June 2006 Archives

The PRSA Sunshine District conference , hosted by the Gulf Coast chapter, was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples this past weeked. The hotel was fabulous (would you expect anything less?) and the speakers were outstanding.

I took copious notes and will post the highlights as soon as I've had a chance to decipher them...there was so much great information shared by the speakers, including Joan Stewart, Jess Todtfeld and Dr. Joe Trahan that my keyboard was on overdrive trying to keep up.

The 2007 conference will be hosted by the Orlando chapter in June, so mark your calendars now.

I just hung up with an unmotivated and very ineffective telemarketer from Network Marketing.

Since the caller ID indicated a telemarketing firm, I answered with "Hello?" instead of the usual "thank you for calling Elizabeth Charles & Associates, this is Wendy..." spiel.

The caller started with "is this a PR firm?" and continued with "uh, a Wendy?"

A better approach would have been "Hi, I'm calling for Wendy Kurtz. Is she available?"

When I asked if this was a sales call for advertising she responded "yes, but it's only $250 and Meredith [Celebrity Last Name] is on there, and we bring a television camera to you..." and kept going. It was a very disjointed pitch.

A better response would have been something like: "technically, yes, but actually it's a call to let you know about an opportunity we have reserved for Orlando's community leaders (remember, she got my name off a board list). Would you be interested in showcasing your business to more than 10,000 business professionals in the Central Florida area?" That would have captured my attention.

She could have continued with something like, "I see on your website you assist executives in moving from free to fee paid speaking engagements. This advertising program will enable you to promote those services to your target audience multiple times for less than $0.70 a day. Even a basic postcard mailing would cost more than that." The subliminal cost comparison shows how her program can save me money. As a business owner, I am always interested when something affects my bottom line.

I politely mentioned she'd called in on a back line and our phones are on the national Do Not Call registry. She promptly told me I needed to contact the chamber and tell them to take my name and information off their web site. Umm, no, I don't.

A better approach would have been "I'm sorry; we got your number from the XYZ Chamber's web site. I'll be happy to remove your name from our list. I apologize for the intrusion. Have a nice day." Of course, sincerity is the key here.

$250 sounded cheap. Had her approach been drastically different, I would have at least been interested enough to find out more in order to more fully evaluate the opportunity (remember the "E" in the D.R.E.A.M. Principle). Unfortunately, the only thing her pitch interested me in was hanging up.

If a radio host invites you to come in for an interview, don't respond by telling him (or her) what a pain it is to interview.

If a radio host invites you to come back a year after your last appearance, don't ask him to "just replay the interview from last year" and then complain when he tells you he doesn't keep interviews.

TIP: Most stations don't keep copies of interviews, but are usually happy to dub a copy for you - IF you ask them in advance.

And above all else, if you're talking with a radio host, especially one you have previously been interviewed by, DON'T tell him you wish his station would play some decent music! Your only concern should be providing quality content that his audience can use. That holds true for discussion with any member of the media.

Wayne Kelly, my co-host for our "30 Days to Radio Success" teleclass series, recently ran into a guest he'd had on his show. Suffice it to say she won't ever be invited back. There are several other shows she probably won't get on now as well, since Wayne will add her name to the "not worth booking" section of his weekly show prep report (that goes out to a slew of other radio hosts and programming directors).

Wayne recaps the entire incident in this month's issue of his newsletter, available online.

June 23-24
Ritz-Carlton, Naples, FL

We've got a great lineup, including Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, with a two hour media training session; Jess Todtfeld, a former producer from Fox & Friends in New York; and Annetta Wilson, a 30-year TV news veteran whose current client list includes CNN.

For more info, visit the Gulf Coast chapter's web site.

Robert Scoble is leaving Microsoft for PodTech.net.

His impending departure became public knowledge a bit sooner than he planned. It's hard to keep a secret when you have a high profile and work for a very large company. And, of course, everyone has an opinion about him leaving.

Scoble's blog was one of the first I subscribed to when entering the world of blogging, back when he was still on Radio Userland (he subsequently moved to WordPress).

Congratulations, Robert, and best of luck with the new endeavor.