PR Account Manager's Handbook

The PR Account
Managers Handbook
What every PR pro should know about
looking after clients, the media, staff and their
bosses.
COVER PAGE
Place The Title of
Your Ebook Here
By Heather Baker
Heather Baker is the founder of

TopLine Communications, a PR and
digital marketing agency, and the
editor of the B2B PR Blog.
Heather has worked with dozens of
PR account managers, both under
and alongside them while moving up
the ranks at PR agencies, and
managing them as the managing
director of TopLine Communications.
You can find Heather on Twitter
@TopLineFounder or contact her via
email: editor@b2bprblog.com.
The PR Account Managers Handbook
The next 12,000 words will take

you through absolutely
everything you need to be the
kind of outstanding, impressive
PR account manager that gets a
headhunters pulse racing. This
is the PR Account Managers
Handbook a guide I wrote to
help account managers become
nothing short of smashing.
Table of
Contents
Chapter 1: An introduction to account management

The account manager role
10 things account managers do that piss me right off
Chapter 2: Account manager skills

Skills for the digital-age account manager
11
Communication skills for communications professionals
14
Perfect writing for PR
18
The proof of the copy is in the reading
23
Finding creativity: Fondle your creative side
25
How to build lasting relationships with journalists
27
How to pitch a story to the media
29
Chapter 3: Managing clients

An introduction to client management
34
How to have that difficult conversation
37
5
Chapter 3: Managing clients continued

What to do when it all goes tits up
41
Test yourself: Are you a good account manager?.......43
Chapter 4: Account management tools

Free tools
45
Paid tools
49
Chapter 5: Leadership
Teaching and mentoring your team
50
Leading meetings
52
Managing people
58
Chapter
one:
An introduction to account
management

If youve made it to account management, then congratulations, you have
landed yourself in your consultancys key role. Compared to you (and your
AM peers), pretty much every other person in the organisation is disposable.
You hold the key relationship with clients, your actions have the power to
make or break teams, every prospect will want to meet you before they sign
on the dotted line, and if you can build trusted, mutually beneficial
relationships with the journalists in your sector (even those who are nothing
more than gatekeepers skilled at cut-and-paste), you will truly have secured
your position of power.
Sadly, like most things that make you feel warm and smug, all this power
comes at a price. And that price takes the form of the near-impossible daily
juggling of the demands of clients and the media, while simultaneously coordinating a team you probably didnt choose and trying not to cave under
pressure from above to do this all profitably.
Approximately 22% of AMs leave their jobs each

year, more than half leaving consultancy work
altogether
Its a tough role, and a lot of
people simply cannot hack it.
However, for those that stick around and for the minority that do the job
well, the account manager years are some of the most rewarding and
challenging of their PR careers. They learn everything there is to know
about successful PR service delivery, get to grips with budgeting and
managing teams and emerge confident and thick-skinned PR leaders,
equally comfortable at the clients boardroom table as at the local pub
with their industrys most cantakerous reporter.
So how do you succeed as an account manager? You probably wont be

surprised to hear that its not easy. This is particularly true when you
consider that most account managers receive zero training. They are
expected by their directors (I have been guilty of this in the past) to glide
smoothly from the relatively structured and safe role of Senior Account Exec
to the rough-and-tumble AM position where the most valued skill is the
ability to roll with the punches.
This ebook will cover:

1) The skills you need (and where you can
get them)
2) Resources that will make your life
infinitely easier
3) The tricks you can keep up your sleeve

to ensure you never fail to impress
4) And the best way to handle everything

from meetings to difficult people
10
Things account managers do
That piss me right off!
By my count, Ive worked with 22 account managers in my PR career. Ive

worked under them as an AA or AE, alongside them as a fellow AM and I
have managed them, as the owner of a PR consultancy. They have
ranged from the abysmal to the outstanding, so here I have compiled my
list of ten things that an AM can do that will genuinely get my goat:
Spot a piece of coverage in the FT that they have secured for the
client, exclaim in delight, then go and make themselves a cup of
coffee! Your client needs to feel that you are ahead of them as soon
as you see that coverage, you send it to them as fast as your internet
connection will carry you. You dont want the client sending their
coverage to you!
Blame an AE when something goes wrong. This is a perfectly valid style

of leadership but one that I absolutely cannot stand! Act like a team
leader. Support your team all the way and take the blame as a team, then
address the issue.
Send an email with no context. Leaving an internal meeting where

something has been agreed, and then emailing the client about it as if
she has been at the internal meeting is just bloody stupid. The client gets
the email, doesnt have a clue what youre on about and a whole ream of
confusion ensues. Err on the side of caution - assume the client never
knows what you're on about and provide detailed context on everything.
The client has no idea what a byliner is and don't talk about Response
Source as if she's a subscriber. Demonstrate some emotional
intelligence here.
Ask me to proof a feature, then, once I have done so, accept all my changes
and send it straight to the client for approval. Aside from revealing your
inability to think independently, this sloppy approach annoys me because
my changes need to be proofed!
4
9

Saving things on their desktop. No, Mr Centre-of-the-Universe, we dont want
to have to search through your Ibiza snaps to find our media release when you
call in sick. Use the server like the rest of us. And while you are at it, stick to
other company processes. Theyre designed to help us function like a team,
but they only work if you follow them. I don't care how much coverage you can
place, if you can't function within a team, your value to the company is limited.
Happily watch me take notes in a meeting (client or internal). If I am taking

notes it is only because I have noticed that you are not taking notes or that
you are only writing down the occasional word or point. I really, really dont
want to do this. However, I do it because I am running a business and that
business has to run smoothly. If that business is to run smoothly, then
meetings need to result in action points, and action points need to be
translated into tasks, and tasks need to be done and fed back on. You should
be worried every time you spot me doing your job.
Say the client should be really happy with this service. The client shouldnt
be anything! Whether or not the client is happy is entirely down to the
account manager and no one else. The client will be happy if you have
identified the need, defined what success will look like, put metrics in place
for measuring progress, delivered on client expectations and communicated
success and failure properly with the client.
Secure an interview and then celebrate. Ive seen many an account manager
think that getting the interview in the diary is their job done. Sadly, thats just
the first of many hurdles. Id prefer it if youd wait for the coverage to come
through the door, or through my Google Alerts before you break out the
champagne.
Come back from holiday and then say at 1pm on their first day back, I havent
seen that as I still havent been through my emails. Your first day back is not an
extension of your holiday. Create a system and get through your emails quickly.
Delete all the spam and the irrelevant ones and youll cut them down by two
thirds. Then read through them quickly, set tasks where actions need to happen
and move on with your day.
10
Come to me after a morning of pitching and say that storys not going to work
the medias not interested. Im not buying it. Firstly, the right account
manager can make every story work, they just need to find the angle and
persist. Secondly, why are you dumping this on my lap? Dont bring a problem
to me unless you have thought about next steps and can propose a few
10
solutions.
Chapter
Account management
two:
skills
Skills for the digital account manager
The skills you need to survive as a 21st century account manager (and
where to find them).
The account manager of yesteryear (and by yesteryear I mean pre-2005)
needed little more than enough writing ability to pull together a weekly
media release, the pluck to call a journalist and invite him to a liquid lunch,
and the stomach lining to be able to leave that lunch on two feet.
Perhaps I exaggerate. But Im allowed to don my pair of rose-tinted glasses,
because those days are now well and truly over (and those account
managers are now well and truly hung over account directors trying to lead
teams delivering a service that has changed almost beyond recognition).
It makes me yawn to use this phrase (and if its not familiar, you havent
spent enough lunch breaks browsing PR agencies websites), but the media
landscape has changed. Journalists are under-resourced and have more
excuses than ever to behave like, well, dickheads.
But the new age of PR account management is not just about dealing with
busy journalists and putting up with behaviour that would be unacceptable in
any other context. Its about meeting client expectations that have changed
clients now want their PR service to plug in to every aspect of their
marketing strategy, from SEO to social and online advertising, and they
want it to be just as accountable too.
The essential digital skills for AMs
11
So, to give yourself a fighting chance of succeeding at account

