We recently introduced our Pay Per Performance model which takes all of the risk off the clients and strongly motivates our team to produce results. While discussing this over and over with many prospective clients, the question of a lead vs. a reach has come up frequently and so I wanted to write a brief note to clear it up.

While it’s easy to confuse a reach with a lead, they are distinctly different, one supremely better than the other. By the explanation below, I’ll let you be the judge to decide which one is better…

Lead: It’s just that – a lead. It’s someone that may have some interest. It’s a possible business connection or a possible business development opportunity.

Reach: It’s someone reaching, interested, with a relationship already established. They already know about you, have heard about you and have a general understanding of what you do and now they want more. It’s the diamond of prospective clients that you wish you had daily.

Now let’s look at the dictionary definition of each as taken from The American Heritage College dictionary:

Lead: 9. To begin or open with. To go first or guide. 3a. Information pointing toward a possible solution; 7a. The introductory portion.

Reach: 4a. To succeed in getting in contact with or communicating with. b. To succeed in having an effect on. 3a. Range of understanding; comprehension. 1. To stretch out or put forth; extend 3. To arrive at; attain

So from the above definitions, it’s clear that a lead is the start, an introductory part or a beginning and a reach would be much further along than that and in fact is closer toward the end of the cycle. A reach entails someone reaching out for something. The introduction and start have all taken place and now it’s at the point of stretching or reaching for more.

So as it relates to business development and new client procurement, which would you rather have?

Our agency exclusively deals with reaches for our clients … not leads. Our performance model is based on number of reaches which to me, is the most valuable thing to our company and and our clients companies.

For more information about our services, click here to view a presentation on SlideShare.

Over and over I notice many people and companies are out of communication, or at least have lethargic communication systems. What I mean by that is that they are slow to the draw, slow to reply, slow to take action or don’t take any action at all.

Communication is the very essence of business as well as the economy. The more you can create and the faster you can get it going, the more revenue flows.

Currently it seems there is quite a problem with communication. As a business owner myself, I find the importance of communication to be extremely high. I demand from my staff that a lot of communication go out to the world and more specifically, to our target audience. I also demand that we handle communication rapidly, as fast as we can, and keep our flows moving fast.

If I get an email related to someone interested in our company, we instantly reply to move the cycle forward. Phone calls are returned the same day and everyone in the company has a mobile device that allows for immediate response via email at any given time. Additionally, we developed the Social Media Press Kit (http://whywebpr.com/smpk) for the purpose of making ourselves more accessible in every imaginable way, be it text message, email, Skype, Facebook, Linkedin or to download our communication details through a vCard.

We rate communication highly. However I have noticed that not everyone operates this way. People delay in getting back via email or phone. They are slow to communicate many times, if at all. This type of operating procedure hurts them and their company. Procrastination has no place in the business world. Slowness is not a strength and being out of communication is damaging.

Take a look at your communication systems this week and test them. Do you immediately respond to emails? Phone calls? How much communication are you sending out to the world daily? Your company? Is that enough?

If handled, your revenue will skyrocket. Get yourself and your company into communication with the world. Send communication out, even if you simply start by sending out 6 hand-written letters per week or 10 emails to introduce yourself to people you would want to do business with. Get communication flowing and fast.

Robert Cornish
CEO
Richter10.2 Media Group

Making your company’s products or services known to the correct target public (audience) in order to gain interest and reach has been traditionally the most difficult part of sales.

How do your prospective clients find out about your company? How do you make the initial contact or the initial introduction to cultivate interest?

Times have changed. What used to work – going to companies door to door to get an appointment or cold calling a specific prospect to try to get 2 minutes are not as effective as they once were. New rules of business etiquette have interrupted these strategies. People are busy and they don’t want to be interrupted with uninvited visits or random phone calls.

We have experienced over and over that the name of the game is relationships and making smart introductions to the right people. The online world and, more specifically, new media have created an avenue to replace old systems of making introductions and building relationships with new ways that are generally acceptable in this day and age.

You don’t have to email blast 1000 people to hope for a response rate of 1-2% – you only need to make one connection, one introduction, to the right person with the right message to penetrate and gain interest and reach.

The methods of reaching out to prospective clients and making your company a known quantity as well as sparking interest have changed. Successfully adopted and utilized correctly, they will dramatically change your sales as well.

So, I’m sure you have heard the buzz about the Social Media Press Kit, one of the newest and most advanced tools to maximize your business presence on the Web. Now there’s an even more comprehensive tool that works in conjunction with the Social Media Press Kit – the Social Media Press Room.

The Social Media Press Room is a dynamic information and resource center for companies, products and services. All of the vital information that relates to the company can be accessed here including press releases, blogs, videos, social media and new media pages, real time Twitter status updates, company bio and links to Social Media Press Kits within the company. This is a cutting-edge press room for the digital age, providing all of the information and resources anyone could want or need about a company and its products and services.

It is built directly into the company website with a simple navigation link to the full press room site. Use the Social Media Press Kits for individual sales agents or top executives in your company, and then have a Social Media Press Room representing your entire company for the maximum amount of Web and PR presence. The purpose of this tool is to fully highlight the company.

Get your target public’s attention through all of the top social media sites on the web, with one main “room” linking to them all.

Ali Magnano

Director of PR

Richter10.2 Media Group

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You know the feeling. That alarm clock goes off, you press the snooze (even though you know that only means that you’ll have to make your shower five minutes shorter), rush out the door and hopefully make it to work on time. The feeling seems unavoidable. As well as after your lunch break at work, when the clock reads 2 pm and you know that you have a few more hours of work to do, but you just can’t help feeling lethargic and annoyed at the thought of having to stay awake.
So what do you do? I have found some simple ways to get you through your work day and arrive at work in the morning feeling fresh and awake.

