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How to engage successfully with client CEOs

By Tushar Panchal on Nov 23, 2007 in clientservicing

Engaging the CEOThere are CEOs and there are CEOs. I meet many quite often and was told by one of them very recently that becoming a CEO and remaining a CEO requires only one quality – ability to make profit, profit and more profit. Well, he may be right and I don’t blame him either. That’s the way global corporations are designed – shareholders driven! A CEO juggles with many things, so does he or she has a time for the PR guy? How do you make sure that a CEO listens to you and engages with you so that you can make your PR more effective and beneficial for the organization. Let’s try to find out.

I have a very simple suggestion to make here. Talk to a CEO like a CEO. Let me explain what it means.

Who is a CEO? A CEO is a person who has been given a responsibility to run the organisation (and make profits) and who is expected to know all aspects of the business – typically finance, manufacturing, sales & marketing, expansion, new product development and so on. The list is endless. In the limited 24 hrs of a day he/she has to juggle through all these and more. After all, he’s/she’s also a human being! Okay, let me admit that this sounds too much but he/she has team of people to do all these and more – he/she just need to make sure that the people are doing the right ‘work’ and in the ‘right’ direction.

So, here comes our statement – talk to a CEO like a CEO. If I go by what my friend said about profits, I would suggest you talk to the CEO like him/her – about profits the PR can bring to his/her organisation. Can PR be a profitable exercise? Yes.

We all know what a good public relations exercise bring to the organization – it generates goodwill, it generates interests in investors, it generates positive response from trade partners, your sales process becomes , your advertising spend reduces, your employee satisfaction increases, it brings you more customers, it can open doors to policy makers, you become famous and may be some other bigger, better company would hire you as a next CEO! Isn’t it exciting enough for CEOs to listen to you now?

CEOs respect the sound advice coming from a sound professional and now many CEOs are looking forward to PR for advice on things more than media relations – they are seeking inputs on government relations, investment options, CSR, global warming, carbon credits, internal communications, connecting with consumers and so on. They want all these from a PR guy! So, Mr. PR – be ready to play the role of a trusted advisor to the CEO. Learn his/her business, understand his/her issues, find solutions, and offer concrete ‘workable’ advice and I am sure many CEOs and any CEO would want to listen to you!

After all, we have all learnt this early – ‘Give me an idea and see how I can sell it to you in less than five minutes!’

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About the Author

Tushar PanchalAfter successfully incubating two companies in the field of marketing communication consulting & digital marketing, Tushar (some people call him just ‘T’, few clients call him ‘Don’ & his first best friend calls him ‘The Industry’) has finally joined R K SWAMY HANSA to spearhead Group’s foray in the Public Relations business as a CEO. Currently working on his first fiction novel, Tushar is known for his wry sense of humor and telling the truth without being worried about tomorrow. He has a long list of ardent fans an equal number of hecklers in the industry, thanks to his posts on www.indiaprblog.com, where he also was the Ed. One Mumbai morning he on left abruptly, promising to return. The wait is still on. He’s still receiving mails to resume writing on IPRB. He has spent close to 21 years doing all types of jobs like farm keeping, inventory management , sales, media buying, media planning, journalism, copy writing, photography, painting…the list is endless. But when you meet him next, ask him what he hasn’t done. And then let us know, we’ll list it here. He has invested close to 16 years in the business of communication doing advertising, public relations, political communication, corporate and marketing communications etc. He boasts of working with some of the best communication companies in the country like Rediffusion Y&R, Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, Bates Enterprise, Perfect Relations, IPAN and a few more. He is also a visiting faculty to a number of communication and management institutes across the country like MICA, MET, SIMC etc. He also conducts various training and capacity building programs for working professionals and so far trained close to 200 engineers, managers and CEOs. He is also an advisor to many NGOs and on the board of few other companies in the media and training business. He is amongst the very few communication professionals in the country, who has worked very closely with governments and politicians to enhance their image and win elections. You can contact Tushar via email here or online here.

2 Comment(s)

  1. On Nov 24, 2007, KJ said:

    a ceo knows best about his own business…how to sell his products, his industry, market,competition. he looks forward to experts from other disciplines. as long as you give him a valid thought proposition that will add value to him, he will appreciate you.

  2. On Nov 24, 2007, palinn said:

    Well said Tushar, we have been emphasizing on being consultants to our clients,who can add value to this business with knowledge of the media and industry, trends, branding, publicity, positioning, etc.etc. instead of just being media outposts.

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