Waiting for Results

In my business we sell creative services and our time focused on media relations. We do a good job with these things, but I've decided there is a definite problem with what I'm doing on a daily basis.

When someone hires me they are hiring me to do something that they can't do themselves. They are buying copywriting or media relations services, but what they really want to be buying is new business. They are investing (we tell them) in results.

Unfortunately, it is often the case that by the time someone comes to me, they have done so only after having tried everything themselves. They've read books they bought off of Amazon. They have listened in at lunch meetings to colleagues talk about branding or sales processes. They have attended the meetings their professional societies host on the topic of marketing or public relations. Sometimes they've even heard me speak at such a gathering.

So by the time they get to me, and to my colleagues who do what we do, they do have a basic understanding of what they want to do, as well as a clear understanding of why they need it. They are focused on that end result: the new business, the phone calls, the web hits, the money. And because we're such a society of immediacy, they want it now.

Getting into the public consciousness within your target market does not happen overnight. Unless you have a scandal or you develop a cure for cancer, you're not going to make the nightly news overnight. Even if you do get a front page business story or a business journal piece about your business, you may not see success as in new business or sales overnight.

I tell potential clients, "This stuff takes time." That's not a marketing ploy or a way to stretch out your payments to me or a sales tactic, that's the truth. It's a process and it takes time. If no one has heard of you in ten or twenty years, what makes you think you're front page news in three months? If you've never used a professional marketing person in your 15 year business history, why do you expect one campaign to make a huge difference in your business development and growth? Can it? Sure. Does it? Every day. Can you guarantee it? No.

Therein lies another obstacle to success doing what I do. Not only do people think they can have results in days, they want a guarantee. "If you want to make sure you're in the paper, buy an ad," I often tell them. And I do recommend advertising. There is a minimum amount of it you have to do as a business for so many reasons. Once you're doing that, and once you're supporting your own industry and promoting your own business, you have enough business to make the claims you want to make with PR. So many people have read a book telling them that PR is the answer. They don't have budgets for ads or design or printing. They want PR. PR takes time.

As much as I'd like to think otherwise, media people are not sitting around waiting to hear from me or you. I have connections in certain industries and I know a lot of people who will read my e-mails or take my calls, but most of these people are successful because they have their own minds and a strong work ethic, and they are working on a lot of different projects and following a number of different leads (and directives). I know there are not journalists left in American jobs just sitting there staring at their computer waiting for a story idea from me.

That's where the challenge and the fun comes in. I approach media relations like any marketing campaign. To start with I need a good product. I handpick my clients and usually know what I'm getting into before I get into it. Even with the troublemakers: I know up front. Then we work on the "marketing materials" -- the story angles, the key messages, the client education and media training, the "personality adjustments," -- helping them to understand how the media works, what they want, and how to give it to them if given the chance.

When I contact media professionals and when I write a press release for distribution or a wire service, I make it interesting, my pitches are well thought out, my stories are tied to key events, I look for news to use. I write it like they'd write it. I work with clients who really have something cool to "sell." I believe in their product or service and am not reading a script when I make a call. I'm speaking from the heart.

My clients want "results," and I head into every assignment hell bent on giving them to them. I am always confident I can do what I say I will do. And with most of my client relationships, we will get the results they want -- with time.

But because a lot of clients chewed up their time before they got to me by NOT doing the right sorts of good work, or advertising, or marketing, the one thing they feel a little tight on when they get to me is time. They need results now. I'm sometimes their last resort. No one ever tells me that until we're three months into it and they start screaming about the money spent and their concern over return on investment, i.e. results achieved.

Sometimes there is a mismatch at an early date. Lots of WORK has been done: press releases written and sent, media calls made, research done, opportunities found, pitches made, marketing materials created, web sites updated, a significant amount of money spent, but nothing perceived as "results" have been achieved.

Since what I'm selling are my time and my team's time for creative services and media relations assistance, why do clients take it out on me when they have no results right away? Because early on we mistakenly tied our services to results. This works in certain industries, but it usually does not work in PR. Marketing can be tied to results, and sales efforts can be tied to results, but PR not so much.

