If you’re an agency team leader or corporate PR executive, then you’ve been there before. You’re in a client or partner meeting and everything is going so well…until a junior staffer adds a cringe-inducing comment. They, of course, have no idea there’s a problem with what was said, while the client is shooting you a look that says, “We’ll talk about this later.”
And that’s the joy of being in PR. We have a lot of young professionals, eager to learn, eager to get in front of clients and partners—but who don’t have enough experience with business conversations to understand that they can be fraught with peril. They haven’t learned that you need to think like a client or partner when you talk to them. Or they haven’t realized that there’s a big difference between treating a client in a friendly manner and treating a client like a close friend. Or both.
Unfortunately, mastering the art of the business conversation is generally a matter of trial and error; you often don’t realize something might raise a few eyebrows until you blurt it out.
Over my years PR, however, I’ve realized there are a few common mistakes that junior staff tend to make when talking to outside stakeholders. Here are my top eight to share with your team; while not all clients or partners will react negatively to these hot buttons, they have been known to cause problems:
1. “You guys…” While some don’t mind this familiar address, there are some do. In fact, I’ve seen executives get pretty angry over the use of this phrase because they feel it implies a lack of respect.
2. “I’m working with (fill in appropriate number) clients right now.” Some clients may marvel at the fact that you can balance six clients, but others may just think you’re too busy to pay close attention to their needs. Avoid talking about your specific workload but, if pressed, speak in generalities about the kinds of industries you’re working in.
3. “Ugh! One of our partners dropped the ball on a huge project.” Even if you’re just saying it to show allegiance with a bogged-down partner, talking about your massive workload is bad form.
4. “Do you want me to…? What do you want me to do?” Clients pay agencies for counsel, not questions. Inquiries like these can imply inexperience and position you as an order taker. And in reality, this scenario is all about confidence. You generally already know the answer when you use this phrasing but for some reason you hesitate. So just say it.
5. “I’m sure you’ve already covered this, but…” This little phrase—although it’s usually said to cushion a question—can come off as condescending.
6. “Our department... (fill in the appropriate complaint)” Complaining about your own PR function to a partner—even in a lighthearted way—just isn’t smart. Some partners can perceive any issues within the department as distractions that can negatively affect them.
7. “I don’t know, that wasn’t my assignment.” It’s an honest answer, but not one the client wants to hear. First, it makes them ask themselves if the agency staff communicates with each other. Second, it goes against the premise of the agency being there to make the client’s job easier. If you don’t have a basic answer (not the details), then it’s a red flag that your team needs to communicate better.
8. “I was out soooo late last night...” It’s inevitable that you will share some kind of personal information with a business contact during the life of the relationship. But there’s a difference between appropriate and inappropriate disclosure. For example, mentioning that you went to a Cubs game is fine; mentioning that you got drunk at a Cubs game isn’t.
But just sharing a list of trigger phrases won’t help your staff fine-tune their skills. Start by reinforcing the idea that professionals should treat clients and partners in a friendly manner, not as friends; there’s a major difference between the two. Friends can share tidbits about issues with co-workers or power struggles at the office without repercussion. With external stakeholders, these same things, often said in a spirit of camaraderie, can come back to haunt an organization.
And to truly help junior staff members master the art of business conversation, you need to make mistakes a learning experience. When a junior staff member slips up at a meeting, talk to them afterward about what they said, how it could have been perceived and what they should have said instead.
Finally, teach your team to get over “what they meant to say.” After all, in every interaction what the client perceives is what really matters. PRN
CONTACT:
Thomas Amberg is president of Chicago-based Cushman/Amberg Communications, and a member of the Counselors Academy. He can be reached at [email protected].
I’ve heard these in meetings as well, and these tend to be mistakes made by junior staff…but I’ve done this for quite some time, and have heard jaw-dropping conversation topics raised in client meetings by SENIOR staff, including prostitutes as gifts. Junior staff aren’t the only ones guilty of this. It’s a good topic to raise, but let’s be fair. Instead of pinpointing particular groups or phrases, the better advice would be to tell people how to handle those awkward moments, no matter the level of the person who caused them.
Thanks for this post, Mr. Amberg. I really appreciate you sharing these tips!
I agree with Nicole above. I am a young professional, and I think this article diminishes the unique enthusiasm and vigor a junior staffer brings to the table. Everyone experiences “foot in mouth,” even at the CEO level.