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Managers Handbook
What every PR pro should know about
looking after clients, the media, staff and their
bosses.
COVER PAGE
Place The Title of
Your Ebook Here
By Heather Baker
Table of
Contents
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14
18
23
25
27
29
34
37
5
41
45
Paid tools
49
Chapter 5: Leadership
Teaching and mentoring your team
50
Leading meetings
52
Managing people
58
Chapter
one:
An introduction to account
management
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Spot a piece of coverage in the FT that they have secured for the
client, exclaim in delight, then go and make themselves a cup of
coffee! Your client needs to feel that you are ahead of them as soon
as you see that coverage, you send it to them as fast as your internet
connection will carry you. You dont want the client sending their
coverage to you!
Ask me to proof a feature, then, once I have done so, accept all my changes
and send it straight to the client for approval. Aside from revealing your
inability to think independently, this sloppy approach annoys me because
my changes need to be proofed!
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Say the client should be really happy with this service. The client shouldnt
be anything! Whether or not the client is happy is entirely down to the
account manager and no one else. The client will be happy if you have
identified the need, defined what success will look like, put metrics in place
for measuring progress, delivered on client expectations and communicated
success and failure properly with the client.
Secure an interview and then celebrate. Ive seen many an account manager
think that getting the interview in the diary is their job done. Sadly, thats just
the first of many hurdles. Id prefer it if youd wait for the coverage to come
through the door, or through my Google Alerts before you break out the
champagne.
Come back from holiday and then say at 1pm on their first day back, I havent
seen that as I still havent been through my emails. Your first day back is not an
extension of your holiday. Create a system and get through your emails quickly.
Delete all the spam and the irrelevant ones and youll cut them down by two
thirds. Then read through them quickly, set tasks where actions need to happen
and move on with your day.
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Come to me after a morning of pitching and say that storys not going to work
the medias not interested. Im not buying it. Firstly, the right account
manager can make every story work, they just need to find the angle and
persist. Secondly, why are you dumping this on my lap? Dont bring a problem
to me unless you have thought about next steps and can propose a few
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solutions.
Chapter
Account management
two:
skills
Skills for the digital account manager
The skills you need to survive as a 21st century account manager (and
where to find them).
The account manager of yesteryear (and by yesteryear I mean pre-2005)
needed little more than enough writing ability to pull together a weekly
media release, the pluck to call a journalist and invite him to a liquid lunch,
and the stomach lining to be able to leave that lunch on two feet.
Perhaps I exaggerate. But Im allowed to don my pair of rose-tinted glasses,
because those days are now well and truly over (and those account
managers are now well and truly hung over account directors trying to lead
teams delivering a service that has changed almost beyond recognition).
It makes me yawn to use this phrase (and if its not familiar, you havent
spent enough lunch breaks browsing PR agencies websites), but the media
landscape has changed. Journalists are under-resourced and have more
excuses than ever to behave like, well, dickheads.
But the new age of PR account management is not just about dealing with
busy journalists and putting up with behaviour that would be unacceptable in
any other context. Its about meeting client expectations that have changed
clients now want their PR service to plug in to every aspect of their
marketing strategy, from SEO to social and online advertising, and they
want it to be just as accountable too.
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Diplomacy youll have to look inside yourself to find this one, as you
will undoubtedly come across situations where you have to find a more
socially acceptable way of telling a client/team member/director/journalist to
piss right off than slapping them in the face with your iPad (actually the
best course of action is usually to suck it up and do nothing, or to simply
vent your frustrations anonymously on the B2B PR Blog!).
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Email etiquette
All emails sent should be:
Free from grammatical / spelling
errors and typos
Clear on why you are sending the
email, and what action is required
Written in a professional style
Content
Make sure it is clear and easy to
understand what you are trying to
say.
Be clear on what the next actions
are, e.g. I will wait to hear from you
before proceeding.
Responding to emails
Do so quickly that impresses people and is a great way to show that youre
pretty damn good at your job.
