Secondly, one should be helpful. By being helpful, you are essentially putting other person in a better position. Negotiating is a great tool to show your willingness to help. An individual likes being dealt with as an individual. We as people and our services are too robust and diverse for "one size fits all". However, be sure you negotiate fairly. Don't provide an offer and service to someone unless they can provide valid reasons to do so. Putting together value metric points (goals) for your client is a great way to validate value of your service. Be patient, ask questions to understand, have service options, and close win-win deals. Knowing how to make deals is essential to success of a professional.

And lastly, a professional must care. Caring shows a desire to gain a better understanding of an individual's current scenario and what opportunities exist for you. It is quality that says we may be individuals competing or not but when a certain scenario or circumstance exists we are united. When all three qualities of a professional are present, expect to see not only a professional but one that gets paid well and has a well balanced life.

Raju Gavurla, President of LiiiVEN™, Inc. is a Motivational Speaker and Consultant. Programs on motivation, communication, and mental health assist you in achieving your professional/personal goals. Contact him at 404-918-7366, e-mail raju.gavurla@liiiven.com or visit www.liiiven.com. Copyright 2003 LiiiVEN™, All rights reserved. Duplication whole or in part must include this entire attribution.

Your motivational speaker and consultant, Raj Gavurla, encourages you to think and make good decisions. Raj's sincere desire is to simplify and inspire your ability to make a significant difference.

Now, you’re ready to select specific perception to be altered, and that becomes your public relations goal.

Of course a PR goal without a strategy to show you HOW to reach it, is like a cheeseburger without ketchup. That’s why you now pick one of three strategies designed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it. The challenge here (a small one) is to insure that goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn’t want to select “change existing perception” when current perception is just right suggesting a “reinforce” strategy.

Flexing your PR muscle, it’s your writer’s turn to prepare a compelling message carefully designed to alter your key target audience’s perception, as called for by your public relations goal.

Remember that it may be advisable to blend in your corrective message with a presentation, or a newsworthy announcement of a new product, service or employee, which may lend more credibility by not overemphasizing correction.

Clarity is watchword with regard to what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Your facts must be truthful and your position must be logically explained and believable if it is to hold attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction. In other words, your message must be compelling.

Now you select your communications tactics, “beasts of burden” you will harness to carry your persuasive new thoughts to attention of your outside target audience.

Your potential tactics list is ample, to say least. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might select radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are scores available with only selection requirement being that those you choose have a record of reaching people just like your target audience members.

Before long, questions will be raised as to how much progress is being made. By which time, you’ll be hard at work remonitoring target audience member perceptions. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you will now look carefully for indications that audience perceptions are beginning to move in direction you have in mind.

By adding more communications tactics, increasing their frequencies or fine tuning your message, you can always move things along at a faster clip.

Leaving tactics to do what they do best, carry messages, what should come first is an aggressive public relations plan like that outlined above that targets key stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com