From sales & marketing to PR, from traditional PR to social media and online presence, this guy absolutely knows what he’s talking about. And he certainly knows how to walk the talk more importantly.
Our awesome guest today is Don Silver, the Chief Operating Officer of Boardroom Communications, a statewide Florida-based public relations and marketing company. Having a 17-year sales & marketing career with large companies and having taken down some of their very big competitors to become a national sales manager of a $70-million company in Maine, Don eventually made a big leap from rocking the sales & marketing space to joining his sister, Julie, to develop a PR firm in Florida which his sister initially started.
Today, the company prides on a 25-year experience with 25 years worth of relationships. Many times, they are hired for relationships with the traditional media and online as well as for the industry and community outreaches in those markets. They are here to connect their clients with their target audiences and help them build those relationships.
Here are the highlights of my conversation with Don:
The similarities of PR and sales & marketing:
- Relationship-driven
- Target marketing and finding answers
- Communicating one’s messaging and branding across various channels
- Customer engagement
Best practices in customer engagement:
- Industry relations
Immerse yourself in the client’s industry or their target market’s industries. Become a player and a respected source for information. Get to know people you’re targeting.
- Community outreach
Find the causes you really care about and identify the organizations you want to be associated with. This includes sponsorship and events.
- Have a goal to make one new relationship (not 22, but 1)
Avoid the “pinball” approach. Make a relationship from a social event or social media and then take that offline. Having a coffee with them makes your customers more relaxed.
- Shut up a little bit and LISTEN.
Listen, listen, listen.
- Find a reason to follow up.
What are the keys that you’re going to leave with your customer?
- Remember, “Givers get.”
Determine what your relationships are and where you can benefit as an individual as well as other members of your circle of business friends.
Principles you can apply to build relationships with your clients:
- Weekly meetings with educational sessions and guest speakers
- Developing relationships across the community
- Community outreach (Get out there!)
- Client development
- Find solutions and bring value to your clients (ex. 1-minute videos and larger corporate videos)
- Focus on what’s most important to your clients.
- Finding that “one thing” that is important to your clients. It’s different for different kinds of clients. And sometimes, those need change.
What BoardroomPR offers to clients:
- Traditional PR (print, TV, & radio)
- Online presence
- Crisis management
- Web development and management
- Marketing and branding
- SEO management
- e-newsletters
- Social media management
Challenges they’ve seen in their industry:
The real estate market downturn in Florida in 2007
How they managed to bounce back:
Found other areas to really focus on:
- Professional services (law firms, accounting firms, etc.)
- Retail
- Healthcare
- Luxury condos (when the real estate market started to turn back)
Having a team in place and partnering with industry experts and specialists.
Don’s Major Takeaways:
- Give in to get. Get out there. And expand your contact list. Make a sincere effort to meet and get to know new people.
- Be an avid reader of traditional media. Listen to great podcasts like TSE. Always be learning and never think you know it all because you don’t. Read newspapers and be a specialist in your own industry in order to develop a reputation for being a go-to expert in your own industry.
- Don’t forget your competition. Be friendly and develop relationships with them because they might become some of your best referral sources as they’ve been for Don.
Connect with Don Silver through email at donsil@boardroompr.com or call him at 954-370-8999.
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