management, you need to become a hybrid communications
professional (PR skills alone are not enough), by equipping yourself with
the following at a minimum:
A working knowledge of Facebook,

LinkedIn, YouTube Twitter, Google+,
Pinterest and any other social network
that applies to your niche. And by working
knowledge, I mean you need to know
how businesses can use these networks
to communicate with their audiences.
There is no handbook (although there are
some good books providing generalist
advice); you need to learn by doing,
which means interacting with
organisations through these networks
should become a daily habit.
The ability to write anything from a press release to a feature, or

even just an email. Weve provided guides on the B2B PR Blog (see for
example our press release writing guide).
The ability to read your clients website analytics Google

provides its own set of impossible to find and horrendously laid out online
courses on the subject, which are actually very good.
Diplomacy youll have to look inside yourself to find this one, as you
will undoubtedly come across situations where you have to find a more
socially acceptable way of telling a client/team member/director/journalist to
piss right off than slapping them in the face with your iPad (actually the
best course of action is usually to suck it up and do nothing, or to simply
vent your frustrations anonymously on the B2B PR Blog!).
12
A more-than-basic understanding of how SEO works. That

means SEO 3.0 or whatever the kids are calling it these days (the one
with pandas and penguins), not 2009 SEO that relied on page ranks and
volume of content. If you dont want to do a course, then you can learn
much of this from books (like The Art of SEO).
True grit when it comes to doing your research. You should be

able to attack a problem from as many different angles as it takes to
solve it. What does this mean in practice? It means changing the
keywords you enter into the Google search box ever so slightly
again and again until you get the results you were looking for. Or
finding all 5-20 journalists at the FT who might be interested in your
clients story and pitching it from multiple directions until you get a
hit, and always having a plan B in case that falls through.
Attention to detail and excellent organisational skills:

sadly if you dont have these already then you are destined to be a
shite AM. Cut your losses and move on to something where these
skills are irrelevant (journalism perhaps?).
A final word on essential skills:

Some of these are innate, others can be learned. But the
more of these you equip yourself with, the better you will
be at your job, the more your boss will depend on you, your
clients will love you and your team members will admire
you.
13
Communication skills for

communications professionals
You might be surprised to hear that when I was a kid I had
buckteeth.
In fact, they pretty much stuck horizontally out of the front of my face.
Luckily, by the time I was ten, my parents were so sick of the sight of me
that they decided to invest in a set of braces. When you consider that by
that time, I had already been wearing thick glasses for three years, and
was clinging with (unprecedented for me) determination to my puppy fat,
you can no doubt imagine that my early teenage years were pretty
uneventful.
Back to the teeth-at-right-angles-to-my-mouth story: I was always baffled
by their choice of orthodontist. Not because of the quality of his work (my
teeth now point neatly down like gravity would have wanted), or by the
state of his office (airy with its own fish pond), but by the fact that his
teeth were nothing short of squiffy! Why am I regaling you with stories of
my sad childhood?
Because people expect professionals to practice what

they preach, and they remember (for more than 10 years
in some cases! actually its 20, but lets say 10) when
they do not!
So that means no smiley faces and xoxos, and time to do away with:
sorry, Im a bit slow today I have a massive hangover!
Read on for my guide to communicating like

a professional...
14
Email etiquette
All emails sent should be:
Free from grammatical / spelling
errors and typos
Clear on why you are sending the
email, and what action is required
Written in a professional style
Content
Make sure it is clear and easy to
understand what you are trying to
say.
Be clear on what the next actions
are, e.g. I will wait to hear from you
before proceeding.
Referring to a previous email

Use Further to my colleague
Heathers email to make it clear that
there is a connection.
Make sure you cover ALL points from
a previous email (e.g. if a client has
asked two questions, answer both by
return, not just the first one).
Salutations
Use Dear or First Name instead of
Hi.
Use first names instead of Mr xxx
(unless the person is a Sir, Lord,
General etc).
Responding to emails
Do so quickly that impresses people and is a great way to show that youre
pretty damn good at your job.
Always acknowledge that you have received and understood an email this is
important for colleagues as well as external comms, e.g. Thanks for your
email, I have made a note to xxx, or Thank-you.
Ending emails
Finish with Kind Regards or Sincerely, not Ciao or Love.
If you are ever unsure that an email meets acceptable professional
standards, then ask a colleague to read it through before you send it.

15
Phone etiquette
It can be very intimidating speaking to people on the phone, particularly
when you are new to doing so in a business context. But there are some
ways in which you can overcome this. Simply follow the steps below:
Prepare
It may seem cumbersome, but this is a great way to improve your professional
phone manner. Before you speak to someone on the phone, do your
research:
Look them up on LinkedIn, Google and Facebook and try to

get a picture of the person you will be speaking to.
Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand how they

would respond to what you are saying to them.
Write out exactly what you are going to say and how you are
going to say it. Read through it a few times, then chuck it and
have just a few keywords in front of you before you proceed.
This is really important as it should NOT feel like you are

reading a script and you need to be flexible enough to have a
conversation and react to what they say.
Communications skills for

16
Phone etiquette continued...
Keep your language
formal.
Try to stick to professional vocabulary.

Follow up with an email.
You can start this with:
Thanks for the chat earlier OR Good speaking to you this morning etc.
As I mentioned.....
Action required.
Remember...
while it is important to get communications right, you will make mistakes,
and you shouldnt beat yourself up about them. Everyone you deal with in
business is ultimately a person too with problems and vulnerabilities
and insecurities just like you. Learning from every mistake, is more
important than getting it 100% right first time.
Communications skills for

17

Writing is a core part of any PR account management role. This guide
guarantees you'll write better-than-average copy.
Business writing is central to any PR role. To master the art takes time and
practice. However, to get reasonably good at it is much easier. In fact, its
so easy that if a piece of writing that falls anywhere below average lands in
my inbox for proofing I throw a cup of coffee over my laptop just to prove a
point.
If you dont want to be responsible for the demise of another Dell, then
follow these seven steps for any piece of business writing, and I can
(almost) guarantee that the results will be better than average.
Get your brief
Before you start, you need to know who you are writing for. If you havent
been provided with guidelines, you should insist on answers to the following
questions.
How long does the piece need to be?

