I find myself imagining this week how I possibly would have answered if my husband-to-be had asked such a goofy question on that fateful night we met more than 20 years ago. “Actually I don’t,” I would have had to answer honestly, “my scrapbook of prom pictures, formals and dates all the way back to high school reflects a demonstrated familiarity with brown-haired guys – but it doesn’t mean I’m not interested.”
If he had applied some of today’s principles of agency selection, the world would be a smaller place by three, and I would have another hobby on Friday nights instead of high school football.
I took a phone call the other day from a prospect interested in hiring a PR agency. “Do you have experience in waterfront, luxury condominiums with a celebrity brand name?” she asked. Either there are a lot of one-trick ponies out there, or she is in for one heck of a short agency search. Where were the questions about business philosophy, relationships, client service and creativity? If we can successfully market stationery, gears, food, IT, homes, bugs, packaged gas, chemicals and healthcare to their respective, appropriate markets, couldn’t we just as well publicize new condos? Why are we willing to enter into life-changing relationships on a personal level without a resume of directly-relatable experience, yet unable to make the leap on a professional level?
So, I was as honest in my response to that prospect as I would have been with my husband-to-be: “No, we don’t have experience in waterfront, luxury condominiums with a celebrity brand name, but I have a 20-year proven track record with blue-eyed blonds.”