I can get you an interview with the New York Times, yet there's no guarantee that what the guy writes is going to benefit you from a "sales" perspective.

Using the mass media to benefit your business is a high level strategy. Every business thinks they want it. Not every business is ready for it or truly deserves it. It is true that any business can have it if they are willing to put in the time, spend the money, invest in the integrated aspects of marketing and business development, and actively participate as we "wait" for the results.

All I know is that it became clear to me today while working through a few new proposals that I need to do a better job up front really explaining to my clients what they are paying for when they decide to work with OutreachPR. I want them to really want the service they are buying. I want them to know I'm going to be in it for the long haul and I'm going to deliver what I say to them, and they are going to appreciate it, maybe not every day as we move along through the process, and maybe not early on, but absolutely, positively, in the future, if they just give it enough time, they'll see the results.

I have clients I've worked with four, six, ten years. It's not because I'm "still working on results." We have proven results. They get the process. It is all about effort, persistence, frequency, and time. Without exception, these clients fidgeted early on, and worried about expenditures versus results. But they learned to actively participate in the process, trust in the effort, and wait for the results. Like everything in life, the things worth having are worth the wait.

A Red Letter Day

Yesterday was a red letter day for me. It was the first day of my life that one of my children spoke these words: "Mom, I'm going to work."

After I heard those words I could not quit smiling. I called my husband and told him, "Your son just went to work." "What?!" he exclaimed. "Where?" "Up at the club. He went up to clean the pool. He's starting as a Pool Club Assistant." "Wow. Great!" I think Mark was in as much disbelief as I was myself. After all, this is a kid who has never made his bed without prompting, does not yet know how to do his own laundry, and still asks me to make him a sandwich. But he hopped in the car and drove himself to work. Turning 16 has brought him many opportunities for freedom, including the opportunity to make his own money. I'm pretty excited about this leap in maturity.

I will admit, I pretty much expected Tanner to come back within an hour and say, "No, that wasn't for me," but he stayed up at the club for more than three hours, apparently scrubbing the sides of the pool with a long handled brush. It was a little boring, he said, but it was easy. I guess he did a good job, because he came back last evening with the paperwork he needs to fill out in order to receive paychecks -- twice a month. He's pretty psyched. Although I notice by the clock on the wall that his mommy may have to wake him up soon to get him to work on time today, at least last night he was excited to go back.

It probably helps that the lifeguards at the pool are girls. Older girls, in fact. College girls home for the summer. I'm sure they probably think Tanner is pretty cute. He is. And at 6 feet, 200 pounds he's a big boy. He looks a little older than he is, but it's an illusion that will quickly be shattered when those girls try to talk to him. He's very shy, especially with girls. This will be good for him in that regard. I know he'll be getting a few looks. He's in shape. Hockey has made his legs strong. Weight lifting has given his upper body definition. Yes, I'm sure the girls at the club are going to be happy he's joined the staff. Of course that gives me cause for pause.

Since I'm scheduled for a pool-side pedicure this afternoon, and little brother plans to spend his afternoon up at the club, I guess we'll both get to witness him on the job in person later today. That will probably embarass him that I'm there, but as long as I don't talk to him, it will be okay. Little brother will think it's pretty cool that Tanner is getting paid. I'm sure that in between dunking pre-teen girls and playing keep away with an errant tennis ball, Dylan will be watching his brother, hopefully a little envious, dreaming of the day when he too can be a Pool Club Assistant.

I'm one proud momma today. My baby has a job.

Insanity in Numbers

I heard on the news this morning that between Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton they've spent more on television ads than in any campaign in history. The number was staggering -- in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Since most Americans tuned out of this election months ago, I'm sitting here wondering why this makes sense and how insane it is that the candidates themselves would allow this sort of ridiculous spending to take place.

Do these candidates know that people are running out of gas on the roadways as they try to stretch their last third of a gallon to the next station? TV executives are fat and happy, but has the spending by the candidates really benefitted anyone? With the whole super delegate and electoral college thing, does it really matter what we think anyway? Who does this benefit?

John McCain, on the other hand, has spent about $11 million on televison advertising. That doesn't sound insane. I'm sure his ad agency has instead spent its money on some really "Wow" creative that we'll see after the conventions. That, after all, is when the real spending begins.

