New Perspectives

Media Relations: Partnerships
are Stronger than Going it Alone
Amy M. Robinson, Vice President,
Communications and Media Relations

The Direct Selling Association has taken on an aggressive media-relations strategy designed to educate relevant audiences about our vibrant and growing business model. The most important goal of this program is to make sure DSA member companies find a marketplace with a solid base of knowledge and understanding about direct selling, helping your field sellers hit the ground running and get right to the business of selling your company, its products and services.

As we look at the totality of the elements involved in such outreach, we find that one of the most important components is not merely the information that comes from DSA's offices in Washington, D.C., but the coordinated efforts of DSA and each member company.

During my nearly eight-year tenure at DSA, I have seen the number of dedicated media-relations professionals employed by member companies grow exponentially. To me, this indicates many successful companies are realizing the value of "telling our story" and dedicating the resources necessary to do it effectively. There are thousands of direct selling success stories in our industry-both individual successes and company successes. These stories are the seeds we plant to foster continued growth of our industry. They are invaluable and speak to the heart of what our industry is about: personal growth, goals achieved and dreams realized.

The partnership between DSA and its companies is crucial. This month, I thought I'd plant a few seeds of my own. They are designed to encourage companies without an active media-outreach program to consider simple ways to increase their efforts and to reinforce some basic principles for companies that have an established communications team.

Take Media Calls

Members of the media will call you, and you should talk to them. If you are hesitant about the questions they will ask, it's OK to set up a later time when you will talk to them so you have time to prepare for the interview. Also, just because a reporter asks a tough question doesn't mean you have to give a negative answer. Remember-don't be evasive, but never repeat the negative. Always accentuate the positive. Tell them what you want them to know, and try to be as straightforward as possible. The mere fact that you are talking to them will avoid their feeling like you have something to hide.

Get to Know Your Local Reporters

If and when there's a crisis, it's better for them to know you already so you don't have to develop a relationship while there are hard questions on the table. The relationship will be much stronger, and they may even be able to help you out in good times, as well.

Involve Your Salesforce

Every company should have a few members of its field salesforce ready and willing to talk to the media. Ideally, there should be at least one person in every state or region whom you can trust and understands not only your company, but direct selling as well. Reporters want to talk to real people, and that means your salesforce. Many companies have concerns about this, but it's a good idea as long as you control it carefully. Take some of your people from the field with an interesting story to tell, and make them accessible when a reporter wants to talk to someone. It's OK to train them and help them tell their story in a compelling way. The important element here is to be able to direct a reporter to a real person when they request one.

Refer Reporters to DSA

When you talk to a reporter, always suggest that they call DSA for an industry perspective. There's nothing more powerful than putting your success in the larger context of a growing industry. It gives your company credibility. Most reporters don't have the slightest idea what direct selling really is, and any impressions they do have might be based, at least in part, on false information. While you probably will (and should!) focus on the great things your company has done, DSA can help by placing your company in a larger context. Reporters love third-party confirmation of the facts, and DSA can do that for you.

Keep DSA Informed

It's essential to keep DSA in the loop with news about your company-both good and bad. DSA is frequently asked to suggest companies or individuals who meet certain criteria. The more we know about your company, the more likely we are to be able to send reporters doing positive stories your way! We won't share privileged information, but it helps for us to be prepared when the media calls and asks questions.

If your company has big news, you can be fairly certain reporters will be calling us, too.

When we know what to expect in advance, we can be more prepared to accentuate the positive and put the negative in a realistic context. Along these same lines, let DSA know who handles media relations for your company. Whether it's your CEO or a dedicated communications staff, it's important for us to know who to contact and to whom reporters should be referred.

While fairly basic, these concepts are essential to a well-rounded industry image. As always, DSA is here to help you with your needs, media-related or otherwise. Give us a call the next time you're thinking about reaching out, and perhaps we can make a stronger pitch by doing it together.

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