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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for April, 2002 ======================== When you're trying to persuade a reporter to do a story about you or your business, you're much more likely to succeed if you know how to 'talk the talk' No reporter will expect you to act like an insider, but you'll get a lot more respect -and attention - if you can speak the language of the newsroom. It’s not like learning Mandarin. In fact, all you need to do is sprinkle your pitch with a couple of catchwords and phrases. For instance: Newshook - Connecting a story to something that’s already in the news makes it more interesting. For instance: a hot topic right now is airline security. A story about a company that’s developing a retinal scan or a handprint identification device would automatically appeal to news decision-makers. Local Angle - Events happening on a national or even international stage still can have local impact. Most obvious example: when the U.S recently began bombing Afghanistan, many local reserve units were called up. That offered a variety of possibilities, including: Human Interest Stories - We all saw video of the destruction at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Somerset, Pennsylvania. Stories that followed about the impact on families who lost loved ones in the attacks were human interest stories. Such stories appeal to everyone because - among other reasons - we all ask ourselves, 'What if it were me?' Follow-ups - If you’re disappointed because a reporter talked to your competitor about something, but not to you, you can probably get your turn by offering a follow up. Future File - Generic name for any system that collects news releases, notes, or any information related to future events. Evergreen - A story that isn’t necessarily tied to a newshook. Evergreens are stories the media pull 'out of the can' to use on slow news days when there’s not much going on and they have a lot of time to fill. Kicker - This one relates TV only. The 'kicker' is a short, generally amusing story just before the end of a newscast. It’s supposed to leave you smiling even if you’ve just watched nearly thirty minutes of mayhem. If you want to portray yourself as knowledgeable and savvy, just tell an assignment editor you’ve got something you think will make a good kicker. They’ll pay attention, since good local kickers aren’t always easy to find. Plus, if you’ve got interesting video, they’ll 'tease' the kicker all the way through the newscast - which means you get even more exposure. Sprinkling your pitch to the media with these words and phrases will greatly improve your chances of getting free publicity. And that reminds me of one last thing. Never use the word 'publicity' when pitching a reporter. Always call it 'coverage.' When you 'talk the talk' of the newsroom, 'publicity' is one word you never want to say. George McKenzie is the author of 'Going Public: 10 Ways To UseThe Mass Media For Free dvertising, Internet Marketing And Website Promotion. http://www.get-free-publicity.com ======================== One way for a Small business to sell to the U.S. Government agencies is through a contractual vehicle called the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule contract. The GSA Schedule is a negotiated contract that is available to all Government agencies as a procurement vehicle. The GSA negotiates the contract with the vendors and all vendor products, services pricing and terms and conditions are provided in the Schedule. The Schedule is made available to all other Government agencies for their procurements. So, instead of negotiating individual contracts with various agencies, vendors may negotiate a contract to get a GSA Schedule contract and use the contract to sell to all agencies! In recent years the GSA Schedule contract has become one of the most sought after contractual vehicles for Government procurement. This has been enhanced since the passage of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act. The total procurements through the GSA Schedule total approximately $40 billion annually. The GSA awards three types of contracts: Single Award Schedule (SAS), Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) and the Maintenance and Repair Schedule. The following is a brief description of the differences between three types of schedules: SAS: MAS: Maintenance and Repair: There are numerous benefits for the Government agencies to place procurements through the GSA Schedule holders: · Separate contracts do not have to be negotiated with schedule holders. The GSA schedule is a negotiated contract for all Government agencies to use. This reduces the administrative time for procurements. · Government Credit cards may be used to procure through the GSA schedule. · No Maximum Order limitation. Contractors may accept any size order through the GSA Schedule. · Electronic procurements through GSA Advantage. (Visit http://www.gsa.gov/ for details). · Terms and conditions of GSA Schedules may also be used to sell to the State and Local Government Agencies. · It is easier for holders of GSA Schedules to negotiate terms and conditions with State and Local Government Agencies. For example the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) mirrors for the most part the GSA Schedule. The GSA Schedule is an excellent way for a small business to sell products and services to the U.S. Federal Government. The only disadvantage, if you can call it that, of a GSA contract is the paperwork can be daunting but the rewards can be great. If you would like specific, personal help with a GSA schedule, e-mail Bob Sullivan at bobs@isquare.com. Additional information about GSA schedules can be found at http://www.gsa.gov/ and http://www.fss.gsa.gov/ ======================== You’re a one-person business! What gets done is up to you – success or failures belong to you. It’s a lot of responsibility but the freedom is worth it all. Right? Right? I know, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and it seems that there is simply not enough time to do all you want to do! There is a way out of this dilemma – technology! There is little doubt that technology has allowed the small one-person businesses to flourish right under the noses of the big guys. We’re more flexible, have less inertia, provide more personal service, and respond to needs of customers. But we need to ensure that we make good use of every minute and this means thinking through the various tasks we perform and decide how technology can assist. Here are a few specific examples –no doubt you will come up with more! 1. Answering the telephone. Ah, the phone – a great tool and a great irritant. Save time by having a good answering machine (or, if absolutely necessary, an answering service). How do you spend time on the phone? If you find that you’re frequently answering the same questions consider an answering system that allows the caller to depress different numbers for various snippets of information. 2. Do you spend time driving to the local copy center? Maybe you should have your own copier or possibly a faster printer – even a color printer which are becoming very inexpensive. Think about the cost of trips in money and time when determining if you should really spend $500 on a newer, faster printer. 3. Answering questions; presenting information to clients. Necessary but time consuming. Consider the Internet. This wonderful tool is amazing. Place a listing of frequently asked questions about your product or service online; a catalog; details about your background; customer endorsements; and other details that a customer may want to view. Advertise your website just like you would advertise your telephone number. 4. Mailing and shipping. The last thing you need is to waste time in lines at the post office! Don’t do it. Get yourself a postal scale and meter (Pitney-Bowes has an inexpensive program). Use the postal service Internet site (www.usps.gov) to determine costs and the most economical ways to mail. 5. Use e-mail rather than the telephone. Much more efficient and no playing “tag.” 6. Automate your banking. Sign up for your banks internet-based services. If they don’t offer this service, look for another bank! Make every minute count! Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |