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Hannah bouts account lead at next PR talks to host Doug Simon on PRS top Pros talk when it comes to Communications what's your top tip for being an effective project manager my top tip is seeing yourself as a strategic connector so that means being an extension of the clients team and Doug we can talk more about what that looks like today yeah um we'll get into what that looks like um do you think project management is sometimes undervalued given its importance yes I think in PR in particular we often are in reactive mode and so we are operating on these 24hour new cycles and it's easy to overlook the importance of building in structure and building in that time for reflection so where PR teams can really create value for their team is by carving out that time to have introspection creating structure around making sure that we're taking the time to reflect on our results to date and um one thing that we like to do at next PR is to um create a plan around quarterly Recaps and plans so that means we're proactively a month in advance building out a calendar of every single account team is going to create a plan um about results so far how we can improve moving into the quarter ahead and we have an outside reviewer to really provide a critical lens as they're reviewing those plans and so creating that structure around this process of reflection has helped us get ahead of not just being reactive not just saying you have this one-off reporting request that we're going to address it's about showing that we are constantly providing value and being that strategic partner to our clients yeah and with things changing so fast in the world and in the pure world you really do need that strong Foundation that strong structure to be able to be nimble is that a key part of when you look at project management is how can you both execute a plan and be nimble at the same time while staying on track yes so it's it's both of those things it's creating that structure and it's also being a strategist um and it so it's about taking the time to understand our sence goals um or if you're working on an internal team understanding exact goals and um asking how those leads are generated and making sure that we are connecting all of our PR tactics to that ultimate business objective some people might wonder or not necessarily think of project management as being creative but that's probably a mistake yes I agree with you there Doug I think project managers often are seen as going through the motions it's a it's a routine job but I would argue that project management is inherently creative because it's about creating structure where it none exists so an example I can give you when I was studying for my project management professional certification we talk about this concept of the Golden Triangle of project management so you've got imagine you've got your triangle there are three constraints and that is schedule cost and scope so if any one of those constraints um is tweaked at the center of that triangle you've got quality so let's say your cutting scope or your cutting timeline ultimately that's going to compromise quality unless you compensate at one of those other angles of the triangle so an example that a lot of PR Pros have seen recently is with budget cuts uh right so that that cost constraint of our Golden Triangle is shrinking but rather than compromise quality as project managers we can get really creative about how we're approaching scope for projects so that might look like what something that we're doing is creating these micro engagements considering how we can make what may have been a broader project or an ongoing service into these smaller projects so that we can really meet clients where they are in terms of their budget um without compromising quality yeah well that GE geometry lesson was really critical that thank you for for that I understand project managers and we understand this at our company because a lot of the people who are producers who work on the smts directly for clients clients will provide feedback back to them hey we've got something else coming up and work that way so can project managers lead to lead generation yes uh so I think there is this common misconception in PR we get a bit of tunnel vision thinking about brand awareness because ultimately as PR Pros that's what we're closest to you but when you take a step back and put yourself in the shoes of an exec what they're concerned about at the end of the day is driving their bottom line driving sales closing leads and we know this to be true we actually conducted at next PR a survey of our clients and we found that heading into 2024 the top objective by far was to generate more leads it was not brand awareness um so knowing that we as project managers can be that strategic connector between the sales team and between our internal agency teams um because we're kind of already seen to be honest as a middleman or middle woman we are um that goet so we can use that to our advantage to really embed ourselves in the sales team and what that can look like is being curious about how leads are generated I've been surprised when I've asked clients about where they're generating most of their leads it's often not digital advertising or where we might think I've heard from clients it's good good oldfashioned trade shows often so um definitely worth taking the time to have those conversations and then ensure that we as project managers are mapping every one of our PR objectives and tactics back to that ultimate business objective and ensuring that we don't stop there after we bring in these great PR wins that the sales team are really getting the full value out of those by using a media placement to nurture leads and have really uh meaningful conversations with prospects that are in their sales funnel yeah and as a project manager if you're helping your client grow sales they're going to want to stay connected and perhaps expand work with the agency because clearly that's something you know if it's making profit for them they want to do more of it what are some mistakes to avoid as a project manager when communicating with clients the biggest mistake I would say is assuming that what works for one client will work for every client in terms of communications it's really about taking the time to understand your clients love language and tailor Communications ingly so for example I have some clients who are so swamped that sending them an email with an open-ended question like what are your thoughts on XYZ is creating more stress in their day because they have to formulate a response and so for clients like this giving them a yes no of here are my recommendations any concerns with moving forward and then on the flip side I've got other clients who love to be a collabor collaborator love to be a strategic partner and so it's really important to ask for their input when formulating strategies um so that's mistake number one is don't use a one-size fitall approach the second mistake I would I would say I see is uh looking at your client your day-to-day contact like they're in a a vacuum um because the reality is they've got a team they've got a boss even CEOs have bosses so it's so critical that we're giving them the tools that they need to be successful with their broader team and so I like to ask myself what would this contact need to have a successful conversation with their boss if their boss knows absolutely nothing about PR how can we help them understand if a result is good by giving some context around it no that's great points and I really love your open-ended versus yes no constract I think that applies to much more than project managers but anyone I always advis employees when they're starting come to me with stuff I can just say yes to that makes it much easier and it also forces you to think things through which advances is people's growth as well any final thoughts you want to leave us with besides the fact that if project manager was a drinking game people might be in trouble by the end of this conversation but it's really valuable information you're sharing yes absolutely well I don't want you to get too bugged down by the pitfalls of being a project manager because ultimately I want to leave you with this it's about putting yourself in the shoes of the client or of your stakeholders and asking what they need to be successful and and framing everything that you do in terms of what will make their life easier that's great well this conversation will make a lot of people's lives easier thanks so much for being part of the show thank you Doug it was a pleasure [Music]