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Selling Ice Cubes During the Big Chill

by | Jan 6, 2014

Why waste time on cold calls when you can make 25 warm, value-driven touches in the time it used to take to make five cold calls?

Let’s face it — the world of broadcast is changing, and your team doesn’t have time to waste chasing outdated leads or second-guessing who the right contact is. Every call, every email, every outreach should be strategic, and that starts with having the right data.

That’s where Data Enrichment, powered by the ShareBuilders Assistant, comes in.

The Hidden Cost of Cold Calls

Cold outreach is the least efficient part of the sales process. Reps spend valuable time hunting down contact names, verifying titles, guessing email formats, and navigating outdated org charts — often just to be met with radio silence.

It may not be that your pitch is wrong. It’s that your data isn’t working hard enough for you.

Data Enrichment solves this by doing what no spreadsheet ever could: it intelligently fills in the blanks, updates stale records, and gives you the confidence that your message is reaching the right person at the right time — with the right message.

Smarter Outreach Starts with Enriched Data

Imagine opening your CRM and instantly seeing:

  • The correct contact with title, email, and phone number

  • A full DISC assessment of the contact you are reaching out to

  • Pain points and insights for every account

  • Brand logos, colors, and taglines

  • Past activity and pending revenue, all in one view

That’s not a dream — it’s data enrichment done right.

Powering Personalization with Purpose

Today’s buyers don’t respond to generic outreach. They respond to personalized, value-driven conversations that prove you’ve done your homework. That’s why Data Enrichment doesn’t just clean up your CRM — it powers strategic VBRs (Value-Based Reasons) that connect to real challenges and opportunities.

Whether you’re prospecting new business, upselling, or renewing, your team can confidently engage with messaging that resonates.

With the Data Enrichment Assistant, your team can:

  • Identify Relevant Contacts: Stop guessing and start connecting with decision-makers and influencers.

  • Keep CRM Records Up to Date: Automatically capture changes in leadership, ownership, or structure across brands and stations.

  • Craft Stronger VBRs: Leverage insights to tailor outreach based on real business context and market dynamics.

  • Accelerate Sales Cycles: Spend less time researching and more time selling.

  • Drive Higher Response Rates: Personalized, relevant outreach cuts through the noise and earns replies.

More Than a Tool — It’s a Revenue Strategy

Data Enrichment, powered by the ShareBuilders Assistant, is more than just a feature. It’s a sales enabler designed specifically for media sales teams who want to get serious about performance.

For national reps juggling dozens of accounts or local sellers trying to stand out in a competitive market, data enrichment means every touch is smarter, faster, and more likely to convert.

Built for Media Sales. Backed by ShareBuilders.

At ShareBuilders, we’ve spent decades helping media companies grow smarter and sell better. We know how fragmented ownership groups can be. We know the importance of timing, trust, and targeting. That’s why our Data Enrichment is purpose-built for the unique needs of your industry.

So whether you’re working in television, radio, out-of-home, or digital, we’ve got your back.

Ready to Activate Warm Leads at Scale?

Reps shouldn’t have to choose between volume and value. With ShareBuilders, they don’t have to. The Data Enrichment Assistant transforms your sales outreach by turning disconnected data into connected opportunities. Click the button below to learn more or book a demo!

Let's Talk Data Enrichment!
Selling Ice Cubes During the Big Chill Having trouble visiting your clients because of the weather? Keep in touch by phone or email!
Dog sled team, c.1900. Library of Congress.

Minus 10 degrees without wind chill, highs below zero, schools closed, business closed it must be winter. The cold is reaching into Florida, it ‘s rainy and cold in Seattle, the Northeast followed the Midwest with deep snows and dangerously cold temperatures, and the Southwest is probably tired of hearing about it! So, those of you in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara and Vegas read this for the ideas it brings, for you all will, at some time, experience the opposite of your pleasant weather!

This is the time when local radio and local television shines when there is a crisis that sends people to their local broadcast media for information. You can be a victim of an extreme weather situation, or you can be a problem solver.

Victims complain that they can ‘t get hold of anyone, that they are stuck with their kids because the schools are closed, and that the skeleton crew at the station is not able to address your needs.

Problem solvers see this as an opportunity both for themselves and their clients to make money, and to get good information out to their listeners and viewers.

Here are some thought starters for those who want to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Polar Vortex:

  1. Sort your account list into categories, then focus on categories that can provide helpful goods and services. Hopefully, your CRM system has this information for you online and easily sortable. Pass over the obvious your local hardware store is probably out of de-icer and your grocery stores have had a run on eggs, milk and bread already. Instead, look to help move goods and services that are not top-of-mind. For example, moms who thought the holiday break was too long and were anxiously awaiting back-to-school may still have kids at home. Remind them that the local indoor amusement parks are warm and ready for mid-day visits. Pet care places may have water heaters for pet water bowls (if they can ‘t be brought inside!). Looking ahead, call on travel agents and airlines to sell future trips to warm venues the beach sounds mighty good right now! Brainstorm things that people need right now, and match your clients with those in need due to the cold. If you have an eMarketing tool that allows you to send out mass personalized emails, this is the time to get familiar with it, and fast.
  2. Sell your weather-related features. There is and has been a crawl on local television stations announcing closings. Could a strategically placed logo brand a business, while at the same time bring some revenue in the station? These are premiums right now. If your weathers are sold out, work with programming to create features such as do ‘s and don ‘ts in extreme cold that can be quickly sold.
  3. Change your copy. Be sure you aren ‘t running spots about restaurants that feature outdoor seating, or about air conditioner tune ups. Your station and your client sound as disconnected (and annoying) as the station that kept running the Santa spot into this last weekend! Again, look ahead. Your furnace clients may be swamped with fixes right now, but prepare copy for warmer weather reminding listeners and viewers what happened or could have happened to their furnace during this Big Chill, and a preventive maintenance call can keep it from happening next time.
  4. Be empathetic. Reassure the buyer who is working from home that her kids in the background are darling. Don ‘t call people candy asses if their businesses have closed due to the extreme cold. We are not as prepared for extreme weather as our ancestors who walked ten miles to school in the snow. Instead, make it easy for your clients to work with you via phone and computer.
  5. Be timely. Meaning GET TO WORK! Schools and other businesses may close, but media outlets don ‘t. Your clients who are closed will need your help to make up sales. You have a chance to get a jumpstart on 2014.

You can extend your holiday vacation, chilling with a hot chocolate and heated blanket, or you can heat up 2014. Your clients will warm up to you if you help them by being their problem solver.

By Kitty Malone, Efficio Solutions Manager of Client Services

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