Always acknowledge that you have received and understood an email this is
important for colleagues as well as external comms, e.g. Thanks for your
email, I have made a note to xxx, or Thank-you.
Ending emails
Finish with Kind Regards or Sincerely, not Ciao or Love.
If you are ever unsure that an email meets acceptable professional
standards, then ask a colleague to read it through before you send it.
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Phone etiquette
It can be very intimidating speaking to people on the phone, particularly
when you are new to doing so in a business context. But there are some
ways in which you can overcome this. Simply follow the steps below:
Prepare
It may seem cumbersome, but this is a great way to improve your professional
phone manner. Before you speak to someone on the phone, do your
research:
Write out exactly what you are going to say and how you are
going to say it. Read through it a few times, then chuck it and
have just a few keywords in front of you before you proceed.
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formal.
Remember...
while it is important to get communications right, you will make mistakes,
and you shouldnt beat yourself up about them. Everyone you deal with in
business is ultimately a person too with problems and vulnerabilities
and insecurities just like you. Learning from every mistake, is more
important than getting it 100% right first time.
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Before you start, you need to know who you are writing for. If you havent
been provided with guidelines, you should insist on answers to the following
questions.
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Do your research
Once you have your brief, research the publication and read through
examples of similar articles. This will give you a basic idea at least of
what is expected of you and will make sure you dont go off on a tangent.
The biggest mistake people make when writing for business is a failure
to develop a proper grasp of the subject matter.
No matter how good your style, your piece will be meaningless if you
dont personally understand what you are writing about and its very
easy to spot (usually signalled by gratuitous use of big words like
pedagogical). In business communications you will often be required to
write about subjects that are new or unfamiliar to you, and the best way
to approach these is:
Look at articles that have been written on the subject over the last
year do you get the key issues that have been at play in this
market?
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Plan it
Talk this through with your team (or your client) to make sure you
have the correct messaging, flow and content.
Write
If youve done Steps 1-4 properly, then writing
should be the easy bit.
Press releases
Byliner
Feature
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Edit
Editing your own copy is good practice (and shows consideration for
your colleagues). It means that the next pair of eyes required to proof it,
can do so without having to waste their own time on your trivial
admin. To edit:
Run a spell check.
Check for inconsistencies.
Present
Save in the correct format with the correct file name in the
correct location.
Source the appropriate images.
Let your team know it is ready for review. Go through it with
them and take feedback on board!
22
Let other team members know that youre going in (so that two
people arent editing the same document at the same time).
Save the document as the next version, so you dont save your
changed version right over the original.
Ensure tracked changes is on.
Make your amendments.
Save.
Let other team members know that you are done.
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Finding creativity:
Fondle your creative side
Good account management requires creativity. If it doesn't come
naturally, here's some advice on getting your creative juices flowing.
As the skills section of the PR Account Managers Handbook approaches
its climax, I have decided to dedicate this advice piece to innuendo, and
would like to invite you to whip out your most adventurous bits in
celebration of creativity in PR.
As an account manager, your clients expect you to be constantly spurting
out creative ideas. Most of us dont wear red skinny jeans and big glasses
with brown rims to work so we therefore struggle to give rise to creativity on
demand.
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Finding creativity
26
Why me?
Why now?
As you will see from the examples covered in this ebook, if whoever is
responsible for your PR can answer this question, finding the hook that
makes your story topical, relevant or interesting, then your company is
in a great position to start maximising that coverage. The hook can be
everything.
The PR people who build the most successful relationships with
journalists have thought of the answers to these questions in
advance and also understand the basic principles of relationship
building.
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Dear Journalist,
Thanks for the chat earlier. As I mentioned, I thought your readers
would be interested in <this story> because it is <useful to them in this
way> (keep it brief and relevant). I thought it would be a good fit for
the xx section on the site... I can offer a case study, a review or a ...
Alternately, I know <my client / my MD> would be delighted to meet
you and talk you through the issue. I will give you a ring in a couple of
days to follow up... etc
4 Start pitching
Ring people on your list and talk them through the story. Remember:
Introduce yourself
Dont try to make small talk people are busy and they dont
care.
