Know what you want before you ask for it

How many times have you met someone at a party and, for want of any other small talk, asked them what they do for a living? Right, we all do it, it helps break the ice. But equally, how many times does your companion ramble on about doing this and that, and quite a few other things too, and when you probe a little further and ask who, in the main, are his clients or customers, says ‘Oh, just about everyone, really’.
Is this the way to engage your audience? Is this likely to lead to new or enhanced business? Absolutely not.
But it’s lamentable how many people, in a business or networking situation, answer in the same way as our waffling fellow guest. Given the usual 40 seconds or one minute to describe their business and what they have to offer the room, all too often someone gets up obviously having no clear idea of where his or her expertise lies, nor indeed whom they should be targetting.
This is where a skilled PR practitioner can help. We work with our clients to tease out their key messages; and then to identify the audience they most want to target. Then we use our journalistic skills to create and convey that message to the audience through carefully chosen contacts in appropriate media. It’s perhaps not surprising that when you know what you have, and who you want to tell about it, and have someone who knows HOW to convey the message, positive results will swiftly follow.



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