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Unforgettable Self Promotion
by Barry Maher
Business Skills Articles
Published on this site: July 14th, 2010 - See
more articles from this month
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 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.
Barry Maher, speaks, writes, trains and consults on communication,
leadership, management & sales. He's an extremely motivational
keynote speaker. This article is adapted from his book, "Filling
the Glass," honored by Today's Librarian magazine as "One
of The Seven Essential Popular Business Books." Read Barry's
other articles, sign up for his newsletter and/or contact him at
www.barrymaher.com.
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