How to Apply Empathy to PR—and Your Sales Efforts

Originally published at MaineBiz.biz

When you think about public relations or sales, the word “empathy” doesn’t always come to mind.

People generally associate empathy with listening to or consoling those dealing with hardship. But empathizing can manifest itself in many different ways. Our modern-day conception of empathy stems from the German word einfühlung, which translates to “feeling into” or “in-feeling.” Empathy essentially means putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, which brings us back to PR and sales.

As the head of a PR agency, my job is to pitch media contacts, persuading them to publish news stories and conduct interviews on behalf of my clients. Over the years, I have pitched hundreds and hundreds of people to secure earned media, as marketing professionals call it.

Some pitches are more successful than others. 

If you can’t take a blunt “no” or a snarky “pass,” PR is not the right industry for you. Securing earned media requires the optimal combination of timely content, a conducive news cycle, and the interested media contact, among other factors.

In some cases, the pitch may be destined to fail. Perhaps the content isn’t newsworthy enough—no matter how hard you sell it—or the news cycle has shifted from one topic to another. In other cases, however, the pitch may fail because you didn’t sell it right away.

Too often, PR professionals are stuck in their own bubbles, focusing exclusively on the client’s needs and expectations. Spend too much time on Zoom calls with the client, and you start believing that their issue is the issue of our time. You ask yourself: If you and your client care, why shouldn’t the Wall Street Journal?

Take a step back. Ask yourself a follow-up question: What does the Journal care about right now, and how can I fit my client’s needs and expectations into their priorities?

You can’t always think about what you’re selling; think about what the target reporter is buying. Consider what the reporter stands to gain from listening to you, not just what you’re telling them. Are they obtaining useful information? Are they getting a chance at an exclusive? Are they breaking news that genuinely matters?

Media research plays a pivotal role. Before ever contacting that reporter, you need to figure out exactly what the Journal is covering at the moment. Familiarize yourself with their “beat” and the current news cycle.  

PR does not happen in a vacuum. The news cycle is fluid. Only by understanding the landscape can you determine the right strategies and tactics for the given moment.  

Again, “feel into” the buyer. When it comes to PR, “in-feeling” means empathizing with the wants of the reporter, who needs to gain real value from the transaction. Your pitch needs to be relevant in the reporter’s eyes, not just yours or your client’s.

In-feeling applies to sales more broadly. In the 2013 film “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, urges a room full of aspiring salesmen to sell him a pen. All of them start off by extolling the pen’s virtues. None get it right.

When asked how to sell the pen, the real-life Belfort responds, “Before I’m even going to sell a pen to anybody, I need to know about the person, I want to know what their needs are, what kind of pens do they use, do they use a pen? How often do they use a pen? Do they like to use a pen formally, to sign things, or use it in their everyday life?”

Serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk calls it the “reverse engineering” a customer’s needs. Another word for it is empathy.

Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, and you will sell—whether it’s a front-page feature or a new Montblanc.