The Hey guys, what's up happy new year. It's January 6th. Um, or you're watching this on Facebook at some point in the future. Hello, from the past in the new year. Um, so excited 20, 22 and had a very, very mellow holiday. Um, in fact, last week I was not able to do my live. We actually planned to not be on, but I was in Santa Barbara with my husband having just a little getaway. Um, we haven't been sleeping because of this puppy, this puppy that's right out there and we just needed to have some time alone. It was awesome and really helped me reset. And then he was actually supposed to go out of town today to go skiing, like on an annual boy ski trip, but they all canceled it and it's such a bummer. Um, hello, happy new year Nelson. So, you know, we're all, I guess, getting adjusted again to what it's going on with COVID and Andron or the flu RO or whatever in flu influenza, RO I don't know.
Um, but just stay healthy out there. I know so many people with COVID, um, and all varying degrees of, um, symptoms and severity. So we're not out of the woods. I hate, you know, I'm you all, you don't know all of this, so I'm just kind of explaining, uh, how my break went and the impact from the RO semi lockdown in Ontario. Ugh, man, it's tough. It's really tough, but you know, I just wanna keep my family healthy. And for me, the most important thing is, um, having my parents and my in-laws be able to see their grandchildren. So we do what we can to keep everyone healthy and keep the visits flowing. Um, but that's the latest, oh, hello, Serena. Wow. What a beautiful name? Um, I've never seen it spelled that way. Nice to see you welcome. You're kind of new around here.
Uh, so, okay. This topic we're gonna talk about today, how to explain the value of PR to your clients. Um, one of the responses we got, um, from a member of our community was like, well, what if they say they wanna just dump all their money into social media and they don't really need PR anymore. And I said, we would address it on this call first. I said, she goes, what do you, what do you say in that instance? I said, good luck to you. good luck with that. Um, but you know, we're gonna talk about the value, the real value of PR another package. my husband's like, what are all these packages? I have all these little projects going around the house anyway. Um, yeah, little packages. Uh, it's a little chaotic here. So, um, we're gonna talk about this so that you can, your clients on the ROI of what, what you're doing, what they're hiring you to do and what they can expect.
And when, um, so, you know, when they're doing other things in their business, they're doing social media, marketing, email marketing, um, other, you know, other packages, um, they're doing other things PR can obviously amplify those initiatives. So if they have these things going on, hi Gail, hi, Natasha, just to kind of quickly, um, summarize yesterday, we had our monthly agency accelerator plus call with our community, and that is our mastermind. Anyone who is enrolled in agency accelerator can opt to join us in the, um, plus group, which gets access to a private Facebook group where we share media leads and other things, plus, um, mentorship and coaching on a monthly coaching call. Um, we try to make it really afford. There's no commitment to that. You can jump in and out whenever you want to, but we had a wonderful, wonderful, you know, wonderful call yesterday where, um, the group, you know, really, to me, it's all about, um, sharing your experience so that us as solo, uh, PR practitioners.
Um, can you guys still hear me cuz my phone rang? I just wanna make sure. Um, yeah, it's it was almost like a group therapy. Um, hold on. I'm just telling Kevin he's trying to call me and he never really does, but um, it was so helpful for all of us to see that people that are doing what we're doing, um, are, you know, successful and growing and thriving. You know, we've got Nelson sharing, his wins and several members of our community. Um, including myself, we were on a really major dry spell bringing in clients. But in December we landed two clients. We have a couple proposals out, we feel like things are changing, but everybody is feeling their own kind of stress and burnout. Um, and that feeling of, you know, what am I even doing kind of thing at the end of the year, cuz it's been a really, really hard year for obviously so many reasons, but getting on that call and having everybody sharing yeah.
Three new clients in total and Nelson is sharing so that he shows what is possible, you know, and that's what this group is all about is obviously helping giving resources and all of that. But you know, looking at your peers to see what they're doing, what they're able to do and how you can also do those things in your business. And that call yesterday was really helpful for all of us to have a, like a really clear understanding of how everybody's been handling clients in the last year, losing clients. What does that mean? Um, and that feeling of burn and out, um, overwhelm and you know, stress, I mean, it just is that it happens that time of year. And also if you don't really get time off over the holidays, some people were sick. Um, some people didn't get to travel, you know, like they were supposed to and if you don't have that reset, it just feels like more of the same.
So I think the call and Natasha said, love the mastermind like therapy for publicists. There is something really, really valuable to getting together with your peers and sharing your experience and feeling like you're not alone. Um, oh Stephanie, welcome to the pitch lab. You will love it. It is awesome. We do a monthly call for that. So, and we also are having our monthly or quarterly. Yep. I got the bid. Um, so you're watching a replay. Um, we also wait, what, tell me no idea from where or who tell me Melissa, know what you're talking about? Oh, oh, I'm thinking video. You're saying Ronna. Oh no, Melissa. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. That's terrible. Um, yeah, yeah. Look at this. The collaboration. Oh my God. It was like video. You saw the replay. What are you talking about? And we have our mixer tonight.
So we do a quarterly mixer for this community to just get on. We're gonna talk about certain things like how to, um, move forward. Like what are you leaving behind from 2021? What are you taking with? You I'll have like a suburban housewife, like Selter of some kind probably, uh, burnt Ember is the new when we're drinking around here kind of fancy. Um, and yeah, Melissa also tell us how you're feeling. I'm I know you're vaccinated, so I'm assuming you have a, a lower, um, you know, lower symptoms and, and whatnot. I know it's brutal for people who are vaccinated too. Um, but anyway, okay. Back to this whole thing, cuz this is really important and I, we put a lot into this. It started from a thread. Um, yeah, leave it. um, it started from a thread in our community profitable PR pros.
Um, yeah, that's wild. Me too. Um, so we are, um, looking to kind of help come up with an approach. Um, what does, uh, PR help do for clients? So we wanna obviously tell them the value when they call you. They don't even really know a lot of times what PR so you have to explain how it all works together with the other initiatives that they're going to have in their business. And it creates consumer demand oftentimes at the point of purchase, um, by mentioning key retailers or linking out to something on, you know, a website. Um, and when a business is trying to pitch a product to be picked up by retailers, it really helps them to have PR it lets them drive awareness and it really supports sell through for retailers. There are certain retailers I know for sure, Sephora Ulta, cuz I work in beauty PR um, that will not typically take a brand unless they can show PR support and also some results if it's a brand new launch and there's, that means there's usually some big name behind it.
They're less strict about having results already generated, but for other new brands that they're willing to test out, they need to see that you're putting effort behind promoting it and driving sell through at the point of purchase. So that's really helpful to, um, drive to retail or even your client's website PR really helps push traffic to their website. The other thing that can, um, that can be really effective is if they have a very email marketing campaign that converts PR will drive customers to the website where they can capture emails and then the client now owns that contact, you know, um, versus face like a Facebook ad. They have to actually come over to, you know, sign up for your list. But, um, this is a way for you to kind of, um, stay connected to customers that would be interested and maybe they peak and then they leave.
Right. So I'm gonna explain something about that, about the number of times they have to see your messaging, but it's really important because there has to be a number of touch points. Um, and uh, okay. And sorry, I'm just looking at this little bullet didn't make sense to me, but what PR also does is it offers a way for potential customers to get into a business' world even before they purchase. I mean, it could be a prestigious brand of some kind and maybe they're saving up or they need to be convinced of the quality and it justifies the price. Or they're really thinking about a bunch of different brands and they feel Ani affinity, um, to one brand because they're reading about it a lot. Um, you know, it really like it sort of works. People always say, well, oh look, God, this brand is everywhere.