Where will it be published?
Who is the target audience?
When is the deadline?
Who needs to approve it and will they be available to do so
the week before the deadline?
What format should it take (i.e. is it a byliner, a feature, an
interview or a media release)?
Does it need an accompanying image, and who is supposed
to source that image?
18
Do your research
Once you have your brief, research the publication and read through
examples of similar articles. This will give you a basic idea at least of
what is expected of you and will make sure you dont go off on a tangent.
Understand your subject
The biggest mistake people make when writing for business is a failure
to develop a proper grasp of the subject matter.
No matter how good your style, your piece will be meaningless if you
dont personally understand what you are writing about and its very
easy to spot (usually signalled by gratuitous use of big words like
pedagogical). In business communications you will often be required to
write about subjects that are new or unfamiliar to you, and the best way
to approach these is:
Research the subject on the web to get an overview. Look at a

number of sites covering the same topic so that you develop an
understanding from various different perspectives.
Discuss your understanding of the subject with a colleague (youll

probably start to find it interesting about now).
Look at articles that have been written on the subject over the last
year do you get the key issues that have been at play in this
market?
19
Plan it
Whether its a byliner, a feature, a blog post or a media release, planning

is essential to getting it right.
This is particularly true in a support role and as an AM you should ask
team members to try to put themselves in your shoes: you are relying on
them to do this piece of work to save you time.
If it is properly planned, but poorly written, you can edit it into something
usable in half an hour. If it is poorly planned and written in beautiful
English then you have to redo it from scratch. To plan:
For each paragraph, write a one-line summary of what the content

will be.
Talk this through with your team (or your client) to make sure you
have the correct messaging, flow and content.
Write
If youve done Steps 1-4 properly, then writing
should be the easy bit.
Read on for my guide to writing press releases,

byliners and features...
20
Press releases
Attention-grabbing headline (that is also informative)

Sub-heading
Date and place
Para 1: who, what, where, when, why
Para 2: more details (usually more on the why of the story)
Para 3: quote (this must say something new not just a repeat
of what has been said previously).
Para 4+: more details and more quotes
Ends / contact details / boiler plates / logos
Take the pyramid shape start with the most important stuff
and have the least important info at the end.
Byliner
Title (doesnt need to be informative necessarily)

Hook (why are we writing this NOW?)
Byline i.e. name of the person (usually client) who it will be
attributed to and their company (hyperlinked).
Choose your argument and then find 3-4 points to back it up,
each addressed individually.
Or, if an informative byliner, start at the beginning and run
through the subject matter.
Dont include quotes.
Is there scope for a box-out?
Feature
Title (doesnt need to be informative necessarily)

Hook (why are we writing this NOW?)
Overview of the subject
Include quotes.
Is there scope for a box-out?
21
Edit
Editing your own copy is good practice (and shows consideration for
your colleagues). It means that the next pair of eyes required to proof it,
can do so without having to waste their own time on your trivial
admin. To edit:
Run a spell check.
Check for inconsistencies.
Look up every persons name and every

organisations name used and double
check the spelling and how they write it
(e.g. TopLine not Topline). Make sure
this is consistent throughout.
Check your apostrophes (possession

and abbreviation).
Check for grammatical and style errors
(we use the Economist Style Guide ).
Is the style appropriate?
Run through and see where you can
remove words (the fewer words you
can use the better so try to take one
word out of every sentence at a
minimum).
Check for duplicate words. If you have

used the word already in the paragraph,
then you need to find an alternative.
Have you copied anything verbatim
from another source? If you havent
credited the source then this is
plagiarism.
Keep it simple. Big words wont
impress.
Present
Save in the correct format with the correct file name in the
correct location.
Source the appropriate images.
Let your team know it is ready for review. Go through it with
them and take feedback on board!
22

Proofing and editing copy is an important part of account
management.
When you send an article, release or feature to a client for approval, it
should reflect your companys ethos. At TopLine, we like to think were
professional, strategic and have great attention to detail. It is the
responsibility of every member of the account team to ensure copy is to
standard and the AM needs to be in charge of all that. That means that
you should never assume that because someone more senior (or the
client) has produced the copy its immune from edits.
The practicalities of proofing

When a team member asks you to proof something:
Let other team members know that youre going in (so that two
people arent editing the same document at the same time).
Save the document as the next version, so you dont save your
changed version right over the original.
Ensure tracked changes is on.
Make your amendments.
Save.
Let other team members know that you are done.
Questions to ask (and amendments to make) when proofing copy:
Are there any spelling or grammar errors?

Have apostrophes been used correctly?
Are there any typos?
Have they used English (UK) spelling?
Has the same word been repeated in the same sentence / same
paragraph? If so, find an alternative way of saying it.
Have they used any long words where shorter ones would suffice?
23

More questions to ask when proofing copy:
Have the names of people, places and companies been spelt

correctly?
Is the format correct (e.g. if its a media release, does it have the
heading, dateline, boilerplate, contact details, etc)?
Has the clients company name been hyperlinked?
Do all the hyperlinks work? The only way to know is by clicking on
them.
Does the content make sense? If its confusing you, then it could be
too complex make sure you understand it. If you dont, ask the
author to explain it.
Is it interesting?
Does it fit its target audience or the style of the target publication?
24
Finding creativity:
Fondle your creative side
Good account management requires creativity. If it doesn't come
naturally, here's some advice on getting your creative juices flowing.
As the skills section of the PR Account Managers Handbook approaches
its climax, I have decided to dedicate this advice piece to innuendo, and
would like to invite you to whip out your most adventurous bits in
celebration of creativity in PR.
As an account manager, your clients expect you to be constantly spurting
out creative ideas. Most of us dont wear red skinny jeans and big glasses
with brown rims to work so we therefore struggle to give rise to creativity on
demand.
Unfortunately theres no little blue pill you can

pop...
to get your inventive juices flowing...
If youre still shooting blanks thats because you havent committed to the
very important process of exposing yourself to creative greatness.
Experience tells me you cant rely on yourself to spawn the right creative
idea when the need arises. Instead you need to prime yourself in advance
to be ready to respond like a visionary to even the slightest signal.
And there are only two ways you can do this:

(Read on to find out what they are)
Finding creativity
25
The first is to nick ideas of others in the industry

Most of these have already been solicited off someone else and recycled
so I wouldnt worry too much about the moral implications of being a PR
copycat.
The easiest way to do this is to read the case studies of successful
campaigns. This will give you all kinds of great ideas, or kick-start your own
idea generation process. Luckily, you work in an industry that loves to flaunt
its greatness, so these case studies are pretty easy to get your hands on. Set
yourself a weekly task to spend 20 minutes skimming over case studies. It will
be worth it. Good places to start are PR Week, which features three
campaigns a week (tip if you want to get your campaign in this section you
need good pictures), competitors websites and award shortlists (often wont
feature the whole case study, but you will know if it has been shortlisted that
its probably worth a read, and you should be able to Google your way in, you
sly fox you!).
The second is to read the media

Youre only a true account manager if you do this daily.
Devour your trade press and ravage the nationals. If youre up to speed on
whats making headlines, youll be in a much better position to develop
campaigns that are nothing short of swell. I have mathematical proof that
news junkies are better at PR than anyone else: of the 82 PR people I have
worked with in my life, the 12 news junkies were the best at everything. Try
and disprove that one, Science!
Finding creativity
26
How to build lasting relationships with

journalists
It's not what you think!
Whoever, you are, wherever you fit in the PR machine, if you are going to
be dealing with the media to gain coverage, you need to be able to answer
two fundamental questions that journalists will be asking:
Why me?
As in, why would my readers / listeners / viewers be interested in this?

