Head of the week: Salesman for 30+

 
As Head of Sales at Radio1, Patrick Kaczynski has seen that many advertising customers are already showing great confidence in the new "adults-only" station.
The atmosphere is "chaotic - but excellent". Painters paint the stairwell. Technicians are fine-tuning Europe's most modern broadcasting computers. Journalists have the telephone system explained to them, presenters the pitfalls of the mixing desk. In the midst of the hullabaloo, Patrick Kaczynski holds talks with important advertising customers. The sales manager enthuses: "I feel excellent and I'm passionate about what our boss Roger Schawinski constantly exemplifies." He whizzes from one workplace to the next and, in his infectious manner, radiates "the strength and ability to really bring a groove and spirit to his team", as Kaczynski puts it. "He is an entrepreneur who can inspire his people as a patron."
When a project under the label "Radio1" sets out to ride the waves, there can hardly be a dull moment in the studio.
Radio1 certainly wants to be "Number 1" in terms of journalistic quality and programs. "We'll see with the listener figures," says Kaczynski, although more and more testimonials are expressing their positive expectations every day, and not just in the radio station's own advertising. Radio1 wants to make concrete calculations after three months, when the half-year figures are also communicated for the other stations.
Interest in sales is already "very high" weeks before the start of broadcasting. Even without figures, Kaczynski has already closed many interesting deals. "We sell with the name behind it." People know Roger Schawinski, who has had many successes as an entrepreneur in the media sector. "That opens the door for us. Many people believe in the project and see the interesting target group." On the other hand, many customers are also enthusiastic about "Soundcheck".
The sales manager had already started work before this test run. Marketing strategies were developed in November. Official sales have been running since December. Among the many inquiries are numerous customers from sectors that have never advertised on the radio before. "The Hirslanden Clinic Group, for example, wants to test our offer."
In a presentation to the Zurich Advertising Club, Roger Schawinski once hinted that his station was also calling for "better quality" in such commercials. In addition to local advertising, Radio1 also wants big brands. And they expect to be perceived with a certain quality in a spot block. Is that why annoying or cheap-looking ads are rejected? The compromise: Radio1 does not want to produce its own commercials, but works with three external recording studios that can offer an "attractive price-performance ratio" in the sense of "for adults only", depending on requirements. "We want to guide customers towards radio with expert advice when they are new to advertising on this medium," says Kaczynski.
The sales manager started his career after completing commercial training. He found his first job at the credit agency D&B, where he carried out credit checks, analyzed companies and wrote reports. "It was a good way to get started and learn a lot about the economy as a whole in a short space of time." He spent five years carrying out research for a wide range of industries throughout Switzerland and already had his own department. However, Kaczynski seeks direct customer contact and even then "preferred to sell himself rather than just check credit ratings for others in the back office".
At the age of 24, he ended up working for a Hamburg publishing house, selling advertising entries for the reference book "Wer liefert was?". A "pretty adventurous step", because the salespeople were only employed as agents and had to earn their wages with commission. The future thoroughbred salesman therefore had to learn all possible facets of sales very quickly. He had to recognize the rules of the game, whether he needed to be "more consultative or more of a push to close". The decisive factor is that you
only sell what you believe in yourself. "It's written all over a salesperson's forehead if they don't believe in what they want to sell."
Conversely, it also has a positive effect when someone is convinced of the innovation of their offerings. With "Wer liefert was?", the publishing house kept pace with developments on the Internet. This ultimately opened the door to the world of electronic media for Kaczynski.
 
In 2001, Rolf Suter, then Managing Director of Suchtreffer Schweiz AG, brought him to this pioneering online marketer. Until the merger with Adlink, Kaczynski worked here for two years as Head of Sales. During this phase, he also managed to squeeze in time for a part-time training course as a sales coordinator.
After successfully completing his studies, he took over the sales management at the former Hitradio Z. He got to know the radio business and its landscape "from the ground up" and also accompanied the station during its relaunch as Energy Zurich. In 2004, Kaczynski was appointed to the management of IP Multimedia. There, as Head of Radio, he was responsible for both radio brokerage and the local business with Energy Zurich.
In the meantime, he completed his training to become a federally certified sales manager. These credentials earned him a request from Roger Schawinski.
Kaczynski believes "that it will be tough". To meet the challenge, he wants to lead a team with Rita Meyer and Pino Gallo in which everyone can work as independently as possible and take on responsibility. "With three salespeople in the local market, we have fewer staff than our competitors. But we have more people in the editorial section," says the sales manager, summing up the special quality of his station.
In his private life, the Radio1 surfer is a passionate swimmer, albeit in calmer waters. Kaczynski "likes to swim laps" and, if possible, goes to the indoor pool every day at lunchtime instead of eating. His family is very important to him. For his four-year-old son, the busy father has planned fixed times when he deliberately wants to do something with the little one. "I also need this kind of relaxation phase for my own psyche if I want to keep up the hard work."
After all, the sale of Radio1 should not fall flat even when the child slowly reaches the age at which he might want to listen to the "adults only" station.   
Andreas Panzeri