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4 Pitching continued...
Dont email them first if you email first and they dont respond
(which will almost certainly happen) then youve backed yourself
into a corner. Thats because a phone call saying did you get my
email? is annoying. A call in which you say I have a great story for
you is not.
Get the three most important points of the story down the phone
first.
Make a note of who you have spoken to, when you spoke to them
and what the follow-up action is in the media spreadsheet.
If you cannot get hold of someone, keep trying every hour until you
can. Not being able to get hold of someone is never an excuse for
not placing the story with them (at least its not an excuse I would
readily accept myself).
If you still cannot get them on the phone, then send a carefully
worded, very brief pitch by email.
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5 Help them
Once a journalist has agreed to run your story, make it as easy as
possible for them to do so. That means:
Make sure they have the correct spellings of the names of people
involved.
Ask what they need and help them get it (pictures, research, case
studies).
6 Thank them
Success! Your storys been published! Congratulations! Before yourpop
the champagne, drop the journo a line to say thanks again, theyre just
people and most people like to feel appreciated.
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Chapter
three:
Managing clients
Your next step is to learn everything you can about the clients
business. Ask heaps of questions, be curious, subscribe to their
media outlets, follow their competitors on Twitter and make sure your
institutional and industry knowledge is unparalleled.
Then, to allay their fears, you should dedicate disproportionate time to
exceeding their expectations.
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The client needs to know when things are going well AND when they
are going badly. Make sure you are the first to tell them either way.
That guest post on FT.com should be emailed to them before theyve
had a chance to open their Google Alerts. Likewise, when a key
journalist says she just isnt interested, the client has a right to know.
Once youve agreed your base case and the metrics by which you
will be measured, revisit it on a regularly basis (monthly, quarterly),
and identify how you are doing. Share this with the client.
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Do it in person.
While its usually fine to reprimand someone or provide negative feedback via
email, I tend to pick up the phone or call a meeting if the situation hasnt been
resolved after two electronic exchanges. Thats because the recipient can
choose to read your email in any tone of voice they like. If theyre on the
defensive, they will usually choose an angry tone, and the situation will get
blown out of proportion.
Do it immediately.
Dont chicken out through procrastination. Deal with the situation while its in
front of you there is no need to prolong the pain and you will be grateful for it
once youve got it out of the way.
Prepare.
Decide the main points you want to make and write a list of evidence based
on concrete examples to back these points up. At the same time, compile a
list of examples that contradict your points. This is necessary because no
argument is ever completely black and white and you need to make sure you
have been fair and considered how the other party will counter.
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Behave.
Behave professionally after the meeting be honest and fair, but never
badmouth the other party. Thats just common sense and good manners!
And finally, if you are ever on the receiving end of a difficult conversation, then
be grateful when the other party handles it in a professional and timely
manner that gives you the best chance of leaving with your dignity intact. It
takes courage and solid human fabric to confront the many challenges that
business throws at us, and to consistently do so with grace is a rare
achievement. I have watched many rubber-spined individuals weasel their
way out of difficult situations, and avoid having that tough conversation with
me, or a supplier, or a colleague. They probably dont care, but every single
one of them is on my mental list of people who will be snubbed if I'm ever
famous.
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Test
Are you a good
yourself: account manager?
Managing an account means you need to be on top of everything to do
with that business and its contract with your consultancy. This means
that at any given time, you should be able to answer any number of
questions about that client. Test yourself right now on your key client
how many of these can you answer?
Who are the key spokespeople?
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What are their contact details? Are these correctly saved in your CRM
system? On your smartphone?
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Chapter
four:
PR account
management tools
Doodle
Scheduling made easy. Planning a meeting involving lots of busy
people? Set up a doodle, with a selection of dates and times, email
them the link and get them to fill out their availability. Then select the
date and time that suits the majority.
Dropbox
Share files with colleagues and clients using a free Dropbox account.
