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April 10, 2007
The Floundering PR Waif - STOP THE COLD CALLS!
"Well, I'm not pitching anything, but I want to find out what you think about IPTV...Do you think IPTV will be successful? ... Our firm is thinking about expanding their practice into IPTV..."
[Yes, IPTV will be successful, AT&T is deploying it to deliver video, along with firms around the globe... but that's not the point]
I hate cold calls, especially cold calls fishing for information on subjects when there are websites and The Google.
In lieu of e-mail or some time with The Google, the waif picks up the phone and starts making phone calls to editors, stumbling through a script and jotting down answers.
It wouldn't be so bad if he or she had done some basic homework, like read our magazine or visit our website, but that's NEVER the case.
Instead, they want an instant education on a cold call; in this particular case: Will IPTV be successful and what firms are worth watching in the space?
When I get a phone call from some waif out of college with a set of fishing questions -- and this has happened at least two or three times over the past month -- I'm disinclined to think very highly of either the PR firm or the individual making them.
I don't know if this is something to keep the interns busy, a bizarre hazing ritual, or an actual methodology to base/build future business plans. Unfortunately, this particular firm will likely find someone in the IPTV space that buys their pitch and suck money out of them for six months, gaining further education at the client's expense. (Big Law Firms also do this).
It's not like the firm couldn't have sent the kid to a VON or something, right? Heaven forbid that $3000 be invested in walking around at a trade show to gather information and maybe even stumble across a couple of potential clients.
It's times like these that I wish we could have selective billing on our inbound phone lines (Jeff Pulver, are you listening?) The minute I get one of these calls, I can press a button and hear...
Be more than happy to have a nice 10-20 minute chat under those circumstances, looking up things on The Google and reading them off on the phone...
I know a few PR firms that NEVER EVER let their waifs make unsupervised cold calls. The principals know better than to let the inexperienced loose without adult supervision and a little seasoning.
Posted by dmohney at April 10, 2007 01:11 PM