Currently slogging it out in the agency search and selection process?

Hot from the desk of this anonymous Comms Director of a global business in the built environment sector, we bring you these top 10 tips for winning over in-house PR teams

I get pitched to a lot. Agency search and selection is part of my role, meaning I can state with some confidence that as rudimentary as they sound these are tips most pitches marketing agencies could use.

Here's what I want you to know.

1. DON'T bypass the PR – you’re usually wasting your time pitching to a main board director because they’ll only forward the approach on and, in any case, it’ll get my back up that you tried to cut me out.

2. DO some research – a quick glance at the website will tell you lots about our business, who leads the in-house function and what our PR is like – it’ll also help you get the company name right!

3. DON'T ask for five minutes over a coffee – I don't know what it's like at your marketing agency, but I really, really don’t have the time to ‘chew the cud’ or ‘take time out’, plus turning you down, again, is awkward.

4. DO come to me with an idea – the best approaches are hung on an outline proposition or, even better, a concrete media or networking opportunity, or something similar related to our agenda.

5. DON'T call me because we’ve been in a national – that coverage will have probably involved some intense activity and, good or bad, now is not the time to pitch PR services to me.

6. DO think beyond cuttings – in-house PRs need support on a host of strategic issues, such as how to embed reputation management in business planning, so don’t just pitch journo contacts.

7. DON'T think that sector credentials are enough – the first thing I think about is a conflict of interest and your pitch needs to demonstrate some real intellect and progressive insight and analysis.

8. DO think global – I have a global brief and the UK is just one region so you need to be confident in your ability to support PR across territories and languages – this extends to smaller agencies.

9. DON'T call my journo contacts – a quick and dirty perception audit with my key journos risks half-baked results that aren’t seen in the wider context and can offend.

10. DO see the bigger picture – PR isn’t a stand-alone activity and it’s closely interrelated with the wider business development, marketing and communications campaign so good research is essential.