It’s no secret that young professionals aren’t busting down the door for broadcast sales positions. And they’re especially not rushing to our tables at career fairs. But what if we took their biggest objections and turned them upside down? We already do this to create sales relationships. So, why wouldn’t we do it with prospective employees, too?

When promoting open positions at career fairs, lead with the stereotypes. Students hear about media or broadcast sales and they typically think of the “door-to-door salesman” and the idea of always having to be “on”. Unfortunately people associate this mentality with the word, “sales”. However, P1 Learning’s P1 Futures Program, a two-week, online education program that encourages college students to consider a career in broadcast sales, has found that repositioning the word “sales” early on helps intrigue students right off the bat.

Ask questions like..

• Have you ever bargained for a batter midterm grade from your professor?
• Have you ever convinced your employer on hiring you for the job you applied for?
• Have you ever persuaded someone on going on a date with you?
• Have you ever talked your parents into (fill in the blank here)? 

These questions help students see that we’re all in sales whether it’s on our business card or not. Once you see the lightbulb come on and know there’s a connection, move into how broadcast sales differs from other sales roles. Talk about the positives of pay structure including commissions. Too often the uncertainty of commission-based pay can drive away potential talent. I’m not talking about diving into sales percentages right off the bat, but address the fears that you once had. Though monthly paychecks can fluctuate, commission-based pay tends to pay higher than jobs that have a base salary.

Finally, address the day-to-day concern… you and I both know we aren’t just sitting behind a desk from 9 to 5! Talk to the young professionals about your favorite day on the job, or the time you helped a small business from closing their doors, or about the time you got a prospect from out of the blue. These personal stories help students see how their skills and creativity can contribute in a big way – and that’s what they’re looking for in a job right out of college.

Getting students interested in broadcast sales can be one of the tougher pitches we’ve made when starting from scratch. But, if we go at it exactly like we do the rest of our broadcast sales relationships, we may just start to see the line forming at our career fair tables. For additional courses on hiring sales talent, checkout our 14-part series, Media Hiring and Recruitment.

For more information about the P1 Futures Program, contact Nickey Buzek by email at nickey@p1learning.com or by phone at 888-944-9377.

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