Throughout a typical day, I get an inordinate amount of solicitations.  I’m sure you do too.  I really feel for the people on the other end of the phone. Most are like you and me trying to make a living.  Unfortunately, they go about it the wrong way.

Most of these folks call me up and pretend that they know me.

“Your friend Joe is on line 2,” Ellen said.

“What friend Joe?” I said as I picked up the receiver.

And then, it’s always the same.  Joe or Mary or Margaret or Jennifer or Tony all sound the same.  They all pretend that they are my best friend and haven’t talked with me in 100 years!

“How are you,” they say.  “How’s everything going?”

And I’m thinking, why am I going to tell a complete stranger???

Today, took the case.  A woman from Lightpath called me up to find out if we would switch over to Lightpath from our current service.

“And by the way,” she said, “who are your clients?”

“What?” I said.

“You know I love to network people.  My current customers are…” and then she proceeds to rattle off the names of some of my competitors.  “I recommend PR people all the time,” she said.  And I’m thinking…WHAT?

Let’s look at a scenerio….

Betty owns a bakery shop on 7th Street in Garden City.  Terry, the woman from Lightpath, says to Betty, “Oh, you need to call Ralph Waldo PR, Peachtree Communications, Margaret Brown PR, Schwartz, Cohen and Benning PR and HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC.”

This is ridiculous and absurd.  Did this woman, Terry, really think that I would switch over my service to her because she would get me business?

And the funny thing is, I believe we already are customers of Lightpath!

When I had my office in Long Beach, I was lucky. I had an amazing view of the city. In the distance, I was able to see the beach. And, I had my own rest room in my office. At the time, I didn’t realize that this was rare. But now, I know, having your own bathroom is a luxury.

We have two offices, with another opening next week. At these offices, the bathroom is down the hall, shared and cleaned by the building’s maintenance workers.

Today, I was in the city office and I was thinking about which stall I generally use when I go to the rest room. No matter what office, I tend to go into the first stall. I don’t know why I do it. I just do. Have you ever thought about where you sit?

I decided to survey my staff.

“I always use the first stall because I think it’s the cleanest,” Allie said.

“I use the third one every time, no matter where I am,” Lisa said.

I’ve even questioned some of the Long Island staff members and they each tell me something different — the handicapped rest room, the fourth stall, but the majority seem to use the first because it’s closest to the door.

I was thinking about this in relation to where people sit when they are at staff meetings, board meetings or even sitting around the table with the family. Have you noticed that most people have their seats?

Like a cat rubbing against someone to mark its territory, no matter where you are sitting — the toilet, the family dinning room table, at a board meeting or at a staff meeting, people mark their chairs.

I can’t believe how hard it is to close with new clients. At HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, we have an amazing shop of dedicated and devoted people who really care about our clients and want to see their success. I can attest to that!

But lately, we have been getting some odd requests from potential clients and I wonder if it has to do with the economy. Some of these requests involve filling out questionnaires that ask about our philosophical views on working with clients, to signing confidentiality statements that prohibit us from working in a particular field for two years.

One potential client said to me that he had second thoughts about hiring our firm because he felt that the staff looked way too young.

Why aren’t people seeing us for our own merit? We’ve worked with some companies for many years, doesn’t that say something about our integrity and our hard work? Doesn’t it tell a potential client that we are easy to work with?

Through the years, we have gotten numerous recommendation letters and/or testimonials from clients who have gotten great media placements, had superb special events and had gotten creative designs that stood out. We have received awards and recognitions for our services. Doesn’t that count for something?

Besides, the folks I hire are among the best in the field. They know their stuff and work real hard to make sure that our clients get results.

Going above and beyond the call of duty is something that we have always felt strongly about in any economy. That’s the type of firm we are, we want to see our client succeed, because if they succeed, we succeed!

Next week, HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC will be opening a new office in Rochester. We’re hoping that this will continue to help situate us as the premier growing, boutique PR firm. When this office opens, we will have three offices – Manhattan, Long Island and Rochester!

Rochester is a great area. There are lots of businesses and major corporations are headquartered there. We started to send out materials to some of the businesses and have already gotten response so we’re excited about this growth opportunity.

Happily, one of my best staff members will be running the office. Her name is Lisa Gordon and she’s the Supervisor of PR.

When I first met Lisa nearly three years ago, I knew she was right for HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC.  She had a positive attitude, very dedicated, really cared about the clients and about the company.  I knew, the moment I met her,  I would hire her and I did.

Sadly, I won’t see her every few days in the Long Island office. But, she’ll be back at least once a month, and I’ll be going up there every couple of months. So I’m happy about that.

When you work together so closely day in and day out, you become family. And as I said to her, “I’m not going to loose my family!”

Lisa grew up in Rochester. Her whole family lives there. And, her husband got an amazing opportunity there. So, with this opportunity to start an HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC office in Rochester, we’re all excited.

Lisa, we’re going to miss your physical presence every day but we’ll still catch you on Instant Messenger!

Everyone keeps talking about the economy. The owner of the local grocery store, the lawyer across the hall, the bank teller, the president of a major Long Island association… everyone!

And, everywhere I go and I find myself getting into the same conversation about the real estate market, gas and food prices, company layoffs and even about the banks.

Yesterday, I had three conversations with three different bankers — Capital One, State Bank of LI and Commerce Bank.

“Should I pull my money out of a small bank and put it in a larger bank?” I asked.

“Don’t worry,” they said, “it’s FDIC insured up to $100,000.”

Today, I had lunch with my two VP’s, Lori Alexy and Kristie Galvani. We went to Brendel’s in Westbury. The owner, who is always very nice, said, “I can’t believe this economy. It just can’t get any worse!”

Later in the day, I had a conversation with a friend who owns a staffing business and she was also saying that her business has seen a significant impact. “The temp business is good but the permanent placements is not so good,” she said.

Everyone keeps saying things will change in the fall. So let’s wish away this heat wave and bring on the fall…. I think we’re all ready!