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How To Get Your Boss More Air Time With Power
"The Executive Secretary magazine"
by Genevieve Westcott

How would you like to wow your boss? Knock his/her socks off with your media smarts? What would it mean for your CEO if you could get her/him on air, either on TV or radio? How impressed would your colleagues be if you could land your leader a 10-minute interview on "Holmes" or a full-page spread in the NZ Herald or the Dominion? Would this increase your shareholdings in the success game?

Then take note and take these valuable tips from Jerry Dahmer. He's worked both sides of the media fence. First as news director for one of America's largest and most prestigious radio stations, WSM Radio in Nashville, and later, as a "stringer". That's someone who sells stories to the radio, print, or television networks.

When he started out in the stringer game, he didn't have a clue how to go about it, even though he's been on the receiving end of media "pitches" for years. Now, after years of selling stories by hit and miss, he's discovered the essential elements of successful marketing. His discoveries have made him one of the USA's top stringers.

He calls what he has learned the hard way "P.O.W.E.R." And he says it has produced unbelievable financial and personal results for him. It can work for you, too.

1. P IS FOR PURPOSE
Define your personal media mission! What do you really want to accomplish? Who are your primary targets - radio, TV, print? Devise an overall mission blueprint and break it into daily and weekly goals. Above all, develop a media blueprint that excites you! If you're not enthusiastic, you'll have a tough time convincing your media contacts to use it.

If Jerry can successfully pitch stories from Sioux Falls, South Dakota (clearly not the news capital of the world!), you can, too. He had to create stories from scratch and find a national angle (he was targeting the big-time players) for each. From Buffalo Chip Throwing Competitions where one learns to duck all flying objects to the original "Toilet Bowl Races," he was there. How did he do it? He was enthusiastic. And boy, did it work!

2. GET OVER THE "BUTS" WITH PERSEVERANCE
Too many PR and/or company communication representatives give up after being told, "Sorry, not interested." The best way to overcome rejection is perseverance mixed with a good dose of persistence. If you do get a no, remember it's not personal - it's just business. Hang in there. Eventually, if it's a legitimate story, the media are going to buy. If at first you don't succeed, keep on slugging.

3. FORGET THE "POOR ME" SYNDROME
Rejection will, without a doubt, wear you down unless you remain proactive. If you're reactive to rejection, there's no way you'll survive in the marketing or broadcasting business. So when you get a no, get over it - or let it ruin your life. If you believe in what you're selling, nobody can stop you.

4. BE EMOTIONAL
Emotion sells. When you're pitching an angle to the broadcast media, make sure you provide company spokespeople who talk from the heart. There's no shortage of educated experts who bore the pants off their audiences. You won't see them on "Oprah" or "20/20". Most of their guests are real people who share personal experiences. Conviction, sincerity, and a straight-from-the-heart interview will guarantee your success.

5. REACH OUT
Get to know your local media. The producers, editors and reporters who make the decisions are your most important resources. Talk to them when you're not asking for something.

Here's a great question for your public relations professional: ask when he/she last spent time in a newsroom as an observer to find out how and why decisions about every story are made. Take the time to find out. This is probably the most important element of the POWER Plan. When you understand the media's needs, you'll uncover a cornucopia of opportunity.

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