If you cannot provide a compelling response, then you are targeting
the wrong journalist with the wrong story and you are not going to get
very far.
Why now?
As you will see from the examples covered in this ebook, if whoever is
responsible for your PR can answer this question, finding the hook that
makes your story topical, relevant or interesting, then your company is
in a great position to start maximising that coverage. The hook can be
everything.
The PR people who build the most successful relationships with
journalists have thought of the answers to these questions in
advance and also understand the basic principles of relationship
building.

27

Firstly, the personal touch should never be
underestimated. Journalists are people, and many of them
have average or above average social skills. This means
they tend not to form lasting bonds via email - a good PR
person will get on the phone, arrange face-to-face
encounters and keep in touch.
Consistency is also important. The company's messages should be

so clearly defined that they are naturally evident in every involvement a
journalist might have with your organisation. This means that if a
journalist has been tasked with writing a balanced article and he has met
you a couple of times and remembers which side of an argument youre
on, you will be the first to come to mind for a comment in that section of
the article. This is great promotion for you and your work, so all in all a
worthwhile relationship.
These relationships will also need to be ongoing, as you have to work
hard to keep on a journalist's radar. It is no good meeting a reporter once,
giving her an information pack on your company, and then expecting to be
offered first dibs on the next article she is writing about your sector (and as
many clients do) then getting cross to have been left out in favour of a
competitor.
Finally, make these relationships useful. Like most people, journalists do
not like one-sided relationships and need to get something out of knowing
your company. Many MDs make the mistake of assuming that if they buy a
journalist lunch, she is obliged to quote them in an article. This is not
necessarily the case (with some notable exceptions) - journalists have to
write to certain standards and guidelines placed on them by editors and
publishers. This means they cannot get away with filing any old rubbish.
They will generally get your organisation involved if they know you have
information that is relevant to an article they are writing or if they think you
have something of particular interest that their editor would want them to do
a whole story on you or your company (aka hitting the jackpot).

28

If you want your B2B PR campaign to succeed, you need to be able to
pitch your stories to the media. This guide talks you through the
process.
Pitching to the media is a key element of any PR role, and the most
successful people in this industry are those that can place a good story.
Many PR agencies simply send a media release out on a newswire and
hope for as many online hits as they can get. While this approach might
work in terms of generating quantity of coverage, the quality is low (do
YOU ever browse TMCNet for your news updates?) and the results tend to
have little impact. Your PR team should be aiming high, going for quality
stories in the publications that people read. There are a number of steps
you can follow to be successful at this:
1 Know your story

As with anything else, you simply cannot pitch a story unless you
know what it is about (may seem obvious, but its surprising how
often a PR is asked to pitch a story they know nothing about).
Read up on the company, the product, the service or the issue to
get a real overview of how it all fits together. Ask your PR team
what they know about it and even go to the client (if youre agencybased) for clarification on any issues.
2 Identify your target media

Build a list of publications to target. For each publication, visit the
website / browse the magazine and see which journalists have
written on similar subjects recently. Then look them up so you have
a really good overview of them and their interests - it is much
easier to pitch a real person.
29
2 Target media continued...

Remember that no media databases cover the entire possible
universe of publications and you need to be comprehensive in your
targeting. So the next step is to run a Google News and Google
Blog search to find out who else on the web is interested in the
subject. Search under general terms relating to the story, then
search for company names and spokespeople names (we do this
because a journalist who has already written about the subject is
an easy hit).
For each publication, look for sections that might be relevant. Do
they take byliners? Would the story fit in their news section? Or do
they do product reviews etc? Then you know exactly who you are
going to target
3 Plan your pitch

Develop and write down exactly what your angle will be for pitching
this publication. Your pitch should answer these questions:
What is the hook?
Why would they want it (i.e. what does it offer their readers)?
How does it relate to the current news agenda?
Why now?
Why them?
30
3 Planning pitches continued..

Run through it with your team and use the opportunity to gather
feedback and adjust your pitch accordingly.
Draft a follow-up email to send through after your initial pitch.
Try something like this:
Dear Journalist,
Thanks for the chat earlier. As I mentioned, I thought your readers
would be interested in <this story> because it is <useful to them in this
way> (keep it brief and relevant). I thought it would be a good fit for
the xx section on the site... I can offer a case study, a review or a ...
Alternately, I know <my client / my MD> would be delighted to meet
you and talk you through the issue. I will give you a ring in a couple of
days to follow up... etc
4 Start pitching
Ring people on your list and talk them through the story. Remember:
Introduce yourself
Define what you have to offer We have a news story we

thought you might be interested in. Its on XX do you have a
minute to discuss it?
Dont read a script to them.
Dont try to make small talk people are busy and they dont
care.
31
4 Pitching continued...
Dont email them first if you email first and they dont respond
(which will almost certainly happen) then youve backed yourself
into a corner. Thats because a phone call saying did you get my
email? is annoying. A call in which you say I have a great story for
you is not.
Get the three most important points of the story down the phone
first.
Make a note of who you have spoken to, when you spoke to them
and what the follow-up action is in the media spreadsheet.
Set a task for yourself to do the follow-up action.
If you cannot get hold of someone, keep trying every hour until you
can. Not being able to get hold of someone is never an excuse for
not placing the story with them (at least its not an excuse I would
readily accept myself).
If you still cannot get them on the phone, then send a carefully
worded, very brief pitch by email.
Remember that journalists can be difficult and if someone

is rude to you, then dont get upset.
Think of it as character building every time a rude and arrogant
journalist (and youll find quite a few of those) takes their
neuroses out on you, you become a better person. Also keep in
mind that they are just people (they pooh too) and they need PRs
to help them find good stories.
32
5 Help them
Once a journalist has agreed to run your story, make it as easy as
possible for them to do so. That means:
Arrange an interview and make sure it happens (send detailed

meeting requests and confirm before hand).
Make sure they have the correct spellings of the names of people
involved.
Ask what they need and help them get it (pictures, research, case
studies).
6 Thank them
Success! Your storys been published! Congratulations! Before yourpop
the champagne, drop the journo a line to say thanks again, theyre just
people and most people like to feel appreciated.
33
Chapter
three:
Managing clients

Everything an AM needs to know about client management.
Whether your client is an entrepreneur or the marketing manager at a
major plc, once they have signed your contract they will experience the
same feeling: a combination of excitement at the wonders you are about to
deliver and fear that by appointing your consultancy, they have made a
very costly mistake. That brings us to:
Reassure the client that they have made

the right decision
How do you do this?

