Mike: Hey, Jerry. How’s it going today? Beautiful day, isn’t it?
Jerry: Yeah, I guess.
Mike: Something wrong, Jerry?
Jerry: Nah, nothing’s wrong.
Mike: Hey, buddy, I don’t want to pry, but if I can help in any way I will.
Jerry: Sure. Thanks.
Mike: I’m serious. I’m not just saying that.
Jerry: What if I told you that you’re the problem?
Mike: What do you mean?
Jerry: I mean that before the radio station hired you I was their #1 salesman. Every month I led in sales volume, and I was in line for the promotion that you just got last week.
Mike: Wait a minute, Jerry...
Jerry: No, Mike, you asked, so now you can just hear me out.
Mike: OK.
Jerry: This morning I walk in here and Mr. Parker tells me my biggest account, Big M Markets, is pulling its advertisements and going to WBKW. So now I’m wondering just how long I’m going to be around here.
Mike: And you think it’s my fault?
Jerry: I didn’t have this problem when you weren’t here. I don’t know, maybe I’m just not cut out to be a salesman. Maybe I don’t have what it takes.
Mike: You know, Jerry, you could be right.
Jerry: Thanks a lot, Mike. I didn’t know you were the type to kick a guy when he’s down. (Starts to leave)
Mike: Wait a second, Jerry. I heard you out, now you hear me out.
Jerry: Is that an order, “Boss”?
Mike: No, it’s a request.
Jerry: (Jerry sits down again) OK. What have you got to say?
Mike: When I first came here, 18 months ago, this station was really struggling just to stay on the air. True?
Jerry: (Warily) True.
Mike: Since then we have more than doubled our income. True?
Jerry: True.
Mike: I’m going to be totally honest with you, Jerry. When I first started here I really admired you. You had a confidence and an enthusiasm that marked you as a top achiever. Since then, though, you have gone steadily down hill.
Jerry: (Starts to get angry again) Hey, I don’t need…
Mike: Let me finish. You didn’t go down hill because of me; you went down hill because of you. You started comparing yourself to me, and you felt that you didn’t quite measure up because you weren’t selling as much as I was. Be honest, isn’t that true?
Jerry: (Very defensive) I guess it could be.
Mike: The truth is, Jerry, you are every bit as good a salesman as I am, maybe even better.
Jerry: Yeah, sure. (Not believing it)
Mike: It’s true. Where you started to go wrong was comparing yourself to me. There are people out there who won’t give me the time of day, yet they’ll be very happy to listen to you, and vice versa. We can each reach a different clientele.
Jerry: So how come I’m not reaching them like you are?
Mike: Because you don’t believe you can anymore.
Jerry: You’ve got that right.
Mike: But you can, Jerry. All you have to do is get the focus off of you and back onto our clients and their needs. Meet their needs and they’ll be begging to buy from you.
Jerry: What do you mean? Give me an example.
Mike: Fine. Let’s take Big M Markets. Why do you think they’re pulling out?
Jerry: Probably because they can reach a bigger market with WBKW.
Mike: That’s true, but they won’t reach our listeners.
Jerry: True.
Mike: Our most recent survey shows that our listeners are mostly 45 and over.
Jerry: Yes… so?
Mike: It just so happens that Big M did a market survey recently. Know what they found?
Jerry: No.
Mike: They found that 67% of their weekly shoppers are 50 years old and older. That’s the reason they want to go with WBKW. They want to begin to attract younger buyers. That’s a good marketing strategy, don’t you think?
Jerry: Sure, but what about their current shoppers.
Mike: Exactly. By pulling their advertising with us they are taking a risk with a loyal consumer base.
Jerry: They sure are.
Mike: What could we do that would help them to reach both age groups?
Jerry: Well, we could cut the length of their commercials. Give them 30 second spots, instead of 60 second.
Mike: That’s a great idea.
Jerry: Sure. It would cut their costs in half with us, yet they would still be reaching their biggest customer audience. We could also come up with a new catchy commercial that they could play on the air as well as in their stores.
Mike: I think they’d probably go for that.
Mike: I’ll tell you what, let’s put together some ideas for a new advertising campaign and go see them tomorrow.
Jerry: I’ll go give them a call.
Mike: I already called, but don’t worry, this is your account not mine.
Jerry: So you were planning on helping me before I lit into you.
Mike: Jerry, this is a win-win situation. For you, because you
get to be a great salesman again. For me, because you make me look
good in my position. For Big M, because we help them to keep their
customers.
Jerry: Thanks, Mike. You’re right, I have had a lousy attitude,
but that’s all changing as of this very minute.
Mike: Friends? (Offers to shake hands)
Jerry: Friends. (Shakes hands with Mike)
Lights out.
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Copyright John & Joanne Miller, all rights reserved.
This script may be performed free of charge, provided no charge is
made for entrance or for programmes. In return, the authors would like
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