It’s that gut-punch feeling of hesitation right before you reach out to a business you don’t yet know—whether by phone, email, LinkedIn, or walking through their front door. It’s the internal voice that whispers, “What if they blow me off?” or “I’ll reach out later—once I’ve got a better pitch.”

Rate increases: they happen. Let’s face it, they’re part of business. But communicating about them effectively with buyers isn’t always something OOH salespeople are given a lot of guidance on. As a result, they often make mistakes that can alienate, or in extreme cases lose advertisers.‍

Focus on the Behavior aspect of the triangle and the common pitfalls that can derail OOH sales professionals.

Selling Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising can be challenging, and many salespeople fall into common pitfalls that hinder their success. The Success Triangle—attitude, behavior, and technique—plays a crucial role in overcoming these obstacles. When it comes to attitude, three key traps often arise: a scarcity mindset, where salespeople stop prospecting after a few failures; self-doubt, where they don't believe in their own value and hesitate to engage with top-level clients; and ego-driven decisions, where they either dominate conversations to appear knowledgeable or avoid prospecting due to fear of making mistakes.

It’s good to set sales goals. They help to motivate us as OOH salespeople to achieve more, and they establish expectations and define success. But in order for them to be effective, the right goals have to be the focus. When we decide to track our strategy in order to measure our sales effectiveness, we often choose the wrong things to measure success.

Ask these questions and truly qualify the prospect and the opportunity to determine if it even makes sense to spend the time and effort to quote the opportunity…after all, do you really need PRACTICE putting together quotes?!

As we have said before, it’s your choice. You can suffer the pain of disappointment of less than stellar OOH sales results or you can suffer the pain of getting out of your comfort zone. Is this the year you throw caution to the wind?

The challenge is this: Many sales leaders have instituted a “don’t lose a piece of business on price” or a “get every piece of business you can” plan with their teams. Is that our only option? Of course not. We would all like to think that we are deploying our most precious asset (time) in a manner that is likely to yield the greatest return for our clients, our company and ourselves.‍The question is this: How do we know if we are investing our time wisely, How do we know if we are chasing good business or bad?

Remember, your journey to greater sales success starts in your mind. Thoughts shape beliefs, beliefs drive actions, and actions determine results. By tackling your money mindset head-on, you’ll not only feel more comfortable in budget conversations but also see a positive shift in your sales outcomes.

Prospecting in sales is about two things: skill and consistency. The best OOH sales professionals know that even when business is thriving, they need to stay disciplined in their prospecting efforts to keep the pipeline full. Here are five essential techniques to help you attract high-quality prospects.

At the end of the day, your success in OOH sales comes down to the things you control. Will you choose the pain of discipline today or the pain of regret tomorrow? The choice is yours.

Don’t just be another sales pitch. Be the expert. Be the solution. Be the one they trust to help them reach their business goals.

In a recent OOH Sales Mastery session, new clients initially focused on common selling points like competitive pricing and service, but these are often shared by all competitors. The key to differentiation lies in understanding the prospect's unique needs. Salespeople should go beyond surface-level promises by asking the right questions, actively listening, and offering tailored solutions. This approach shifts the conversation from being transactional to becoming a trusted advisor, building confidence in the prospect and establishing a long-term partnership rather than just selling a product.

In the world of OOH sales, there’s one straightforward, yet powerful question that, when used consistently, can significantly improve your close ratio, shorten your sales cycle, and strengthen your relationship with potential advertisers. And yet OOH salespeople hardly ever ask this question.We’ll get to that question in a moment. But first, let’s understand that this particular question is one of OOH Sales Mastery’s qualifying questions. So, before we go any further, let’s get clear about what the word qualifying really means.

When the prospect is talking, shut your mouth; don’t interrupt. You can open your ears or you can open your mouth, but you can’t do both at the same time. Let the prospect finish, then ask questions or make comments. And don’t think about what you’re going to say until the prospect is finished speaking. If you are thinking about what you are going to say, you are not listening!

Make the effort to discover the prospect's specific reasons for buying your boards, as well as their criteria for buying from one media company rather than another. Then, structure your approach and presentation around what you have discovered.

