Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janet Falk. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Janet Falk, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the early days of establishing your own firm. What can you share?

I’ve had 20 jobs. Most of them were ended by someone else. I was laid off and downsized. The client cut the budget. The firm was in a merger. And so on. Every time I had “the rug pulled out from under me,” I would hang up my “single shingle” and look for a new opportunity. I would work as an independent consultant and tread water until the next job came around.

In 2008, due to the financial crisis, there weren’t any jobs to be had; layoffs were everywhere at public relations sfirms and law firms, which is where I had worked most recently. At a social event, I spoke with someone in advertising whose business card had a website. “That’s what I need to do,” I immediately thought.

I wrote the content for my website, contacted a former colleague who was a webmaster, and began to market my Public Relations and Marketing Communications business. A graphic design and branding colleague drew my logo: it’s the letter F, for Falk, embedded in an octagon. That shape conveys that I am not a round peg, nor a square peg. I am an “octagonal peg,” because my background of Wall Street, nonprofit and law is not like everyone else’s in Public Relations.

Over the years, I have launched a monthly newsletter, spoken on webinars, published articles, appeared on podcasts and promoted my Public Relations and Marketing Communications services on LinkedIn.

Most of my clients are project-based. I have had few retainer clients. I’ve never fired a client and lost only one, which asked me to be more creative and then ignored my suggestions.

Looking back, it’s been fun and, yes, a struggle. I’ve gone through times where I was hustling for work and it didn’t seem to arrive.

Other times, I’ve had enought to juggle comfortably.

I enjoy that I have control over my time and the work I perform. Clients appreciate my strategy and analysis.

As advice, I would recommend getting in touch with everyone you can think of. Ask them to introduce you to others who would find you a valuable resource. Give them a three- to five-sentence bio they can copy and paste in an email, making it easy to say yes to making an introduction and hard to say no. Once you have connected with the new person, always close the loop and find ways to stay in touch with both parties. Be the giver.

Janet Falk, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My career journey includes teaching at colleges, working on Wall Street, employment at Public Relations agencies and in house for Wall Street firms and nonprofits as both staff and consultant.

Public Relations, while deemed essential by its practitioners, is viewed as a “nice to have” by employers and clients. There have been times when my job was eliminated by a merger, restructuring, budget cut or poor economy that necessitated layoffs.

I took classes in Public Relations, Investor Relations and Social Media, and I am largely self-taught. Most of my clients hire me because they have heard me speak, read what I published or were referred to me. My experience is my credential.

My eclectic background means I am a generalist. I jump into a new client’s request and hit the ground running. My approach is similar to a reporter’s five W’s:

WHO do you want to reach
WHAT do they care about and
WHAT do you want them to do
WHEN should this happen; is this time sensitive or something that is appropriate on any day
WHERE are people looking for this information or insight
WHY should anyone care; how will an individual, business owner or corporate executive Save TIME, Save MONEY or Make MORE MONEY with your idea

It’s always a thrill to get a news story in a major publication, like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal.

The bigger thrill is making my client’s phone ring. As an example, a client wanted to sell his company’s services to hotels. I identified three key hotel industry publications and sent each one a “pitch letter” describing the company’s service and how two hotels using it saved thousands of dollars. The three hotel magazines published articles, including the quotes from the hotel clients (that I provided) about their experience working with the company.

My client received more than 800 inquiries as a result of those articles. Clearly, my plan worked:

WHO: hotel executives
WHAT: want to reduce expenses
WHAT: call my client for more information about their services
WHEN: not time sensitive
WHERE: hotel industry publications
WHY: save money similar to the hotels featured in the article

This is an example of a creative solution to the client’s need to attract more business, with very powerful results.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I love to speak to groups. I present in person and in webinars. In my remarks, I highlight best practices and share client success stories. Attendees see me in action, sense my creativity and enthusiasm, plus witness my deep knowledge. I also appear on podcasts as a guest.

Whenever I speak, I announce it on LinkedIn and in my newsletter (about 1,000 subscribers), to drive attendance to the program.

I actively market myself as a speaker; this has been a good source of clients.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Clients can come from anywhere. At a social event, I met an attorney who was an associate at a law firm focused on employees seeking justice due to harrassment, discrimination or not being paid overtime. I had helped a client publish an article about an issue in employment law in a legal publication; I asked the attorney for his email address and sent him the article.

When I didn’t hear back from him after a few weeks, I contacted him again, with the article. I also mentioned that his law firm’s website was outdated. He thanked me for the article. Later, the firm’s attorneys discussed the website at a team meeting. My contact mentioned that he knew a “website lady,” meaning me. A partner at the firm contacted me and I was hired to rewrite the website and bring it up to date.

I thoroughly reviewed the website and rewote almost everything. I changed the focus from “We’re so great” to “Your employment problem is one that we have solved before; we will help you work towards justice and appropriate compensation.”

The partner agreed that the content was much improved. This was an engaging assignment and I learned a lot about employment law.

Did I mention where I met the associate attorney? It was at my grandson’s birthday party; his son and my grandson were classmates. That attorney did not have the power to hire me, but he could (and did) recommend me.

Everyone knows someone worth knowing and they can introduce you to someone who makes the buy decision. Do not be shy about tactfully building on connections you make with people in a social setting. The examples of the advertising executive who inspired me to create a website and this attorney at the employment law firm prove that a casual conversation may lead in unexpected directions, sometimes with professional outcomes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://WWW.JANETLFALK.COM
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/falkcomms
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedIn.com/in/JANETLFALK

Image Credits

Janet Falk