[BC] IT Adventures with the Sales Department

[Sid Schweiger]

>>Problem is Sid, my priorities were usually set by the General Manager
and SHE
wanted me to tend to the sales stuff first...but then (of course) it
also was
my problem (fault?) when the other stuff didn't (also) get done.

By the way, this was not a small market place. It was a Los Angeles
(licensed)
radio station owned by a major group. You can find clueless managers in
even
the major markets!

Ever hear of the no win scenario? There's LOTS of them out there in our
business!<<

Right off the bat, I see two ways to go with that one:

1) Have a sit-down with the GM.  Remind her that a station which is off
the air bills zero.  Talking to a GM about billing (or lack thereof)
gets their attention very quickly, because that's usually the #1
criterion by which their boss rates their job performance.  Sales has no
inventory to sell on a dead radio station.

2) Go over her head to the owner or RVP, and have the same discussion.

If it's understanding you're looking for, keep a log for one week. 
Write down every single thing you do, including bathroom and lunch
breaks.  The log will speak volumes to a clueless GM.  At that point, a
GM with any brains at all will cut you some slack and/or get you some
help.  If they still won't budge, then you've lost the battle and you
should move on.  This goes back to some prior discussions on this board
about engineers having a tough time selling themselves to management. 
The savvy managers already get it, but for those who don't, no one else
is going to do that job for us.



Sid Schweiger
IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC
WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI
20 Guest St / 3d Floor
Boston MA  02135-2040
Phone: 617-779-5369
Fax: 617-779-5379
E-Mail: sid at wrko.com