Category: Strategic Communication

Would you rather see a story about your company in USA Today or the local church bulletin?

In most cases, if you said USA Today, you’d be wrong.  Think about it… do you truly read through every page of USA Today every day?  Probably not one person reading this column actually does.  You probably don’t even do that for your local Daily newspaper!

Now answer this. Do you look at every page of your church bulletin when it arrives?   A decent percentage of people probably say yes. 

I know you’re not actually reading it word-for-word, but you are looking through each page skimming the headlines and looking at the pictures to decide if there’s anything you want to actually read.

The reason is actually pretty simple.  You chose to be part of this community.  It’s also likely you have friends or family who are members, and that you’d recognize other church members.

When you see someone you recognize in a photo, you read the caption and possibly even the full story to see why they are included.  Same if the header has information you need or is of interest to you.  More people in your community are likely to read and remember a story about your service in the church bulletin than people in that same community that read USA Today.

The same concept applies to free community papers—the ones that get left on doorsteps or are mailed to your home.  People flip through these small, locally focused papers to see if they recognize their neighbors or if local shops or schools are mentioned.

Here’s the key point of which too many spokespeople and public relations people fail to take advantage… it’s a lot easier to get a positive in a church bulletin or community paper than it is to get a positive story the big daily newspaper.  These small papers often only have one or two people on their editorial staff.  Unlike a big paper reporter receiving 200 story ideas by email each day, the local community papers need to delete most stories ideas because they’re only looking for very localized community stories.

A community paper only considers a story if the business is literally, physically located in their distribution area or the company is doing something targeted specifically to residents in that target area.

Can you repeat an event you already have planned in another neighborhood and easily recreate it or submit a picture in front of numerous different local landmarks to make sure each community paper gets a local pictures to personalize your story so that they care?

An easy way to do this would be to take multiple pictures from different locations when you make a donation or offer a community training event.   If you’re providing tips to school kids, take photos in front of different schools and send the right picture to the appropriate community newspaper.  Even if you never enter the school, it’ll still make the story more locally newsworthy.

When you send photos, make sure to say where the photo was taken so that the local paper is forced to acknowledge that the photo is local/personalized for them.  Don’t expect them to recognize every photo/building.  If you take this extra step to personalize the visuals, you’ll absolutely get more coverage for your agency.

If you can’t physically do an event in a paper’s distribution area, there’s another way to increase the changes you’ll receive a story.  Quote or include a photo of an employee that lives in that area.  When sending the story to the paper, include an editor’s note stating which employee lives in their area, and include the zip code in which they live.  Doing this makes a story local… even if the actual event occurs 20 miles away.

Church bulletins might prove harder to get a story included than the community papers, but if you’re creative you can find an excuse or two each year to get included.  For example, if you offer a free CPR or AED training at the church, you’re likely to get a great PR or photo opportunity.  Same if you do a touch-a-truck tour of the ambulance for the kids.  Try to assign crew members or a spokesperson that’s already a member of that church.

How do you introduce yourself?   Are you creating the intended impression that elicits the desired action?  If not, perhaps you are not selling yourself – or your agency – as well as you could be.

Think of it like a single guy/gal trying to get a date.   There are a lot of different kinds of pick-up lines that can be successful.  There are even more that are crash and burns.  They key is finding the approach that works best for your personality and find the right match.

Your professional introduction, commonly called an elevator speech, is a lot like delivering a pick-up line.

An elevator speech is a concise, 30-second summary where you quickly introduce yourself with the goal of being memorable.  The reference to an elevator relates to the idea that you only have the amount of time it takes to ride an elevator.  You want to quickly leave an impression and create a desired reaction.

If you don’t know where to begin when crafting an effective elevator speech, you’re not alone.  Most people don’t have a pre-conceived, practiced introduction.  Frankly, it’s often obvious they don’t when they introduce themselves.

An example of a bad introduction is something like:  Hi my name is Josh and I’m a realtor.  If that’s the first thing people hear, unless you’re at that very moment in need of a realtor, you’ve already tuned that person out.

In comparison, the handful of people who give a good introduction really stand out.

You should have two primary goals for your elevator speech.

1)      Paint an interesting, mental/visual picture of what it is you do.

2)      Create a call to action.

Even better, if you let your personal passion come through, your introduction will succeed.

I often get complimented on my elevator speech, so let’s use it as an example.

Have you ever heard of the ten to one rule?  (pause- look for head nods or hands)  The ten to one rule is that it takes 10 good things to be said about your company to equal one bad.  And since it’s only a matter of time until a negative story is going to be said about your company—legitimate or false—it’s essential to build up your good will bank to protect your image and reputation.  I believe in this philosophy so strongly, that I named my public relations company 10 to 1 Public Relations.  I have some simple, yet very effective tricks to help companies tell their story to media reporters and potential customers to help them build their business.

For me, this has been a very successful conversation starter.  I begin by asking a question to engage my audience, then they immediately hear my passion in building a positive image for my clients.  I also make it easy to receive the intended follow-up question— which is often a variation of:  what simple, yet very effective tricks do I use to help my clients build their business?