And it's like, well, there was a PR campaign and they targeted, you know, you as an avatar and the places that you consume media. So yeah, it was a concerted effort. It doesn't just happen. So, um, you know, one, you wanna get them like into your BA brand and following your brand and um, then they're, you know, really likely to purchase. If they see something launch or see something that goes, you know, um, on sale or at a new retailer or whatever, but what you can talk to your clients about is PR hits in this, oh, I need to specify because he is here, this tip came from Nelson. We're gonna share a couple tips from our community members, but showing your clients that a PR hit is so much more valuable than a paid ad because what's actually happening. There is the media is endorsing them.
The media is giving it in an editorial context rather than the brand endorsing themselves. So advertising obviously is a paid placement of some kind editorial. It really should be. I mean, now there's like a muddy waters with, um, affiliate revenue opportunity, but generally the readers trust what the editors are referring them to. Yeah. Those are your exact words. Exactly. We, we, we grab, we ripped them off and we're sharing hair with credit, of course. Um, but that's obviously so much more valuable and that's what I would say too. Um, to answer Jane's question from the group about what do you say if they say we just wanna invest in social it's like there is so much value and credibility in having the media talk about your brand and share the features and benefits and align it with here. I'm gonna have, these are all, these are all my other little points here, but align it with other brands, um, and kind of elevate your profile.
There's so much, plus those hits, you can leverage them and use them. Other places use those in paid social, very impactful. We had a client once that was a skincare device. It was like a $250 device. And their main goal was customer acquisition, cuz it had like a subscription model based around it. Like you bought the device and then you needed like a monthly subscription to this skincare product. So they wanted customers and they knew the lifetime value of the customer and they realized that they needed to spend a ton of money on social media to get customers. But what they wanted was media confirmation that this product was effective, that it worked and then they leveraged those in paid ads. So we got them in Vogue. We got them on Dr. Oz. We got them, um, Forbes called it a GA game, changing skincare device. They leveraged those media hits because now it's an editor or a producer or a show that's very, uh, well respected. That's giving this the kudos, not just you. Okay. So that's inherently more valuable than just having a budget and paying for visibility. Um, this came up to the rule of seven. Have you guys ever heard of this rule of seven?
My dog is looking at the ups guy, go by. Let's see if anybody has any idea what this is. Um, and I'll start talking because it's a long, long delay here I'm noticing. But what it means is basically that a potential customer has to see your message seven times, see your brand, see your products, see your message before they will actually take action and PR okay. She's like no interested. Yeah. Um, PRS a way to reach potential customers at multiple touch points in a really condensed period of time. So for a launch, a brand launch, a product launch, a newsworthy, something, you know, like maybe they're now at a new retailer and you wanna do media outreach to drive interest at that point of purchase. So, um, we notice that it ebbs and flows because it's usually around timely, relevant newsworthy stuff, but you can leverage different places like the media that your target customer, um, reads and galas saying morning shows are great for that kind of exposure.
Absolutely. Like every time we've been on the, uh, today show or, um, GMA or even like the view or the talk like our clients CR I mean crushed it like sold so many, like a huge flood of traffic to their site. They able to capture customers emails. Plus they had a lot of sell through in a condensed period of time. Um, so you know, if you're working with influencers media, they read TV shows, they watch podcasts. They're gonna start to see your message multiple times. And typically if they've never heard of you and they're brand new to your client's company, they'll probably need to see it at least seven times before they will make a purchase or make a, make a move. So getting that message from multiple places is really important for, um, positioning the brand, acquiring know customers, aligning it with other top tier brands, um, by getting featured alongside other brands.
You know, sometimes it's not all bad to have a direct competitor because now you're getting in there as an option and you are being kind of compared in that elevated way to a one of your competitors. Like we have a L E D skincare device. I always look around cuz sometimes I do it in my office. But um, Kevin says they look like a cyborg when I wear it, cuz it's glow red. It's one of those, you know, masks and they work extremely well. Um, and there's a couple competitors on the market, but we tend to see them all in name, article, and the editor will tease out different factors that make each one unique. And we don't look at it like, well they're featuring this one. In addition to ours, we see that they're highlighting one of the things that makes our client's product, the most effective on the market or , or that they have a, a neck and, and deck dage, um, device that nobody else has.
So we'll, you know, see somebody featuring the face mask and then our neck and deck devices featured alongside it or a glove. They have all of. So they're getting visibility for the brand, showing all of the products in the line and being aligned with other L E D devices where the editor sets out what's different among them. And that's extremely helpful. So that helps elevate a brand. Um, that's the rule of seven is like getting it to the customer at least seven times, getting it in front of them and having it come from multiple places that gives a ton of credibility to Nelson's point that when the media talks about your brand, it is way more impactful than you running an ad saying, look at us, we're great. You've got an editor saying, look at them. They're really great. So, um, another thing that's really, um, powerful is that PR amplifies the key messaging that a brand wants to have out there.
So you sometimes you'll obviously in your pitch, give them details. Um, uh, you'll give them details about the brand and they'll choose what they wanna include or not to typically we're not fact checking a ton anymore, so you wanna get that information right, right out of the gate. Um, but you get to give that messaging that the media can pull from and use, you get to kind of control that. Um, but they'll, you know, you, or like I said, you can't control that a hundred percent, but typically they'll use pull from your messaging because it's accurate and it's factual. So you can have certain important facts. Like the client has a study that sh an independent study that shows the efficacy of their range, their wavelength range of, um, red L E D light, that theirs is way more powerful because they achieve a range, um, that most of the other brands don't, and that makes it through an independent study, more powerful.
That's interesting. So we share that and we've had a lot of news outlets pick that fact up and plop it right in. So, um, you can have certain key facts pointed out by the media and the becomes a lot more trustworthy and consumers are more receptive to it than coming from your own website. You know, now you've got somebody else verifying that or stating that as a fact. And, um, and Nelson says, it's the media endorsing you, rather than you endorsing yourself by buying a paid ad. Yeah, clearly. Right. So paid a, um, social is like an ad, you know, it's you controlling, this is called earned media. What we're talking about with PR earned media, you have to convert a pitch to a yes and get it placed. And you've earned that spot in the publication rather than paid placement. So this is what we're now calling ERMS media.
Um, another thing we know for sure, and I've talked about it a little bit, PR can really make sales more successful in your launches, more impactful. Um, obviously a successful launch likely includes a solid and coordinated PR campaign. Um, in our programs, we talk about the runway you need and what you need to get from your clients, but there's planning involved and you want it to align with the launch of the brand. And Natasha made a point. Did I put this in here? Um, yeah, she put it in. So it's a little later about, uh, PR pros not being responsible for sales. I'll get to that point specifically, but it does generate momentum. And, um, when a news tends to pop up about a brand PR lets you strategically position it in a positive, beneficial way that really helps make your launches more powerful because now it's like this brand that you love has a new product and here's, what's so great about it.
Or we're launching this new brand and here is how it's different from whatever else is on the market. Um, that comes with a coordinated effort with key messaging and timing it and all of the things that make a pitch sick, successful. So that's really important. That's why PR is really, you know, powerful in those launch scenarios. Um, another thing you have to let your clients know is that PR is cumulative. It does take time to see results and then they really kind of snowball and will generate more kind of him on speed as you get the ball rolling. Um, and which is why I have two things. Number one, I don't recommend you get involved with a contract less than six months because you need to have enough runway to get these things rolling. Um, so if clients want, um, if clients want something shorter, you probably need to tell them why it's important that they give more time to something like a campaign, um, so that you can see those results, uh, going, um, I had another point and I can't remember it.