Well, you can start by being organised, enthusiastic and efficient,
minimising mistakes and making sure what you do in the first few
weeks is closely in line with their expectations (i.e. what is outlined in
the contract).
Your next step is to learn everything you can about the clients
business. Ask heaps of questions, be curious, subscribe to their
media outlets, follow their competitors on Twitter and make sure your
institutional and industry knowledge is unparalleled.
Then, to allay their fears, you should dedicate disproportionate time to
exceeding their expectations.
34
Establish a base case
What do I mean by this? I mean identify the standard against which

success will be measured. Ask the client what does success in your
communications campaign look like to you? If the clients expectations
are realistic (and if hes prepared to meet his end of the bargain)
propose the metrics against which your work will be measured.
So what are these metrics? For some clients its just a number of tier 1
pieces. For others, its links to the website or new business enquiries.
Others want something less tangible, such as better awareness.
Whatever it is, you cannot measure your impact until you have
established a base case. That could be an awareness survey, a
coverage count or share-of-voice comparison pre-you, or a system for
establishing where enquiries are coming from.
Communicate the good and the bad
The client needs to know when things are going well AND when they
are going badly. Make sure you are the first to tell them either way.
That guest post on FT.com should be emailed to them before theyve
had a chance to open their Google Alerts. Likewise, when a key
journalist says she just isnt interested, the client has a right to know.
Report against the base case
Once youve agreed your base case and the metrics by which you
will be measured, revisit it on a regularly basis (monthly, quarterly),
and identify how you are doing. Share this with the client.
35
Redirect the strategy and discuss

again with the client
If you change the strategy, or make a decision based on step 4, be

sure to clear this with the client first. Account managers all too often
see themselves as coverage machines, whose role is to churn out
column inches. Remember, your client is running a business, and
great coverage may not be everything to them, so make sure you are
in tune with what they are thinking.
Assume the client is a disorganised preschooler
Just because you said something once in an email to a client, or

reported something in your activity report does not mean that the
client has read it or remembers it. Provide detail and context to every
piece of correspondence (e.g. further to my email of 12 July) and
regularly summarise results in the body of an email (not just in your
activity report) and provide summaries of outstanding actions and
next steps.
36

A good account manager handles a difficult or awkward situation with
grace and dignity.
If you hope to succeed in business, then you need to be able to have a
difficult conversation. In fact, sometimes for me, a week at work is nothing
more than a series of difficult conversations, from telling a client they are
being unreasonable, to providing negative feedback to an employee,
negotiating a longstanding suppliers rates down, or telling the PRCA you
think small consultancies are getting a raw deal.
As an account manager you need to learn how to instigate, lead and
survive these necessary evils. At some point youre going to need to let a
journalist down, ask a client or colleague for honest feedback, or inform a
colleague that their actions are really affecting the team.
If youre British, the odds are stacked against you youre

taught from a young age how to beat about the bush, and
you probably judge the success of a conversation on the
extent to which you have avoided offending the other
party.
So, while I am entirely unqualified to give advice on this (the first time I
had to fire someone I went home and cried!), read on for my tips on
getting through that stomach-churning conversation...
37
Do it in person.
While its usually fine to reprimand someone or provide negative feedback via
email, I tend to pick up the phone or call a meeting if the situation hasnt been
resolved after two electronic exchanges. Thats because the recipient can
choose to read your email in any tone of voice they like. If theyre on the
defensive, they will usually choose an angry tone, and the situation will get
blown out of proportion.
Do it immediately.
Dont chicken out through procrastination. Deal with the situation while its in
front of you there is no need to prolong the pain and you will be grateful for it
once youve got it out of the way.
When you call a meeting...

State what its about so that the other person knows.
Identify potential outcomes.

Rank them from most desirable to least desirable. Brainstorm with someone
how you can guide the conversation away from the least desirable outcomes.
Prepare.
Decide the main points you want to make and write a list of evidence based
on concrete examples to back these points up. At the same time, compile a
list of examples that contradict your points. This is necessary because no
argument is ever completely black and white and you need to make sure you
have been fair and considered how the other party will counter.
38
Run through the arguments.

Run through these arguments with someone you trust and get their feedback.
Ask them to be objective and take their comments into consideration..
Choose your location.

Ensure you have chosen a location where there will be no interruptions. Turn
off your Blackberry and make sure there is water available. Try not to meet in
a coffee shop or a restaurant, as an over-zealous waiter, or a delay in the
service can set the scene for uncontrolled awkwardness (I once had to tell an
employee he was under-performing. I did it in Carluccios. The service was
terrible, and by the time the coffee arrived we had already finished the
conversation, his lip was shaking, I felt awful, and then we had to sit and have
a lukewarm coffee together and make small-talk while I waited for the bill the
longest 20 minutes of my life, and his too no doubt!).
Cut to the chase.

At the meeting, exchange pleasantries, but then cut straight to the chase
dont drag it out longer than necessary.
Ask their opinion.

Start by stating what you want to discuss and then ask the other person to
comment. What do they think about the situation?
Make your points.

Pre-empt any objections and allow them time to respond. Keep on track,
however and bring the conversation back to its main point when it veers away.
39
If you cannot reach an agreement...

Or a conclusion, give the other person the option of proposing a solution.
What worked for me in a very awkward conversation in the midst of
negotiations to buy out my investors was the simple question (after months of
arguing when the whole battle came to a very ugly head): What would be the
best possible outcome you would like to have from this meeting? It turned out
that their best possible outcome was very close to my best possible outcome,
and very far from the outcome we were heading towards. That reset the
conversation and within hours, we had negotiated the finer points of a deal.
Once youve finished...

