Mazie Jones Eaton, a 2016 ABA Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee, discovered she had a talent for sales in 1979, the year she answered a \u201chelped wanted\u201d ad placed by WSLV AM. Mazie\u2019s broadcast sales career may have started out small in that local, Ardmore, Alabama radio station, but the journey took her to the big time. Today, as Senior Marketing Consultant for iHeartMedia , Eaton is known and respected within Alabama\u2019s broadcasting community as one of the industry\u2019s major sales professionals.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI started out at $100 per week. No gas trade. No commission. Just $100,\u201d says Eaton. \u201cOn my first day out when asked what our format was, I had to think to even know what they were talking about! But I made a sale on that first day,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n
Eaton worked at WSLV for seven years quickly rising from her beginning \u201ctemp\u201d job to Sales Manager. Thanks to a great account list and her knack for making relationships with clients, Eaton\u2019s $100-per-week days were over.<\/p>\n
In addition to her demanding job at the station, Eaton opened a ladies\u2019 boutique in Ardmore called Mazie\u2019s Golden Slipper. Her mother managed the store, but Eaton was the buyer, making sure the store\u2019s merchandise matched her vision for the enterprise. Somehow she also found time to work at the boutique in the evenings and on weekends.<\/p>\n
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Eaton saw that radio was changing; FM stations were becoming more popular while AM radio was losing listeners. In 1986, she decided to close her store and leave WSLV for greener airwaves. WDRM FM in Huntsville hired her within a month, but it wasn\u2019t an easy transition. Her new salary was based on straight commission instead of salary plus commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a relationship seller,\u201d says Eaton. \u201cSo going from selling $1 commercials to spots that cost $20 \u2026 later over $30 \u2026 took some convincing. \u201c Eaton put her sales talents to the test and, as usual, succeeded. Her first big accomplishment at WDRM was in getting Landmark Chevrolet (now Landers McLarty Chevrolet) on the station for the first time. \u201cTheir first contract was for $2,300 a month – wow,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n
Eaton says her career has been full of challenges, but that\u2019s the way she likes it. When asked for advice concerning a successful broadcast sales career, she says to practice the \u201cthree p\u2019s\u201d: prayer, persistence and patience.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt has worked for me. God has richly blessed my efforts,\u201d says Eaton. \u201cI have been surrounded with lots of good people and I enjoy every minute I can spend with my family and friends. \u201c<\/p>\n
Word of her induction into the ABA Broadcast Hall of Fame has brought on a common question. \u201cSome folks ask when I plan to retire,\u201d she smiles. \u201cBut after thirty years with WDRM, I\u2019m having way too much fun to quit now!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mazie Jones Eaton, a 2016 ABA Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee, discovered she had a talent for sales in 1979, the year she answered a \u201chelped wanted\u201d ad placed by WSLV AM. Mazie\u2019s broadcast sales career may have started out small in that local, Ardmore, Alabama radio station, but the journey took her to the … Continue reading Mazie Jones Eaton – ABA Hall of Fame Class of 2016<\/span>