In this economic environment, cold calling—the practice of making sales calls to people who are not expecting a call and did not request to be contacted—is an essential part of business for most agencies.

While your call should have a personable, on-the-fly feel to it, marketing studies have shown that you have about 7 seconds to grab the attention of the person on the other end of the line, so you always want to call with a clear direction in mind.

That’s where a good script comes in. The ideal script grabs the potential client’s attention immediately, positions you effectively, and clearly explains what you have to offer.

When preparing your script, remember the following key points:

1. “I’m So-And-So on behalf of– Oh OK bye”: Think of the sales calls you get. Think of exactly when it is that a salesman loses you. In the initial moments after answering the call, you haven’t formed an opinion of the caller, but you probably do have an opinion of telemarketers. As soon as the caller behaves like one of them, you’ll be ready to hang up. Therefore, when making calls, distinguish yourself. Avoid stiff, impersonal introductions and make your speech fluid. Show warmth. Be human.

2. “Call me by my name”: You want to establish a personal connection within the first few moments of your call. If you know the person you are cold calling, always greet them by name (or title and last name, if they prefer that). If you don’t know the potential client, the first item you need is her name. Ask her, then introduce yourself, and then tell her a little about what you do.

3. Who’s the expert: On that note, whatever your trade, there are many ways of saying what you do. Position yourself as an expert or authority in your area. For example, you’re not a copywriter; you’re a Private Branding and Messaging Consultant. Mention noteworthy clients with whom you’ve worked. You may even want to drop one or two bits of jargon without being condescending. Make sure the potential client knows you’re an opportunity.

4. Know the flow: This will come mostly with practice, but before you make your first call, make sure you understand the flow of your script. Memorize it and be ready to deliver additional extemporaneous bits if the potential client is curious about different areas. Craft a script with all the relevant information from introductions to services to closing, but allow yourself the flexibility to expand if need be.

5. Match the message to the potential client: Along the same lines, make sure you research your potential clients and tailor your script accordingly. Be sure to know precisely what they do, so you can formulate each pitch in terms of what you can do for the potential client’s business. Don’t be caught off guard. If the potential client perceives that you don’t understand him, you will almost certainly lose the sale.

These guidelines will go a long way in maximizing the benefits you reap from cold calling. However, they’re only a basic primer; if you have any questions about cold calling or any other public relations issue, call us at (512) 477-1018 or drop us a line at philip@estilopr.com and we’ll get back to you soon.

I don’t have to sell you on the power of social media and “non-traditional” presence; the media and every other PR professional and web expert has already done that.

You know these tools can be effective, but focusing on them as the beginning and end of a communications campaign is problematic.

Viral videos are a perfect example. They create a wellspring of attention to a message you have crafted. But in making this message popular, you’ve had to distill away most of your substance.

Viral videos can spill through to your more content-rich efforts, and they can certainly build brand. But if you focus on the hundreds of thousands of YouTube views, instead of qualifying their impact, the campaign can lose its edge.

Traditional marketing and publicity was very simple and self-contained. This new breed dabbles with specialization. Viral leads to subtle brand-awareness. PDF whitepapers lend themselves to customer education.

The first step of any publicity campaign should be an orientation of what tools yield what results. Here is an overview of some of the tools that may be on your radar screen and what to expect from them:

1. Search Engine Optimization: This isn’t a silver bullet for traffic, but investing time in SEO will maximize the potential for visitors to your site. You can reach diminishing returns on time invested, so make sure that you don’t stress so much over SEO to neglect other important areas of your marketing plan.
   
2. Viral Content: If you have an interesting story to tell or a great way to tell it, take advantage. The “new” publicity is all about voice, which is all about showing your human side. If you can be funny or original, or even very professional and thought provoking, package that message to raise brand awareness.
3. Blogging: Nothing crafts as coherent and definable an identity as having a frequently used blog. Blogs allow for the voice of the organization to present their positions to the public forum.
4. Social Networking: Allows you to leverage existing contacts to make every other publicity activity easier. It works well in conjunction with things you are already doing, because the barrier to action is quite low on the part of the audience. They don’t have to do much to be a contributor.
5. CPC Advertising: Internet advertising is far more scalable than most forms of marketing. It has the added benefit of getting potential clients to your page in direct proportion to the budget you spend. Not many other forms of marketing offer that level of certainty over budget.
6. Podcasting/Video Podcasting/etc.: Nowadays, inexpensive recording tools and loads of creativity are all you need to amass a daily or weekly audience online. If you make them interesting and useful, podcasts – digitally distributed recordings akin to radio shows – and video podcasts will get you the traffic you need at a reasonable price.

We will continue to write about these topics in the newsletter, so if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe.

If you have any questions about Internet marketing or any other public relations issue, drop us a line at either philip at estilopr dot com or roberto at estilopr dot com.

Confidence is an essential element of a strong business image. In a number of social settings, there is no better way to show your confidence than by telling a good joke or two. When applied to public relations, humor can help you secure and maintain clients, conduct more effective outreach, and improve your visibility online.

