There are TV’s in nearly every room in my house, and they are rarely off.
I like having information moving around me while I work. I want to know what is happening in the markets, what stories are developing and what people are talking about in real time.
What am I watching? Probably CNBC (shout out to Opening Bell), local news, national news, always golf, and from September to February – football.
This Sunday, a college football recap came across the screen. In the middle of the highlights was a field goal.
The holder caught the snap, set the ball and turned it.
Laces out.
The kicker put it through the uprights, got the points and the broadcast moved on.
I didn’t.
I started thinking about the holder and how strange his job is. If he does it perfectly, almost nobody notices him. The kicker gets the camera, the statistics and, depending on the outcome, the praise or the blame.
But that kick depends on someone doing a very precise job just before it. Without that seamless catch, clean placement, and perfect rotation, even the most talented kicker risks a miss.
I realized there is a lot about that role that feels familiar to me.
Key Takeaways
- The kicker gets the points, but the setup matters. Great PR and marketing depend on a lot of smart, precise work happening behind the scenes.
- A good agency helps put the ball in the right place and positions it for the win. That means spotting opportunities, sharpening the message and making sure clients are ready when their moment comes.
- The best agency relationships run on trust. Clients should be able to focus on what they do best, knowing their communications team is watching the field, anticipating what’s next and getting the details right.
I make a living helping other people get noticed.
The team at Trevi works with individuals and organizations on reputation, visibility, marketing and business development. We help determine what they should be talking about, where they need to show up, how their expertise should be positioned and how all of those individual opportunities can contribute to something larger.
The goal is for them to be the person the reporter calls. The name a prospective client recognizes. The firm that comes to mind when an opportunity surfaces.
They are supposed to be visible.
We are usually not. And I think that is an important distinction.
The best consultants I know are not trying to insert themselves into every result. They are paying attention to everything around it. They catch the message that is slightly off. They recognize the opportunity that is being missed. They make an introduction. They ask the uncomfortable question before somebody else does. They make sure the details are right before the client steps onto the field.
The holder does not make the kick for the kicker.
He makes the kick more makeable.
That is how I think about our work at Trevi. An agency like ours provides that baseline of precision, taking care of the critical, invisible setups so that when it’s time to perform, putting points on the board is a given.
We can’t manufacture someone’s expertise, judgment or talent. But we can make sure the market understands it. We can help remove the things getting in its way. We can create opportunities for it to be seen and make sure our clients are prepared when those opportunities arrive.
There is also an enormous amount of trust in both relationships.
The kicker is already moving toward the ball before the holder has finished setting it. He does not stop to check the placement or inspect the laces.
He trusts that the person behind the play has done his job.
That is what good advisory relationships should eventually become.
Our clients should be able to concentrate on practicing law, advising their clients, managing their businesses and making the decisions only they can make.
We should be thinking about what is happening around them.
We do our job so they can do theirs.
When it works, their name goes next to the points.
That is exactly where it belongs.
Laces out.