I've just been hearing some crazy numbers lately. It happens when I watch the news, which by and large I don't. But when I do, I hear things like this advertising thing, and also, "It's going to cost the State of Texas $21 million to take care of these 400 children from the compound in Eldorado this year." This year? What are we doing for these kids? Building them homes?Funding their college accounts? Feeding them fresh seafood flown in daily? I'm blown away. Not to mention why the heck does the state have these kids anyway? We can't take care of the ones that really need state intervention. It's insanity.

So I'm trying to not become insensed by these numbers and by the news you hear on TV in general. I really don't pay attention, and it's for good reason. I tend to get emotional about this stuff. And when I get emotional I don't focus on my work. And to pay for things these days I have to work. So I'm going back to my billing and will forget that Hillary and Barrack are spending more on some stupid ad to reach one super delegate than I will make in the next five years, and I'm paying $5 for a gallon of milk, $4 for a gallon of gas, my clients are doing the same, no one is too happy about it, spending is slowing...and yet I'm in the midst of these Texas oil people (who are everywhere here, God Love 'Em), and they can't stop smiling.

I just need to get back to work because, by the way Hillary, by the way Barrack, and you too Mr. McCain, I have to work more every month just to stay even. I'm lucky I have that option. Most Americans do not.

Time to Party

I've decided I'm going to have a party and invite everyone who has ever been mad at me. I figure that there will be more people at that sort of party than at a party of people who I haven't rubbed wrong at least once.

And here's my theory about that: I'm a passionate person. I typically try to do my best for people and am always focused on results. As a result, when people get in my way of results or question my methods or my timing or my ability to perform basic tasks, I react in ways that by some are considered to be "over reactions" and by others to be "unprofessional." I am good at pissing people off. Fortunately it doesn't happen too often, but still, I probably should not be allowed to talk to clients...sadly there's no one to stop me or to do it instead of me, so it's a bit of problem.

One client told me yesterday that I was unprofessional because I suggested that perhaps I wasn't the best person to work on his account. I thought that was very nice of me. I have his best interests in mind. This same client reminds me weekly of what I'm not doing right and pretty much ignores the things I am doing. Another client got upset with me last week because his "no hurry" project became a "rush" without my knowledge, and when I said his project would be "forthcoming asap" (meaning as soon as I can get to it), he called that sort of deadline "silly and ridiculous." Being called unprofessional or silly or ridicuolous doesn't motivate me to do a good job for someone. Perhaps it used to, but at my age, I tend to be a little less willing to bend than the service business I am in probably requires. I'm usually working as hard as I can and trying my best for people. I typically go above and beyond and at least try things, although they don't always work. And if someone doesn't appreciate the effort or my style of doing it, I quickly lose my interest in their project and definitely lose my motivation. Because this is a commercial venture, I try to continue to plug away, but the less focused I get on results and the more focused I get on keeping people happy, the more uninteresting the work becomes to me. And if I lose interest, professional or not, I can't be as effective doing what I do.

It's funny, usually the happier my clients are, the less I'm probably doing for them. If I'm making them uncomfortable or causing them to be concerned about being able to accomplish something we've set out to do, or if they are spending money on something that makes them a little nervous, that typically means we have some good ideas that we're pursuing that are not easy to accomplish and that, if allowed to work, will work great. But lately, doing my job without making people uncomfortable or even mad is becoming harder and harder to do.

I don't know if it's the economy, or pressure people are under to make more money or make their paychecks stretch farther, but the people I deal with seem to be getting agitated much easier than I'm used to. I think I may be getting agitated easier too.

Even my kids are mad at me lately for things like not letting them drive my car to school or making them pick up their rooms. I know everyone isn't mad at me, but having even a few people mad at you can be a very demotivating factor.

But as I said, if I really think about the best client relationships I've had, they have been at times adversarial. Why? Because I've fought for the things I wanted to do or for the ability to try it my way. Clients have complained about things I haven't done and wished I'd done something else. I've worried about budgets, clients have worried about budgets. We've "fought" about money, about strategy, and about effort. Usually it works out and everyone understands the other's position. Sometimes it just can't be fixed. Sometimes when they don't treat me right, I just don't care. Because it is not all about the money.

