Why PR has more value than advertising

When businesses advertise, they get to say what they want when they want it.  

While some outlets will run releases word-for-word, when using PR, businesses have to rely on the media itself to tell their story with public relations.

Because it’s harder to get and it isn’t paid for directly, publicity has a higher value than advertising.

A news story that runs for 17 seconds on local TV with an audience of 112,359 has a publicity value of $4,250.

That same story only has an advertising value of $1,417.

A 45-second story on the same station can generate $11,250 worth of publicity each time it runs.

One of our stories that ran on the evening to the morning news generated as much as $52,922 in publicity.

Even a four paragraph story in The Sacramento Bee has generated new clients and increased sales for one of our clients. 

For more information on publicity, contact Dell Richards Publicity at www.dellrichards.com.

Tell journalists what they want to know

During interviews with reporters, people don’t always want to answer questions about company earnings and sales figures.

We tell clients it’s best to give reporters what they want.

If they don’t, the reporter will figure it out on their own.

If they get it wrong, it’ll look like it’s right and there’s little anyone can do about it.  

I say this because we’ve had reporters guesstimate company earnings by using an industry average that was way too low since they were specialists with a large staff.

To have people think they made so little was even worse than having everyone know how well they were doing.

Another time, we almost lost a feature because the company was still in beta-testing, had run into problems and didn’t want to admit sales weren't as high as they’d projected.   

Which is why we say “Honesty is the best policy”—especially with journalists.  

For information, please call us at (916) 455-4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.

Say something relevant when following up

We worked with a business coach who wanted us to call sales leads on the same day every week.

Since 88 percent of leads are never followed up on, getting into a regular habit sounded like a great idea.

But, for us, it didn’t work.

We just weren't comfortable calling unless we had a reason.

We ended up setting a goal of calling weekly, but working diligently to find a reason to do so.

If we couldn’t find something, we decided to use our intuition as a guide of when to make the call.

I recently needed to follow up on an introduction.

I could have called to talk about a common interest of ours, but I wanted to tie it to work.

I looked at the name on the "To Do" list every day, but did not call until there was an article in the news that directly related to business.

As a result, we ended up meeting the next day so we could share ideas for public relations.

Not only did I follow up, but I felt good about the authenticity of the process, one we also use effectively with reporters, editors and producers.

For more information, please call us Dell Richards Publicity, 916- 455-4790, or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

How to listen as a sales tool

In the 1950’s, they used to say to catch a man, you had to be a good listener. “Ask questions and he’ll think you’re a wonderful conversationalist.”

That advice has fallen by the wayside in the marriage market, but it’s still good advice in sales.

So much so, a business coach of ours used to say “…the art of sales is the same as courtship.”

In order to find out if you have enough in common to create a working relationship, you have to ask relevant questions, listen to the answers and ask careful follow-up questions.

In sales, the questions relate to the need and elicit information targeted to service or product you’re offering. Ask about past experiences, present use, immediate plans and future goals.

Find out what they expect and what the budget is.

In other words, see if you can deliver what they need, want and expect at a cost they’re able to pay.

Today, when the art of dialogue is all but dead in any situation, creating a useful conversation is an important sales tool.

For more information, please call us at 916. 455.4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.