Once upon a time, I was an intern working for Mark Soifer, who still serves as Public Relations Director for Ocean City, NJ, and who has been the major force behind its "family resort" image for more than 30 years now. It's a beautiful thing, really.
So, he had two interns, me and Darlene, and we were tasked with soliciting donations for an event, perhaps the sand sculpting contest.
Both Darlene and I were a bit uncomfortable. Still, we proceeded with our duties, splitting up a list of stores so we each had a prospect list. No one told us what to say, so I said "We're having this event, and you may want to donate free popcorn or peanuts" or would suggest something small like that. Darlene must have said something completely different, because the donations she got were more in the $50 range and maybe one or two exceeding $100, for things like jewelry. How embrassing! But it was worth it to really get the lesson behind it.
I realized the big difference between the two of us was attitude. She presented an opportunity to get a business name out there (the bigger the donation, the larger the recognition, and perhaps you really should consider having the LARGEST donation), and this really was comparatively cheap advertising with the added bonus of being attached to "good will." I on the other hand proposed an unclear value proposition. I apparently didn't believe that I was offering contributors anything of value in return.
I owe my fellow intern Darlene and my boss Mark a debt of gratitude for that important lesson: understand the needs of your clients, define your value, and present it clearly.
Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 07:22PM 