Talking Is Not Overrated

I’ve been listening to a book series by Vince Flynn on my drive to and from work. The series is based on a CIA agent named Mitch Rapp. I’m about five books in to the 22-book series and I find myself enjoying the books so much that I’m excited for the drive. Rapp is a non-nonsense agent that is the CIA’s most effective and lethal agent.

In one recent book, in the middle of a discussion with another agent, Rapp made the comment, “Talking is overrated.” When I heard him say this, it brought me back to an interview I participated in last season with Channing Frye of the Phoenix Suns.

For the past 15 years I’ve worked part time for the NBA’s Utah Jazz. On January 18, 2019 after the Utah Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns, I was in the visiting locker room doing postgame interviews. It was near the end of the interview session and I was just about to leave when I heard a booming voice. I turned to see who was talking and it was Frye. It’s not uncommon for players to speak in a low voice, but Frye spoke so everybody could hear him. Once I joined the fray, one reporter asked him how his teammates respond to his mentoring and the feedback he provides. He was quick to respond, saying.

“… My biggest thing that makes me upset, more like furious is, and the only thing that I pretty much yell at is we don’t talk to each other. I think that’s the most frustrating thing for me because you know, as a shooter, you can have nights where you’re just not making shots and I think, let’s be real, we’re not the best defensively whether it’s because we’re too small, too hurt, whatever it’s a lot of excuses, but at the end of the day if we talk it’s going to solve a lot of problems. I know I talk a lot and I try to talk a lot when we’re out there and it solves a lot, it slows the game down. Good teams talk. Their team (the Utah Jazz), we call a play, all of them relay that play and then everybody’s like send it this way, this guys gonna roll and then boom, boom, boom and so like we need one guy within the group, maybe two, shit, maybe even three that know their plays, that’s studying that film and that’s going to help us out there. I know some of this stuff, but I’m only out there two times, three times a month so we need guys to become good defenders and just know guys plays and tendencies. That’s what a good defender is, just take percentages. So, I think that’s the next step for us…”

There were other questions during the interview and I remember walking away so impressed with him and thinking that I wanted to be friends with him. If he never hit a basket for the team that entire season and just talked to the younger players about the finer points of being a professional, he would easily eclipse the value of his contract.

I’ve thought about what he said ever since that Winter day.

Good Leaders Communicate

I recently read an article previewing the NFL season, specifically the Green Bay Packers and the relationship between their star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers and their new head coach, Matt LaFleur. The article highlighted how well things are going between the two and how the relationship they’re building now will benefit them and the entire team during the upcoming season.

The two met in the Spring to discuss expectations and get to know each other better. Recalling that meeting months later, Rodgers said there were two important things to getting their relationship off to a good start.

“What I’m expecting from him and what can he expect from me,” Rodgers continued. “What kind of approach do I have? What do I like? What do I not like? What has worked for me in the past? What maybe hasn’t worked as well in the past and just what kind of guy I am.”

Good Communicators are Also Good Listeners

I have a friend that is an incredible listener. When you talk to him he makes eye contact, and hangs on your every word. Others may try to interject and he never wavers. If there is an interruption, when it’s time to pick the conversation back up, he always knows exactly where you left off. He’ll often come back to the conversation and say something like, when we got interrupted you were saying … and he’ll repeat the last sentence or few words where you left off.

Going back to the article I read about the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers said: “Two things I think are really important: listen and communicate. Everybody, in general, wants to know that what they’re saying is important and that people care about what they’re saying, and the best way to do that is listen. I wanted to get to know who he (Coach LaFleur) is and what makes him tick and what’s important to him.”

Good Communicators Get What They Want

A friend of mine always says, “If you don’t ask, you’ll never get what you want.”

I’ve found that to be true. It’s just as true in your personal life as in your business life. The most effective communicators are straightforward, direct and quickly get to the point. Their ability to ask for what they want often allows them to get exactly what they want, when they want it.

Contrast that to poor communicators that are passive in their communication and lack the confidence to come right out and ask for what they want. As a result, they struggle to get what they want.