Uh, two things it'll come back to me. I hope so. Uh, um, oh, why you cannot start and stop, right? Like if they don't pay their bill or if they wanna like turn it on and turn it off, I know this is gonna resonate with somebody on here right now. Very much so, um, you can't start and stop PR you lose that momentum. So you have to tell clients they can't do that. And also when they don't pay you, if you have to wait longer than like one payment cycle, you have to stop work. And that's really detrimental to the client because they're losing all of that momentum. there she is. She's like, Ugh. Yeah, you really cannot start and stop because this is like something you're building generate. You know, it's like, you're building the, the fire, you're putting little kindling and then you put your logs and it starts to, you know, burn.
And if you just put OC, you know, cut off the oxygen, the fire goes out and then you have to start all over. Um, Sasha is asking Gail whether she's, um, considering TikTok for a certain client, um, TikTok for PR pros, um, PR, oh, sorry. PR pros and cons. Cuz you know, I call you guys PR pros. So I'm like PR pros. Anyway, you get what I'm saying? Um, I wanna work on this. Sure. Next month when you renew and Nelson, I knew this would resonate with you. He has all caps five exclamation, six ex exclamations. Absolutely no stopping and starting. That's part of it. You know, it's really, um, you need at least six months runway and you cannot start and stop. It will be a disaster. And also, you know, opportunities come and the editors are like, okay, we're ready to talk about that.
And you're like, I'm not working with that client right now. It's like embarrassing. Um, because it's flaky and you're like, okay, I'm back. I'm talking about this client again. So doesn't work. It just doesn't work. And you need to push back on that. Um, what you're doing is convincing editors, writers, podcasters, journalists to be interested, did in a brand by telling a compelling story. And you wanna have people really check into it before they talk about it and like be interested in their story. And that helps generate more, more interest in buzz and more features. And um, you know, once they start to see the brand story or the launch mentioned in a places that's when results really start to happen. And it's, it's, that's that snowball effect we talk about. Um, and obviously we know, and you have to, um, convey this to clients that it takes a while for media to convert pitches into placements.
And for those placements to reach the consumer raise awareness over time to actually take action. Um, Natasha, that's a good strategy. She's like, yep. Lane low, just chatting with editors this month, trying to befriend all the SubT stack friends. We talked about SubT stack on our call yesterday and I'm not gonna get into it. Um, to it out, you look up SubT stack. I'm not gonna tell you just, you know, you gotta look and explore on your own and figure out how you wanna use it. But it's been very powerful for members of our community. Um, you know, so this is where, like the number of the rule of seven, starting to see a brand story in multiple places, people are like, Hmm what's that I'm interested said, then they take action. Um, right. So, oh, hi Kelly. Hi Kelly. Um, Kelly is getting over COVID her whole family.
Got it. Terrible. Um, it's wild, man. I can't even believe, oh my God. As if Kelly needed like anything else. Um, and you are crushing it, right? Didn't you get just a ton of media for a client yesterday, like three, like a TV tour, two TV features and a print feature Kelly, a member of our agency accelerator and our pitch lab. Um, share that in the pitch lab group or Facebook. Hi Barbara. Hi Barb. Um, Barbara's one of our OG members of our programs. You guys noticed there's a lot of members of our programs that come to these lives to continue staying engaged and participating and learning. I love it. It's awesome. Um, we also know PR is not a quick shot in the arm. Look at this. Yes. For or TV interviews and a print interview all in 24 hours.
Um, no. Okay. Angela, we're talking about, um, subscribing to other editors newsletters on sub stack. Sure. You could start a paid, um, newsletter, but we're talking about, um, and also it's nice to see you on here. It's been a while. Uh, we're talking about subscribing to certain editors that share a lot of information about media leads and also the way the media is working right now. Um, in our pitch lab, we have a bunch of members, um, listed out and subscribing, you know, we're all subscribing to them. We mentioned about seven or eight, um, editor that are sharing a lot of opportunities for clients to get in the media. Um, look at this. I'm so happy for you, Kelly crushing it. Um, so we always say to clients, it's not a quick shot in the arm, even though like, they'll just say like, um, we're just gonna do like a media blitz.
I hate that. Oh my God. How much is that drive you crazy? If a client's like we wanna media blitz, um, that's a misconception. It, you know, takes time. It's cumulative, it's building momentum. So the value of what we're doing as PR pros is building on the results that we're putting. it's triggering for me to blitz. I know, I know I had somebody call me and I'm like click . I listen to the message. I'm not talking to you. So it takes time to really get everything flowing and for you to see conversions. And um, we always tell clients that the most successful and the best results are when they consider PR as an ongoing effort. Like I said, no starts and stops. That just leaves opportunity on the table. And you should not work with a client that wants to give you less than six months.
Um, I have made exceptions for certain clients that there's a reason why there's an exception. Um, it's like a limited thing that will get us to the next level. And I have a clear, I have conveyed to them very clearly what they can expect in three months. And if I feel that what they're looking for is good working relationship. I will agree to that if I feel that they are expecting a windfall of media in three months, the answer's absolutely not. Um, you know, if it's like, usually they've been burned by an agency in the are like, we never talked to them. We never heard from them. It was like radio silence. I'm like, we can totally fix that problem. No, no problem. But just so you know, you can give us a three month trial and you'll see how we work. But just so you know, in that period, do not expect the momentum to start building until, you know, months four through six and you know, but they're like, we really want an ongoing thing.
We just want to we're we're, skitish, it's usually a skitish client. And if I know that they will do it, if we're good communicators, I will take that risk. Um, also if you do this, it's like just setting you up for failure because you don't have the right time, you know, time runway, the timeframe for things to actually convert is not enough in that period. So, um, if you have a client that is insisting on immediate results, um, they have to do something, um, and it has to hit right away. We're launching in six weeks. You're like, no, you should redirect them towards social media or paid advertising. PR moves the needle more, but it's going to take longer it's storytelling. It's communicating something that convinces somebody else to share your product, your story. It's more of a, of a process like business features take longer.
Tech features are a little more challenging because there's like a complicated aspect of communicating what it does. Um, you know, products are a little easier because it's like, you just hold it in your hand. And you're like, okay, I like this. Or I don't, but storytelling takes a while. There has to be the right fit. So an editor, an editor or writer may love it. And they'll say, I love this. We'll find a spot. And it could be six months down the road that happens. Right. Um, and you also have to time things with the media, like it ebbs and flows and you need to wait for the right time to pitch your compelling angles that are the right fit. And the other thing you need to remember in all of this talking to clients is that there things, the clients are responsible for to set you up for success and you need to convey that to the client.
You're the expert, you know what it's gonna take. And you know, if they come in and they're like, we want this, and this is what, you know, I've had clients, potential clients that are like, we want six press releases. One of my I'm like, what, why, why would you do that? I'm not putting my name on a nonsense, press release. Like that's a dumb strategy and it's not gonna work, so I'm not gonna do it. Um, you know, and a client that would be so unwilling or unflexible inflexible. Um, mom, I know it's inflexible. My mom is very grammatically correct all at all times. Um, and she always, you guys know Claudia, we just talk about my mom, Claudia. She always watches my lives. Um, usually after the fact. But, um, anyway, hi Claudia, say hi to Claudia. Um, anyway, remember you're the expert and we also talk a lot in the agency accelerator about what you need to kick off successfully with your clients.
Natasha says, oh, Natasha knows my mom. I told her my mom is like that. Natasha is just so cool. I really like her. I'm like, she's super cool. It's super funny. My mom just starts to know you. Hi, Stephanie saying hi to my mom. I love it. Um, so yeah, you've gotta step into that role of the expert, guide your clients and really let them know what it's gonna take. And if they don't wanna hear it, you know, you either redirect them somewhere else or you know that it's not gonna ever meet their expectations. This is one thing you have one fan, you have two fans at least cuz me too. Um, and Erin, of course, you're wonderful, wonderful boyfriend. Um, this is a really, really important point that I'm gonna make here. And I'm gonna reiterate it again at the end. So you need to vet your clients and really figure out how to land your dream clients.
