THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROGRAM DIRECTORS AND SALES MANAGERS A ByrnesMedia Guest Article Mike McVay I don't know if it was the moon, the stars, or signs of the end times, but I recently had three visits in a row where the general manager was unhappy with the program director. In each case, a PD that I believe to be doing a good job. The situation was compounded by the fact that these managers have sales backgrounds and have never been program directors. They fail to see the difference between sales managers and program directors. Part of the problem is that they are holding up the program directors to a criteria, which is different than that used in judging sales managers. There is little comparison between the two jobs or the type of people who operate within their responsibility at these positions.
Sales managers generally have strong personalities, are persuasive individuals, and are dynamic in appearance, actions, and convictions. The very best sales managers don't understand the word "no" nor will they accept it as a response to any question they ask. They have a work ethic that is visible inside the radio station because they start the day at 8 a.m. or 8:30 with an in-person sales meeting. They're highly visible running up and down the hallways of the station or shouting across the sales cubicles in an effort to motivate their staff. They're in and out of the general manager's office frequently waving start orders or sales projections that have been exceeded. These are individuals who are capable of teaching a Dale Carnegie course, let alone attending one. They dress good, they look good, they are well educated (be it formal education or in life experiences), and they have a certain worldliness about them that makes them interesting to others.
Program directors, the really good ones, are artists. They hear a radio station in their head that no one else hears. They know the sound they want to come from the speakers. While motivating a sales department may be as simple as throwing raw meat in a room full of tigers, conducting an air-staff meeting is almost like holding an encounter or group therapy session in one's own office. The eccentricities of program directors seem to concern or challenge many managers themselves. Program directors require a different type of motivation. They are head strong. They create and direct instead of manage. The movie analogy would be that the program director wrote both the screenplay and directed the movie. The general sales manager found the money to produce the film. One is creative and product driven while the other is sales and accomplishment driven.
I often see the mistakes a general manager makes in regard to how they handle program directors and it starts when they interview a PD for employment. They'll say to me "I want someone dynamic. A real go-getter. Someone who is not afraid to be at the radio station from 7 in the morning until 10 at night. Someone who dresses the part. Someone I can send out on location. Somebody who is great at getting up and talking in front of people and helping us with sales presentations to clients."
There are individuals like that in programming, but when we search out and interview a program director, we look at a whole different set of standards. Here are some of the things we look for:
Program directors are known for starting their day from home at 6 a.m. by monitoring a morning show. Just because they are not inside your building at 8 a.m. does not mean they are not working. Some program directors do morning shows as well as program the radio station. That means their day is starting at 4 a.m. They've worked an entire day before the sales meeting breaks up. Most programmers work 7-days a week and put in 18-hour days. It's difficult to have an attitude of anything other than "if the station's on the air, then I am working" and "if it comes out of the speakers, then I am responsible for it."
You can't look at a program director as if he/she is a sales manager. The best programmers in the world are the most unusual. Look at the ratings. Look at their accomplishments. You hired them to put points on the board. Let them do that.
Recognized around the world as one of North America's leading broadcast consultants, Mike McVay is a 27-year broadcaster with experience as an on-air personality, Program Director, Operations Manager, Account Executive, Station Manager, General Manager, and station owner.
Mike serves as President of McVay Media and is a special consultant to several nationally syndicated programs. His syndicated experience includes The Leeza Gibbons Countdown, The Gary Owens Show and Dick Clark's Rock Roll and Remember. Currently, Mike is working with American View, Delilah After Dark, The Jim Brickman Show, The Rhona Show and Sony Warner.
Contact Mike McVay at: 2001 Crocker, Suite 260, Cleveland, OH 44145 (440) 892-1910 |