Always Take the Meeting

One of the rules by Peter Shankman in his book, “Can We Do That? Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them” hit home with me.

“Always take the meeting. You never know where the next client, next big project, next crazy idea, next new job, next promotion, raise or shot at glory is going to come from. Always take the meeting.”

I am currently the publicist for Marni Matyus who owns The Sling Station, Peppermint.com and Peppermint Baby Boutique.

About a year ago, she put out a notice on the DFW Babywearing Yahoo group that she needed models (moms and babies) for a photo shoot for her advertising. I agreed to help out.

But the day of the event, I debated on going. My daughter was about 5 months old at the time and a mama’s girl. I knew she wasn’t going to let Marni hold her to take babywearing photos. My husband encouraged me to go since I gave my word.

True to my gut feeling, my daughter screamed her head off whenever we placed her in a baby sling Marni was wearing.

Afterwards, when I was nursing my daughter to calm her down, I got to talking to Marni about her business. I really enjoyed wearing my daughter in a sling and so her business was very intriguing. I asked her about her PR/marketing efforts. She wasn’t doing much in terms of PR and was very interested that I was a PR freelancer. We exchanged cards. Had a lunch a few days later and now Marni is one of my most favorite clients!

Always take the meeting – or in my case, attend the photo shoot!