Communication Slows Things Down

In my experience, good communication is an effective way to make things slow down. When you’re trying something new or that you’re not experienced in, things seem to move fast. Once you gain experience or start to feel comfortable with a situation, things slow down and are easier to handle.

In my interview with Frye, he was asked why his team doesn’t talk?

He said, “I think the game is moving very fast for everybody. Like I said, it takes a long time for the game to slow down. It took like three or four years for the game to slow down…”

So often, when a problem arises, you hear the people involved say something along the lines of, “It was due to a lack of communication.” That’s more fact than it is an excuse. Effective communication will eliminate the frustrations and anger when communication is lacking.

Five Tips to Deal With Negative Press

I recently had the opportunity to work with a client on a high profile public event. The event was designed to make a significant difference in the communities in which we live, play and work featuring a well-known celebrity and some of his friends and fellow celebrities.

During the planning phase I was brought in to help with the public relations (PR) efforts, specifically to create awareness about the event and the cause behind it. As part of the PR strategy, the celebrity driving the event committed his time to any and all media interview opportunities. In fact, he flew in to town for one full day to do all the media interviews I could secure.

All of the interviews I set up that day were great and highly positive with praise from the media outlets as well as the general public. During one of the pre-taped broadcast interviews, the reporter conducting the interview asked my clients to “talk” so they could test the microphone. As they spoke the reporter asked a couple questions that were for “background” only and said they wouldn’t include these in the report that would air later that day.

Later that day when the interview was published on the TV channel’s website they included the background questions they promised wouldn’t be included.  When my client saw it, he was upset. He wasn’t upset because he said anything wrong but because he was doing other things to get ready for the interview as they talked. He didn’t want it to look like he was being rude or not taking the interview seriously.

His assistant reached out to me demanding that the piece be taken down. I told him I’d reach out to the reporter and get it taken care of. The assistant said if they wouldn’t change it that they wouldn’t give them press passes to the event and allow their station to come cover it.

This exchange brought up an interesting discussion and I counseled him on the best ways to handle a situation like this. The advice I provided is relevant and worth sharing with a much larger audience.  My advice included five key points.

• Don’t threaten the media: Regardless of how angry you are, don’t make threats. Nobody, including the media responds well to threats. Threats will put the other party on the defensive and escalate the situation to a point where both parties act irrationally and do or say things they normally wouldn’t.
• Stick to the facts: In this instance, it was easy to point out the facts. On the video you could clearly hear the reporter say that they were asking background questions only and that these questions wouldn’t be included in the final piece. You could also hear my client ask if they were still checking the mic or if the actual interview had begun.
• Go to the source: When I called the media outlet, I went straight to the source. I spoke to the person I set the interview up with and discussed the issue with him. I spoke to him clearly and calmly and expressed my clients concern over the video. I explained why we had an issue and what my client’s expectation was based on their conversation. As this person watched the video, the facts were clear and he appreciated me reaching out to him to discuss it.
• Have a solution in mind: When I made my call to my contact, I knew what I wanted. I wanted the video to be edited to not include the background questions. I told him what I wanted and expected and we discussed it calmly. He said he understood and agreed to fix it.
• Work together to come to a mutual resolution: The story was still a great story and my client was happy. We worked together through the process to ensure that it was fixed quickly. Upon fixing it, my client shared it on his social media channels which brought even more visibility to the piece. In the end, the reporter and I had greater respect for each other and our relationship was stronger as a result.

Had I approached the situation as my client’s assistant wanted when he called me there would have been a far different resolution.  The reporter would have been mad, a bridge would have been burned and we would have been forced to deny them access to the event. Nobody would have won in that situation.

Following these five steps will allow you to build better, stronger relationships with the media as opposed to creating an adversarial relationship that doesn’t benefit anybody involved.

Your Role In PR

In talking to a client the other day, I was caught off guard by something he said. Since he said it, I can’t get it off my mind and thought it is worth writing about to clarify and shed some light on the issue.

