HD Radio

Welcome to the party, Clear Channel. We understand that WMT-AM and FM are now broadcasting in HD. We’re glad to hear it. HD is digital radio that makes AM sound like FM, makes FM sound like CD quality, and, even better, offers more hidden channels. Right now we’re broadcasting KZIA HD2 which is sort of a rock station, HD3 which is a simulcast of KGYM, 1600ESPN, and we’ll soon add HD4 (format to be determined.)

You have to have an HD radio to hear these hidden station. We’re excited every time another station upgrades to HD since that will give us all more incentive to buy the new radios. We were pioneers in this, and we've been waiting years for others to join us in smaller markets like this one. I think our transmitter is serial number 00004 or something like that. We were the first station in Iowa to broadcast in HD, but now there are quite a few in DM too--including WHO-AM.

Anyway, thanks and congratulations to Clear Channel for joining the digital revolution in Eastern Iowa.

Stay tuned.

KMRY, KCCK and some other public stations are also broadcasting in HD, and some are multi-casting too.

Book Report: Applebee's America--How successful political, business and religious leaders connect with the new American community

This is an interesting read, although often I could only read 3 or 4 pages before passing into dreamland. It’s about persuasion strategies explained in the framework of presidential politics, mega churches and the actual restaurant Applebee’s.

Key points:
* Build authentic relationships with people. Make gut values connections based on what really is. Not what you think people want to hear. People are more distracted and distrusting that ever before. Being flawed is okay—being disingenuous isn’t.

* Community is one of the things missing in the lives of Americans. We all drive straight into our attached garages and shut the door. We might go outside—in the backyard, behind our privacy fence. People are seeking out ways to engage with others with similar beliefs, hobbies, interests—either in person or virtually.

* Generation 9/11 (in high school and college when the terrorists struck) grew up with technology and continue to crave innovations to make life easier and more enjoyable. They have little use for traditional institutions and will quickly create ones that work for them. They are more spiritual, but less likely to attend church and are extremely committed to work/life balance. They’re more similar to their WWII grandparents than their parents. Women of this generation are excelling--politics and business better be ready for this group of strong leaders.

What's selling really?

When someone comes to you, calls you or e-mails you about your product/service, what do you tell them?

Maybe you shouldn’t tell much at all. Of course, for some of us driver types, if you don’t answer a question, you’re in trouble. But if you don’t ask a few, that will be bigger trouble.

I respectfully submit that you might want to sit down with your sales staff and find out what information would best help you and the customer figure out what will work best for them. Questions like,
“What were you hoping I could help you with?”
“What have you tried so far?”
“Why did you think our product/service would help?”
“How will you know if this is right for you?

You might find out some interesting stuff. Like that they need a different solution than the one they came in for. Or that they plan to ask their uncle for advice, even after you feel like the deal is done. Valuable info. Is it wrong to not SELL when the situation presents itself? You might be surprised what pulling back for a few minutes does. If you’re not chasing, maybe they won’t run.

Cyclone Power

A couple of us went to the Cyclone Tailgate Tour stop at Lindale Mall last week. Oh, the sea of cardinal and gold! About 1000 fans showed up to meet the coaches, some players, the A.D. and cheerleaders. It was a well-planned event, with autograph sessions, more cardinal/gold merchandise to purchase, food and large bouncy things for the mini-Cyclones.

We’re proud to broadcast the Cyclone football and basketball games on 1600ESPN (yes, I'm a UI grad x 2, but I'm still excited for it!). Whether you’re an ISU fan or not, it will be interesting for all to see how the coaches do in their early years (with the exception of the women’s coach is seasoned and the only coach in the state to send a team to the NCAA tourney this year).

We appreciate you tuning in to cheer on the Cyclones (or tuning in to cheer on the other team, if that’s the way you lean.) And if you’d like to advertise to those listeners, let us know.

Tooth Fairy tells a little lie

There are a few ways to increase sales.

Get new customers.
Get current customers to spend more per visit.
Get current customers to visit more often.

I was at the dentist’s office the other day (Dr. Deb Joyner—she’s awesome if you’re in the market for a new one! http://www.dentalartsmile.com). I saw a book on taking care of your teeth full of pictures. Pictures of things like what milk can do to a baby’s teeth if you don’t brush, what gum disease looks like as it progresses and other sick stuff.

