“The results always come”

This week I was talking to someone I respect as a “Media Relations Master,” grilling her on her methods.

She’s super successful, but at the very end of our conversation, I just had to know, how does she deal with that anxiety that comes when the client is pressing her and the results haven’t come?

She pondered a moment to show she was respecting where I was coming from, and then said something that made me grin.

“When they give me the appropriate lead time, and they give me access to the information and people I need, the results always come.”

Wouldn’t that be great? To not have to explain to your boss or client why your media outreach was coming up empty, because you have a formula and relationships you trust?

Her name is Anne Isenhower, and she was kind enough to share her success formula with my Inner Circle this week. She developed this through a career that spanned top media relations posts at big NYC agencies and now allows her to call her own shots as an independent pro.

Some of the broad takeaways:

• Fierce defiance to blast pitching. She wouldn’t even know how to use her media database to send out pitches. She uses it strictly for research, then crafts each pitch individually.
• Methodical research to make sure she’s got the right target. She was talking us through a placement she landed last month in Fast Company, and she said offhand, “On my pitch notes for her, I had noted a ProfNet query she sent in 2015 that said she prefers . . .” That five-year-old nugget was the catalyst for a significant placement for her largest client during a time when many PR pros were sitting on their hands.
• Understanding (with humility and grace) the rare value she provides, and politely holding her ground when challenged on that. She only works with clients who are a good fit, and doesn’t let them dictate when and how she pitches.

The presentation Anne and I gave to the Inner Circle included the specifics of her pitching formula and five example pitches we walked through line by line.

Curious about what it’s like to have that kind of training resource? You can get access to a similar session I’m giving away as a free bonus if you register on our Wait List. That way you’ll be alerted when we open up to accept new members, and you’ll have the information you need to decide whether you’re a fit for the program.