This client said he was surprised that since he started the PR program with my agency that he was required to do some work in support of the program. He said he was surprised at the amount of work he had to do as part of the PR we’re doing for him. I asked him to clarify and he explained that he didn’t realize that a PR program would require any of his time.

As we met with him and were putting together the program I explained that my team and I would take care of things like writing and setting up interviews with the media. He took that very literally. As we set about executing on the PR strategy we created I set up some interviews and came back to him to get them on his calendar. We also wrote a couple of press releases and, as I customarily do, I asked him to review it to make sure I had represented everything accurately.

When I said I would take care of everything he thought it would all happen and he could just sit back and watch. While that’s true, it’s only true to a certain extent. I’ll take care of executing on the PR strategy but it will still require time from the client.

With this experience in mind, I’ve listed some of the things a client will need to be involved in when working with a PR firm. By no means is this everything, as your time commitment will differ based on goals and objectives, but these items are things that, in most instances, will require some of your time and commitment.

• Media Interviews: The wow factor of any PR program is the media coverage. In most instances, this is why businesses engage in PR. Media coverage helps build awareness, credibility and establish a company as an industry thought leader or an individual as an industry expert. For the most part, if a reporter is interested in talking to a company they want to talk to the CEO or an executive that can talk about the company, it’s products or services as well as the company’s vision, not the PR person. While your PR team will pitch and set up these opportunities and prepare you for the interview you will need to give the time to prepare and conduct the interview. Most interviews will last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Take these opportunities serious and, even more importantly, take the time necessary to prepare for these interviews so you can maximize the opportunity.
• Press releases and other written materials: Press releases are vital tools to educating the public or your target markets. It’s an opportunity for you to quickly share important news about your company, product or service. Writing a press release often requires the time to share the pertinent details and information with your PR team. Once the release is written you’ll need to set aside some time to review, edit and approve the press release. For one, you’ll want to make sure you’re aware of what the release says and that more importantly the information included is accurate. Once a press release is issued it’s hard to go back and correct the details and can lead to distrust or lack of confidence from your partners, clients and customers.
• Regular meetings with your PR team: The purpose of engaging in a PR campaign is to create awareness and build credibility for your brand. To do this you’ll need to meet with your PR team regularly to update them on progress, company initiatives and other activities so they can do their job effectively. These regular meetings can vary on frequency depending on goals and objectives, but they need to happen to maximize your investment in PR. I always tell clients to tell me everything and then I can tell them what is newsworthy or valuable to the PR campaign. You can keep these meetings short and to the point by creating an agenda and sharing it in advance of the actual meeting.

In my experience the more my team and I know the more effective we can be for our clients. Similarly, the more time the client is willing to spend engaged in the PR program the more success we can generate. I’ve had clients that have said they want to talk to the press, create awareness and credibility only to pass on the opportunities we create. In these instances they have minimal success. I’ve also had clients that are fully engaged in their PR program and are willing and eager to participate and leverage the opportunities we create for them. For those that are committed to PR success and give of their time they are more successful and are able to fully reap the benefits of their PR program.

I’m Running Late. Translation: “I Don’t Care About You or Your Time”

I don’t like to be late. In fact, you could even say I hate being late. So much so that to the irritation of my wife and family I leave early enough that I usually arrive 10-15 minutes early and end up waiting in the car until the actual start time of whatever event we’re attending. I’m the guy that takes the advice when traveling to show up at the airport early to ensure you’re not stuck in the security lines and end up reading a book or magazine for an hour or more while I wait to board my flight.

In my mind, I’d rather be early than late. I don’t want my brand to be such that everybody knows I’ll be late to any and every meeting. It seems like more and more I find myself wishing that others would share this same feeling. The other day I had a meeting with a person that is always late. It’s a chronic issue with this person, so much so that her brand is built upon her tardiness.

As I sat and waited, I got a text saying she was going to be late due to a traffic issue. As I received the text I saw the person getting out of her car carrying an empty McDonald’s bag and sucking down the last of her soda. I laughed but at the same time was thinking, “Typical. “

I was taught that being late was rude and an indication that you don’t care about the others involved in the activity. In essence, when you’re late you’re saying, “Whatever it is I was doing is far more important than what you’re doing.”