And that means for me, it's like the way they work and the way they make me feel when I work with them and how they respect us and they leave us alone and they let us do our jobs and they don't micromanage. Right? Um, that to me is part of what a dream client is. You want clients that are going to give you the resources and support and the timeframe that you need to be successful. So that's why the length of your retainer contract matters. And you really wanna push them at least towards a six to 12 month retainer because that gives you the timeframe to at the ball rolling generate results. Um, obviously inside the agency accelerator, we talk about PR retainers, how to set them up and structure them, how to set your rates. We have a contract that you can use and customize just to get you buttoned up.
Um, and know that's also a way to increase your, your revenue by how we teach you to set your rates and figure out what you need to be charging, to be profitable and to grow, um, and build a team. So that's my agency accelerator program, but this is where you, when you set yourself up to work with like dream clients, high end clients, they get it, they understand, and the value of PR and that PR and sales are not the same thing. You know, we, and again, we talk about how to identify, find land ideal clients inside the program, because that matters. I don't want you taking clients just for the sake of, you know, taking something that's not going to be effective for you. You have to work towards a specific goal of what you want your company to look like and how you want it to feel.
Um, and I mean, anyone who's in the program knows exactly what I'm talking about. You have to be intent small with your stepping stones, but this is how you are able to work with the clients that have expectations set and they're realistic about what they can expect and in what timeframe, how long things take so that you are not gonna, um, deliver fantastic results that you know are fantastic, but the client is like, you know, this, what else, what else? It's like always annoying that usually comes from expectations, being out of alignment with what's realistic and, and in reality, so good clients don't usually come with that problem. Um, and has a tip that she shared here in our community, make sure that your perspective clients understand that PR pros are never responsible for sales. That is advertising PR can definitely help help to boost sales, but that's not a KPI that we should be measured against.
It's not a guarantee nothing's guaranteed and it's in your contract. It should be it's in our contract. And the a agency accelerator, we cannot , we cannot guarantee results, um, results aren't guaranteed. And we also don't get paid based on results. Um, it's the best thing ever. You're just like, like we're like maybe the only industry that's like, just pay us, but you have to produce in order to stick around and for your reputation to support your business. Obviously Natasha says, shout that one out. This is definitely one you need to make your clients very aware of. Um, right. Like during this discovery, um, process on these calls, you need to get really clear information about their goals, their, the potential client's goals. Why are they doing this? Why do they want your help with PR help the clients see whether those are realistic and how PRS gonna play into those goals?
Because sometimes they'll have certain goals and you're like, I don't really know that PR help you with this, or you are not ready for PR. Um, it usually happens with smaller companies that don't have a marketing, um, person in charge. They don't have key messaging and things, you know, where you're gonna be successful out of the gate. So, um, and it's not really a PR pro's job to write their like brand positioning or marketing and copy some people do it. Um, you know, because if you think that they, uh, yes, Angela, it is, um, it is the one that I use for my agency, um, depending. So she asked if it's the contract I use in my agency. Um, we were talking about this on the agency accelerator plus call yesterday. Certain people have certain elements of their business that are more relevant. Like I don't travel a lot for my agency.
I'm not going to events or trade shows too much with Alliance. So having a really clear, buttoned up clause about travel and how much it costs to have my team go to travel and how much my per diem is. That's not in my contract because it's not really relevant for me because we don't really ever need that. But for one of our members, it was really important. And she has a super clear, buttoned up policy around a daily rate when clients want her whole team to travel because of the opportunity costs. You're not actually getting to work on other client stuff. Um, anyway, so the one, um, the one in the agency accelerator. We have us sample. And again, I have to specify, I am not your attorney. I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney. So it's something you can take, bring to a lawyer, have them look it over, customize it, or, you know, add or whatever, add clauses.
It's pretty comprehensive at this point. And a lot of the clauses have been added based on real life scenarios of things that have come up that we were like, Hmm, we should have that in the contract. Like for example, putting that we are the exclusive agency for north America. Um, I have to legit keep explaining this to a client. Um, you know, we had a client that hired a second PR firm because like one PR firm was crushing it two even double amazing. We're like, that's not how it works, but it created a huge mess. And we did not ever think to have that in the contract. And now it's in there that we are the exclusive, um, agency of record for the brand in north America, which also means that we have to pitch the brand in Canada, Canada, high Nelson. But anyway, um, that's what I use.
Yes. So, okay. We're gonna go back here. Um, Natasha, uh, uh, uh, yeah. Okay. We're aligned here. Just make sure that you understand their goals. Sometimes they don't have goals. They have to figure that out. How can you work towards an outcome if you don't know what they want that outcome to be? You know, you have to plan a strategy, do around what the outcome is going to be. So if they don't know what they want, how can you be successful? How will they know you've achieved it, that's problematic. so make sure that they know their goals. Um, the other thing too is focusing on metrics. So you have metrics and reporting those metrics to your clients so that you can literally show the value of your work. Um, and inside the agency accelerator, we had a whole masterclass with, um, the amazing Shauna knuckles.
Shauna supports me in my agency. She is a, a former member of agency accelerator. I was like, she's amazing. Please help me run my business. I, you know, brought her in and she's been incredible. Um, and she really strives to get more clarity and synergy between client and PR pros. Um, so the relationship is better. She wants PR pros to feel less stressed in their, in their jobs basically and in running their businesses. So one of the things that she, uh, gave to us was this whole masterclass around all things PR reporting, and it's a comp comprehensive masterclass that teaches you, um, what you need to know about reporting, to show value. And it's, we, we had a whole conversation around Barcelona principles. I didn't even know what that word, what that was up until somebody brought it up and we like worked into sort of like a modified Barce the principles.
It's more strategic KPIs and reporting than just the typical media value and impressions. We, we talk about how to go beyond that. Um, and you'll be able to match the client goals with KPIs that you can show off to really maximize that client satisfaction. Um, Adrian, you gotta get jump in. Um, you'll love it. It's, it's great. At this point, do you have access to everything cuz you can even just poke around and go to the lessons that are most relevant to you. You need right now. Um, you know, once you, the, the way the agency accelerator is structured, it's based on my have to profitability, the four pillars of strategy, sales, service, and scale. So the content aligns with all of that. And once you have access, now it's like a resource. You can just search what you need to know. And I have a discovery call tomorrow, what do I need to know?
There's a checklist. What are the red flags? Like, how do I, um, you know, what do I ask a client? Like all of that stuff is in there, so you can get yourself ready for those calls. Um, anyway, it's all very logical how it's, how it's built out. Um, and we had a tip from, um, Katie Nore. If you use a tool like muck rack, they have an advertising value equivalency metric that you can use to quantify an estimated value for the placements you receive. Um, that is called Ave, uh, advertising value equivalency, um, those tools, they do have it and it is something to report, but it used to be the BL end all and it's just not anymore. And those are, um, oh, Serena. Awesome. Okay. That's so great. Oh my God. We're gonna launch very soon and we're doing something very, very, very special for this launch.
But if you are already in, don't worry because you will obviously get access to what special things we're doing. Um, it's gonna be great and I'm so excited for it. And Serena, I do hope you join us. It's really, it's very good. And I would not, I would not put my name on anything that wasn't like a total home run, no brainer purchase that we stand behind. And anyway, I'm excited. Okay, good. That's so exciting. Um, so, you know, Katie mentioned this specific thing Ave add value equivalency. It is a metric we can report, but it's not the be all end all like it used to be. Um, and a lot of times they're not accurate. Um, we always include it a lot of times. It's very co compelling. Like if we get Buzzfeed and it's like, you know what, you know, 27 million impressions or whatever, that's like, great.
