To Get Great PR Results, First Get Real
Posted on Wed, Jan 12, 2011
By Courtney
In recent blog posts, we mentioned a series of workshops that we did in December of last year. It was a productive and collaborative couple of days in which we talked about the past, present and future of Metis. Throughout the different exercises, discussion groups and planning sessions, we asked the team for one thing -- that they be brutal. We asked that they get real with where we’re at and where we need to go, collectively and individually.
In 2011 we are infusing this “Get Real” attitude into our selling approach. I have been in enough business pitches, at Metis and elsewhere, to know that it’s not just the PR firm that is doing the selling and positioning. Whether intentional or not, sometimes it’s the company being pitched that overpromises and under delivers. “Yes, we have tons of content. We just need help finalizing it,” often means that there are a lot of great ideas floating around, but that’s all that’s happening; ideas are floating around. Content still needs to be created from start to finish.
No matter which way it happens, overpromising and under delivering is detrimental to the relationship because it puts it in a false starting point. To carry through with the above example, the PR firm now needs to spend the first month creating content, which pushes other timelines back, which can affect deliverables and goals, which can raise frustration for both sides, which can… You get the point. If only said company had been honest about the state of its content, the PR firm could’ve put together timelines and goals that were more accurate and expectations would have been met, if not exceeded.
In 2011, we will continue to Get Real with our prospects, and we ask the same of them. If you’re reading this blog and wondering if we’re the firm for you, please think about whether or not you’re ready to get real with us. Show us your warts. Let us in from the start. That way, we’re starting from a real place. We know what strengths we need to maximize and what weaknesses we need to minimize.
Are you ready to Get Real with us?