To book meetings with advertisers, call the person who controls the spend: the owner in a small business, the marketing manager in a mid-sized one, and the agency buyer when an agency holds the budget. Call weeks before their planning and budget windows, open with a reason tied to their customers, and log a callback date for every "not now".
Most media sales prospecting fails because the call reaches someone who can't approve spend, or arrives after the budget is set. This guide fixes both, for radio advertising sales and for selling advertising to small business owners and national brands.
Who actually decides when a business buys advertising?
It depends on the size of the business and whether an agency is involved. Find out on the first call by asking one question: "Do you book your advertising yourselves, or through an agency?"
| Role | What they own | How to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Owner or managing director (small business) | The whole budget, often decided on recent trading and gut feel | Main business number, outside trading peaks. Ask for the owner by name |
| Marketing manager (mid-sized business) | Channel mix, campaign calendar and the supplier shortlist | Direct line or LinkedIn, then phone. Avoid launch weeks |
| Media agency buyer | Briefs and bookings for the agency's brands | Agency switchboard, by name. Lead with audience fit |
| Franchise marketing lead | Brand-wide campaigns and any local budgets | Ask how group and local budgets split before you pitch |
Local and national advertisers buy differently. Local advertisers usually buy direct and decide quickly. National advertisers usually buy through an agency, so brief both the brand and its agency buyer.
When is the best time to call advertisers?
Call mid-morning or early afternoon on weekdays, outside their trading peaks, and weeks before their planning windows. Our guide to the best time to cold call in Australia covers the daily pattern.
- Time of day. Avoid opening and lunch for retail and hospitality owners, weekends for car dealers, and month-end bookings for agency buyers.
- Time of year. Many businesses set budgets ahead of the new financial year in July and again before Christmas trading. Call in the weeks before. Once the campaign is booked, you are asking for next year's money.
Calls must stay within the hours in the Telemarketing and Research Calls Industry Standard 2017: 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, never on Sundays or national public holidays. Callers must identify the business and keep calling line identification switched on. This is general information, not legal advice.
Owners often use a personal mobile, which can be on the Do Not Call Register, so wash your list first.
How do you get past reception at a business or agency?
Say who you are, give one specific reason and ask for help finding the right person. Our guide to getting past the gatekeeper has more scripts.
- "Hi, it's Mia from (your station). I'm calling about advertising for the business in (area). Who makes the marketing decisions there, is that the owner?"
- "Does the business book its advertising directly, or does an agency look after that for you?"
- At an agency: "I'm calling about our audience in (area) for brands in (category). Which buyer looks after (category) briefs?"
- If asked to email: "Happy to. Who should I address it to, so it reaches the person who signs off the spend?"
What opener books meetings with advertisers?
The opener that books meetings with advertisers names their customers, not your ratings or reach.
"Hi Dave, it's Mia from (your station). I'm calling because we reach a lot of (homeowners, commuters, tradies) in (area), which looks like the customers you're after. I'm not asking you to buy anything today. Do you plan your advertising for the year ahead, or month to month?"
Why it works. Owners have heard every ratings pitch. A description of their own customers is the part they listen to, and the planning question tells you whether to book a meeting now or diarise a budget callback. Your name, business and purpose still come first, as the Industry Standard requires. More examples are in our best cold call opener guide.
What objections will you hear from advertisers?
Most objections in media sales prospecting are about timing or a bad past campaign, not your audience.
| Objection | What it really means | Response |
|---|---|---|
| "We tried radio and it didn't work." | The campaign was too short, the creative weak, or nothing was tracked | "What did you run, and how did you measure it? Our rep can show what a measurable campaign looks like." |
| "Our agency handles that." | The agency decides, or it's a polite exit | "Who's your contact there? I'll brief them on (area)." |
| "There's no budget." | This period's budget is already allocated | "When do you set the next budget? I'll call a few weeks before so you have options." |
| "Just send me your rate card." | Price shopping, or a brush-off | "Price depends on your goals. A short meeting gets you a proposal built for them." |
How do you follow up a "not now" from an advertiser?