This allows me to then turn it back around to their business and share some examples of what I would do to help them.

Here’s some tips to building your own introduction.

1)       Hook them.  Start with a rhetorical question or a one sentence story that explains why you’re passionate.  Here are a couple examples:  Have you or someone you love ever needed an ambulance?  Well when I was eight-years-old, an ambulance came to my house to help my mom and I immediately knew that one day, I was going to be a Paramedic so that I could help people too.

Or let’s say you’re a financial advisor, a good opening sentence might be:  I’ve been helping clients with their investments for XX years.  But a few years ago I attended a conference that had a real effect on me…

2)      Explain your approach/what makes you unique from your competitors.  It’s okay to have 2 or 3 unique examples, but only share one—using the example most appropriate to the person/people whom you’re talking.

3)      Create a call to action.  Ask them a follow-up question or make it easy to get them to ask you a question or to share their own related experience to build a connection.

You’ll also want 2 or 3 variations of your elevator pitch- adaptable depending to whom you’re talking.  However many variations you have though, the base of your introduction should be consistent.  The more you practice and tell it the easier and more natural sounding your elevator speech will become.

If you still need help, feel free to email me your draft.  I’m always good for an opinion!

Ever since I was a kid, I was fascinated by impossible problems or lost causes. Over the last 20 years, I’ve developed a theory on how best to tackle such issues.

First, you need to view the impossible-to-solve problem as a giant cube stuck in the middle of a long trail, with your desired result at the end of the path. Pushing or pulling the cube is a waste of time, because it’s simply too big and heavy.

But, if you start methodically chipping away at the cube’s corners, you can slowly turn that cube into a giant sphere. Chip away enough and that sphere will start rolling after a good push. Eventually the now-rolling sphere will build momentum and hit something along the trail, causing the once immovable cube to break into pieces. And, poof! The once-daunting problem is no more.

The biggest mistake companies and agencies make is failing to chip away at the corners of a big, long-term problem. Instead, they take one big whack to try and solve a problem in one week and then give up, or they simply refuse to try at all as the problem looks too daunting. As a result, the problem remains unchanged, serving as an anchor stopping you from achieving your long-term goals.

To solve big problems, start by grabbing hold of the low hanging fruit. Here’s an example. Let’s say an Emergency Department in a city with multiple hospitals has a particularly bad reputation among patients and first responders. Because of this, ambulance crews choose to take their patients to other nearby facilities when given the option.

That reputation, earned or not, is costing the hospital a lot of money because of fewer admissions. Hospital administrators notice this kind of thing, especially new administrators as they are brought in to a facility to fix problems. So the new hospital administrator meets with the local agency Chiefs and says on a Monday that starting Tuesday, all the problems that occurred in the past will be fixed.

Will the ambulances all of a sudden start coming back on Tuesday? Of course not.

The ambulance crews want to see and experience the change before they’ll believe what the facility says. But it’s a catch-22 since the crews no longer stop by the facility and they’re unlikely to see if the changes promised have actually occurred.

The Emergency Department has to take numerous steps to win back first responders. The first question is to identify changes that first responders are most likely to notice and appreciate.

Is there a comfortable area for ambulance crews to do their paperwork? Are crews fed by the hospital, given snacks or cafeteria discounts? Do facility staff treat crews as peers rather than as a FedEx Delivery person? How quick and easy is the transition from medic to nurse allowing the crew to get back in service?

If the Emergency Department puts actions behind their words, and demonstrate changes that first responders can see, in time the ambulance crews will not only come back but would likely choose that facility over others.

The same principle works in reverse. Why should a community or care facility support an ambulance provider and their crews that operate with arrogance?  You don’t win community support by showing up at occasional council meetings.

The key is tackling the obstacle slowly and methodically, chipping away at the problem. To do that, you need to know the real problem. In most cases, it’s multiple problems that all fit under one broad umbrella that is called reputation.

Here are some suggestions on how to start solving impossible problems:

• Start by making a list of the perceived problems. The more problems on your list, the more things you can solve… and in time show that you resolved.
• After making your list, put the problems that are easiest (and cheapest) to solve at the top of your list. Those are the problems that you start chipping away at first.
• Keep working the easiest to solve problem on your list, which will keep getting shorter as you cross items off. You’ll likely be surprised to find that the next problem on your list is easier to solve than if you had tried to solve that problem first.
• Celebrate each solved problem internally among your staff, and find a way to announce change publicly. For example, in the Emergency Department example, if the Hospital sets aside space for ambulance crews, they should try to make a news story out of it by hosting a ribbon cutting where providers are invited, etc. They don’t need to say WHY they created the special area or point out the problem to those who didn’t already know about it. They just should announce the area and highlight the partnerships and how much respect they have for the ambulance crews, hence why they found the space.

It’s also worth noting that you’ll likely find that many of the biggest problems are perception oriented, rather than service oriented. Writing a check alone won’t solve all problems. That’s where a good, long-term public relations plan is essential. Public Relations isn’t just about reporters, it’s also about communicating with your customers, peers and your own employees and co-workers.