Um, or actually that's not Abe. Um, we give impressions and sometimes Abe, if we have it, it's not always there. And I use Cision. Um, and MACRA has that, the next launch. Um, the next launch, Gail, are you not in, I can't believe it. Gail, you gotta jump in with us. Hold on. It's um, sorry. I dunno. Um, it's like February, like ins second week of February, something like that. Um, and if you guys are like, listen, Jen now is the time I need to get in now because I have the time I have downtime reach out to my team and they'll make it happen for you. Um, and then of course we, you would be able to join us in the, you know, the new that we're gonna be doing for the launch. So anyway, if you wanna join out, you can talk to Miranda, my integrator.
Um, anyway, so obviously Abe is really good. The tools sometimes have it. Um, but what we cover in that masterclass is beyond Abe. It's aligning KPIs with their goals and finding a way to report that, to show the value. Um, oh, Morgan, this is a really good question to show the value of what it is you're doing and how it's advancing them closer to their goals. She's saying, Morgan is saying, is there a polite way to explain to clients how PR does not necessarily equal sales? I feel like a lot of my, um, especially business clients do not, not get this, but I also don't want to make them feel stupid because egos, oh my God, this question is like, so perfectly worded Morgan. Oh my God, you're totally on the ball with this. It's always the business clients, because everything is like ROI. They have to, you know, she so ROI, they want, um, clear percentages of increase and, and metrics that, you know, it all goes back to dollars and the business clients are usually like the men with the egos and you don't wanna come in and be like, you're stupid because you don't understand what it actually is.
So a lot of times we'll fall back on like industry standard and like, this is the goal of it. And, um, yeah, it's like, you know, never been, um, PRS job it's to get visibility and to, um, to target your, um, ideal customers and, you know, get them multiple points that they convert, but it's cumulative. And so one press feature doesn't really show, you know, you're seeing certain customers are seeing multiple features. So you don't know that that first feature actually five features later ended up resulting in a conversion. Uh, you know, maybe they saw it, but they didn't buy and then they see it somewhere else again. So it's very cumulative, everything we're doing. And it's just an industry, um, understanding that the goal is to get visibility, to connect with your target audience. And sales is definitely a byproduct. And obviously what I say, Morgan, if you wanna know is, um, that we, you know, we've had clients for 11 years.
Like we, we earn our keep, you know, um, they're getting the results and it's doing what it is supposed to do in their business, which I would assume is helping with visibility, which converts to sales. But that metric is not what our reporting is about. Um, you know, we are with clients for so long because obviously we're doing our job and they're getting the value out of our efforts, but it's not that they're measuring sales as our KPI. That's kind of how I would say it. I always fall back to like industry standard and reputation and, you know, um, like we have a good reputation in our niches because we get results and clients stick around for a long time because we get results. Um, and I would assume that means, you know, it supports, um, it supports, uh, like their efforts, um, Sonya saying, um, linking PR to affiliate sales, like Amazon influencers help show value to, yeah, because in that instance you will, um, really see those conversions and Sonya, you probably know, um, we had a big masterclass for, uh, affiliate revenue opportunities and how it works with PR right now.
And since we ran that masterclass, I'm seeing this topic again and again and again, and we're feeling like, um, managing a client's affiliate programs is going to be a very powerful, effective service. So we wanna, um, on our end, like invest in teaching you how to do it so that you can create a new revenue stream in your business, because it really aligns very well with PR not to overwhelm you. It should be like you master the setup in certain platforms and then you are managing it. Um, and then, um, and then it, uh, like some people will do a monthly management fee plus a percentage of affiliate revenue. So the affiliate gets the revenue and you get a percentage and people are, think of money doing this. Um, and once those links are out there, it continues to like pay dividends. So it's, it's pretty, pretty good approach.
And it's another revenue stream for you. And, oh, my other point is PR and affiliate are forever intertwined. Now you cannot for products. Get, um, me meaningful media coverage without an affiliate opportunity like Amazon Sephora, Nordstrom, um, or if they don't have those platforms, it's share a sale. And then they do like skim links through their website, but that's not as powerful as Amazon. Um, and that's why soya said, uh, linking, um, affiliate sales, Amazon Amazon's the best. So if you have a client with a low price point item with high reviews, that is gonna convert for press really well. Um, and Sony's asking if I'll offer the math masterclass, there's no plan to do it. However, it is part of our pitch lab. So anyone who's in the pitch lab gets access to all the master classes that we share for that program. I think there's like 15 or so, and they're topic specific.
So it's like an hour just jump in and watch it. So that one's in there that was a paid program. I think it was like 50 bucks or 47 bucks. Um, but most people that paid to come and watch it join the pitch lab and we credited them. So if you join the pitch, so it's 97 a month, if you're in there for like two months. So under $200, you get the entire pitch lab for that period of time, plus those master classes. Um, and you can watch that one. And then as long as you're a paying member, you get access to everything, including those monthly execution plans. Natasha, if you're still here, tell us about the monthly at execution plans anyway. Super, super good value. Awesome. Yeah. So if you want more information about that, let me know. It's really good. Um, okay. And, um, Nelson says, I don't normally get asked that question, but if I do, I tell a client that it's not my job for PR to convert to sales.
My job is to go out at as much exposure for the company until the CEO tells me to stop, which is never, never, never, never, never. Yeah. So Nelson's like, I'm, I'm sticking around because what I'm doing is powerful and they don't ever want me to stop right. Long term clients. And you really, if you, I find when that question for comes up, which it doesn't very rare very often. But when we start talking about how long our clients stick around, it kind of takes care of that. No, we're not gonna track your sales and no, we're not responsible for sales. However, obviously this is having a positive impact cuz I've worked with this client for so long. Um, wait. So you heard what I said? Um, anyway. Yeah. So, um, Sonia, if you have any questions about any of our programs, there's a ton of people at Nelson's in the pitch lab too.
The Mon I knew she would say the monthly execution guide is worth the price of the pitch lab alone. We put so much effort into them. We're working on one right now for, um, February and we launch them. It'll go out probably in a week. So you have February's two weeks ahead of the month. And we do short and long lead timing and pitch angles and everything, editorial calendars. That's a new addition that is like, literally I'm telling you it does most of your strategy for you. Yeah. It's, it's really good. They're like 50 pages long because we have editorial calendars from different outlets and you can start name dropping. It's so cool. You're just like, oh yeah, Laura's working on for their April issue. And they're like, wow, you know your stuff. So super good. Um, and the last point I'm gonna make here back to this original topic and we'll wrap up and I'll answer any questions you have.
This may be kind of hard to hear, but, um, I stress this over and over again, that if your clients are asking you to show the value of your services, most likely what's happened is that you didn't do the best job, vetting them or onboarding them and including that educational piece about the value of PR. And that really starts on the discovery call. Like when you're vetting a client, when they're vetting, you you're vetting them. Obviously you don't have, have to talk to every client that comes your weight and you don't have to take every client that's interested in working with you. Um, so those discovery calls are you interviewing them as well? Um, Angela, I see your question. Let me just wrap up and I'll get it to the end. Um, so every thing that you, um, are working with a client on like the discovery call process, um, and through everything like the proposal onboarding and when you're providing services and seeing results really needs to be about making sure that expectations are realistic, they're aligned and that's educate on the value of PR.
And if you are, um, taking clients that continually just don't get this, and you're always having to justify what you're doing and that the results you're getting are actually really good. If they're not happy, you might need to consider switching up your strategy for seeking and selecting clients. You P probably need to have more trust in your instincts and more, um, help in identifying those red flags and setting expectations for these new clients. And obviously we cover all of this inside the agency accelerator, um, and you know, way, way deeper. Um, and Natasha saying, and agency accelerator plus is a must. Everyone needs a community to talk to monthly. I don't get a kickback for doing this. I feel like you should. Um, but like some of you, I found Jen on Facebook live when I was starting my agency. And I'm so grateful. I found her and this community complete game changer to my business and life.
