It’s good to stalk

Well, obviously not literally, but in a business sense it’s now actively encouraged. I’m talking about profiling and targeting prospects. In days gone by, employees who participated in such activity were known as “salespeople”, but now more or less anybody can do it. Through social and business media tools, we can now quickly build a database from scratch and ensure that this database targets a specific industry, job title and region. However, content still remains king and the way in which we enter a dialogue with these new contacts will determine if the relationship is successful.

PR folk aren’t that good at sales. Why do I say this? In the past I’ve been involved in agency “new business drives”. What does this mean?  Essentially, a senior executive will allocate consultants with a number of new companies to commence engagement with. The brief is clear, “hit the phones and win us some business”. To alleviate the pain a new business fee may be dangled in an attempt to generate enthusiasm. This exercise is all slightly academic though as PR people don’t do sales. The results are always disappointing. Yes, they can pitch strategies and creative in an enclosed environment, but sales in its most basic form i.e. cold calling, is not in the DNA of the average PR consultant.

In the end, agencies will begrudgingly revert back to their preferred new business agency, direct mail or their own in-house specialist. Getting the workforce to bring in leads has historically failed as communications professionals lack a sales mentality. However, that was before the widespread uptake of tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter. These social networks are a god send for the PR community. Quite simply, they do not involve a phone and an awkward first conversation.

Some might say that selling in a story to the press is the same as cold calling, but I disagree. That activity is based on a slightly uneasy alliance with the media community; I say uneasy because many journalists are driven mad by phone spammers (consultants who will call up about more or less anything to try and persuade the media that their story is newsworthy).

Developing a relationship online is far more acceptable and appealing to your average PR. Yes, at some point we will have to speak directly to our new contact and in some cases even meet up and look them in the eye.  But, thankfully the initial courtship remains electronic.

Most of us tend to be ok with words so if we can get the initial dialogue right, we might even find ourselves with a new client. Stalking is ok, but as in any relationship you still need to say the right things.

How agile is your PR?

OK, you’ve agreed a strategy and outlined a number of tactics. All the positioning is approved and a budget is in place. The plan is signed off and you’re set to go. Sound familiar? Well, it should do as that’s how the client agency dynamic has historically worked. What happens next? The plan is archived and never read again.

I’ve worked in technology PR for many years and one thing I’ve learnt from the IT industry is that the most successful projects are the ones that change as circumstances change. Too many projects use structured project management methods, which means that the project struggles to cope as the requirement inevitably evolves. Let’s face it, as soon as users get involved much of the original thought can be thrown out of the window. The reality is that as soon as testing commences and the implementation moves forward, project management needs to be flexible or the roll out will fail.

In a PR context, agility is about responding quickly to the obstacles that emerge and accurately manoeuvring around them without losing sight of the ultimate goal. For a campaign to be successful, strategic and tactical decisions need to be made on an ongoing basis. This enables the campaign to benefit from all of the learning that has gone on before. If something isn’t working, evaluate it, and if necessary, stop doing it.

Far from an agile PR plan being unpredictable, or out of control, they are in fact the most controlled and predictable campaigns as they avoid wasting time on activities that just aren’t appropriate.

It’s often difficult to change your original plan and admit mistakes were made. However, if you are able to do this the agency/client relationship will mature and strengthen. Remember, if results are disappointing it isn’t always the agencies fault, you may just have to tweak that plan. Now, where is it again?