In the experience I shared above, the person has been branded by me and others she deals with as always being late. People that deal with her know that no matter the meeting or appointment she’ll be late. That’s a brand I never want to be saddled with.

Here are some tips to arriving on time and not being branded as the person that can’t ever show up on time.

• Prepare in advance. Take some time to think about how long it usually takes you to travel or get from one place to another. Think about the other tasks you have to accomplish and prioritize these activities. I start every day by creating a list of the things I need to accomplish. I prioritize those activities and start with the most urgent tasks. If something unexpected comes up, I know which activities I can postpone in favor of the unexpected emergencies that sometimes come up.
• Create a schedule. A schedule should give you a checklist to work from. In my experience, it’s nice to have a list to work from and to ensure that you’re not forgetting something. I travel once a quarter for onsite meetings with a client in another state. For these meetings I create a schedule to help ensure that when I arrive onsite for the meetings I have everything I need.
• Start early. My wife taught me this. When we have a vacation or event like a holiday to prepare and plan for she starts early. She creates a list of the things we need to do to be ready for the event. If the event is a vacation, her list includes things like arranging for mail to be held during the trip, cleaning the house, packing luggage and paying bills in advance. She even plans grocery shopping and charging camera batteries in advance. By doing this, we’re not waking up the day we leave for vacation trying to pack luggage in time to catch our flight.
• Plan for unexpected events. I set up an interview with one my clients the other day and on the way to the interview my client was involved in a fender bender. It wasn’t his fault, he was rear ended by another motorist. This was certainly something that was not expected but he had left early enough that even while waiting for the police to come and issue citations he was still able to get to the interview on time. Things like this happen all the time, but if you plan and leave early enough you can still keep and make appointments.

There are always exceptions to arriving on time and being late, but when it’s a chronic problem there are no excuses. An inability to arrive on time is a sign of laziness and demonstrates that you don’t care or that a meeting or commitment is unimportant. In the business world it can destroy your brand and reputation. By being prompt and keeping commitments you build trust and demonstrate your commitment to your career, your clients and the others you work with.

A Deadline’s A Deadline Is A Deadline

In public relations (PR), the most important thing to remember and master is the ability to meet a deadline. Deadlines get tossed about in every profession and rarely are taken that serious, but in PR, specifically when dealing with the media is not something to take lightly. Fortunately for me, I learned the value of meeting a deadline at a young age.

When I was in college I took a class on news reporting and the professor would give very specific deadlines for our assignments. She was a former newspaper photographer and took deadlines very seriously. I’ll never forget the first day of class she told us that if we miss a deadline we might as well not even show up for class that day because if we’re late, even by a second we wouldn’t get credit for the assignment.

It didn’t’ take long before this rule was put to the test and proven by the professor. One day, shortly after the start of term one of my classmates was a few minutes late. Our professor would stand at the door with a watch in hand keeping track of the official time. The deadline was set by that watch and she kept time using that watch for all assignments. True to her word, she did not accept the assignment. From that point on we knew she meant business and we all set our own watches by that watch.

One day I woke up and my wife told me that it had snowed overnight and that traffic was going to be slow due to the unexpected snow. I peered out the window and was shocked at the sheer amount of snow. The first thought that crossed my mind was my deadline for my news reporting class. I had worked hard to complete the assignment and was suddenly worried that I wasn’t going to make it on time and get credit for the assignment and all the hard work.

I left immediately. The trip to campus took longer than I had anticipated and as I pulled in the parking lot I was the first car to approach the empty parking lot covered in a fresh blanket of about 15 inches of snow. I pulled into the parking lot and was immediately stuck due to the deep snow. I had about five minutes until my deadline so I abandoned my car and made a mad dash for the classroom.