If you deem it appropriate (or if it is necessary), follow up with an email in
which you cover all the points made by both parties and outline the final
resolution.
Behave.
Behave professionally after the meeting be honest and fair, but never
badmouth the other party. Thats just common sense and good manners!
And finally, if you are ever on the receiving end of a difficult conversation, then
be grateful when the other party handles it in a professional and timely
manner that gives you the best chance of leaving with your dignity intact. It
takes courage and solid human fabric to confront the many challenges that
business throws at us, and to consistently do so with grace is a rare
achievement. I have watched many rubber-spined individuals weasel their
way out of difficult situations, and avoid having that tough conversation with
me, or a supplier, or a colleague. They probably dont care, but every single
one of them is on my mental list of people who will be snubbed if I'm ever
famous.
40
What to do when things go tits up

Human error is part of being human. Here's what to do when you
make a mistake at work.
One of my proudest moments in the history of TopLine was when an
employee screwed up. In terms of account management mistakes, this was
up there with some of the worst of them. I wont go into too much detail,
except to say that as a result of this major cock-up on our part, a client was
inconvenienced on a massive scale.
So why was this obvious failure on our part such a proud moment for me?
The answer is that the only time you can truly test the quality of your team,
the value of your service and the true strength of your company, is when
things go wrong. TopLines had its fair share of adversity as a business
(from ash clouds leaving the team spread across the world, to an office
burglary that deprived the company of everything with an on button, to BT
deciding our lost internet connection was a low priority hassle for four
days), and our approach has always been that when things go wrong, true
colours shine through (something we preach to our clients about crisis
management).
While the natural reaction to a problem is to panic, or to use it as an
excuse to let things slow down, our philosophy is that when something
goes wrong, its all hands on deck to make sure that, from a clients
perspective, its business as usual. So that means no, sorry I didnt get
that media release out yesterday because our internet was down. Instead,
try "Im working from a coffee shop because our internet is down. Ill get
that release out this morning, but if you need me, best to call me on my
mobile".
What to do when things go tits up
41
Back to the team cock-up of

earlier in 2012.
Why was I so proud? Heres why:
1 The team handled the issue on its own...

With very little input from me. I was informed of what had
happened (important to keep directors informed so they can step in
if things escalate), and was told what they were going to do (great
problem-solving). But no one came to me and said what should we
do now?
2 The AD kept me in the loop, but...

Never once told me who was responsible for the problem. The
team had failed momentarily and the team was dealing with the
problem as a team (great people-management and good human
being behaviour). I can only assume that this is because the
person who was responsible behaved sufficiently apologetically
and professionally, so there was no need for discipline. I still dont
know who was at fault.
3 The decision on how to deal with the issue...

Was to call the client, face up to him, admit an error on our part and
apologise. No scapegoats, no excuses, just a sincere apology.
4 What I was most proud of...

Perhaps what made me most proud was the clients response.
Amazingly, after a very frustrating day at the hands of TopLine, he
came back with One cock-up in over two years I cant really hold
it against you.
Now thats a case study of excellent problem solving,

42
teamwork and disaster recovery!
Test
Are you a good
yourself: account manager?
Managing an account means you need to be on top of everything to do
with that business and its contract with your consultancy. This means
that at any given time, you should be able to answer any number of
questions about that client. Test yourself right now on your key client
how many of these can you answer?
Who are the key spokespeople?
What are the expectations?
What are their job titles?
What is outstanding on this

account?
What are their pet hates?
When is their contract up for

renewal?
What coverage would they love?

Where are they based?
What are the top three issues
they want to be involved in?
What are the issues they want to
avoid?
Who are their biggest clients?
Which social networks do they
use? Who manages these?
What events are they attending in

the next three months?
What events are they not
attending in the next three
months?
Who are their competitors?
Are you a good account manager?
43
How much is their retainer?

What coverage do we have
coming up?
What journalists are we
targeting?
Whos doing a relevant feature
for them in the next six months?
How do you get there from your
offices? How long does it take?
How much does it cost?
What coverage have you

achieved in the last month?
What are their three target

journalists stances on the client
and issues in the industry?
What are you doing for this client
today?
If you came down with swine flu
today and had to take a week off
work, does your team know how
to run the account seamlessly?
What are their contact details? Are these correctly saved in your CRM
system? On your smartphone?
If you could answer every single

one of these questions, you are
either the worst type of account
manager (shite and deluded) or
the best type of account manager
(in which case, come work for me
whatever theyre paying you, Ill
pay more).
...and did I mention the office

puppy?
Are you a good account manager?
44
Chapter
four:
PR account
management tools
18 free tools for account managers

The essential free tools in the account manager's online toolkit.
Doodle
Scheduling made easy. Planning a meeting involving lots of busy
people? Set up a doodle, with a selection of dates and times, email
them the link and get them to fill out their availability. Then select the
date and time that suits the majority.
Dropbox
Share files with colleagues and clients using a free Dropbox account.
Feed Reader
Desktop-based RSS news aggregator that enables you to keep on
top of breaking news to do with certain companies or keywords. (A
great alternative to the now-retired Google Reader.)
Easel.ly
Create infographics for free by entering your information and using
Easel to visualise it.
Free tools for AMs
45
Google Analytics
Add the analytics code to a clients website and monitor how the
work you are doing affects web visitors.
Google News
Keep up to date on news relating to your clients across loads of
news websites, from nationals to trades. Not as comprehensive as
some of the paid news clippings service, but great for research. Set
up news alerts to be the first to know when your client has been
mentioned.
Journalisted
Check which journalists have written about your clients industry
recently to hone your pitching.
justpaste.it
Share text and images by pasting them into the box and sending a
link. Great way to get around attachments.
Klout
Check how influential someone is on social media by getting their
Klout score
10
LinkedIn
Research people, from journalists to clients to prospects or
colleagues to find out about their backgrounds, how you are
connected, and prepare for meetings or interviews.
Free tools for AMs
46

11
MailChimp
Email marketing and email list manager.
12
ONS release calendar

Find all the statistics published by government, and get a heads up
on when new stats are due for publication. Great for finding the
hook for your story.
13
Pixlr
Free online photo editor. Great for cutting the clients wife out of his
Facebook profile when a journalist asks for a headshot yesterday.
14
Remember the milk

Online to do list and task list management. Great way to keep on
top of your task list.
15
Skype
Make voice and video calls over your internet. Much cheaper than
the old BT landline, and anything that brings down BTs shareprice
gets my vote.
16
Survey Monkey
Set up an online survey, and send the link to participants. Great
way to get feedback or create a quick stats-based story.
Free tools for AMs
47

17
Twitter
If you havent heard of this one then get back in your time machine
and head home to 2005. Follow the hashtag #journorequest to get
requests for case studies / contributions from journalists.
18
Windows 7 Snipping Tool

Take a screenshot of any part of a web page. That means the whole
page (including scrolling down), or just the part where your
coverage appeared.
Free tools for AMs
48
Six essential paid weapons in an

account managers arsenal
The essential paid tools in the account manager's online toolkit.
A media database to help you find the journalists you need to be

speaking to. We like Gorkana and FeaturesExec, and you can view our
review of the top media databases here.
A journalist enquiry service so you can be informed when journalists
are covering your subject area and can put your clients forward as
spokespeople or case studies. Not all journalists use these, but at TopLine
we get some good results from keeping an eye on journalist enquiries.
Response Source and Gorkana are comparable in price, but having never
subscribed to Gorkanas media enquiry service I cannot compare them on
quality.
Forward features database, to search through listings of upcoming
features so you dont miss out on any obvious opportunities for your
clients. Weve used FeaturesExec and Cision and they are both far from
comprehensive, and rather frustrating to use. Yet, they are necessary.
Factiva, for comprehensive coverage search. Factiva is superior to
Google News in two ways: it returns results from both print and online
publications and covers many behind-paywall outlets as well.
Media Planner by Precise: a great service that lets you see what news
stories are planned for the following week. Its used by journalists as well
as PRs, so if you do have a story planned and want to get it on journalists
radars in advance, make sure you register it with Media Planner.
I deliberately excluded a clippings service from this list because my
experience is that they are all pretty underwhelming and my opinion
is that you should be able to find all your coverage yourself. You've
placed it so you know where to expect it.
Six essential paid AM tools
49
Chapter
five:
Leadership
How to teach something to someone at work without coming across
as a patronising twat.
As an account manager, youre going to need to pass on all the worldly PR
know-how youve accumulated through your career to those just entering
the profession, who will no doubt be eagerly hanging on your every word,
and absorbing everything you say like a sponge. And if you believe all that,
youre just the type of twat this piece is aimed at.
The truth is that there are many ways to teach something new, and in a
busy office environment your objective is usually going to be to get them to
learn the skill or technique confidently as quickly as possible without
making them hate you. Heres whats worked for me in the past:
Heres whats worked for me in the past:

