We all know that being a commodity is the kiss of death in business. The second you start to sense that sales prospects are viewing you as a commodity, you’re on the cusp of business failure, unless you immediately embark on the proactive actions that I’m going to prescribe to you below. The Problem Before [...]
In the last two years Walker Sands has more than doubled, causing us to completely rethink employee professional development. Account Executive Julie Walsh launched the program in October with a personality assessment. Since then the company has met every month to tackle a new challenge. So far our sessions have covered:
A look at how the Walker Sands SEO report has changed over the years.
It’s a new year, meaning it’s time to get crackin’ on those resolutions that seemed like such a good idea last week. Like millions of others, I made a list of resolutions that I hope to accomplish in 2012, and also like millions of others, I’m beginning to feel like that list is a little [...]
The days left in 2011 are fleeting, which leaves many thinking about auld lang syne and the year ahead. This is a particularly special time for the world of public relations, as it is no secret that we love trends and prediction stories. So, what’s next for the world of PR? Here is what some [...]
Today, three time NL MVP, Albert Pujols agreed in principle to join the Walker Sands kickball team for undisclosed terms. Well that’s at least what we were hoping to hear as the Walker Sands company kickball team wrapped up our grueling 1-win season last week with a post-season party. But the goal of the season [...]
Getting an internship at a marketing firm is an important first step for those who want to work in marketing. Once you’ve obtained a good marketing internship, be sure to make the most of it. We’ve hired quite a few interns over the years, and, based on my observations and experiences, here are three tips [...]
When Bears quarterback Jay Cutler broke his thumb, most of us in Chicago were thinking (no pun intended): “What a bad break for the Bears!” Being a twisted PR junkie and practitioner, I thought: “What a great opportunity for the nation’s experts on broken hands!” If you are in the PR biz long enough, and [...]
We love data-driven PR at Walker Sands. Whenever our clients can mine their data and come up with newsworthy statistics or trends, we find we are able to hit a grand slam for them on the PR front. Does your organization have access to data that could be used to get better PR results? To [...]
It turns out that hiring a PR firm can be a valuable tax minimization strategy. Here’s how it works. Hire a PR firm for 2012 and prepay the PR agency for 12 months of service. If the PR retainer is $8,000 per month, you write them a check for $96,000. Similarly, if the PR monthly [...]