I ran as hard and fast as I could and finally reached my classroom. As I entered I caught a glimpse of myself in the glass door and realized I was covered in a layer of snow. As I walked in, sure enough, my professor was standing there watching her watch. I handed her my assignment and she responded with, “Just in time. You’re the first and only student here and the only one that truly understands a deadline.” She proceeded to inform me that as of that moment the deadline had passed and nobody would be getting credit for that day’s assignment.

I felt a huge sense of relief and explained to her how I made it. She laughed and informed me that she didn’t care about the how, only that I made my deadline. She then dismissed me to go free my car.

As I left to return to the parking lot to try and free my car I remember thinking that I really did understand what it means to meet a deadline. With this experience in mind, I’ve listed below four tips consider to ensure that you successfully meet your deadlines.

• Prioritize: Some projects or assignments are more important that others. When you have more than one project you’re working on you should know which ones are more important than others. If you don’t ask your boss or supervisor. In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, one of the characters is stealing a TV. He’s got the TV rested on his shoulder when the police arrive and one of the officers points his gun at him and yells, “Freeze! Put your hands in the air.” The thief stands there and the cop asks him why he didn’t do what he was asked to do, and he responds, “Well which one is it? Freeze or put my hands in the air?”
• Communicate: If a boss or supervisor comes and gives you an assignment, don’t be afraid to tell him or her what other projects you’re currently working on. If they give you a new assignment with an aggressive deadline and you’re already working under another tight deadline with this boss, remind them of that fact. Provide them with a recommendation and strategy for how you’ll accomplish both but emphasis that it may require a delay in one of the deadlines. By talking to them and communicating these issues they can agree to your strategy or provide other input. Either way, they’ll be aware and you’ll have their buy off.
• Set milestones: I believe that milestones play a critical role in accomplishing and meeting any deadline. In the first bullet point I described my son’s book report assignments. When my son tells us about these assignments, my wife and I (usually more my wife than me) sit down with him and set goals and milestones for accomplishing the book report. We start by setting a date to have identified a book for him to read. The next step is setting a goal for reading the book followed by a target date for writing the report. If one of these milestones is not accomplished we can sit down and review why it wasn’t met and identify what we need to do to still meet the deadline.
• Plan for the unexpected: In the experience I shared above, the snowstorm was unexpected. That didn’t matter to my professor though. I didn’t’ necessarily plan for this and there was really no way that I could have, but I acted immediately upon learning of the snowstorm. I didn’t waste time but rather made the most of the time I had. I’ve learned since then to allow for and plan to give myself plenty of time so even if I get a flat tire I can still be on time and meet my deadline. At times my insistence on leaving early drives my wife crazy but I’d rather be a little early and end up waiting in the car than be late and miss a deadline.

Deadlines are critical to a successful working relationship with the press. An ability to meet a deadline will help you build long-lasting relationships of trust with the media and will help you accomplish your goals and secure the desired coverage for your business or clients. By following these tips, you’ll have a significant leg up on understanding and meeting critical deadlines.

How Much Is Too Much?

Sometimes you don’t know how much you know until you are asked to tell somebody. I run into this all the time as I deal with clients, specifically when we first start our client/consultant relationship. It’s often when I start digging and asking a lot of questions that the full story starts coming out. When this happens its usually surprising at just how much information or knowledge the client has that could be useful to me doing my PR job.

In these instances I typically ask why they didn’t share this info before and the response is usually a blank stare followed by simple shrug or a, “I don’t know.”

Sometimes the fault is mine. In those instances, I explain to the client that the more information they can share with me the better. This explanation is usually followed with a variation of the question, “How much information is too much?”

The question is fair enough considering that most people don’t realize just how much knowledge or information they know. With that question in mind, here are five tips for knowing which information you should share with your PR team.