I love that so much. Natasha, we're all just helping each other. I said at the end of the call yesterday, I am so grateful for the people in this community. And I learned something every single time we have a coaching call. The community is so they are so smart. They're successful, driven and collaborative, and it's incredibly awesome. And yesterday it was like a group therapy session in the best way possible. And, um, Natasha, you should get kickbacks. like, let's set you up as an affiliate. Um, cuz she's my hype woman. So that's what I have for today. I'm gonna just drop another to download like an action plan. Oh this is a new, oh this is new. Oh my gosh. Okay. I haven't even seen, oh I have seen this, but not since it went live. Hold on. This is brand new PR agency action plan.
Ooh, this looks really good. How professional? Thank you Miranda. Oh my God. And some of my new pictures. Okay, cool. Wow. My eyes look crazy in that last picture. Anyway. Um, get it. This is a new one PR agency action plan. Um, yeah, there's a video. There's a resource. Anyway, grab that. And Angela, let me answer your question. So can you weigh in an acquaintance of mine, contacted me last February and ask if I would all his media relations and marketing for his business endeavors. So I sent him a brand visibility and capabilities proposal with my retainer, jumped on a call verbally agreed, but never signed anything. Then he would go back and forth on the anticipated start date, needless to say nothing happened this entire year when I would supposed to start multiple times. This is all about those red flags. My God. Um, so there's no question here, Angela, what is the question?
Do you wanna like revive this opportunity? I think, no, I think this is like red flags going off like boo, you know, this, this, uh, proposal process. Think about it like dating, right? This is the courtship period. You're on your best behavior. right. You're gonna like go on a date and be charming and be easy breezy because you want the person to like you and wanna keep seeing you. So if this is how this person is acting in this courting phase, imagine in how they're gonna be. When they start paying you of news, it's gonna be a nightmare. They're gonna be, um, hard to pin down. Nonresponsive leaving you hanging sometimes leaving you hanging with payment, you know? No, I think this is a hard pass. I mean, I don't know there, wasn't a question here when you say weigh in, um, I'm assuming you're saying, should I try to revive it or should I like, what should I do?
I mean, you're talking, this is almost a year. Yeah. I think this is a, um, okay, so I'm just starting myself and on the wait list for agency accelerator anyway, to share what the main questions. Um, uh, I mean we talked about it quite a bit. Um, here it's literally like a deep dive with a whole lesson and you know, you wanna get them to share their goals. Um, there's a bunch of questions to ask and it's like, when you're in the moment, you kind of forget um, so we have like a lesson on why and what you're asking and a checklist. And it's also Stephanie, there's more to it because it's like, what if you ask their budget and they don't tell you, how do you react in that situation? And you have to remember were to ask if they have a budget and you have to know how to ask what their budget is, so that you don't Stamer, you know, or like when they ask you you're rate, if you're not ready to share it, what do you say? You know, so all of those things, um, are IM more in depth. So, uh, and if you are ready, you wanna just join the agency accelerator. Um, if you, like, I just feel like some people are like, this is my time. I have time to focus on this. Now I really wanna dive in. We can take care of you. Um, that's Miranda. Um, and she will, if you say I was on the live and Jen told me to reach out, she can help.
Ricky's like run yes, run, run the other way and don't look back, right? Um, this person is showing you who they are, and it's not good. It's not anyone you wanna be in business with. That's my, that's my thought on it. Um, Angela, uh, and, um, Morgan is saying how much is plus if you already have the accelerator, so people in the accelerator can join, plus nobody else can, because it's just, um, an add on to the agency accelerator. It's 1 97 a month and there's no contractor, no commitment. It's like, come check it out for a month, come and go. You know, as you please, um, most people, it's not a huge group, but most people that come in stay because there's tremendous value. I have a ton of original members of like our, um, $12,000 mastermind that have stayed on this is like literally what we were doing for our $12,000 mastermind, but in like a super affordable, no brainer kind of way, because, um, a lot of this has to do with my husband.
He's like, you need to help more people and you need to make these things affordable. Cuz the people that need you the most cannot afford the premium. So how can you scale it to reach the people that need you in a cost friendly manner? So this was the way that we came up with that. Um, and okay, so Morgan, that's what it is. And if you're interested, I can find you the link. You only can see it through like an email or some it's a hidden link. It's not anywhere listed cuz we can't have people enroll unless they're already in enroll. Accelerator. Nelson said I offered in the private Facebook, um, group for anyone to DME, if they want any advice, got a few people who took me up on it. That's awesome. I'm open to more. If anyone is interested, just let me know.
I'm all about sharing my expertise with everyone in this group. Um, that's awesome. Yeah. I mean, look at this community. It's so collaborative. It's so awesome. The um, caliber of people we've attracted from all over the world. It's super fantastic. Um, Angela follows up with, so he just contacted me recently to let me know about the fun stuff happening this year and that he wants me on board. However, he can't provide me. He can't provide me a retainer right now. He's waiting to move forward with me when they allow and they want to work with me. But if I'm too busy, they have other interested parties. Um, oh my God, Serena, you guys listen to this. I'm so excited. I'm gonna clip this one. This is so awesome. This made my day. Um, this is one that I share with my husband, like yay. We do a little dance.
Oh and we have my bell. So you joined today. I haven't checked my email. We ring the bell to say, yay, Serena. Um, I signed up for the pitch lab today and I can already tell this is the best decision I've made for my career. That is so awesome to hear. And it's so affordable. You guys, it's 97 bucks a month. It's a total, no brainer. I know that's a lot of money, but it's like you are. When I think about what I spent on college and law school. Oh my God. And I learned nothing practical that would earn me any money. Like law school does not teach you how to practice law. They teach you how to take the bar. You don't learn how to practice law until you work in a law firm or work doing it in whatever. Yeah. And, and you see Santa Barbara as a, a research university.
They don't teach you practical. They teach you what the research process is. Not how to actually earn an income. It's crazy to me. You spend all this money. I mean, I loved college and I love law school, but um, oh my God. It's just like insane to me. And so we wanna make it affordable anyway. I'm so that's so awesome. You'll love it. It's so it's so great. And Morgan's like, I can't wait to rant. Okay. Um, yes. On the link on what? Oh, and if I waited out in 30 days, his partner is receiving a bill dollar check. This all sounds just like kind of gross to me. I don't know, like this is the, the dangling of the hook. The fact that this is an acquaintance kind of bothers me because you have an existing relationship and it's almost like he's like gaslighting you or something or like using that existing relationship to say, well, you should trust me because all these great things are happening, you know?
So just Laylo consider the opportunity gone. And if he comes back and it's like, all right, you asked for this budget, we're gonna pay you. You know, we want a six month contract with sign it right now. Thanks for being patient because we had to get these things in order. And now we have funding and we can't wait to go. Maybe, you know, but all of this stuff is like, but then we're launching and it's awesome. And all these other people are interested and we're gonna get a billion dollars. I'm just like, I don't wanna, I don't need to be part of that. It's too like, come back to me when this is real. Do you know what I mean? Um, I work with nonprofits and social impact brands. Do you think it would be helpful for me? You're talking about the pitch lab. That's the one that's all about pitching the media.
Um, you know, all of that is yes, I do think so. We have a lot of members that focus on that plus the com. So when you join the pitch lab, you get the Facebook group, this community, and a monthly coaching call. And I do not know a lot about that. Myself. We have a board of seasoned PR pros that are writing these monthly execution plans. And one is specifically focused on, um, diversity and inclusion and social impact. Um, and we have members on the calls. So if there's a challenge with a pitch angle or whatever, um, you know, then we, I don't really weigh in on it cuz I don't know, it's not my expertise, but I know who does what and we call on them and we collaborate and it's great. Um, so yeah, it's, it's good. And you can, and, and Ricky, if you enroll and you're like this isn't for me, just let us know.
