Real-Life Decision Making
In the world of publicity, making the wrong impression or decision can
cost you clients and money.
Kim Bayne, a publicist based in Colorado, agrees. "I had to tell a client
that his PR dollar was being wasted on the project he wanted to do. That meant
I would lose income if he didn't hire me to do the job."
Still, Bayne didn't feel right about the project. "I just didn't
feel he would get the best results by his approach and I didn't want
to be a part of a mediocre or embarrassing project.
"I still cringe when I think about it."
If you worked as a publicist and you had a client who was determined to
begin a long, very costly and risky promotion campaign, what would you do?
Mr. X has a new product he wants to promote, and he wants you to do the
job. The only problem is, Mr. X is very headstrong and thinks he knows all
about PR, when in reality, he knows very little.
In your opinion, you believe Mr. X is charging ahead with an expensive,
risky campaign. Unfortunately, Mr. X is used to "yes people," or those who
simply agree with him and are afraid to present an opposite point of view.
By your estimates, if Mr. X goes ahead with his initial plan, he could
stand to lose thousands of dollars. However, if he was willing to modify his
plan based on your recommendations, he could see quick results and a large
increase in product sales.
What do you do?