• Product related information. If the knowledge you have is related directly to your product, you should share it with your PR team. This doesn’t just apply to the benefits and features of your product but also to the weaknesses or faults in a product. Your PR team can help you identify the right messages for both situations and coach you on how to best communicate these to the media.
• Industry trends. The media loves to know trends and be up on the latest and greatest developments. If you have industry knowledge or expertise about a specific trend in the marketplace, by all means share that with your PR team. This information will allow your PR representative to help establish you as a thought leader and industry expert.
• Time sensitive information. Chances are, if something is time sensitive it’s important to share with your PR team. I once worked with a client that would plan events, including press conferences and fail to notify me until the last minute. Shortly before the press conference date I’d get a series of calls telling me the date of the press conference, venue and other important details. Sometimes I’d find these details out by reading the clients Facebook page.
• Milestones. Milestones and significant achievements are often newsworthy and can be used to show the media that the company is progressing and growing. Sometimes people don’t want to brag, but sharing this information is helpful and demonstrates progress.
• Product/company road map. Every business has or should have a roadmap for their company and or product. This is information that should definitely be shared with your PR team. A good PR person will use this to help shape the PR strategy moving forward and can tell you which elements are newsworthy and can be utilized to generate interviews and media coverage.

So often I see clients say something like, “I knew that” or see an article that applies to their industry and they try to or want to say, “Me too.” By this time it’s too late, unless you can add something that ‘s unique or different you’ll end up being that person that’s always saying, “Me too, me too.” By sharing your expertise and knowledge you can lead the way and have competitors or others in the marketplace saying, “Me too,” to the things you’re doing.

How Much Is Too Much Information?

A couple of recent events have struck a chord with me and reminded me of some key public relations (PR) best practices.

Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Famer and current manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on a recent radio show shared that he used to eat cat food a lot as a kid. Sandberg said:

“I did that as a youngster, maybe 4 or 5 years old, maybe 6 years old. I don’t know. I guess I was hungry. I still remember the crunchiness of it was the biggest thing. This wasn’t a one-time thing either. This went on for about a year as a little snack.”

Not only did he say that he used to eat cat food, but he emphasized that it wasn’t a one-time thing and that it went on for several years.

In the second event, the White House accidentally revealed the name of the CIA’s top intelligence official in Afghanistan to some 6,000 journalists. The CIA is about secrecy and this error could cause serious security issues for this individual.

One of the things I advise my clients is that you’re always on the record and anything you share or say can and more than likely will be used. Listed below are five tips that will help you maximize an interview opportunity and avoid sharing information that could potentially be embarrassing or damaging.

• If you don’t want somebody to know something, don’t tell them. Just because you know or have certain information doesn’t mean you have to tell people. Everybody doesn’t need to know every detail of your life or your business.
• Be careful who you tell things to. With social media anybody can really be a reporter. If somebody overhears you talking and sharing sensitive or private information in a hotel, restaurant or airport they don’t need to ask your permission to share it on Twitter or Facebook. Additionally, a reporter isn’t required or may not always introduce themselves as a member of the media and if they hear you say something they can use it for their own purposes.
• Be prepared in an interview situation. If a topic you don’t want to talk about or isn’t relevant to the topic don’t be afraid to tell the reporter you’re not going to answer or respond to that line of questioning. Hopefully you’ll have your PR team with you and they can and should step in and do that on your behalf.
• Consider the effects your comments could have on others. In the case of the White House, the effects of disclosing the CIA agents name could result in serious security risks and could require him to be removed from his current position. In another example, a recent article shared information about a woman and her entrance into the United States. The way she entered actually broke federal laws that if the United States Government wanted to, or found out about, could cause this individual serious issues.
• If your mom would be embarrassed by what you say, then don’t say it. A good friend of mine taught me this principle. If your mom would be offended or embarrassed by what you say or do, then don’t say or do it.

Being interviewed by the media is fun and highly advantageous for your career and your business. However, a poorly conducted interview that doesn’t help you accomplish your goals can be equally devastating.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

There’s No “I” In Team

Over the course of my career I’ve been fortunate to work with a number of successful projects and companies. One of the things that never fails to maze me is how once a successful project is over how quickly people are to take credit for its success.

I worked for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC). After the Games, I’d run into people in various capacities and was impressed at times and surprised at others with how well they had leveraged their Olympic experience to further their careers. In some instances the career advancements were deserved. In others they were totally bogus.

