August 4, 2009

No pay, No play

Posted in marketing, PR tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , at 6:52 pm by lcochran

I am well aware we are in a recession. I know that businesses are hurting. But why do people think they can get something for free, particularly from small businesses? When starting a new business and writing a plan, why are people not including marketing and PR in their budgets?

I am learning the ins and outs of entrepreneurship everyday. I love it but it also comes with its drawbacks. I was speaking to a friend the other day. She has numerous people coming up to her saying, “I need marketing and PR but I don’t have any money to pay. Can you help?” Her response, “Do you give away your products for free? No, then why should I?”

It’s difficult to get it through the heads of business owners that marketing and PR budgets are necessary, just as much as sales. Marketing and PR create the awareness and “buzz” for the product…tells the story. But more and more business owners continue to cut marketing and PR out of their budgets to save money and EXPECT that some struggling marketing and PR firm will pick it up because there is an opportunity for work.

My advice: Tell them to knock on someone else’s door. There is no reason for you to give your services away, just as they would not give their products away. Your time and skills are valuable. Should you decided to take on the client pro bono or at a reduced rate, those clients usually become the most demanding and time consuming. They do not appreciate your efforts. They are also the most toxic.

Develop the mantra of “No pay, No play” and believe your time and skills are valuable. Drop the clients that are consuming most of your time and energy. This will open up space for the great client to come knocking on your door, who knows the value of marketing and PR, and will pay on time.

A few other tips:

  • Make sure you have a written, signed contract before beginning work.  It should state the scope of work, description of duties, results expected, timelines, payment and payment schedule.
  • Know who you are reporting to.  If that person cannot be reached, you should have a back-up contact.  This helps when you send in reports, to ensure you are abiding by contractual arrangements to get everything in on time.
  • If something is beyond your scope of work, discuss if you can do the task.  If so, write out the project with descriptions, amount of time it will take and any additional fees.  Have that signed and dated.

Everything needs to be clear, concise, signed and dated.  If they can’t agree to do that before work starts, don’t agree to starting work.  No pay, No play!