Back to Broadcast Media Sales! – The View from Lajeune

In my last blog, My entry into broadcast media sales, I ended by saying that I was starting to get bored working in print sales at Umoja and that I was thinking about my next challenge. Serendipitously I received a phone call from the local sales manager at WEBE 108FM and WICC 600AM. She said one of the team’s veteran players had not practiced and there was a “list” for me if I wanted to. A “list” in radio media sales is a written guarantee of accounts stating that the seller will make a certain amount of money during the year by servicing these accounts. I was very happy to be back at WEBE and WICC, this time with a “base” to work from as well as a team I felt more aligned with. This was in the 1990s when there were a lot of incentives offered for good sellers to stay. At WEBE and WICC, these included trips to the Caribbean if quarterly team budgets were met, cash bonuses and lots of local restaurant merchandising for vendors to use in their advertising clients. Here’s another reason: If we lived in a nearby city (at the time I lived in New Haven, Connecticut), we were encouraged to get a gas and oil change trade to use in our own car (!) as well as to share with others. Vehicle news radio stations. Win win! I got it done and spent the next year enjoying free gas and oil changes! Again, very different times (smiles).

It gets better. On my first day back at work, I discovered that the WEBE and WICC combined sales team had just met their quarterly sales budget, so, as they say, I jumped in. Since I was the person replacing the fired Chief Accountant, I automatically qualified for a 6 day, 5 night all-inclusive trip to Half Moon Bay in Montego Bay, Jamaica! Since I wasn’t a “real winner” like the rest of the sales team, I could have gone, but I couldn’t make an appointment. Regardless, I still enjoyed my Junior Suite, copious amounts of delicious food and drink, fun time at the beach and lots of sightseeing with the only two “single ladies” on the trip and I had so much fun! What a way to start a new business (smile).

I really enjoyed returning to WEBE and WICC radio for the second time. Now, I made good money, got along well with employees and the local sales team, dined at some of the finest restaurants in Fairfield County, and enjoyed many other professional perks. However, I still feel like something is missing. So when I got a phone call from the General Sales Manager for Star 99.9FM, WPLR 99.1FM and WYBC 94.3FM, I took it. We met and he told me personally that they created a position just for me. I will be the new Business Manager for WYBC 94.3FM. I would have my own office at their headquarters in Milford, Connecticut, and I would be tasked with creating a media kit from scratch as well as sales of sheets and the like. I would also hire strictly local account managers for WYBC and train them as well as train Star 99.9 and WPLR 99.1 account managers on how to sell a black radio station and more importantly, how to sell to the urban community. Management clearly did their job with me…I was up to the task and it lasted 5 1/2 years. She was eventually forced to resign when things started to go wrong in the radio industry. The shift to Wall Street meant a lot of mergers and the introduction of satellite radio. Situations like mine were cut short and heads went out the door. My favorite radio had become part of the not-so-distant past and I had no choice but to finally part with it…

I started doing interviews with local TV stations while taking advantage of my severance pay. A good friend named Katherine (who is now one of my favorite clients!) suggested I start there. I also met another friend of mine in the industry named Paul who worked in local sales for both radio and TV stations and he told me it was like “going from downstairs to upstairs”. Paul wasn’t wrong (smiles). I ended up going back to News 8 (ABC) which was my first choice even though I interviewed with all the other local network affiliates: CBS, NBC and FOX. News 8 was attractive to me because of my previous and positive work history there and because I really liked the station and its programming – my family and I watched Channel 8 back in the day when Hollis lived in Groton, Connecticut – Sports nut. Once again, News 8 was the last TV station to interview her. I learned a lot from other interviews and used that knowledge to convince the then local sales manager to hire me within a week (including drug testing)! I said something to the effect of, you can hire me here to bring in new business or you can watch while I bring it to your competitors and it’s sold (smiles).

It’s now been 20 years and I’ve been selling two local TV stations – WTNH News 8 and WCTX My TV; Station website WTNH.com; Integrated sponsorship of our local lifestyle show, CT Buzz; Local news and community care. Since we are owned by Nexstar Media Group based in Texas, I also sell Nexstar digital products including but not limited to SEM/SEO, video marketing, emails, social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, You Tube) and OTT/CTV.

The world has truly changed over the past 35+ years and local media continues to evolve. My story won’t be fully written until I retire and I can really relax and look at things from a perspective that isn’t clouded by the daily stresses of my work life. Stay tuned…

TVFL