About a year after the Olympics I was working at a public relations (PR) firm in Utah and the firm was looking to hire some new employees. After one interview, my boss came to me and said she had just finished interviewing one of my colleagues from the Olympics. I naturally asked who it was and when she told me his name I had no idea who she was talking about. It was somebody I had never met or even heard of.

She went on to explain some of the things he claimed to have done for SLOC. I knew for a fact that he had not done some of the things he claimed. It was obvious to my boss that he had embellished as well.

Recently, with another client, my team and I completed a highly successful event. At the completion of the project one of the clients team members left to take a new job. After she left somebody directed us to her LinkedIn account where we discovered that she had taken credit for not only her responsibilities but those of the entire marketing, PR and events teams accomplishments. Without a doubt, these claims helped her secure her ne position.

From a PR perspective this practice is fraught with potential pitfalls. My best advice in these situations is to be honest. Honesty is always the best policy. If you start embellishing or lying about your contribution to a project or business it becomes difficult to remember what lies you’ve told and to who you told them to.

The media is always looking for facts. Their job is dependent on building trust with their audience and the way to do that is by providing the facts and being honest. If you lie to them, they’ll catch you. You may get away with it once or twice, but when you get caught in a lie the results can be devastating.

Former United States President Richard Nixon lied to the country and to the press. Rather than own up to his lies he essentially challenged the media to catch him in a lie. Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein did just that. The two reporters uncovered information suggesting that knowledge of a break-in at the Watergate hotel, and attempts to cover it up, led deeply into the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and the White House ultimately costing Nixon the Presidency.

In the late 1970’s FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone went undercover as Donnie Brasco. His undercover work was designed to infiltrate the Mafia n New York City. Pistone worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families on the mafia in New York City.

During these six years, Pistone’s story was challenged many times and he was consistent in his cover story. After his undercover operation ended, Pistone credited his success to not lying or embellishing unnecessarily. He stuck to his cover story and never deviated making it easy to keep track of the facts and be consistent even under the intense pressure of working with the Mob.

In the examples I gave above of former colleagues, neither lasted very long in these next positions. They had taken so much credit and lied so extensively about their qualifications, abilities and overall contributions to the successful projects that expectations were off the charts and so high that it was only a matter of time before their new employers discovered that they weren’t capable of actually doing what they said the could and had already done.

If you lie to the media, it won’t take long for them to catch on either. Once they do uncover the truth your credibility will be destroyed and they won’t want to have anything to do with you. If you stick to the facts and are honest you’ll build successful, long-term relationships of trust that will benefit you for years to come and will do more to help build your brand as a trusted source than any lie could ever do.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Three Tips To Successfully Answer the Question, Who Are Your Competitors?

In the majority of interview’s I’ve conducted over the last 15 or so years the reporter will typically ask, “Who are your competitors?”

Quite often the answer I hear is, “We don’t have any competitors.”

Rarely is this the case. Just about every product or service has another product or service that does something similar. It may not be the exact same thing, but similarities are enough to consider or classify it as a competitor.

In my experience, most businesses and executives don’t like to admit that they have a competitor or know what a competitor does. This is a mistake in my opinion. From a PR perspective you should absolutely know who your competition is, what they do and, most importantly, what differentiates you from the competition.

I attended the University of Utah. Years after I graduated, the football program brought in Urban Meyer to be the head coach of the football team. Meyer changed the football program and turned it into a winning program that was enticing enough to be persuaded into joining the PAC12. One of the things Meyer wouldn’t do was mention the University of Utah’s biggest competitor, Brigham Young University (BYU) by name.

When the topic came up or when a reporter, booster or fan asked him about BYU, his reference to them was always the same, “That team down South of us.”

While he wouldn’t mention the team by name, he knew all about the program. He studied them and developed a game plan to beat BYU in its annual rivalry game. In his time as head coach he was undefeated against, “that school down South.”