The thing that really caught my attention was a picture of the proper amount of tooth past to use. Picture a green pea. A scrawny pea—like one out of a can, not a fresh one. That’s it. Now picture what you see in the (insert toothpaste brand here) ads in print and on TV. The go from one end of the brush to the other with a big SWOOSH at the end. They’re encouraging us to use more. We don’t need more, but we’ll use up that tube about four times faster if we follow the pictures we’ve seen.

Hmm.

Marketing good. Manipulating bad.

Who wants to start a brand of toothpaste with me using the “so powerful at cleaning and freshening, this is little bit is all you need” campaign? Or would we object as "more is more" Americans?

E-I-E-I...Oh.

Do you consider personality types in your communications? A little knowledge can be a great thing in any type of relationship. I’m a fan of the Myers Briggs type indicator. There are 4 pairs of descriptors. Extravert/Introvert, Sensing/Intuitive, Thinking/Feeling and Judging/Perceiving. When you first learn about the types, they seem like a mess of letters.

(Of course, these personality surveys don’t say anything about intelligence or mental health. They’re more about generalities—like if you prefer your left hand or right. Your other hand still works fine. It's just what you prefer.)

For extraversion vs introversion (or E/I)—I think it’s pretty easy to identify who is who. Extraverts are energized by dialogue. Introverts have to go inside themselves to refreshed. Extraverts make decisions by talking. Introverts make them alone where they can think things through in peace.

So, what to do if you’re an introvert married to an extravert? Your spouse may chase you around the house wanted to discuss things. After a long day or if there is a decision to be made, he/she really needs to talk. This might drive you crazy.

What if you’re the extravert and your spouse is an introvert? Don’t be surprised if your spouse hides from you, goes into the bathroom for extended periods, etc. Introverts just announce things. They’re not looking discussion--they’ve decided. And after a long day, they need to go internal to re-energize. All of these things will drive you crazy.

So, what to do to extend courtesy (and increase the odds of getting the communication that you need when you need it)?

For introverts, if you tell them something new, surprising or different, give them some time to process. Give them a warning about the topic so they have time to prepare. Make an appointment for a later interaction.

For extraverts, listen to them. Talk to them more than you think should be necessary. Try to time your interactions for when you have energy so they can also power up. They brainstorm, make decisions and get energy when their mouths are moving.

If you’re selling to either of these types, how does that affect your interaction and the closing process?

It’s not hard to get a bit of an inferiority complex about HD radio. KZIA was pioneer in the technology. Our transmitter is serial number 000004 or something similar. HD makes FM sound like CDs and AM sound like analog FM. We have 3 stations in HD. Two are sub-channels, under the 102.9 signal—a classic rock format and a rebroadcast of 1600ESPN. We broadcast HD-2, the classic rock station out of an old broom closet. Standing room for one operator at a time, otherwise the fire department will object.

I have a table top radio in my dining room, and we much enjoy the classic rock station (aka songs that Rob Norton loves.) It’s a great addition to the market. More choices. For free.

So far, HD sub-channels only have an experimental license, so we can’t sell any advertising. And who would buy it? We know of about 50 HD radios in Linn and Johnson counties. The big corporate consolidators who own the other big FM stations aren’t in any hurry to bring HD to a small market like Cedar Rapids.

Good news though—Wal-Mart just announced that they’re going to sell HD car radios for under $200. http://www.forbes.com/digitalentertainment/2007/03/02/radio-hd-satellite-tech-media-cx_lh_0305radio.html Also, BMW plans to add them as an option for new cars this year, and hopefully others will soon too. A market like this could add a dozen formats if Clear Channel and Cumulus would join us. Come on. If Wal-Mart is in, it’s time to commit.

Who is your competitor? Think wide and far.

You hear stories about Isiah Thomas and the “stay out of the lane” comments that ended in an all out, humiliating brawl on the court. You hear about Terrill Owens spitting on the defensive guy who was giving him some guff.

What sick stories. These are HIGHLY compensated athletes who are in the middle of doing their job. They’re “on the clock” and they’re acting ridiculous.

Why? All they can think about is themselves in relation to the competition. And the only competition they see is the obvious one who is across the line from them. But winning and losing isn’t all in that context. Can a competitor do something that hurts your business or your ability to win? Absolutely. But don’t think of competition narrowly.