If you haven’t heard the term "ghosting" yet, it refers to suddenly ending all communication with someone without any warning or explanation and ignoring any subsequent attempts to communicate. In today’s world, plagued by incessant spam calls, emails, and texts, it’s no wonder people have become comfortable with ghosting. What used to be considered unprofessional and rude is now commonplace, and while it was once done with a tinge of guilt, it’s now often seen as a necessity.‍

What we tend to forget as OOH salespeople is the buy is only about price when we don’t understand the cost of the problem the prospect is trying to overcome with an OOH buy.

What choices will you make that will determine your results for the summer of 2024?

Recognizing and tackling your call reluctance is the first step toward more effective prospecting and greater success in OOH sales. Address these roadblocks, and watch your closing ratios improve dramatically!

At our firm, we teach a 'rules-based OOH selling system' rather than a 'script-based selling system.' This means we don't provide scripts to memorize and use in the field, which we find inauthentic. Instead, we want you to be yourself while following a systematic process that guides prospects through the sales conversation using your unique personality and speaking style. One of those critical rules we emphasize with our OOH Sales Mastery clients is: TIME KILLS DEALS.

Conclusive result of the study shows: More deliberate practice=better performance.

‍The fastest way I know to build credibility and trust with those you seek to do business with is to be willing to deal with all the obstacles and roadblocks up front and in advance. All of them. You won't look bad for doing so. You won't upset or disappoint the prospect. What you will do is to lock down a more meaningful relationship built upon being the Trusted Advisor…something you will never be if you remain stuck in the show up and throw up, features and benefits selling system.

Whether you’re harvesting crops or harvesting OOH sales, the process is the same. And, the requirements for success are the same – total commitment to the process, discipline, and diligence.

In OOH Sales Mastery, we teach and relentlessly reinforce a simple principle, an impossible-to-forget idea that carries massive implications for optimal revenue production: qualify hard, close easy. One of the big problems we see, though, is that people sometimes imagine they’re qualifying hard, but aren’t. Why not? Because they aren’t completing a non-negotiable element of qualification: qualifying the potential buyer’s Pain, (or in layman’s terms…their problems, issues or concerns). If we haven’t done that, we have no place making any formal recommendation or presentation to the buyer. And, as a result, we can’t expect to close easily. When we qualify effectively their Pain, what are we doing? We’re clarifying, in emotional, practical terms that resonate for the buyer, exactly what all the potential costs are for not taking action on a problem that’s keeping them from getting where they need to go next in their world. One of our most famous tools for clarifying the emotional impact of those costs is known as the Pain Funnel. It’s a powerful series of questions that is designed to allow the prospect to self-discover not just what is happening but why it is happening and most importantly, how does that issue affect the bottom line.

We work hard on the front end before we ever reach out to someone. We create a hyper-personalized message. That may not be what all of us are used to doing, but it’s what we need to do if we want to beat our OOH and other media competitors. Before we ever reach out, we want to find some things that we can talk about that will help us to make this case to each one of our prospects: Of all the people in the world, you are the only person on the planet who could have received this particular message. If we don’t make that case, then we don’t even make it onto the radar screen. I realize that’s a paradigm shift. What used to work just doesn’t anymore. I can’t keep doing what I always did and expect I am going to get different results. I realize it takes some effort on our side. But that’s the reality. And I promise you it takes less time and effort than you may think.

Human behavior is a funny thing in that it tends to be very predictable. For instance, people tend to buy based on the emotion of the moment and then justify their decision intellectually. Almost all of us repeat this cycle over and over again when we are buying most things. When we are in the scenario above, we also must remember this about human behavior as well and use it to our advantage. For most people, fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain.

Over the years I have posed a pivotal question literally thousands of times to OOH professionals: Is selling merely about telling? Unfortunately, more than you might guess responded that they believed that it was. Often, when people find themselves in a selling situation, they believe they should educate the prospect about OOH advertising, about how we do what we do, and why we do it. What we do that sets our medium apart from all others.‍ Often, when people find themselves in a selling situation, there's a prevailing misconception that prospects need an exhaustive education on OOH advertising—insights into how we operate, our methodologies, and what distinguishes our medium. However, this approach misses the mark.