1) Don’t Eat Dinner Right before Bed

If you have the munchies before bed, a good thing to have is a little bit of fruit or some tomato juice. Something light and fruity. You don’t want to eat an entire meal right before you go to bed because the digestion process takes awhile. Try and leave a few hours in between your last meal and your bedtime and see how you feel in the morning.

2) Leave the Curtains Cracked

Leaving the curtains a little bit open will let some natural light into your room in the morning, which will help you wake up. The natural light can be strong but soothing.

3) Wake Up To The Smell Of Coffee

Get a coffee machine that has a setting for automatic brewing. Set it for a few minutes before your alarm clock goes off and when you wake up you will have a refreshing and lovely smell of freshly ground coffee in your room. Get fresh coffee beans!

4) Stretch Every Extremity

Stretching your arms and fingers out for about 15 seconds right after you wake up will help more than you think. It will get your blood circulating again in your body and helps you feel more energetic.

5) Eat A High Energy Breakfast

You would be surprised how just skipping your first meal of the day affects your energy level. You need to eat breakfast to get your metabolism going and to tell your body you are awake and ready to start digesting food again and making energy for your body. You can drink a protein smoothie, or some complex carbohydrates like a bowl of oatmeal or whole grain cereal topped with some fruit and skim milk.

6) Eat Protein Throughout The Day

Eating protein with your lunch will give your energy levels a boost. Snacking on nuts will also give you more energy, because they are high in protein.

7) Listen To Some Good Music In The Car

Find some good music, and get together an assortment of CDs to play on your way to work in the morning. Turn up the volume. If the weather permits it, open the windows instead of turning on the AC. The fresh air will wake you up, with the sound of the music, and get you ready for the day.

Take A Break

Take a break from your work desk when you’ve been sitting for a long time. Walking around to get a little exercise gets your blood flowing and can make you feel refreshed.

9) Chew Sugar-Free Peppermint Gum

There is something about the strong flavor of peppermint that makes you feel refreshed.

10) Cold Water

Cold water is refreshing, especially when it gets hot outside. Keeping your self hydrated throughout the day, and starting with a cold glass of water in the morning, will keep you refreshed and awake. Drink a cold glass roughly every hour, and splash some on your face when you need it.

Ali Magnano
Director of PR
Richter10.2 Media Group
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Recently, I found a really cool new Twitter tool that got me so excited I just had to write a blog about it! Twitpic। It’s how you Tweet pictures.

As you know, the thing about Twitter is that, unlike Facebook or Myspace, you can only have ONE picture, and that’s your default। How frustrating! Well, now with Twitpic, you have a whole album online that you can Tweet and share with other Tweeters.

Now, what kind of pictures would Tweeters most like to see tweeted? Breaking news, humorous ones and Twitpics by celebs were some of the top viewed. Like on-the-scene twitpics of a shuttle launch! (click here) Or the king of Twitter, Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) tweeting his own photos, of course. (click here)

Now, you can start using Twitpic to expand your Twitter influence।

Ali Magnano

Director of PR

Richter10.2 Media Group

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I’ve been doing some research and have found that if you want the most traffic to your Twitter site, you need a good, eye-catching photograph of yourself.

What type of photo is eye-catching enough that you will be looked at first over other Tweeters?

When you first register on Twitter, you are provided with an avatar. Everyone gets the same avatar. What is all-too-common is that Tweeters will leave that up instead of providing a real picture. The Tweeter is then a “faceless entity” on a huge Social Media Site and easily gets lost in the crowd.

Your image is the first thing people see when they decide to follow you – or to not follow you. It should be, ideally, a recent photo of YOU. It can be your brand’s logo, but if you are going to be the sole person using the account, then you should have a picture of yourself. Seeing a real picture of you gives others the feeling that they know you. Also, don’t change your photo too often – other users tend to see the image before the name, and you can get lost if you change your image too frequently.

So the moral of the story is – get other Tweeters to notice you by providing a fresh and recent picture of yourself.

Ali Magnano
Director of PR
Richter10.2 Media Group
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If you think that Social Media, as represented by blogging, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, etc।, is only a personal or social pursuit with no room for making money or corporate involvement, you are clearly still living in 2002.

The Social Media population has been greatly increasing over the years। Twitter, the famous microblogging site, has grown an astonishing 1328% in the past year alone. With applications promising to “Increase your Twitter followers by eleventy-billion in seconds”, it’s no wonder Twitter is spreading like wildfire.

There has been a paradigm shift in the way that promotion and marketing is reaching the public। Social Media is not only supplementing mainstream media, but is actually replacing many traditional media avenues. With RSS feeds and Social Media bookmarking sites, there is hardly a need to read the newspaper that so conveniently arrives on your doorstep, and the public apparently agrees, as evidenced by the shuttering of or the exclusive focus online by some of the country’s oldest papers.

For businesses struggling to find their footing in the ever-expanding social media landscape, there is some good news: there is a simple way to take advantage of this whole evolution and integrate your business with Social Media, build your public relations and get the maximum amount of presence on the Web. With the Social Media Press Kit, which is a microsite designed to showcase you and your company to your target public audience, the doors become open to the Social Media world. A cutting edge Web PR firm (one of the few companies in the world dedicated exclusively to this new field), Richter10.2 Media Group, has created this tool to help you capitalize on the world’s most popular social and business networking sites. It is an instant communication tool to maintain constant rapport with your target demographic from anywhere in the world.

To learn more about the best practices in Social Media and how they can help expand your business, visit www.whywebpr.com.

Ali Magnano

Director of PR

Richter10.2 Media Group

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