SPECai AE Spotlight: Adam Perrotti

Introducing Adam Perrotti, an innovative Account Executive who has mastered the art of using SPECai to enhance client collaboration and drive results. In this Q & A, Adam shares his passion for learning about diverse industries, crafting impactful commercials, and leveraging cutting-edge AI tools to keep his sales pitches fresh. Whether he’s working with local businesses to create custom ads or advising new AEs on how to maximize the potential of SPECai, Adam’s approach is all about building meaningful connections and delivering value through creative solutions. Let’s dive into his insights!

 

1. What do you enjoy most about collaborating with local businesses?

What I enjoy most about collaborating with local businesses is learning all about their industry and the market that they are in. Through this position, I’ve found myself learning about a variety of different businesses from all kinds of industries.

I also enjoy working with the client on the creative for their commercial and what the message is going to be. This is perhaps my what I enjoy most because after the process of writing the commercial, I get to hear it on-air and then eventually go and visit the client at their location and hear directly from them or see for myself the impact that it has made.

 

2. What advice would you give to AEs who are just starting to integrate SPECai into their workflow?

Be consistent with the software. Don’t just use it for that big meeting you have, use it for all levels of accounts. I’ve found that when presenting to a prospect/client, no matter how compelling the presentation is, or how strong the schedule is, the thing that will stick out and be remembered is your spec spot. And don’t just limit yourself to using the spec during presentations to close the deal, use the spec to get you the meetings with those tougher prospects, send it over through an email, and it will grab their attention better than any email/phone call.

I have found what works best and triggers the most responses when I use SPECai to make a spec commercial, is to customize it for the prospect. Of course include the business name but also do a little research on their website and try to include a common slogan or sale that they are having.

 

3. How do you keep your sales pitches fresh and relevant, especially with long-term clients?

I keep my sales pitches fresh and relevant through research and taking that research and turning it into a spec commercial that will grab the prospects attention. Whether it’s a sale, or an event, or even a recruitment campaign, I will make a spec commercial for it and either send it over to the prospect through an email or stop into their location and play it in-person for them. This allows the client/prospect to understand that I am being proactive and did my research on their business to find that sale or event, and furthermore took initiative to produce a commercial for them. Even if this doesn’t lead to a close, it is greatly appreciated by the business owner and at the least, establishes some sort of rapport with the owner.

 

4. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in selling radio ads, and how did you overcome it? What’s a misconception about radio advertising that you often have to address with clients?

The biggest challenge I’ve faced while selling radio ads is the big misconception that nobody is listening to radio anymore, which is completely not true! Although, there are more platforms now to listen to music, such as streaming platforms, none of which even come close to the audience that radio has to offer. With that being said, it isn’t always the easiest to get the prospect to understand that there is still a very large audience listening to local radio in their market. I overcome this misconception with data, specifically data pulled from Nielsen which is a global company that provides audience ratings, listenership/viewership for all TV and Radio stations across the US. Through Nielsen, I will provide a ranker to show the prospect just how many people in the market are listening to a specific radio station.

 

5. Can you share a success story where radio ads helped a local business achieve something significant?

A success story including radio that I’d like to share comes through our station WEBE108, and a program that we put together every year around the holidays in December. The program is called “A Christmas Wish” where residents in the Connecticut communities will send in submissions, nominating their friends and family who are in need. These stories are typically very emotional and leave listeners wanting to help. With the help from many local businesses, we are able to collect sponsors for this program and help grant many of these wishes. A specific example I have from this, occurred just last year when a young teenager who just lost his mom, did not have a bed to sleep in. I teamed up with one of the local furniture stores in the area and had them sponsor this wish, granting the teen with an entire new bed set. Although this isn’t the typical success story, it is highlighting the impact that radio has on listeners, and the success of how a local furniture store in the community is able to dig their roots further in the community and sponsor something like this.