We'll give you your money back. I don't have any problem with that. Um, and Angela's saying not sure why he can't secure my timeline with a retainer fee because he's a, he's a flake because he's, you know, stringing you along. Like it's not, it's not real until like show me the money, you know, why would he go this far and say, I wanna sign a contract with you when there was no budget and no launch and no funding, like that's not appropriate. You know, you, your time is worth so much more than that. Um, yeah. Listen to this also red flags. Adrian's like the, we can't pay you, but you can be on our directors. This is like the shark tank one, let's say, well, how about 2% advisory shares? It's like, that's still equity. You're just not diluting your valuation. It's the same, you know, it's, it's semantics.
But board of directors is that a paid position, you know, is that a paid position? Like where, you know, where are you paying me for my time? Cuz I have news for you guys when people don't pay you for their, your time, they don't see you as valuable. They don't see your take a picture of your face and text it. Um, tos was like, God, if this were zoom and you could see my face, if this person is like, oh I don't have money for you. I can't pay you for your time, but we really need you to kick off. No that person does not value your time, especially, yeah. That doesn't pay my mortgage. Right. Advisory shares or a board seat. Doesn't pay my mortgage. It's true. You know? Um, or people are like product or barter. Like no, I need to pay for my life and support my family.
Like this is not, it's not, not a good kicking off relationship. Um, Angela, I, I hate this. Oh my God. Taha texted me oh my God, Natasha. She's like, mm. Right. This what it all. Um, yeah, you, this is not anything I wouldn't even, I would just politely be like, when you're ready, lemme know, you know, do not, it's gone. It's not anything. It's not a real opportunity. If he can pay you with your retainer fee, the check clears, he's got a start date, he's got a product to launch. Then you're talking until then do not waste any more time. It was for a huge retainer fee. That's the carrot. Angela that's the carrot. No, totally. Now you're like on the hook. You're so excited. Of course I've had this happen. Oh my God. I had, uh, so I do baby and kids. Um, and I had a gear company that we worked with for, for a long time and they were super lame.
We did a great job. We got all their stuff to the Kardashians. And they were like walking around in the streets using their products. And it was like a total home run. And for some reason, I don't know, they were like just a hot mess. So they fired us and we were like, fine. And then the very next day it always happens for me when one door closes a better one opens. So the very next day, a very similar company who is familiar with our work with that company said, is there any chance we can work together? And so I was like, it just so happens. And we wrote an insane proposal. We spent ton of time. I asked them their budget. I came in under budget and they were like, we're ready to get started, send over your contract. And I was like, great.
And we were just like, yeah, that'll show those guys like, you know, like I found, I met someone better. Like it was just, it always happens that when some closes something better there for me. So I was like, that's another great example of it. They ghosted us. It was so odd. They took the time to get the VP of marketing and PR and the CEO on this call. And it was like an hour and a half long call. And it wasn't like we were sharing strategy. They were like grilling us. And at the end of the call, they were like, we of everything we're hearing, we love this. It's great. You know, can't wait to get started. We're looking to kick off this day and this time send your contract and then ghosted me what? And so I look at it like, oh my God, that is just a bullet Dodge.
It was crazy. We were like shocked. And I know that they picked another PR firm, but like have the decency when someone spends all this time working on something for you and, and answering every question and all like we did so much, it was so, so rude. The, the retainer was very high, like really like a great retainer. Um, and this brand would've been so awesome, but it, you know, it happens and, and you're just like, how is it? It's a baby and kids thing. Common courtesy. Why though? That's so rude. We just landed a really awesome baby and kids brand. It took a long time. It's a baby monitor. Um, it took a really long time to get them to convert just because I think time of year and I don't know, but they're on board and they're so nice. And there's a, you know, they're in Singapore, so there's like a time issue and it's hard to connect with them just because of that.
But I feel like they're very respectful and you know, all that. And so I just don't understand how you could be that way professionally. Um, don't ever be that way. Don't ghost because your reputation follows you everywhere, especially in this industry, look at how tightknit this is, um, so rude, so rude, Angela. I totally agree. Um, and Adrian said, yes, I had a brand offer to mention my clients on their blog instead of payment. Oh, don't even bother replying. Um, another eye roll from Natasha. I worked as a high level executive assistant. So that board BS convo is so triggering major eye roll it's so an an, uh, yeah. It's so, um, almost demeaning because your time is way more valuable than that. I know this is resonating, especially with Nelson, when you allow yourself to work for free or give strategy for free, because they're like, well, you just really need to see strategy before we make a decision.
Your almost putting a $0 value on that because you have just given it away. So if you start working for no payment, it's like they don't respect you or your time, or really even value the work that you do because they didn't even invest anything in it. So, um, Adrian says, yeah, always see those rude brands at the trade shows. So they've ghosted me. I know exactly what you're talking about. I know exactly what you're talking about. Um, and you walk by like, , I once walked by with an old client that sort of let us go. And they, it was my very first client. Anyway, they just weren't paying market rate. And they wanted me to do all these things that were, were just like out of scope. And they just kept pushing and pushing. And I was like, we both agreed, like we're done, you know, I'm not managing your affiliate program.
We're done. And, um, the next day, like literally when I say the next day, guys, I am not exaggerating. It is literally the next day, my most favorite client ever, ever, ever, um, called us and way bigger. Like, so, um, Adrian, you know, it like ABC kids, there's like the little itty bitty booze and like the mom and pop section. And then there's, um, oh God, what is it called? Modern child with like the massive booths with custom carpet and rounders and internet and like fancy, fancy, and you know, how expensive that is. Um, so I went from like 80 bitty on the back of the building with like people crocheting, BI bibs, you know, baby blankets to like massive. And the old client walked by. And I was like, almost like, I was like, the girl that started dating, like the football player at school or something like that.
Cuz I was like, oh hi guys. You know? And they're like, Hey, how are you? I'm like, great. Anyway, super funny. Um, I know exactly what you're talking about. Um, yes, we could trade horror stories, Angela. Um, this is not a, a real thing. This is somebody who has like a super weird ego thing happening. I feel like he's Gaslight you honestly, this is like a professional gaslighting situation. Um, Nelson is saying, do not give away your ideas for free. This is why I don't do RFPs or proposals as these are invitations for companies to steal all of your ideas and not hire you and happen. Um, common. Courtesy is dead. Some of the, uh, dead to some of these people. Totally. And it's just like that everywhere across the board right now. Honestly, I don't know what it is. Um, if this economy is like struggling and people are struggling to like earn an income, you're a plumber and I have a plumbing issue and I call you to ask you to perform your service for me.
And you say you'll be there and then you never show up again. Why, why does that happen? It happens all the time. I had a nanny flake out. I had two nannies flake out on us. Um, yeah, don't ever provide any good Angela don't ever. Um, I had two NASPL out on us. I had a nanny agency tell me that they are struggling to find anybody, um, that are struggling to find anybody. Um, good. That's reliable. I've had contractors bail. Um, you know, it's just crazy. And so many people I know are having struggles with people following through like a friend of mine. I know that supply chain is hard, but a friend of mine had like an eight week project that ended up taking a year and they're like ready to murder each other. The spouses they're like, this is so it's just con construction is so, you know, it's like all in all consuming anyway.
