What do YOU think of me?

There's a great line in a not so great movie ('Beaches') which I am reminded of today.

The movie deals with a very narcissistic (self-centered) woman who's all about her own life. And one of the great lines comes right after a scene in which the self-centered character gets done telling her friend about everything going on in her world. She takes a breath, and in a moment of what you think is self realization says, 'OK, enough about me. Let's talk about you.' Short pause, then, 'what do YOU think of me?". Very funny--and totally applicable when dealing with a client.

Clients want their 30 or 60 second to be about me, me, me, me and more me. Rightfully so, right? After all, they're PAYING for that 30 or 60 seconds--who ELSE should it be about? Well.......

What they don't realize is, they're not talking into the mirror. There's an audience. And the audience may NOT be as thrilled with every little detail about them, as they are. The message about their product or service is important, of course----- but when it's an assault of information of even the most minute details, when it becomes nothing but detail after detail after detail, the message can actually go negative. Bad for them, bad for your station. The audience tunes away-- and the client is left shaking their heads, wondering why their radio spot didn't work.

We're not talking about too much humility here-- we're just talking about how to deliver the MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL, and leave the rest for when the client is actually on the phone or at the place of business--- in other words, at a point of contact where the client has more than 30 or 60 seconds to talk about advantages. There is only so much a radio ad can do---and if you keep the information to a minimum, and keep it targeted, you not only improve the chances of it succeeding, you let the audience revel in the wonder of what the client is offering, instead of shutting their ears because it's reminds them of how their mom would nag them to get all their chores done BEFORE getting on the phone with their friends.

Let the client tell the audience a simple story, THEN ask, 'what do YOU think of me ?'. Chances are, by delivering a simple message, results will be much more ego boosting---and successful.