By Featured Speaker Barry Maher
A PR expert I’ll call Dale Andrews heard that a local charity was looking to hire a consultant to help with their public relations. He really needed the work and, after racking his brain on how he could stand out from the herd, he realized that showing them what he could do would be far more powerful than simply telling them.
He went to the charity’s website, scouring it for ideas. And that’s where he found the names and business contact info of all the board members. These were the people he had to reach; the only question was how best to reach them, how to sear the name “Dale Andrews,” indelibly into their brains, proving beyond question the power of the attention-grabbing skills he would bring to their account.
The concept he finally came up with was one he was sure none of them would ever forget.
Cutting the words he needed from old magazines, he sent one letter a day to each board member.
The first letter read simply “Dale.” The second read “Dale Andrews.’ Then “Dale Andrews Will,” followed by “Dale Andrews Will Blow.”
To keep the next letter in the series from creating a problem message, he added two words rather than one: “Dale Andrews Will Blow You Away!” Which is when the police showed up at his door: before he had the chance to send out the final note, the one that was to include his resume and a detailed explanation of just how this kind of PR expertise was going to blow everyone away.
Which is a great reminder of the simple fact that if you can’t put yourself in the place of the people you’re communicating with, you’re never going to get the results you need.
Author, Barry Maher speaks, writes and consults on leadership, management, motivation, communication and sales training. His books include “Filling the Glass” which has been honored as “[One of] The Seven Essential Popular Business Books” by Today’s Librarian magazine. Contact him and/or sign up for his free newsletter at www.barrymaher.com.