Feed Reader
Desktop-based RSS news aggregator that enables you to keep on
top of breaking news to do with certain companies or keywords. (A
great alternative to the now-retired Google Reader.)
Easel.ly
Create infographics for free by entering your information and using
Easel to visualise it.
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Google Analytics
Add the analytics code to a clients website and monitor how the
work you are doing affects web visitors.
Google News
Keep up to date on news relating to your clients across loads of
news websites, from nationals to trades. Not as comprehensive as
some of the paid news clippings service, but great for research. Set
up news alerts to be the first to know when your client has been
mentioned.
Journalisted
Check which journalists have written about your clients industry
recently to hone your pitching.
justpaste.it
Share text and images by pasting them into the box and sending a
link. Great way to get around attachments.
Klout
Check how influential someone is on social media by getting their
Klout score
10
LinkedIn
Research people, from journalists to clients to prospects or
colleagues to find out about their backgrounds, how you are
connected, and prepare for meetings or interviews.
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MailChimp
Email marketing and email list manager.
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13
Pixlr
Free online photo editor. Great for cutting the clients wife out of his
Facebook profile when a journalist asks for a headshot yesterday.
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15
Skype
Make voice and video calls over your internet. Much cheaper than
the old BT landline, and anything that brings down BTs shareprice
gets my vote.
16
Survey Monkey
Set up an online survey, and send the link to participants. Great
way to get feedback or create a quick stats-based story.
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Twitter
If you havent heard of this one then get back in your time machine
and head home to 2005. Follow the hashtag #journorequest to get
requests for case studies / contributions from journalists.
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Chapter
five:
Leadership
Teaching and mentoring your team
How to teach something to someone at work without coming across
as a patronising twat.
As an account manager, youre going to need to pass on all the worldly PR
know-how youve accumulated through your career to those just entering
the profession, who will no doubt be eagerly hanging on your every word,
and absorbing everything you say like a sponge. And if you believe all that,
youre just the type of twat this piece is aimed at.
The truth is that there are many ways to teach something new, and in a
busy office environment your objective is usually going to be to get them to
learn the skill or technique confidently as quickly as possible without
making them hate you. Heres whats worked for me in the past:
2.
Get them to explain it to you. Find out how much theyve learned
on their own by asking them to talk you through the subject.
3.
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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Provide feedback on what they did well and what they did
poorly. Be sure to highlight the positive and be supportive!
10. Get their feedback. They might have some good ideas on how to
improve on the method you have just taught them. Be open to these
and you could learn something yourself!
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Leading Meetings
From account manager level upwards, you need to be able to hold a
meeting and guide it in the direction you want it to go. This requires
confidence, which comes with practice, but is impossible without
proper preparation.
The better prepared you are for a meeting, the better your chance of being
able to control the meeting. This is critical in terms of gaining credibility in
front of the client (or whoever you are meeting).Your confidence will be
closely affected by how well prepared you are, so it is important that you do
not leave this to the last minute. As the account manager, a successful or
unsuccessful meeting is ultimately your responsibility, so make sure every
task you delegate is being handled to your satisfaction you cannot blame
a poor meeting on anyone but yourself. Here are my ten steps to a
successful meeting:
Who has asked for the meeting and why? Try not to
automatically agree to a meeting request instead, buy time
and say Am I okay to come back to you on that?
Will a call suffice? If there is no benefit of having everyone
together into a room, or if the meeting only requires information
to flow one way, then an email and a call are fine.
If so, how do you diplomatically suggest a call instead? Is it
appropriate for you to say I know you wanted to have a
meeting, but I am really up against it next week would you
mind if we had a call instead? Then be very grateful when they
agree. Or, is it the type of client relationship where you have to
agree to a face to face meeting?
Leading meetings
52
4 Draft an agenda
Depending on the audience, you need to decide how detailed this
will be and in what format it should be presented. If your attendees
are always on the move, reading this on their smartphones, then
you want to send it in the body of the email.