One of the best ways to help people to change their mindset is to change what they see every day. For example, when it comes to management showing its own employees that they care, the first step to getting employees to notice the efforts is to put a new color of paint on station walls or by rearranging/adding new furniture. Now that you have their physical attention, they’ll be more receptive to what you say and how you act. Maybe I’ll expand on this concept in a future column.

To recap, don’t give up on immovable problems. Ignoring problems only make them harder and more expensive (in cash and time) to overcome. By chipping away at the easy to solve problems and complaints, you’ll help change the reputation and help you achieve your goals.

I admit it.  I enjoy walking up to strangers at networking events, happy hours and the chicken dinner circuit.  While I’ve never been considered the coolest guy in the room, I do feel confident that I hold my own even if I don’t hold court.

My technique is pretty simple, and I encourage less comfortable networkers to give these tips a try.

1)      Arrive early and avoid the people with whom you will be sitting. When I worked on the corporate side, I would always become disappointed when my co-workers would arrive late or huddle together and only talk to each other during the mingle time prior to sitting at the table.   Take advantage of the time before you’re forced to sit and speak to people you already see at work every day!  The time before dinner is where you can meet new people, and make sure that decision makers know that you’re in attendance (see tip #7).  Waiting until after the dinner won’t work, because people bolt for the door after the presentations are complete.

2)      Network like you’re Snorkeling.  This tip comes from Dave Sherman (@davespeaks1 and www.daveshermanspeaks.com).  I recently heard him explain how networking is like snorkeling.  New snorkelers or tourists on a dive often swim out as a group looking for fish—only to instead scare the fish away!  Instead, he goes off on his own and finds a piece of coral.  He holds still and before long, the fish come to him.  Dave suggests when networking, you do the same thing.  Plant yourself at a waist-high bar table in the traffic flow of the room and let people walk around and up to you.  Ultimately, you’ll see everyone in the room walk by and you can stop and talk to the people you’re looking for.

3)      Target the people standing by themselves at a table, along the wall or off to the side.   While Dave’s tip #2 is excellent for events where you already know a lot of people in the room, when you don’t know a lot of people I have an alternative suggestion.  Seek out the people who look lost or alone.  You’ll often find them along the walls or off to the side watching people walk by or at a table staring off in to space not talking to anyone else nearby.  These are often the easiest people to meet because in many cases they’re hoping someone will walk up them and start a conversation because they are unwilling or afraid to walk up to strangers themselves.

4)      KISS: Keep it simple, stupid!  You’re not in high school trying to get a date, just keep it simple when it comes to an opening introduction.  Hi, my name is… works fine.  Have a simple back-up question ready, like “have you attended this event before” or “are you excited that football season starts this week” to try and get the conversation started if needed.  Don’t talk about your work.

5)      Focus on making a connection, not selling a product.  No one is going to buy what you’re selling at a networking event.  Your goal is to make a connection so that if you follow-up after an event the person will remember you and the conversation.  Let them talk as much as possible.  The more you learn about them, the more likely you’ll make a connection.

6)      Offer and accept business cards selectively.  There are no prizes for handing out or collecting the most cards.  You’re looking for the cards of people you made a connection with, or those that you think may be potential business contacts.  After you take a card, write down some reminders of your conversation on the back. Examples are if they indicated a favorite sports team, or grew up in an out-of-state city near you.  When you follow up by email, or you see them at a future event, you can use that information to further build upon your connection.

7)      Shake hands with the important people.   You don’t need to have a conversation, or even say your name.  But it’s important that you walk up to elected officials and key decision makers and shake their hand.  Just walk up as they are talking to someone else, put out your hand and say that it’s nice seeing them at the event and walk away.  They’ll assume you’ve already met in the past.  Over multiple events, they’ll come to recognize your face.  The pay-off comes when you eventually need to go to them to discuss something important.  They’ll remember you from attendance at community or charity events—if not completely how or why—helping them view you as more than a stranger just asking them for something.

Last things to remember:  No one ever refuses to talk to a stranger at one of these events.  Nor do they walk away when approached by someone they don’t know.  When the conversation dies out, or the person isn’t the right fit for you to chat with, simply tell them it was nice to meet them and walk away and walk up to someone new.     And finally, smile when walking up to people!  You’ll be surprised how many people smile back before the first words come out of your mouth.

Recently, my kids were playing in the pool, taking turns jumping in pretending they were Olympic divers. Some jumps were cannonballs others were pencil jumps or spins. What I enjoyed most were the pre-jump antics.

Like synchronized Olympic divers talking to each other as they prepared to jump, my daughter mimicked them with full seriousness displayed on her face- afraid to look at me cause my grin would make her laugh too. First she’d talk her hands into the first ready position, before talking them in to a new ready position. This occurred several times before she finally told herself it was okay to jump on the count of three.

I can’t help but draw a parallel to my decision to launch 10 to 1 Public Relations. No matter how much you prepare in advance, at some point you just need to jump. Otherwise, there’s no chance that you’ll come up 10’s.

I invite you to check out my new company’s website and to follow my blog. I plan to share public relations tips and other thoughts that I hope you find interest. Most of all, I’m excited to learn your comments and feedback.

So with that, come on in! Once you finally make the jump, the water feels great!