When using humor, remember that every successful joke depends on a shared bit of knowledge, and so — as with public relations in general — always keep in mind your audience, the assumptions it brings along, and the way they’ll receive your words.

Here are various situations in which peppering your speech with humor can serve you well:

• Humor with clients – While getting clients, a sense of humor strengthens your pitch and shows you as an eager, confident service provider. Within established business relationships, it is a normal part of contact housekeeping.
• Humor in outreach – This is where humor can achieve the most immediately visible results. When approaching people one-on-one, some clean, non-deprecating humor can show a warm side to you, make you trustworthy, and generate more interest in your product.
• Humor in Internet publicity – Campaigns in social media, social bookmarking, and viral marketing almost demand humorous content to stand out. The Internet’s younger demographic appreciates a witty site, video, or song — and passes it along.
• Humor in regular media – Although much less prominent than in other vectors, humor has its place in old media. Yes, press releases should always focus on swift information delivery, but for the sake of strengthening your client’s image (unless your client is a funeral home or similar), you can mix a healthy dose of laughter into things like feature stories and interviews.

These strategies are a handy primer on effective PR. If you’re looking for more in-depth guidance, we at Estilo will be happy to talk to you, so give us a call at (512) 477-1018.

The charter school has been in the press a lot lately. It will open as a sixth grade campus and add 7th grade in 2010 and 8th in 2011. It has already filled up the slots for its 2009-2010 6th grade class, and it is still taking names for a waiting list.

The school is going to be based on the successful model of the YES College Prep school in Houston, and it will make a top-notch education available to children in east Austin. We’ll keep an eye on it and update you as the opening approaches.

The website, available in English and Spanish, showcases Sheyla’s articles on various areas of personal development, like family, professional life, relationships, and fitness. It also has a blog, a weekly podcast, and a coaching portal, so give it a look!

Of course, we’ll keep you updated on this, but we’re already very excited. This project has drawn on every area of our expertise and taken us beyond, into web development, an area where we hope to continue to grow.

We at Estilo want to congratulate everyone involved for the great success the event had in its first year. The good people at El Buen Samaritano tell us that they screened 340 people for blood glucose and gave out 60 glucose monitors to those who needed them. Congreso also had cholesterol and blood pressure screenings, as well as hearing and vision tests. Great job guys!

We talked to attendees, volunteers, performers, committee members, and MACC people, and the general vibe is that everyone had a great time. We’re really looking forward to working on next year’s Congreso, and of course, we’ll keep you updated!

It feels like we just finished a major election with the Presidential election just a few months back, and here comes another election right around the corner. With the very low turn out at the polls in Austin, every vote is critical. I want to encourage everyone to go out and vote this coming May 9 for City Council candidates and Mayor.

We have the opportunity to elect our new Mayor and places 2, 5 and 6 for Austin. Our City Council deals with local issues such as land use, affordable housing, arts and entertainment, job creation, etc. With the economic downturn we need to make sure that our voices are heard during this election time.

Regardless of where you stand on the many issues in the air, or which particular candidate you are supporting, please come out and vote on May 9. Read up on the things that matter to you and express your voice. Civic participation is a necessity for the good of our society.

For more information about the City Council election, please check the following links:

http://www.traviscountytax.org/goVoters.do
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/election/intro_eng.htm

Cost-cutting is always a good business practice, especially in this economic climate. To navigate the sluggish economy, you must find a balance between searching for new opportunities and keeping your PR budget in check.

At a time where expanding into new areas of revenue could be essential, you don’t have to go without communications. Here are a few tips to save money while you get the word out to new potential clients:

1. Harness the power of social media — Contacts can be the key to surviving patches of little work. If you can communicate quickly and effectively with your networks, you can streamline the process by which you find clients. The faster you are at identifying someone’s need, the more likely you are to have the chance to fill it.
2. Leverage relationships with strategic partners — Over the course of business and your personal life, you have developed many relationships with potential partners. You can also branch out and look for people who would benefit from an agreement to publicize each other. For example, if you own an oil change business, find a tire shop that will recommend you to its customers if you do the same. Seek out non-competitors with whom you could team up.
3. Capitalize on newsworthy events — Events with wide appeal or relevance can translate into newspaper articles. If you can pitch recent or upcoming events as potential stories, you’ll be well on your way to earning media placement.
4. If there are no events, create cost-effective ones — This one explains itself. If nothing newsworthy jumps out of your calendar, come up with an event that you can put together for relatively little money, and then publicize it! Examples include ribbon-cutting ceremonies, the introduction of a unique new product or service, or fundraising efforts (for non-profits). This strategy demands a more in-depth look at the specifics of your business, since you’ll have to look at things like inventory, accounts payable, and cash on hand to assess whether the event you’re considering is feasible. If it is, organize it and take it to the media!

These strategies are a handy primer on cost-effective PR. If you’re looking for more in-depth guidance, we at Estilo will be happy to talk to you, so give us a call at (512) 477-1018.