In instances with my clients I encourage them to follow a similar strategy to Coach Meyer’s, minus the refusal to speak their name. Listed below please find three tips for answering the question, who are your competitors?

• Know your competitors: I recommend clients know their competitors names and what they do. The fact that you know this information builds credibility and demonstrates to the media that you know and understand your market.
• Don’t bad mouth competitors: There is a huge difference between knowing your competitors and what they do and bad mouthing them. Disparaging a competitor is easy. Instead of taking this approach, I recommend explaining and focusing on what you do, why you take the approach you do and how it differs from others in your industry. By taking this approach you allow the reporter you’re talking to to understand what you do and draw their own conclusions as to the right approach and make a favorable comparison to your approach versus your competitors’ approach.
• Don’t write about or focus too much on a competitor: Yes, you have competitors, but that doesn’t mean you should focus on them all day every day. Know what they do but don’t draw too much attention to them. If you contribute content or write for industry publications, don’t write about them or feature them in your content. Similarly, don’t write about or promote competitors or clients’ competitors.

While every business wants to be unique and seen as the leader or best in class in their industry, it’s really not feasible to believe you don’t have a competitor. Don’t run from competition, embrace it and know who your competitors are and what they do. By dong this you’ll be able to understand the benefits you provide and what differentiates you from your competition.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Every business wants its customers and target markets to know what they’re doing. Some businesses are effective at communicating and sharing news, while others struggle to share.

Press releases are one of the most effective public relations (PR) tools to communicate and share important news. Many people know this, but don’t necessarily understand when, why or how to write and issue a press release. It’s a common problem that I get asked about a lot. There’s no shame in not knowing all the details about how or when to issue a press release.

From a PR perspective I recommend five basic points to consider when trying determining if a news item is worthy of a press release. I’ve listed these five points below.

• Be consistent: I recommend to my clients that they plan on issuing press release on a regular basis. Usually once a month is sufficient. That doesn’t mean that you have to issue a press release on the first day of each month, but if you’re consistent with sharing your news you’ll build a solid electronic footprint of news. I see so many companies that will issue a series of press releases in rapid succession and then go months without making any announcements. The logical question in these instances, especially from a media perspective is, “what happened to this company since they last issued this flurry of press releases?”
• Create a schedule: I recommend clients create a schedule of upcoming news and events that they can refer to and follow for writing and issuing press releases. You may not use every topic but it’s helpful to have a calendar to know what’s in the pipeline. In some cases you may combine some of these news items or replace them with more breaking news topics, but a calendar will help you plan accordingly.
• There is such a thing as too much: Some companies will issue too many press releases. In my experience the companies that do this are simply trying to increase their stock price or attract potential investors. Not every occurrence is worthy of a press release. Similarly, fluff news isn’t news and, from a media perspective, will not garner the attention and respect of the media.       If you’re constantly issuing press releases for non-newsworthy things it waters down your message and when there is legitimate news the press is less likely to listen. In some cases, if there is information you want to share, but are unsure if you should issue a press release to make the announcement, consider a blog entry or social media post to share the information.
• Communicate the news: This may sound simple, but I’ve seen businesses try to announce legitimate news only to leave out relevant details.       In one example, a company announced an event but failed to list the date of the event. If you’re going to share your news through a press release make sure to include all relevant information. Re-issuing a press release is possible, but it’s also costly. In my opinion, you only get one chance to make a good impression, and including all pertinent details is critical.
• Make the news accessible: If you go to the trouble of writing a press release, you need to share it.       Don’t just share some of the news or share it with a privileged few. Make it available to everybody. The best way to do this is via a wire service such as Business Wire, PR Newswire or PRWeb. There are other resources, but a wire service will get the word out quickly and reliably. Social media is another venue, as is your company’s Website, but the wire will share the information with the largest group of people the quickest.

Press releases are an effective tool for sharing important news and making sure the audiences you target know what your business is doing. There is a strategy to press releases that will maximize your exposure and create the most awareness. If you follow the tips listed above you’ll increase the effectiveness of your press releases and benefit from the exposure a press release generates.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+