Per Inquiry spots

[One Who Knows]

IIRC, I think the only ones we had measurable success with were quicken loans and occasionally sears siding/cabinet.  I think Media Advantage out if Chicago handled both.  I would not run the debt consolidators because I generally don't believe in the product.

Don't forget you can check out the product/service on sites like ripoffreport.com or bbb.org. 

And you are good to not run the debt consolidation spots.  From personal experience, I can tell you, though they may be able to help a few people here and there, it is very possible that some of these companies can put you into a situation where your debts actually rise, and then when it comes to having to pay the bill, the amount of money they tell you to "save" in your "plan" comes nowhere close to the amount needed to settle with your creditors.

I wonder how many people get rooked by these companies...

[Prais]

This is business.
Buyer Beware.

Now, give me the price we settled on per lead.

[listner1]

Tried Airtime for a while. Got a check for a client we weren't even running. Then after several months with no checks, we "tested" a few of the numbers and still got no check so we dropped most of them.

Same guy reads almost all of the spots and does do ALL of the phone numbers at the end. The first time he reads the number his voice ends the number with an "up inflection" so the second read of the number sounds like a continuation of the first. Had several people ask us why the numbers are 20 digits long.

[ChiefOperator]

Our station ran inquiry spots and received nothing.  In my view, our job as broadcasters is to get the spot out over the air, not get the product sold.  Thus, we should get paid for playing the spot, regardless of the outcome.  We no longer air inquiry spots...   

[bturner]

My experience is Per Inquiry spots are a waste.  Copy/Creative is not really listener friendly and payout is minimal.  We got $20 here or there (based on a station with no ratings in a major market).

The other option is the companies that call everybody in the phone book and pay you 10% or so of the take.  The spots these companies sell are very expensive...generally 10 times the amount you want.  The drawback is they might only call one type of business resulting in 10 spots in 5 hours for, say, a funeral home.  All would have the same copy...only the business name, address and phone changes.

[amfmsw]

I saw this on RBR and thought it may clear up a few things.  Selling for over 20 years, I can tell you from experience that if the product matches your audience and geography, their phone will ring.  I can also tell you there is a point of diminishing return, like fishing out a small lake. 

More here: http://www.rbr.com/features/sales-marketing/25542.html

[Bill Wolfenbarger]

Based on our experience, you're better off supersizing clients' schedules for a buck, or even a dime, than running PI spots.

[upndownthedial]

I had a daily feature on a few stations a few years ago, and I worked with Peter at Higher Power Marketing. I was very impressed with the service and the payouts, and I was a very very small player.
http://www.hpowermarketing.com/

[Prais]

Stewy said, "Play another song instead of PI's, unless your listeners would rather hear ads."
_____
I was not in business to play songs, but make cash playing ads. Often, people judge your "success" by the number of ads you run.

I'd MUCH rather "sound successful." It's good psychology to make listeners believe you ARE and advertisers THINK "if they have all those ads, it must be a good place to advrtise.

Perception is EVERYTHING.

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