Over the past month or so, I have come to a conclusion that networking is one of the key elements to being a successful PR practitioner. Of course there are a lot of other elements that come into play and make this line of work ever so tedious and tiring at times, but having great connections really did make things go far smoother, especially when you personally know your clients.
Lately, I was handed the task of going about KL and meeting with companies and businesses which are the sole distributor for certain brands used at events my company (e,g. Numark, Pioneer, M-Audio) to convince them to either contribute, sponsor, and/or be involved in some way to further promote the event, develop stronger ties between these companies for future events and create a stronger data base in which could be used for future purposes.
This was particularly easy only because I personally knew the managers. Some of them were through acquaintance and some where from my own personal hobby DJing and buying these electronics from them. A friend is always easier to convince, especially when you have brought them a lot of good business.
Needless to say, coming to an agreement or deciding what can be done is always the challenging part, and actually selling your idea to the clients, regardless if they are acquaintances or not, is still a challenge.
I sure am glad that I managed to make a lot of friends in high positions.
1 comment:
Hey Simon,
You definitely hit the nail on the head with this post! Your post holds true in Brunei - a small population where everybody knows each other. I am reminded of a situation where I spoke with a client over the phone to schedule an interview. For the first 5 minutes he didn't sound interested with what i had to say. But when he asked if i was related to Sikun Rayun (who's my father lol) he started to be alot more informative and friendlier. Now if only my father knew alot more people in Brunei, eh?
Take care!
Post a Comment