‍As we are closing out a very strong 2023, we're actively engaging with our OOH clients, guiding them through comprehensive goal-setting exercises to position themselves for success in 2024. As sales professionals, understanding our driving force is crucial. What are we aiming to achieve personally? Clarity on meaningful personal goals allows us to chart a course for success – after all, one can't hit a target they don't have!

May 2024 be a year of unwavering commitment and accomplishment for us all. Setting goals is just the beginning. The real test lies in our commitment to taking actionable steps. Reflect on your life, both personally and professionally. Where are you merely "trying" instead of wholeheartedly committing? The distinction between the two can shape the trajectory of your personal and professional life in the year ahead. Remember, in the words of Yoda, "Do. Or do not. There is no try."

If a prospect evades a straightforward answer or provides a clear "no" response, it signals a lack of willingness to invest further. In such cases, it's likely time to close the file. Your next steps will determine whether you descend into the sales limbo of hope, a state we aptly call being addicted to "Hopium." In this state, positive outcomes are elusive, regardless of your efforts.

Pay closer attention to your child's persuasive tactics – you might discover some valuable sales lessons. You'll not only gain insights into their creativity, determination, and conviction but also realize that these qualities are equally important for a successful career in OOH sales. Wouldn’t you agree?

As a professional, they do what they did as a novice OOH salesperson…on purpose. They talk less, listen more, and “accidentally” close more sales.

In sales, it's not uncommon for salespeople to secure a buying decision from a prospect one day, only to receive a call the next day, with the prospect wanting to put the sale on hold or, even worse, cancel it altogether. It's a frustrating situation, and you may have experienced it too. So, what went wrong in these cases?

As an OOH sales professional, your tasks often fall into two distinct categories: those you enjoy and those you'd rather avoid. While the enjoyable tasks get checked off quickly, the less appealing ones can be easily postponed, leading to classic procrastination. ‍

Never forget, everyone’s favorite topic is themselves. If you want to create an environment where you establish rapport have the prospect share with you exactly what you need to know to properly solve their business issues…shut up, you talk too much. Be a better listener!!

At times, an effective salesperson must demonstrate toughness, even at the risk of seeming unlikable. Therefore, don't simply equate sociability with success. A proficient consultative OOH salesperson will probe, and pose difficult queries to uncover their clients' business issues. They do this to offer the best possible solution, helping clients overcome significant challenges or capitalize on significant opportunities. Are you ready to undertake such responsibilities, or are you too preoccupied with the desire to be universally liked?

In sales, telling is not selling. It's critical to pose detailed questions or share relevant anecdotes that will help potential clients uncover the advantages of OOH advertising (or leasing their land) for themselves. People may be skeptical or even deny the validity of our claims, but they will never dispute their own realizations. In our OOH Sales Masteryclasses, we encourage salespeople to think of themselves as guides, leading prospects on a journey of self-discovery about their business through carefully designed queries.

Leave the features and benefits aside. Dive beneath the surface, uncover the prospect's genuine motivations, and ask questions that expose their pain, using their own words. Pain is an immensely powerful emotion that prospects will do anything to avoid. So, forget about features and benefits. When you effectively evoke emotional pain, particularly in the present moment, and demonstrate that you have the means to alleviate their distress, you're one step closer to closing the deal. ‍

OOH Salesperson walks through the prospects door and greets the business owner with a big, friendly smile and wonders if they ever considered billboard advertising to get their message out. It’s their lucky day! We have an available board right near their location…it’s perfect for their business AND I’ve got this beautiful piece of spec art that would be just the ticket. Sound familiar?

Who really knows what the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters will bring in the way of an economy…Anemic? Strong? Recessionary? I for one am very bullish on out of home in 2023 no matter the economy as long as we make sure and do the things that we are in control of. 

The average OOH salesperson spends most of their time with prospects who never become clients, and only about 30-35% of their time actually selling. Without an effective method to qualify prospects, salespeople often waste time in unproductive conversations. A systematic approach to qualifying prospects could significantly increase face time with qualified prospects and drive revenue growth.

As a professional OOH salesperson, do you have an intentional method to how you manage your book of business? Have you broken down your clients into strategic categories with a defined approach as to how you are going to manage those relationships?