You have this wonderful opportunity to tie-in with a local charity whereby you give either a percentage or a dollar amount of every sale of a specific service or a product to the charity during the month of October. A carpet cleaner could donate $10 for each visit, an auto detailer $15 on every car, a pest control company 50% of all inspection fees, and so on. This is one great way to get your business known in the community and get yourself tagged as a caring individual. The charity will publicize your gifts and send people to you, and all this advertising is free! The newspaper, television and radio stations offer free Public Service Announcements (PSA) to charities as part of their outreach, and if you are offering something to the charity as a result of your sales, you get FREE advertising! Pretty good deal, right?

THE CHALLENGE
Then the unexpected occurs. A reporter for your paper or a radio/television talent calls and wants to interview you about your gift. Panic! You remember a year ago when a friend talked with a reporter about a service he was providing, and the write-up was a disaster! What he was supposed to talk about didn't show in the resulting article and things were there that he shouldn't have even mentioned. You don't want to pass up the opportunity to promote your business, but neither do you want an embarrassing situation. Can you avoid this trap? Is there any way to prepare for a media interview? Yes!

THE REPORTER’S JOB
Talking with a reporter is no different than presenting an idea to a prospect, and should be given the same high degree of preparation. Talking with a print reporter is usually easier than talking with a broadcast reporter, but your preparation is basically the same. A reporter is trained to ask questions. When one of your answers intrigues the reporter further questions are asked which lead to answers which lead to more questions until you have divulged information which may be embarrassing to you or your company. Don't blame the reporter; all he or she is doing is what the job entails, asking questions and recording answers. The way to avoid sensitive disclosures is to be prepared. Here is an interview checklist that works. Remember, preparation is 9 points in a 10 point game.

PREPARATION

1. Write down the subject matter for the interview. Think of it as a headline or main topic to be discussed. It can be cute, factual, or anything else, just write it down.
2. Determine what it is you wish to communicate. Make a list of everything you want known about the subject. Present this list to the interviewer as a guide for their questions. One great way to do this is to write a question then write an answer, write another question and another answer, and so on. Believe me, this will be greatly appreciated, and it will tend to keep questions on the subject.
3. Obtain background information on the interviewer. Is this their regular area of expertise? What kind of reporting have they done in the past? Do they appear sympathetic to your product, service or views? In a similar manner, find out the position of the publisher or broadcaster. A source of this information is people that interviewer has written up previously. Do it!
4. Make a private list of things you will not discuss, and stick with it. If asked a question that addresses one of these sensitive areas have an answer ready such as: "I'd really rather not discuss that subject, but let me tell you about an intriguing feature of the product we are offering." The reporter may try to get you to talk about the tender subject, but if you continue to change the subject, you at least won’t get burned by a loose remark you inadvertently made. You can always say, “That’s for another day. Now let’s get back to what we were talking about.”
5. No, you are not going to get an advance copy of what the reporter writes, so don’t bother asking, and yes, you can record the conversation, but be sure to get an okay ON TAPE if you do.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.)
Paul Tulenko is an International Small Business Success Consultant based in New Mexico, USA. Additional tips and suggestions are available at www.tulenko.com or call (toll-free) 1-866-TULENKO.