1.
Get them to research it themselves first. If someone has gone to

the trouble of trying to understand the subject on their own, you are
starting from a much better place than if you come in cold with your
wisdom.
2.
Get them to explain it to you. Find out how much theyve learned
on their own by asking them to talk you through the subject.
3.
Identify gaps in their understanding. Go through what they got

right and what they got wrong and fill in the gaps. Give them the
opportunity to ask questions and make sure you answer them in
detail.
50
Teaching and mentoring continued...

4.
Give them an example to do themselves. Theres no better way to

learn than by doing. Set your trainee a task (real-life is always
preferable to a made-up task).
5.
Rather than jumping straight in (and going off on the inevitable

tangent), ask them to come back with the process they will follow
and the estimated time they will spend. Run through this with them
and point out elements that will likely waste time or take them off in
the wrong direction.
6.
Set a mid-way catch-up to provide feedback. Rather than

dumping the whole task on them (lets face it, the result will almost
certainly need a lot of work), ask them to tell you when theyre half
way through and go through what theyve got. This way you can
prevent any major tangents.
7.
Go through the results together and get them to make changes.

Once theyre done with their first attempt, make sure you sit down
together and assess the outcome. Where possible, get them to
make the changes. Dont fall into the trap of doing it yourself
because its easier and quicker that way this will be quicker in the
short term, but youll face the same problems next time this task hits
their task list.
8.
Create a final version and explain the changes you made so

that they see your reasoning.
9.
Provide feedback on what they did well and what they did
poorly. Be sure to highlight the positive and be supportive!
10. Get their feedback. They might have some good ideas on how to
improve on the method you have just taught them. Be open to these
and you could learn something yourself!
51
Leading Meetings
From account manager level upwards, you need to be able to hold a
meeting and guide it in the direction you want it to go. This requires
confidence, which comes with practice, but is impossible without
proper preparation.
The better prepared you are for a meeting, the better your chance of being
able to control the meeting. This is critical in terms of gaining credibility in
front of the client (or whoever you are meeting).Your confidence will be
closely affected by how well prepared you are, so it is important that you do
not leave this to the last minute. As the account manager, a successful or
unsuccessful meeting is ultimately your responsibility, so make sure every
task you delegate is being handled to your satisfaction you cannot blame
a poor meeting on anyone but yourself. Here are my ten steps to a
successful meeting:
1 Establish whether a meeting is necessary
Who has asked for the meeting and why? Try not to
automatically agree to a meeting request instead, buy time
and say Am I okay to come back to you on that?
Will a call suffice? If there is no benefit of having everyone
together into a room, or if the meeting only requires information
to flow one way, then an email and a call are fine.
If so, how do you diplomatically suggest a call instead? Is it
appropriate for you to say I know you wanted to have a
meeting, but I am really up against it next week would you
mind if we had a call instead? Then be very grateful when they
agree. Or, is it the type of client relationship where you have to
agree to a face to face meeting?
Leading meetings
52
2 Set a time and location

Think carefully about:
Who needs to be there and why?
Where will be most convenient for each of the players?
When will be most convenient for each participant?
Who manages their diaries?

Set a date and time and invite people using your Outlook calendar;
be sure to include as much information as you can on the location,
the time and the purpose of the meeting.
Double check that everyone has accepted the meeting invite.
3 Tailor a meeting to suit your audience

What information do you know about these people? Do they like
formal, drawn-out meetings? Or do they like you to cut to the
chase? What impresses them? Getting back to them quickly after a
meeting with action points? Or beautifully formatted minutes?
Once you have made this decision, use it to tailor the meeting
accordingly. It should inform how you dress, what time you arrive
and how you handle the meeting.
4 Draft an agenda
Depending on the audience, you need to decide how detailed this
will be and in what format it should be presented. If your attendees
are always on the move, reading this on their smartphones, then
you want to send it in the body of the email.
Never add points to the agenda for the sake of it make sure you
are comprehensive but only add things that will be of value.
Get the agenda to the right people ahead of the meeting and ask
them to provide feedback or details of anything they want added to
the agenda.
Leading meetings
53
5 Prepare
For every point on the agenda:
Conduct detailed background research (e.g. research it in the
news, see what competitors are doing until you feel confident
talking freely on the subject).
Rehearse what you are going to say
Anticipate the difficult questions that the client is likely to ask and
make sure you have answers
If you are nervous, run these past a colleague to get their
feedback.
Then, crucially, anticipate the action points
6 Know what you are taking

Make sure you have clearly delegated this in writing to your team
members and followed up until you are confident it is being done.
Ensure that anything that needs to be printed, is printed and ready
to go three hours before you have to leave for the meeting. Assume
that the printer is going to cause problems and make sure that
whoever is responsible is on it.
If you are taking a computer, ensure you have the passwords to
access it, a spare charger, that the screen is clean and that you
have checked in advance whether you will have a projector and
what inputs it requires. I get so annoyed when I get to a meeting
and a colleague cannot get the technology to work. It makes us
look like amateurs. Only made worse when they turn the computer
around to show the client something and the screen is filthy, and
you know everyone around the table is secretly wondering whether
they've been watching Spankwire on their laptop.
Leading meetings
54
7 Know where you are going

Whats the address?
How will you get there?
What time do you need to leave?
How will you get there if your transport Plan A fails you?
8 Know your audience

Conduct background research on everyone who is attending. What
are their hobbies? What have they done in the past? What mutual
contacts do you have on LinkedIn? What small talk can you make
at the start of the meeting? Run a quick Factiva search on them or
on their industry beforehand to make sure you are not caught off
guard when they congratulate you on the rugby or refer to a big
story that broke this morning that you as the comms pro obviously
know about.
If someone is likely to be difficult, or you have no idea what their
feedback will be, have an informal call with them before the
meeting so that they dont use the meeting to drag you down in
front of everyone else. Rather, get their feedback in advance and
tailor your response to suit. If they're aggressive or mean in the
meeting then they're a twat.
9 Confirm before
Either the day before or a few hours before confirm in a quick
email.
Make sure it is clear that you dont need a response from them. So
send an email that says Look forward to seeing you at your offices
at 10am tomorrow.' That way you avoid awkward
misunderstandings that will ultimately be blamed on you (whether
you are to blame or not - you're the account manager!).
Leading meetings
55

