance, and constantly coaching/developing them. We set performance goals, we measure their attainment against that performance.

Whether you are a seasoned executive or simply starting your professional journey, investing in communication training is an investment in yourself that will pay dividends throughout your career. Embrace the power of effective communication and watch as your professional opportunities flourish.

The ability to read body language signals and respond accordingly is an important weapon in a salesperson’s arsenal. As a salesperson, you should be actively seeking to “hear” your prospect’s body language, as much as you’re listening to the words they’re saying. ‍When you see someone smile, you know instinctively that they’re happy (or at least indicating positive feelings to you). You know the proper response is most often to smile back.

In today’s fast-paced world, effective time management is the key to success for both professionals and leaders alike. Time is a finite resource, and how we manage it can greatly impact our productivity and overall well-being. To help you regain control of your time and achieve more in your personal and professional life, we’ll explore five powerful time management tools in this blog post.