There’s a certain state of mind you must be in before you should try to engage a public relations professional. The best professionals – the ones who focus on results more than how much you can afford – will check to see if you’re there before accepting you as a client. Some will even help you get there before they begin contacting press on your behalf. For me, this is the only way to do business, where your vision and your focus are just as important as your talent.
In my last article, I discussed what is required to engage a public relations agency. Here, I’m going to let you in on how I choose which companies I represent.
A few months ago, I had a consulting call with a jewelry designer who knew precisely what she wanted from life. In our pre-call survey, she wrote about the lifestyle brand she was going to create, with her jewelry line being the beginning of what was sure to be a multibillion-dollar empire of jewelry, clothing, handbags and more. Intrigued, I awaited our scheduled call to see how I could be of service. Within moments into our call, however, I realized immediately this woman only had a dream.
The reality was that she’d only produced four pieces, with just two available to show me via photo. She had sketches for more, but she couldn’t say when she planned to produce the remaining collection — yet she continued on about this empire she was building that would make her the next Coco Chanel.
There’s a general belief that you should never awaken someone who is sleepwalking out of fear it could cause them harm. I found myself in this situation where I had to determine if I should awaken this delightfully deluded woman or let her continue along in what must be a beautiful, uncomplicated dream world where things simply happen without effort.