Never add points to the agenda for the sake of it make sure you
are comprehensive but only add things that will be of value.
Get the agenda to the right people ahead of the meeting and ask
them to provide feedback or details of anything they want added to
the agenda.
Leading meetings
53
5 Prepare
For every point on the agenda:
Conduct detailed background research (e.g. research it in the
news, see what competitors are doing until you feel confident
talking freely on the subject).
Rehearse what you are going to say
Anticipate the difficult questions that the client is likely to ask and
make sure you have answers
If you are nervous, run these past a colleague to get their
feedback.
Then, crucially, anticipate the action points
Leading meetings
54
9 Confirm before
Either the day before or a few hours before confirm in a quick
email.
Make sure it is clear that you dont need a response from them. So
send an email that says Look forward to seeing you at your offices
at 10am tomorrow.' That way you avoid awkward
misunderstandings that will ultimately be blamed on you (whether
you are to blame or not - you're the account manager!).
Leading meetings
55
Arrive on time
Dont be more than 10 minutes early its annoying.
Give people information on how you are getting there. So, if you
are catching a train let people know in advance that you will be
coming by train and that you are scheduled to arrive at 09:55. That
way, if you are late and cannot get hold of them, they can check the
train schedule.
If you are going to be late, keep the other participants informed
throughout. If your train is delayed, send an email, and keep
sending updates as you get them.
At the meeting
Leading meetings
56
Dont get caught out: Make sure you have done your research
thoroughly.
Then get some support from the media: Make a few phone
calls to key target journalists and get some quotes that support
what youre asking for.
Research other instances where this has been successful.
Research other instances where this has been unsuccessful
it is far more powerful for you to mention this in the meeting
than for the client to feel like they have caught you out.
Additionally, any argument is more convincing if you have
considered the opposition in detail and countered it with solid
reasoning.
Follow up
Do this quickly. If you cant get your meeting notes to them within
24 hours, send them a holding email, saying good to meet you, we
will have action points with you by tomorrow'
Keep your meeting notes to-the-point and make sure they are
proofed
Leading meetings
57
Managing people
As an AM, the buck stops with you
That means that when it comes to people management, you are
responsible for making sure your team members deliver what they
are supposed to deliver. And if they dont, Im afraid to say that you
are to blame.
It is never acceptable to tell a client that something hasnt been done
because your AE didnt do it. As the AM, even once you have delegated
a piece of work, it is your responsibility to set yourself a reminder to
follow up ahead of the deadline and check that it has been done to
standard (or is on its way).
If it hasnt, you have every right to be annoyed, but thats beside the
point! Right now, you need to focus on implementing plan B to get that
work done. Its the cross you have to bear: any spelling error in a release
that goes out, any unprofessional email (e.g. account director asking the
client something they have already told you), and any instance in which
your team is poorly informed (or uninformed) about something
happening on the account is your fault. Dont rely on your team to read
something because you said they must. Make sure they do it, because
good client service is more important than pestering a team member.
Managing people
58
Forget the hierarchy: your AEs and AAs know that you are in
charge. You dont need to remind them. Refer to team members as
colleagues when talking about them to clients or suppliers and
Take the fall: when a team member screws up, show solidarity by
taking the blame as a team and then sorting it out amongst yourselves
afterwards.
Share the glory (even better, give it away): you might have
been instrumental in the success of that campaign, but as far as the rest
of the world knows, you couldnt have done it without your fabulous
team.
Get feedback: take team members for a coffee every now and then
and ask how they think the team is doing and how youre getting on as a
manager.
Ask for help: theres no reason you should have to learn how to
manage people with no support. Get advice from other managers (both
within and outside the organisation) and from your companys HR
department (if you have one).
Managing people
59
Ask for suggestions: before you tell someone how to do a task, ask
them to suggest how they think it should be approached. Your way isnt
the only way and by inviting contribution from others in the team will help
you learn about their skill sets and might provide a (dare I say it?) better
way of doing things.
Managing people
60
The
End
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