Elaine Drebot-Hutchins, Principal at THINK, reminds us that saying "yes" to everything isn't only unrealistic, but downright inefficient. Instead, she shares five different phrases to confidently keep in your arsenal. 
Are you a ‘yes’ publicist? I’ll admit, I’ve had my moments where I just nodded and “yes’d” clients over and over. “You want me to put this press release that no one will read over the wire? Yes!” “We should have a media event for this non-initiative that actually makes no sense? Sure!” “We don’t have a budget. Ok! We will get creative!” In my younger years, it was due to lack of confidence and at times it was just because I knew there was no point in arguing, but I’ve learned my lessons the hard way. I am no longer a “yes” publicist and neither should you be. In fact, always doing what our clients ask hurts our entire profession and makes it harder on all of us.
So, here are five things I am no longer afraid to say, and why we need to say them.
1. “We Need The Actual Budget”
No. I cannot magically guess how much money a client has or can spend. I cannot try to get all the food and wine donated. I cannot spend five hours putting together a spreadsheet only for someone to come back and say, “I have no idea if we can afford that.” Please just tell me what we can spend. If we have an actual budget, it is actually EASIER for us to come in under it, believe it or not.
2. “That’s Not PR-able”
This one can sometimes be a real let down. Sometimes a client is so passionate about an idea and while it may be a GREAT one, one that even drives revenue, it may not be something press CARE ABOUT. I know what journalists want to write about. So, if I kindly, respectfully say, “This is great, but we really won’t get anyone to cover this,” please listen. I promise to always try to follow that sentence up with, “but here is what it would take to make your idea press-worthy.”
3. “Stop Obsessing Over Your Competition”
I once had a client who would spend 20-30 minutes of every call talking only about what her competitors were doing. Finally, after months of this, I asked her if she thought maybe she should focus more on her own business. She got pretty offended but called me a day later to thank me. Of course, we need to look at what competitors are doing (we even have Google alerts to keep dibs on the competition!) but if you spend all your waking energy obsessing over what others are doing, you will never grow.
4. “You Also Need a [Sales/Marketing/Ad/Digital] Strategy”
Yes, a publicist does many things and wears many hats. We can help grow and maintain brands in such amazing ways but, alas, we are not magicians. An amazing press hit does not guarantee sales – you need a sales team to do that. A feature in the Timesdoes not mean you will get more Instagram followers – you need a digital strategy (which our PR company likely offers, and you should take them up on their offer to complement PR with Digital)! PR can do many things, but there needs to be a 360-degree strategy.
5. “No.”
This one is the simplest to say and the hardest to do. But sometimes we have to decline the conference call, tell them we don’t recommend an event or just plain disagree. It has taken years for me to learn to confidently say “no.” As a result, my clients say “yes” more often.
