Holland Cooke Media CRMC-PA review MAKE YOURSELF INDISPENSIBLE TO MANAGEMENT (AND MAKE A PILE OF MONEY)

Almost all wanted more dough...and everyone I know who left the microphone for the street has done very well financially. Consider the advantages on-air talent has in making this transition:

Someone well-known after years on-air in his/her city can exploit that name recognition to GET calls returned, GET past the receptionist, and GET an appointment with prospective advertisers. No, being well-known won't GET the order. But it's sure a leg-up on reps cold-calling without "a name."

Talk Radio talent has an extra advantage. Certainly the gift-of-gab has value beyond doing a show. Being professional interviewers, Talk hosts have already mastered a fundamental skill that other Sales people must learn.

Anyone who's worked on-air knows the-tools-of-the-trade better than Sales people who weren't on-air. You understand Radio's product inside-out. Example: Having suffered so much poor commercial copy over the years, you can write a GREAT spot. When you voice your own accounts, the spot gets that extra-added-something that other announcers might not give it. And your voice and name recognition add an endorsement that's missing from more-anonymous creative.

No, those aren't his only accounts. Like the other Sales people at his station, he prospects for new business, and he suffers clueless 22-year-old ad agency time-buyers. But -- by exploiting the brand equity he's earned in his years on-air -- his Sales performance is less of a roller coaster ride than other Sales peoples.'

Admittedly, I was looking at this as a Sales outsider. But it still looked too easy. So I "went to school" on this, literally.

There is no Programming counterpart to what the Radio Advertising Bureau is to Sales. For the past several years, I've covered RAB's annual convention for Talkers magazine, so you've read me encouraging PDs and on-air people to consider attending. And I've been nagging RAB to offer programmers a special registration rate. They called my bluff by offering to put me through their CRMC-PA training course, so I could report on it here.

For years, diligent Sales people have completed RAB's Certified Radio Marketing Consultant accreditation program to earn the "CRMC" you may have seen on business cards. Now, RAB is offering those of us on the Programming side the CRMC-PA, a "Programming Accreditation." Their intent was to create a structured training experience for PDs, production directors, promotion managers, music directors, and operations personnel.

But after taking the CRMC-PA course, I'll let you in on a secret: If you're on-air talent, and you want management to consider you indispensable, and you want to make yourself a LOT of money, do the CRMC-PA course, then start selling.

"NO MATTER WHAT YOUR JOB TITLE, IF YOU'RE IN RADIO,YOU'RE IN SALES."
That's the premise of CRMC-PA, as stated by its developer, veteran programmer Ed Shane. Reading his thoughtfully-presented coursework, I'm reminded of a couple college professors I enjoyed. I know Ed as someone who loves Radio, and his enthusiasm is contagious.

On-air talent was always part of Radio’s marketing dimension. With station management under increasing pressure to cut expenses (translation: salaries) and increase revenue (on which Sales people -- possibly including YOU -- earn commission), it makes sense to be Sales-savvy.

This CRMC-PA course confers upon programming people, in effect, a "CPA of marketing." Not-surprisingly, what I read in the 292 page course manual seeks to avert the divisive church-and-state debates between Sales and Programming that Sales almost always wins.

What did surprise me was that CRMC-PA's underlying philosophy was NOT that Sales should almost always win! For instance, the contention commonly-heard from Sales people that "I need a promotion or we won't get on the buy" should NOT be the litmus test for whether to do a promotion.

FREE! YOUR NEXT RUBBER-CHICKEN SPEECH
Logically, much of the material in the early coursework modules is fundamental, Radio 101 for utter newcomers. So I found passages such as "What's a Chief Engineer?" quicker reading than the advanced Sales material in later modules. But don't skim. Some of that early material is inspiring Radio history, an affirmation about what makes what we do so special. It was a kick to actually hear a clip of commercial Radio's storied 1922 debut, the KDKA broadcast of the Warren G.Harding election returns.

So, in addition to training you to market and sell Radio advertising, RAB has, in effect, ghost-written a stirring speech you can deliver to the community groups you're invited to address from time-to-time. Even if you don't register for the CRMC-PA course, you can read and hear that material without cost or obligation, since it's in modules #1-5 on the CRMC-PA sample CD-ROM. RAB will send you a copy -- even if your station isn't an RAB member -- if you call them at 800-232-3131.

Then, if you choose to register for the entire course, RAB will deliver modules #6-15 and enable you to take the exam, via online downloads. You study and take the exam at your leisure. If your station is a RAB member, the fee is $295. If your station is not a member, inquire. If your station pays, you're working for smart people. And they'll be REAL impressed that you asked. If you invest-in-yourself by paying for this, write-it-off as a deductible business expense. What you will be acquiring has more than one-time value. This course material is an ongoing reference tool that I expect I'll be using the way attorneys refer-back-to the law books that line their office walls.

NOT "SALES TRAINING LITE"
Material in the later modules is advanced Sales training, the same coursework that account executives study for their CRMC Sales certification. So when you pass the CMRC-PA, you're not just a Sales-savvy Programmer, you're a full-fledged marketing professional. To get a feel for how the RAB supports our industry, peruse www.rab.com.

• This Sales resource also has value to programmers, by describing how people use Radio. Even what's in-front-of the member password is a rich trove of information. For instance:
• Read or download or print-out the "RAB Radio Marketing Guide and Fact Book," a document I've copied to talent I coach,and which every on-air personality should read, to understand who listens, and where and when.
• Print-out RAB's "Promotional Calendar" for a show prep resource you'll use all year.
• And visit "Radio Gets Results-- Success Stories," and read TWO THOUSAND examples of how RAB member stations clicked for advertisers...2000 proven plans even an inexperienced seller can use to make money for advertisers, thus him/herself.

Bottom line: There are three kinds of knowledge:

1. What-you-know-that-you-know-you-know. If I jump into my car and turn the key, I know that I know how drive it.

2. What-you-DON'T-know-that-you-KNOW-you-don't-know. I know better than to jump in a helicopterand turn the key.

3. What-you-DON'T-know-that-you-DON'T-know-you-don't-know. If there were a pie chart of all yourknowledge, you'd want this to be the smallest slice.

Taking the CRMC-PA course will help you make that third slice smaller. In a dozen ways, you'll notice yourself doing little things that make you more valuable to management...and could make you a pile of money.

And if you'd prefer not to be wealthy, rounding-out your repertoire this way will at least help you survive the unprecedented change that our industry is weathering. 

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