My husband stays home with our daughter. So, that opportunity cost of lost income is the competition for the solid surface countertop store. Fill in many categories of lost revenue that we would spend if he worked outside the house: vacation, auto, restaurants/take-out, drycleaning, house cleaning. We had a choice between devoted dad for high quality child care and pretty counters. We picked the expensive childcare. The value was there for us. Just like someone who buys a pool for their backyard—that might cut into their new HDTV budget. Or buying gasoline at $3/gallon cuts into the Happy Meal budget. Go on a great vacation, drive your car one more year. You get the picture.

Be sure you know exactly what game you’re playing—and who all the real threats are. Think big as you consider what your customer needs from you.
Your competitors aren’t just the obvious ones. Your thoughts, efforts and marketing can’t all be directed toward reacting to the jerk who stole your best employee last year and runs a huge sale every July. Look at what your potential customers are doing. How can you best help them? Do you need to throw out old models and systems? Could you possibly lose customers to a process or employee that customers don’t like? Do you need to advertise earlier in the purchase cycle to make sure that your item gets on the “this weekend” list, not the “maybe someday” one?

And maybe Isiah might have to look inward a little bit to see why he’s not winning games. Hint: it’s not the other team.

Seminar on managing emotions

Last week I went to a Fred Pryor seminar called “Managing Emotions in Difficult Situations.” I expected a little bit of touchy-feely during the day, and that was there. There were also some interesting ideas.

First, they used an analogy of a rider/horse for cognitive thought/subconscious thought. The horse lives in your limbic brain. I’ve heard others call it your lizard brain. When you touch a hot stove, your hand pulls back immediately, before you have time to think, “HOT—better move my hand!” It’s also where the voice in your head lives. It’s actually housed in the back, lower part of your brain. Hello, horse. The horse is fully capable of living his life without you. He’s busy and it’s hard to get his attention. Mr. or Ms. Horse is full of information that you didn’t intend to store there. Lyrics to thousands of songs, the 2-all-beef-patties thing, multiplication tables, what babies smell like, things your parents told you (usually bad things) and other oft repeated or emotional things.

The rider is your conscious, deliberate thought. It involves effort and concentration to think this way. It’s problem-solving, rational, active thinking. This is pre-frontal cortex, behind your forehead. Action. Decisions.

Okay. So we learned that to control our emotions, which are activated by the horse, we need to get the rider engaged. What’s the rider trying to overcome? Inadvertent programming. Back to the parent thing. This was really interesting. There was a wide variety of people in the room. Gen Y, Gen X, Boomers. Engineers, accountants, maintenance workers. People in suits, heels, ties. Others in jeans and camouflage jackets. As we did some of the touchy feely to check in with what the horse/subconscious does with each of us, you wouldn’t believe the similarities. There were many reports of parents saying, “who do you think you are?”, “are you stupid?,” “sit down and shut up,” “who do you think you are?” Clearly we all must have the same parents!

So, what’s the message? First, a lot of our limitations come from that darn horse spouting back the same rhetoric. Not that we didn’t deserve the dressdown where we were kids. I’m sure we all pushed the boundaries of parents. But we didn’t need to keep the negative self-image. Often, when things are heated with someone, we’re reacting from that emotional/horse place instead of rationally, calmly considering what the other person is saying. Controlling emotions is all about telling your rider to take control. The rider can be overtaken by the horse if he/she isn’t actively trying to keep the reins.

If a deer runs out in front of your car, and your horse tells you to slam on the brakes in an instant, amen to that. But if your co-worker, spouse, checker at the grocery store says something that sounds like it could brew an intense, ugly situation, be sure your rider is in control. Comments like, “I want to be sure I know your intention. You’re telling me this because you’d like X or you think I’m being Y. Is that right?” Taking one step back and doing some analysis can save you from wanting to throttle some unsuspecting soul.

"It's my pleasure to help you today!"

I went through the drive thru of the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut on the corner of 33rd Ave again today. They're impressive there. They ask how I'm doing--and wait for the answer. If I say something like, "rainy days and Mondays get me down", the voice behind the curtain always laughs and says "me too." If I say, "fine", he says he's glad to hear that. "Now...what can we get you for lunch?"My order is always hot and correct. I ask for no cheese--which complicates it for them, but they always cheerfully do it. And then, less than 60 seconds later when it's my turn to pay, the cashier says, "it's my pleasure to help you today" and smiles. Right at me. Like she means it. In fact, I'd bet money that she does mean it. I will admit that I can take a lesson from the two of them. A lot of us could.