10
Arrive on time
Dont be more than 10 minutes early its annoying.
Give people information on how you are getting there. So, if you
are catching a train let people know in advance that you will be
coming by train and that you are scheduled to arrive at 09:55. That
way, if you are late and cannot get hold of them, they can check the
train schedule.
If you are going to be late, keep the other participants informed
throughout. If your train is delayed, send an email, and keep
sending updates as you get them.
At the meeting
Seat yourselves diplomatically dont sit directly opposite

someone if possible, and try not to sit panel discussion style.
Control the discussion start with an introduction of why we
are here, and then point everyone to the agenda. Stick to the
clock (warn people in advance that you will be doing this!)
Dont give out hand-outs until you need to (or if you can avoid
doing so until the end of the meeting). That will prevent people
from reading ahead and interrupting the flow of the meeting.
End on action points you should have already decided what
action points you want to come to, so if you feel that a
discussion is going off track, propose an action.
Make sure someone is taking notes appropriately. That means
comprehensive i.e. writing down everything that is being said
and that they are briefed on how to turn these into meeting
notes and quickly.
Leading meetings
56
If you have to convince someone of

something
Dont get caught out: Make sure you have done your research
thoroughly.
Then get some support from the media: Make a few phone
calls to key target journalists and get some quotes that support
what youre asking for.
Research other instances where this has been successful.
Research other instances where this has been unsuccessful
it is far more powerful for you to mention this in the meeting
than for the client to feel like they have caught you out.
Additionally, any argument is more convincing if you have
considered the opposition in detail and countered it with solid
reasoning.
Follow up
Do this quickly. If you cant get your meeting notes to them within
24 hours, send them a holding email, saying good to meet you, we
will have action points with you by tomorrow'
Ideally get meeting notes to them within 24 hours.
Keep your meeting notes to-the-point and make sure they are
proofed
Send them as an attachment with a summary of action points

in the body of the email.
Set a task to check on progress of the action points a week or

so later.
Leading meetings
57
Managing people
As an AM, the buck stops with you
That means that when it comes to people management, you are
responsible for making sure your team members deliver what they
are supposed to deliver. And if they dont, Im afraid to say that you
are to blame.
It is never acceptable to tell a client that something hasnt been done
because your AE didnt do it. As the AM, even once you have delegated
a piece of work, it is your responsibility to set yourself a reminder to
follow up ahead of the deadline and check that it has been done to
standard (or is on its way).
If it hasnt, you have every right to be annoyed, but thats beside the
point! Right now, you need to focus on implementing plan B to get that
work done. Its the cross you have to bear: any spelling error in a release
that goes out, any unprofessional email (e.g. account director asking the
client something they have already told you), and any instance in which
your team is poorly informed (or uninformed) about something
happening on the account is your fault. Dont rely on your team to read
something because you said they must. Make sure they do it, because
good client service is more important than pestering a team member.
So the question soon becomes, how do you get the most

out of your team? I have compiled my tips for managing
people, gleaned from experience.
Managing people
58
Ask dont tell: if your team members wanted to be ordered around

they would have joined the army or gone into the dominatrix support
industry. But they didnt. They came to work in an office job, where they
probably hoped to be treated like humans.
Forget the hierarchy: your AEs and AAs know that you are in
charge. You dont need to remind them. Refer to team members as
colleagues when talking about them to clients or suppliers and
Set an example: it is so much easier to persuade someone to do

something for you if they respect you. Earn this respect by practicing
what you preach.
Praise publicly, reprimand privately: people like to be praised

and thanked, and they dont like to be told off. So keep any difficult
conversations to email or private meetings.
Take the fall: when a team member screws up, show solidarity by
taking the blame as a team and then sorting it out amongst yourselves
afterwards.
Share the glory (even better, give it away): you might have
been instrumental in the success of that campaign, but as far as the rest
of the world knows, you couldnt have done it without your fabulous
team.
Get feedback: take team members for a coffee every now and then
and ask how they think the team is doing and how youre getting on as a
manager.
Ask for help: theres no reason you should have to learn how to
manage people with no support. Get advice from other managers (both
within and outside the organisation) and from your companys HR
department (if you have one).
Managing people
59
Ask for suggestions: before you tell someone how to do a task, ask
them to suggest how they think it should be approached. Your way isnt
the only way and by inviting contribution from others in the team will help
you learn about their skill sets and might provide a (dare I say it?) better
way of doing things.
Keep it to yourself: no matter how annoying/rude/incompetent a

team member has been today, never ever bitch about them to another
team member. Managing difficult people can be tough, but keep it
professional, keep your team solid, and take any major issues
confidentially to your own manager.
Managing people
60
The
End
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The PR Account

Heather Baker is the founder of

The PR Account Managers Handbook

The next 12,000 words will take

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Chapter 1: An introduction to account management

10 things account managers do that piss me right off

Chapter 2: Account manager skills

Communication skills for communications professionals

Perfect writing for PR

The proof of the copy is in the reading

Finding creativity: Fondle your creative side

How to build lasting relationships with journalists

How to pitch a story to the media

Chapter 3: Managing clients

How to have that difficult conversation

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Chapter 3: Managing clients continued

Test yourself: Are you a good account manager?.......43

Chapter 4: Account management tools

The PR Account Managers Handbook

The account manager role

Approximately 22% of AMs leave their jobs each

The PR Account Managers Handbook

So how do you succeed as an account manager? You probably wont be

This ebook will cover:

3) The tricks you can keep up your sleeve

4) And the best way to handle everything

The account manager role

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Things account managers do

That piss me right off!

By my count, Ive worked with 22 account managers in my PR career. Ive

Blame an AE when something goes wrong. This is a perfectly valid style

Send an email with no context. Leaving an internal meeting where

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Happily watch me take notes in a meeting (client or internal). If I am taking

The PR Account Managers Handbook

The essential digital skills for AMs

The PR Account Managers Handbook

So, to give yourself a fighting chance of succeeding at account

A working knowledge of Facebook,

The ability to write anything from a press release to a feature, or

The ability to read your clients website analytics Google

The essential digital skills for AMs

The PR Account Managers Handbook

A more-than-basic understanding of how SEO works. That

True grit when it comes to doing your research. You should be

Attention to detail and excellent organisational skills:

A final word on essential skills:

The essential digital skills for AMs

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Communication skills for

Because people expect professionals to practice what

Read on for my guide to communicating like

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Referring to a previous email

Communication skills for

The PR Account Managers Handbook

Look them up on LinkedIn, Google and Facebook and try to

Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand how they

This is really important as it should NOT feel like you are

Communications skills for

The PR Account Managers Handbook

PR Account Manager's Handbook

PR Account Manager's Handbook