To the delight of many, golf returned to live action this past Sunday on NBC, complete with a phone call from the President. If you’ve ever wondered how you can make that happen, I’ve got six words for you:
You’re gonna need a bigger boat.
Reeling in a big fish like a sitting president involves the same steps it takes to land the smaller fare. One doesn’t become a master by doing a thousand different things one time, you become a master by doing a few things a thousand times.
The things:
- Find the gatekeeper
- Present a win-win
- Be relentless
First, identify and contact the gatekeeper. When dealing with a guest this big, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to communicate directly with the subject. Fortunately, there’s always at least one person that handles booking requests for your target. In a lot of cases, that means hitting up a publicist or public relations manager, but not always. Occasionally that person is an agent or even a loved one. Regardless of their title, finding the person that not only has the ear of the guest, but can also make the interview happen when the time comes is crucial.
If you can’t identify the gatekeeper right away, reach out to someone you can find connected to the subject and work your way up from there. The agent is a logical place to start, but not the only one.
Does the person have a charitable foundation? What about a social media manager? When you do connect with someone, keep an eye on any emails from your contact. Is there someone else on the chain they’re communicating with after they hear from you? If so, add that person on all your communications (and be sure to save their contact information for the future as well). The less distance you put between you and the guest, the better, so keep pushing to get as close as you can.
Don’t forget to leverage your relationships as much as possible. Who do you know in the business that might have booked that guest before? Would they be willing to share a contact person with you? Perhaps you could make a trade with them so the transaction wouldn’t be so one-sided?
Also, think about your host and their relationships. Do they have a friendship with the subject or someone close to them? If so, try and use that to your advantage. A personal text or email from a host to a subject cuts through all the middlemen and may cause someone who usually doesn’t grant interviews to be a little more generous with their time. Even if you or your host don’t have any ties to the subject, if you’re booking for a big name/show be sure to mention that when you reach out.
Second, present the request as an opportunity not only for your show, but also for the interviewee as well. Your show is giving this person a platform to get a message out to people. The president knew the golf exhibition would draw a large audience, and he wanted to make sure people heard him talk about the return of sports and his coronavirus response.
If you’re after a politician, is it campaign season? Is there a charity event you can plug while the guest is on? What about a new book or movie coming out soon? Be sure to mention you’d be willing to discuss that kind of project on the air when you make your request. Don’t think of the interview as something that’s simply a favor to the show – think of it as something good for both sides. Publicists and brand managers are always trying to maximize the audience for their client, so be sure to throw in a mention about the size of your audience, podcast downloads, etc. at some point – especially if they happen to when they turn you down at first.
Make no mistake, they will turn you down at first. As the gatekeeper for an A-list guest, 90 percent of their job is saying, “no” to people, just as 90% of your job as producer/booker is to hear the word, “no.” So, at a minimum, you’ve got to overcome 180% of “no.”
Do. Not. Give. Up.
Sometimes regardless of how well you follow the other steps, sheer persistence alone gets the job done. Be sure to hold the person accountable for what they say when they turn you down. If they give you something like, “wish we could do it but we’re slammed right now,” wait a week and try again. If they say, “we’ll get you next time,” make sure you hit them up the next time their client is in the news. I always use the email chain with their quote in it when following up. That way, you hold them responsible for their words and help them remember who you were.
Guest booking can be a tedious exercise, but one that is vital to the success of a program. Rejection is inevitable for even the most successful among us, and it’s easy to get discouraged. Like that lone pure golf shot of the day, however, the feeling of locking in a big name guest keeps us, and the audience, coming back for more.
Rob ‘Stats’ Guerrera is a former columnist for BSM. He has worked as a national radio/TV/podcast producer with the biggest names in the industry on ESPN, NBCSN and DirecTV. Among those he’s worked with include Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, Colin Cowherd, Dan Patrick, Scott Van Pelt, Ryen Russillo, Mike Florio, Mike Tirico, Kay Adams, and Erik Kuselias. You can find him on Twitter @StatsOnFire or reach him by email at RFGuerrera@gmail.com.