Um, and Adrian, yes, I source some people just string PR agencies, a long as some weird ego boost. Totally feel like that. No intention of ever paying or signing on yes. They think they're gonna extract ideas or, you know, endear themselves. Um, hi Charlotte. Um, yes, happened to me last year, worked so hard on the proposal and then, they disappeared. Definitely felt so disrespected and made me question my work. That is not a reflection of you, Charlotte. That is a clear indication that you dodged a bullet, anybody that would behave that way and not even give the common courtesy of giving you a response or an explanation of what happened. I mean, even just to say thank you so much for your time. It was a pleasure meeting. You we've gone in another direction, that's it? That's it like I've sent 15 follow up emails, like, okay, it's the first of the month we're ready to go.
Do you have any changes to the contract? You, you have dodged a bullet and um, you have dodged a bullet and it's no reflection on you or your work. It is 100% a reflection of them and that's not anyone. Yeah, totally. I know you know that, but like I have lived it it's definitely true. Um, I was, it was so unfortunate because it was a much needed retainer fee throughout this pandemic. Angela, we talked about this on the call yesterday with the mastermind, the, the plus group, we are starting to see things turn around. So in all candor, we had so many proposals out between March and December or March and November and did not convert any. And so many of them were like, we're ready. We're ready to go. It was longer. The process was longer. The questions were more annoying. It was just like digging deeper and deeper.
And it felt like they had trepidations about whether they could actually spend them money. And that's not a good way to kick off a partnership. You have to have a client that so clearly gets the value of what you're doing and they're investing in you. And they trust their decision. Um, March through December was brutal, you know? And at the beginning of the pandemic, we had a couple contracts didn't renew because everybody was like, we don't know what's gonna happen. We don't know. We don't know. And then we had one client, my biggest paying client of all time, declare bankruptcy, a huge billion dollar publicly traded company declared bankruptcy at the beginning of the Pandy. And that was it. We were out. So we lost a ton of revenue. Um, you know, we were fine. Everything's fine. My team continued on. And you know, we, we had enough work to keep us going, but not as profitable as we're used to.
And it felt like things were really in a PO like a state of like a holding pattern. But, um, we're picking back up. We signed two new clients, super juicy, good retainers Nelson, same thing. Um, yeah, no, it was horrible. Angela, if I like DMD you the, the amount that it, I mean, you would just like, it was like hard not to barf. Um, anyway, uh, but you know, we come back and I, I will never doubt my ability to bring in new business because, um, you know, like in the agency accelerator, we have a process and it works and I've never had a problem finding new opportunities, never, ever, ever. It's just, I haven't needed to, but recently I was like, I gotta pound the pavement. We gotta put some of these things back in practice. Cuz we, we got a little too, a little too comfy.
Um, so we brought in, you know, to new clients, good retainers. And then, uh, I have a third one out and they just hired a VP of marketing, which is really good for them. And they said they were gonna come back. Um, and you know, once they've had a chance to review anyway, um, I'm gonna wrap this up soon guys. You're so you're so awesome. There's like so many of you who've just stuck around and it means so much to me. Um, Nelson says do not under any circumstances do proposals, DME and will talk and I give you, and I'll give you more advice as to why I don't do them. Um, we Nelson, um, our proposals are in our agency accelerator. I know you're not in that program, but um, I agree. We don't give away stress strategy. Um, he's not, we don't give away strategy.
We have a capabilities deck that is killer. And we have had that, um, available to our members where they create that and customize it for themselves. And it's super compelling. It's a lot like your capabilities, deck Nelson with a little bit of information about, um, us supporting that client, but no strategy. And the proposal does include a rate. Um, you know, so in that sense it is a proposal, but more than anything, it's a capabilities deck. And Natasha said, I learned my lesson, my boyfriend's CEO and president did this to me last year. Oh my God. Yeah. Ah, this was awful. They spoke down to me. They asked her for a meeting and asked her to de to develop strategy. So she's thinking I have a personal relationship, you know, they're not gonna ask me unless they were like ready to bring me on. She said, they spoke down to her, they were demeaning.
And then they stole her work and her boyfriend who's on the executive team went off on them. Um, talk, taking the IP. Let's just say we got a very large bonus for, yeah. That's so awesome that they actually did compensate. Um, and proposals are really common out here. It's um, speak about the work that will be completed, but no strategies. Exactly. That's exactly right. Plus capabilities. Um, um, Ugh, God. Oh my God. Angela. No. Um, oh, yay. Ricky. Awesome. I'm so grateful that you were here. This is helpful and cool. I know it's so cool to like connect like this, imagine this, and we can actually have a conversation. Those are the coaching calls. So if you decide to join the pitch lab, we do have a monthly call that you'll jump in. Um, that's what I essentially provide to clients. Yeah. Um, is the capabilities deck, Angela is agreeing, never had a client not ask for a proposal.
Um, how do you work around that request? You're saying to not give a proposal, um, you say all put together a capabilities deck with some examples of our work case studies. You know, you explain it like it's a proposal, but you're not sharing strategy. You know, you, you outline what work you're gonna do and for what price and what they can expect, you know? Um, but you don't give them strategy so that's how, that's how we do it. They don't really say like, will you share a strategy if they do we say not until we're retained. Yeah. Um, yay, Charlotte. Awesome. Yes. This has been awesome. Nice to meet everyone. Thanks Jen. You're so welcome you guys. I love this. Well, thank you for hanging out with me for almost 90 minutes. I, I need a glass of water. I don't know some kind of a woo um, refresh on my coffee.
Um, that my dog is hungry. Although she's sound asleep. I wish you guys could see her. She looks like a little box. She's so cute. Um, yeah. Stephanie welcome. You just signed up for the pitch lab. You're gonna love it. It's it's fantastic. I'm so, so, so proud out of it. We launched it in the pandemic. Yeah. Just, uh, we launched it just to meet a need. Like we knew our community needed our support and we, oh my God, Angela. What's going on? You're in the ER. Oh my God, Angela. We were just like having a normal, old conversation. Are you all okay. I would not wanna be at a hospital right now. I hope you're okay. This was great. I left another zoom to join because I was getting more value out of this.
I love hearing that. We're all about delivering value. It's I know. Oh my God, Angela. Oh my God. If you ever need to talk on me, know if you might need to really like pump the brakes, um, you know, this, uh, issue with this, this perspective client is really stressful. I know, I know that feeling where you're like that money. It's like you see it in your bank account and now it's just gone. And I feel like you need to really know that you've dodged on that one and, and really seeing what the reality is now. Um, you know, there may be an opportunity. It turns around, but I really feel like, I mean, Natasha, does this feel like a, like a, like a professional gaslighting type of situation? I don't, I don't know, waiting for some results. Good luck. Will you keep me posted, maybe DM me when you have some news or I'll reach out to you and see how you're doing.
Um, oh, good luck. I'm so sorry. You're experiencing that mommy. Okay, buddy. My son is done with school. Um, can you, oh, nevermind. The dog's asleep. Well play with her later. Okay. Okay. Keep me posted. Okay. Um, anyway, that's my cue. I'm gonna run. It does sound like some gaslighting. I don't, I don't know why, but you don't deserve that. You don't deserve to like be strong along. Good. I'm really glad. Yeah. Like this is, um, awesome. Um, this is what it is like on our calls. but like we're talking, it's not just me reading your comments. 10 seconds delayed and um, you know, connecting whatever, like you guys get it, but the, the calls we have are so freaking awesome. I'm so grateful for the members that jump in and join us for those programs. So if anyone has any questions, just reach out to me or support at generation academy and Miranda. My amazing integrator will take care of you and get you whatever you need. Um, I really appreciate you, Angela. Please feel better and, um, keep us all posted. And, um, we're all here for you. You've got the support of this community and we got your back. So, um, and we'll see you guys tonight at the cocktail mixer get together. Um, see you guys then. Thank you for being here. Bye. Have a great day.