One of the things that most impresses me about public relations people is their ability to seek – and actually implement – guidance from a proposal or a process or a project that didn’t go as planned. Now I’m not saying they are better at it than other professionals, but it seems to be one of the most important aspects of the successful people I know in the PR world, and they make it a habit to seek out feedback, especially from clients and peers.
Last week I was asked by a contact to go over a pitch they had made for a proposal that didn’t get selected. This is always a delicate procedure, especially when the contact is a friend. (Note: It is even more impressive when a friend asks for honest feedback). During this conversation, I realized I should talk about one of the more mundane, and yet important, things that I notice when I get a proposal from a PR firm…I call it the “thud factor.”
The “thud factor” is simple. Even in this digital age, it is somehow comforting for many clients to feel as if the potential contractor has really hustled, tirelessly worked, and tediously toiled over the proposal. As much as we (the clients) may claim that we want efficiency, brevity and concise information, there is something comforting about the sound that a big pound of paper makes when it hits your desk. “Thud.” There is a certain amount of paper that, for some magical reason inside our brains, translates into an amount of work or effort that sends a signal that someone, somewhere, has done a lot of work. It’s not always the words, but it is at least sometimes the number of pages.
All of this goes against my sensitivities about the environment, recycling, ensuring that we are not wasting paper, etc. But the art of the pitch includes knowledge and awareness about the right about of “thud” that the client wants to hear. There is no precise algorithm that says a certain amount of money or a contract lifespan = a particular number of pages. But there is something to be said for an impressive set of ideas and concepts that are matched by the right length of a presentation.
This friend and I discussed the “thud factor” as it related to his firm’s presentation. As always, it was energizing to see him understand what I was saying as soon as I mocked the action of throwing a sample group of papers onto the table. He got it. And that combination of wanting to improve, and immediately understanding a concept like this, is why I like PR people. Keep the client happy and grab the concept quickly. That’s the equivalent of a mental and relationship “thud” that hits the table just right.