Some weeks it feels like everyone is piling it on and I can't do anything right. So I've decided to have this little party and invite everyone who has been mad at me for something at least once in my life. I'll have to rent a big hall and hire a great caterer. I'll need several weeks head start to get ahold of everyone I've ever disappointed, but I think that when they all come together, it's going to be an impressive group. If I could bring the people both living and dead who I had disappointed, that would be even better. My dad could be there: he didn't like the way I did lots of things, and pleasing him was always a goal. My old boss from Syntex could be there if he were still alive. He was disappointed in how I didn't keep my nice car spotless and how I refused to side with management rather than "the masses" when developing messages that were supposed to bail him out of something he'd agreed to that corporate wanted us to support.

My mom would be there because of that time I forgot to reschedule the court date for probating my dad's will, and I forgot. My husband could be there for all the thousands of times I've pissed him off through the years. And my kids...they'd be there, along with sales people whose calls I didn't return, and ad reps whose ads I didn't buy.

Clients: I've got eleven years of them, and most have probably been upset with me at one time or another. I don't ever remember being fired, per say, but I've probably come close many times, usually when I didn't care, and I've certainly not sought contract renewals with clients that were hard to please or usually mad at someone or something. Old bosses who trained me only to leave and co-workers who thought I should have stayed on at jobs with a future would be at this party. My neighbors would be there for that fireworks incident. Some teachers would be there and school administrators. When I think about it, I've mad a lot of people mad in my life. There was the cousin whose wedding I cancelled out on and the reunion I didn't go to and the friend I didn't call while in Florida. Yes, if I invited everyone whose been mad at me I would have a huge crowd at a party.

Now why would anyone want to be in a room full of people who they have angered? I guess because if I didn't care about these people or their causes I would not have bothered to express my opinion to them or assert my dissent. If I didn't care if an event was successful or if a publication picked up a story...if I didn't care if my son's hair was cut so that he stayed out of trouble or that a room was clean for "health reasons" these people wouldn't be mad at me. But because I care about the success of clients and their events, I tell them what I think and inform them of my concerns. I don't react well to being micro-managed and I need to work on that. I don't like being told, "Because I'm paying you to do it that way." But I need to accept that as a good excuse for why someone is mad.

The party is forthcoming. If I've made you mad, you're invited. And if I haven't made you mad yet, give me a call. I'm sure that with a few months of getting to know me, I could find a way to get under your skin too. And when everyone is in the same room, I'm going to flick the lights off and on, ask for a drum roll, and then say, "I'm sorry." It's going to be a great party.

Protecting American Jobs

People who know me know that I'm a bit of a rebel. Usually I keep that side of me contained and only use it to point out the insanity and corruption in things like school board policy, evil superintendents, and ridiculous politics. We have all of those things right here in east Texas. Sometimes I go outside those bounds, like yesterday.


I get some work off a website where employers post projects and freelancers bid on them. I've made a few thousand dollars doing that over the last year, and it's been a nice source of extra income. Yesterday I received an invitation to bid on a particular project, and when I went to look at the posting, something about it just hit me wrong.


In summary, the posting read, "Web design firm based in India seeks U.S.-based freelancers to sell services to U.S. firms. Hefty pay for performance." At the time I saw the posting there were three bids already posted, two from the U.S. and one from India. I had no intention of bidding on a job that had as its goal offshoring work that should remain in the U.S., and I was amazed that two of my fellow U.S.-based freelancers had bid.


So I went to the discussion board that is typically reserved for asking questions specific to the job and I wrote, "Hi, Thanks for the invitation to bid. If I read your message correctly, you are in India and are looking for marketing professionals here in the US to market your web design services to US clients, for which you will pay "hefty" commissions, is that correct? Do you want us to include in our bid a copy of the paperwork that shows we sold our souls to the devil for the almighty buck as well? Thanks!"

Within hours my comment had been removed by the moderator and I had been strongly reprimanded by the freelance service, which reminded me that if I wasn't interested in a job I simply should not bid on it.

