That Awkward Moment When You’re a Rookie…
The last several months have brought about so much new public relations knowledge and experience! I’ve spent countless hours doing research, analyzing media markets, creating things in InDesign and making presentations. But one of the things that has been most exciting is getting the opportunity to meet with clients. Sure, It’s a big part of our job in the communications industry, but having a flawless client meeting is something that takes practice. It’s an acquired skill.
Unfortunately, It’s also something that you don’t want to figure out the hard way. (Read: An angry/annoyed/confused client…and boss.) So to help you pull off a disaster-free meeting, here are 5 tips to take with you. Some of them, I’ve learned the hard way, some of them I just learned along the way.
1. Don’t ask questions that you could find the answer to by using Google. As any communications professor will tell you, public relations begins with research. This is not only fundamental, but will save you from irritating your client and appearing to be unprepared for the meeting. If you take the time to research the company or person, you’ll know which questions you do need to ask and even discover future opportunities that you might have missed by simply asking the client face-to-face. People tend to leave things out and give you the short version when you ask them in person, but Google doesn’t hide anything.
2. Take notes. Unless you have a super-human memory (which I would be really jealous of), you aren’t going to remember everything that someone tells you. Whether it’s an old school note pad and pen or your iPad (again, kinda jealous.), jot important things down as they talk. For me, it’s also important that I have a notepad because innevitably, ideas will come to me while we’re talking. Keep in mind, though, that you are sitting there with an actual person, so it’s not time to flesh out your ideas or record a transcript of the meeting. You may also want to look into recording your meeting, just make sure you have your client’s consent.
3. Listen more than you talk. Depending on what type of meeting this is, you may do a lot of talking or not much of it, but either way, “listen first, talk second” is a good rule to go by. Listen to what your client wants, what they expect from you, what their ideas are (no matter how rediculous) and then respond accordingly. Coming from a self-proclaimed (and going off what others tell me) chatterbox and talker, I understand that it’s hard to cut yourself off sometimes. But think about what you want to take away from the meeting, and make sure you take the time to listen and get all the answers you need to take your next step.
4. Don’t muddy the waters. When it is time for you to talk, keep things clear and concise. Many of us public relations and communications people might be creative, free thinkers, but our clients might not be. Now I know that to a certain extent we have to sell our ideas to our clients; It just goes with the territory. But our work should also be able to speak for itself, and when you do add your take on it, make sure the client sees what you see and can understand exactly what you’re talking about.
5. Be yourself, be personable and be ready to build a relationship. You’re not an accountant delivering a presentation of the annual fiscal year. You’re in public relations, and as you know, it’s all about relationships. So when you’re meeting a client for the first time, view it as the beginning of a long-term relationship, not just a 30 minute exchange of information. When choosing a public relations firm, the majority of clients make their decision based on relationship. That can be intimidating, but more than anything it’s an opportunity!
Keep these in mind as you start meeting with clients, and as you continue to meet with them. And don’t worry fellow rookies, mistakes happen.
{In my mean boss voice} Just don’t let it happen again! 🙂
The post-grad life 