Log the reason and their next planning date, then follow a two-week cadence where every touch adds something useful.
- Same day. Email a short note confirming what they said, with one point about their customers.
- Two days later. Connect on LinkedIn with marketing managers and agency buyers. Owners are usually easier by phone.
- End of week one. Call at a different time of day and refer to your email.
- Early in week two. Send something specific: a seasonal opportunity or a local event.
- End of week two. Last call. If the budget is still committed, ask when planning for the next period starts and set the callback a few weeks before it.
What counts as a qualified meeting with an advertiser?
A qualified meeting is with the owner, marketing manager or agency buyer who controls the spend, whose customers match your audience, with a campaign or budget decision coming up, and who has accepted a time with your rep. Ask about budget where they are willing to share it. Agree the full definition with your sales team before calling, as set out in how an outbound agency should define a qualified meeting.
Should you book meetings with advertisers in-house or outsource it?
In-house works when your account managers have protected time for new-business calls every week. Outsource when reps get pulled into servicing existing advertisers and new-business calling stops whenever the schedule fills. Who makes the calls matters too: in Nousu call data from 218,000+ dials into Australian businesses, onshore callers booked 1.3 meetings per 100 dials, against 0.3 for offshore teams. See how we run outbound for media and advertising.
How does Nousu compare?
Nousu Collective's senior callers all work in-house in Sydney. Pricing starts at $7,000 a month (ex GST), with the exact fee quoted after a 30-minute call. The initial term is 3 months, then rolling monthly, and first calls go out 2 weeks from sign-off. Most campaigns book about 8 qualified meetings a month once running, within a range of 6 to 20. From month two, an agreed meeting floor applies, with a credit for every meeting short. Callers qualify audience fit, campaign timing and who approves the spend, then hand over a written brief. See pricing for what is included.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get meetings with advertisers? Call the person who controls the spend: the owner in a small business, the marketing manager in a mid-sized one, or the agency buyer when an agency books the media. Open with a reason tied to their customers, ask when they plan, and book a callback before their next budget decision.
Should you call the business or its media agency? Ask on the first call whether they book advertising themselves or through an agency. Local businesses usually buy direct, so the owner or marketing manager is your meeting. National brands usually buy through an agency, so brief the agency buyer as well as the brand's marketing team, because the booking moves through the agency.
When do businesses set their advertising budgets? In our experience, many Australian businesses set budgets ahead of the new financial year in July, and again ahead of Christmas trading. Agencies plan around client briefs. Call in the weeks before those decisions, because once the campaign is booked you are asking for next year's money rather than this year's.
How do you sell advertising to small business owners? Talk about their customers, not your ratings. Explain who you reach in their area, ask how they win customers today, and keep the first meeting short. Owners decide quickly but dislike pressure, so rule out a hard sell and let your rep build the proposal.
How do you handle "we tried radio and it didn't work"? Ask what they ran, for how long and how they measured it. Short campaigns, weak creative and no tracking are common reasons a campaign disappoints. Offer a short meeting to show what a measurable campaign would look like, rather than arguing that the channel works. Then let your rep cover creative and measurement.
Can you cold call advertisers on a Saturday? Yes, telemarketing calls are allowed from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays under the Industry Standard, but not on Sundays or national public holidays. Weekdays usually work better, because retail and dealer owners are busiest at the weekend. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Federal Register of Legislation, Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 (calling hours, identification and calling line identification): https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2017L00323/asmade/2017-03-28/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html
- Do Not Call Register, Industry standards: https://www.donotcall.gov.au/industry/industry-overview/industry-standards
- Do Not Call Register, Your guide to the Do Not Call Register and Australia's telemarketing rules: https://www.donotcall.gov.au/media/1212/dncr-industry-guide.pdf
- Nousu call data: 218,000+ dials into Australian businesses, November 2024 to April 2026, published in Inside 200,000 Cold Calls.
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