I did notice, however, that there has only been one other bid since my posting, so perhaps I encouraged others not to bid as well.

There's something just wrong, wrong, wrong with trying to help countries that are themselves economic powerhouses steal jobs from people in the U.S. I'm not exactly a patriot. Most days I'm not proud to be an American. In fact, I'm usually pretty embarrassed by things like American television, American sports fans, American greed, American stupidity, and American politics.

But when it comes to protecting American jobs from people who are, frankly, sucking the dollars out of our economy, I'll stand up every time.

So I may not be the most popular person on the freelance web site right now, but at least I can hold my head up high and know that I have not sold my soul to the devil for the almighty dollar.

God Bless America.

Doing Good Around the World

There are days that humble us all. Today I received an article from my friend and favorite graphics designer Alexa Croft.

The article from the San Francisco Chronicle was about a Modesto, California doctor: Dr. Frank Artress, who had experienced a near-death incident while on vacation in Africa. When the natives helped him to survive his ordeal (which involved getting him over a mountain top), he made the decision, along with his wife, to go back home and sell everything -- the big house, the ocean condo, the art, the matching silver sports cars, the stocks -- everything, and move to Africa.

Dr. Artress has spent the last several years fighting tropical diseases he never knew existed, first from a hospital in Tanzania, and now from the bush, where he treats tribal members, provides antibiotics, and reaches deep into the jungle and developing civilizations. Alexa sent me this article because her sister-in-law, Amber Croft, spent the last several months working with this doctor. Amber's photo was one of several that accompanied the really wonderful article in the San Francisco Chronicle. I'm sure Amber will have incredible stories of her own to tell.

I've attached the link here.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/BA8MUSL28.DTL&hw=higher+calling+in+africa&sn=001&sc=1000

A Simple Little Project

I've decided there is no such thing as a simple little project. At least when it comes to home improvement.

My front lawn has a section that has been filled with little white rocks. I don't like these rocks, and I have thousands of them.

I decided I needed to get rid of them. I've been planning my strategy for a while. Today was the day I decided I would start. I stopped for a cup of coffee on my way to town to help rev my engine. Friends were there so I chatted for a while, then went on to my mother's to borrow her wheel barrel. No quick trip there. The cleaning ladies were there, and since they used to clean my house, I had to chat for a while. Nice people. I had to chat with my mom for a while too, so by the time I got home with the wheel barrel, I was already well beyond my 90-minute window. Good thing I'm self-employed.

I started my project. I filled up the wheelbarrel with rocks, which I discovered requires picking them up by hand. Searching for my gloves caused a ten minute delay. Once you pick the rocks up by hand, you put them on a shovel, get a good load, and then dump them all in the wheelbarrel. Yes...I've tried to use the shovel to dig them up directly, but it doesn't work because of the protective liner under the rocks. The hand method seems to be the only way. Anyway, today I learned that a section of about 1 foot by 3 feet of current rocks equals one wheelbarrel about half full. Half full is a lot, but I'm about 1/48th of the way done.

But as soon as I got the wheelbarrel full I realized the tire on the wheelbarrel was flat. Fortunately we have an air compressor, so I went in the garage and found it, backed my car out of the drive next to the wheelbarrel, plugged the compressor into the phone charger slot and filled up the tire. I was proud.

When I got to the back yard where this first load of rocks was going, I realized I now had to weed the new area. An hour later when I had the area weeded, I realized I needed to wash the rocks. (Yes, I am obsessive. I know it.)

After washing the rocks, I realized that all rocks are not created equal. I spent the next hour sifting through the rocks picking the best white ones, washing and rinsing again, and picking the best again. Then I started sorting the non white ones into a pile. I had rocks with yellow, rocks with rust, rocks with a rosy color, silver rocks, and even some black rocks. I picked out all the best white rocks and made a border around my new rock garden in the back. I got done with that and lined the boarder with non-white rocks, yellow first every foot or so, then red filling in, then the gray ones, and finally the black. The rest of the "okay" rocks got poured into the body of the bed and spread with the shovel. It looks good.

My 90-minute project turned into five hours. But it's a good start. At this rate, I should be done in August. Glad I got it started though.