10 Sales Habits That Will Actually Grow Revenue: Lessons from LMA Fest

If you walked away from  Shannon Kinney's, founder of Dream Local Digital, and Peter Lamb's, president of Lamb Consulting LMA Fest session, with your sales brain on fire, you’re not alone. Packed with energy, sharp insights, and more than a few quotable mic drops, their “10 Things You Should Be Doing Now to Grow Sales Revenue” talk was a clarion call to local media professionals: sharpen your process, push your team, and sell smarter.

Here’s a recap of their top 10 strategies—peppered with real quotes from the session that hit just as hard as their slides.

1. Get Managers in the Field

This isn’t the time to hide behind Zoom. Sales managers need to be in the field, coaching in real-time. As Peter Lamb put it: “Get on the road with your sellers. See what they do. You’ll know immediately if it’s working—or if it’s BS.”

2. Measure Activities, Not Just Revenue

Revenue is an outcome—but activity is what you can control. And, what you measure MOVES. Are you making enough connects each month? As Shannon reminded the room: “You can’t manage outcomes. You can only manage activities.”

One attendee backed it up: “In my market, we focused on activity, and we’re one of the only stations in the company pacing ahead of last year.”

3. Review Strategic Accounts

Evaluate your top 20% of clients. Who grew? Who disappeared? How can you upsell, cross-sell, and fuel more growth in their business? How can you increase their results? Who can you surprise and delight? As Peter reminded the crowd: “You’re not just selling ads—you’re building relationships.”

4. Be Relentlessly Persistent

80% of sales happen between the 5th and 12th touchpoints. Yet, 92% of reps never get there. Shannon shared: “I call it my circle of romance. I follow up relentlessly—sometimes people thank me for it. They say, ‘Thanks for sticking with me. I just wasn’t ready yet.’” We sell our clients on frequency in their marketing, we need to recognize it needs to be part of our sales process too!

5. Follow Up with Purpose, Not Just ‘Checking In’

Shannon was blunt: “Erase ‘just checking in’ from your vocabulary. That’s like poking someone in the eye.” Instead, she models purposeful outreach: “Hey, I saw this trend that made me think of you…” or “You mentioned this goal—here’s a story that relates.”

The magic is in showing you care and bringing insights and value every time.

6. Ask the Tough Questions

Train your reps to challenge clients, not just charm them. Try asking:

• “What do you want your brand to stand for in 2026?”

• “What would you like your legacy to be?”

Peter emphasized: “When they say, ‘Let me think about that,’ you’ve got ‘em.”

7. Always Be Adding Value

Don’t just sell—educate. Show trends. Share insights. Recommend bundled tactics. As Shannon urged: “Be their unofficial CMO. Show up with value and you’ll become their trusted advisor.” And the data doesn’t lie: “74% of buyers choose the rep who first adds value and insight to their journey.”

8. TLC = Think Like the Customer

Your job isn’t just to sell—it’s to help the customer succeed. To do that, you must Think Like the Customer. Peter drilled it home: “Most small business owners make their year in Q3 and Q4. Your job is to help them get there.”

9. Build a System, Not a To-Do List

Sales success isn’t about hustle alone—it’s about process and MEASUREMENT. Shannon explained: “If you don’t have a CRM, use a spreadsheet, a whiteboard—just have a system.”

10. Sell Branded Content (Yes, Really)

Branded content isn’t just a trend—it’s an essential. Peter put it simply: “If your client says they want to educate, inform, or entertain their audience—that’s branded content.” And the opportunity is big: “Small businesses should be spending $250K a year on it. There’s money in that bottle—you just have to make the call.”

Final Mic Drop

Peter closed with a truth bomb: “Sales is about one thing and one thing only: action.”

And Shannon sealed it with encouragement: “We’re not just here to motivate—we’re here to help you get results.”

Full Deck Below!

📈 Need help building your follow-up cadence, training your team, or refining your branded content pitch? Reach out. The Branded Content Project is your partner in driving sustainable, scalable revenue growth for local media.

The Branded Content Project is designed through a strategic partnership between Local Media Association and the Local Media Consortium with funding from the Knight Foundation to help facilitate additional growth, engagement, and revenue success for more publishers of all shapes and sizes.