Obviously Christine had built a model that was succeeding when many other PR Firms were cutting back due to budget cuts. I had to learn more, so my discussions with Christine became more in-depth in order to bring you an inside peek into PerkettPR - perhaps you could be her next hire.
How did you start your company? Was it just you in the beginning?
In 1998 I left a solid well-paying corporate job that just wasn’t challenging and required too much travel. I started freelancing and quickly recognized an unmet need in all the emerging tech companies that needed good PR but couldn’t get the larger traditional agencies to return even a phone call. (They were too busy; business was good!) Therefore, I quickly branched out and tapped a few former colleagues, including some of my former managers at a tech PR agency, and asked them if they’d like the opportunity to work from home and still do what they do best. Thus, the virtual model was quickly born.
How soon did you add employees and why employees that telecommute?
I worked with freelancers for about a year, after which I began adding full time employees as well as part time employees. The reason I established a virtual PR firm is because it enabled me to quickly ramp up and build – from the ground up and with my own finances – a full service PR firm with all senior level executives. We don’t hire anyone at PerkettPR with less than a minimum of five years of relevant experience. This model enabled PerkettPR to quickly stand out in the industry and fill a huge void – quality, senior level attention at every level of a client’s account. Most agencies – especially during the tech boom – were adding clients so quickly that the model was to pitch with VPs; execute with AEs; repeat. We met numerous clients that were completely frustrated with this model – they wanted senior level counsel and they were not happy about paying to train junior level executives – or to have their accounts managed by those with minimal experience but who had been quickly promoted within the ranks so agencies could continue to hire at lightening speed and claim senior-level counsel. It was almost abhorrent how the typical agency was “servicing” clients and accounts during that time. PerkettPR found – and filled - a much-needed niche.
Who is the ideal client for PerkettPR?
The ideal client for PerkettPR is an emerging, VC-funded tech company that needs to launch both the company and its first product into the market, or a more traditional, larger company that needs to rebound from a quiet or stagnant marketing period. We excel at both corporate and product launches in the B2B and B2c tech space and we’ve had amazing success from this perspective, as is evident in the numerous industry awards we’ve won for clients including WebEx, 8minuteDating.com, Genius, Chitika and more. Our clients must also understand – and appreciate – the value of PR and its role in the overall success of a company. They must be ready to work with a PR agency as a true partner – trust us, listen to our counsel and integrate us into their business planning – so that we can truly make a positive impact on their business and help them to achieve their goals.
Who is the ideal applicant? What skills do you look for? What are the requirements?
The ideal applicant for PerkettPR will be someone who has worked on both the corporate and agency side, has at least five years of tech PR experience, truly loves the fundamentals of PR and isn’t above any task, and – most importantly - is a true team player. Too many PR executives are hung up on their own exposure or title jumping that they can’t do the job well enough to help the clients achieve their goals. We tell our team to “leave your ego at the door” – this is fundamental to our cooperative, fun, team-spirited environment. Despite being virtual, we work very closely together to achieve success for both our clients and the agency. Everyone benefits from a job well done and a job well done is one we’ve done together.
We look for extra-special candidates. They have to be able to work in an isolated environment – a home office – and understand that a virtual agency does not mean a “freelance” job at PerkettPR. We have an added challenge of battling some pre-conceived opinions of other virtual “agencies” based on the fact that many of them are actually just groups of freelancers banding together under an umbrella brand to sell themselves, but do not in fact work together on client accounts. PerkettPR is a much different type of agency and we require extra special executives.
Our virtual culture and team-oriented philosophy is not for everyone, but it's excellent for the right people. A career with us spans more than just PR - it's an opportunity to continually improve upon core PR skills while learning more about what it takes to build and run a successful business, too. Oh, and we get to skip the commute!
We find that our interview and recruitment process surprise a lot of candidates. Many come to PerkettPR with the expectation that, because we are virtual, it will be an easy interview and an easy “freelance-like” environment. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Our process ensures we weed out candidates who were looking for an “easy” job from home and truly understand that PerkettPR is a serious agency with a great reputation for stellar results. We expect – and get – the same from our staff.
