December 23, 2022
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Sure, you set lofty PR objectives, get media exposure, and cheer every time your followers increase. However, sales remain stubbornly low, and your pipeline hardly moves. You are, in fact, one of many. Research in many industries indicates that a large number of communication executives are still having a hard time demonstrating the genuine business impact of their work.
If your intention is to have PR directly generate revenue, then you are beginning with the sales targets and making each message revolve around them.
You don’t start with press coverage. You start with a number.
For example, if your company needs 2 million dollars in new annual revenue, you break that down. Suppose your average deal size is 20,000 dollars. You now need 100 new deals.
Next, check your close rate. If you close 20 per cent of qualified leads, you need 500 qualified leads. That becomes your marketing and PR support target.
Now you write PR objectives in SMART format. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example: Increase qualified inbound leads from earned media by 25 per cent within six months. That objective connects directly to revenue. It also gives you a time frame and a measurable result.
The 2023 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks report by the Content Marketing Institute found that the most successful organisations are far more likely to set documented goals tied to business outcomes. So if you want PR to drive sales, document the link between media activity and pipeline impact.
Once you define your objective, you need clear key results. If your objective is to grow qualified inbound leads by 25 percent, your key results might look like this:
Branded search is quite powerful, especially if it’s backed by social proof or endorsements from people who experienced the goods or service. Google data shows that brand awareness strongly influences purchase decisions, especially in high consideration B2B markets. When more people search your company name, your sales team often sees warmer conversations.
If you run a SaaS company in Chicago, for example, track organic searches for your brand plus Chicago software solutions. That GEO-specific phrase gives you insight into local brand lift.
Now your PR team isn’t chasing random mentions. They’re chasing media coverage that drives measurable buyer behaviour.
At this point, you may realise you need outside help. When you’re in Illinois, you can explore working with a Chicago public relations agency. It’s with whom you can compare or match their scope of work to your revenue-aligned objectives.
Many firms in the arena outline public relations services that include media strategy, storytelling, and thought leadership. That’s why, when looking for a public relations agency, don’t only look at creativity; ask how their deliverables can tie to your sales figures.
With these questions, you'll be able to benchmark your needs efficiently.
Many companies talk about being innovative, disruptive, or customer-focused. Those words don’t drive action. Instead, create three messaging pillars rooted in buyer pain points and proof.
If you're into cybersecurity services, it would be pretty helpful to first look for the global stats from the most credible ones. Recent reports even say that the global average cost of data breaches has already exceeded four million. Embedding such figures in your communication not only makes your message more factual but also more credible.
Your media pitches have to reflect these pillars. That way, every interview or article reinforces a sales-relevant narrative.
Not all media is equal. Map your ideal buyers to the channels they trust.
Pew Research Centre reports that news consumption habits differ by age and income. Decision makers in higher income brackets often consume a mix of social proof, digital news, newsletters, and podcasts. So your PR plan should reflect those habits.
When you plan coverage across this journey, you create multiple touchpoints that guide prospects closer to a deal.
Strategy without tracking becomes guesswork. You need a weekly scorecard that your leadership team can review in ten minutes.
Modern CRM systems allow you to tag lead sources. Use that feature. When a lead comes from a media article, label it boldly and clearly. Over time, you’ll see patterns. Your weekly scorecard will keep everyone honest. It also helps you defend PR budgets during planning cycles.
It is easy to celebrate a major media mention. Yet if it brings zero qualified traffic, reassess.
Use analytics tools to track referral traffic, time on page, and conversion rates from each article. If one outlet drives long sessions and demo requests, double down there.
If you consider global trends, data-driven marketing continues to dominate. Gartner research has shown that organisations investing in analytics-driven decision-making outperform peers in growth. PR should follow the same discipline. So you test headlines, calls to action, and landing pages tied to media coverage. You refine messaging pillars. You adjust target outlets. Each change should aim to lift sales impact.
Setting PR goals to generate sales essentially means overturning the traditional way of doing things. Once you've implemented this framework, your PR will no longer be seen as a brand cost but rather as a revenue source.
Not only will you have your name in the media, but you will also be able to enjoy an increase in the number of qualified leads, higher levels of trust, and tangible growth in your sales pipeline.
The first step is to work backwards from your revenue target. Instead of starting with a goal like 'get more press', you should begin with your desired sales number. From there, calculate how many deals and qualified leads you need to achieve it. This figure becomes the primary target for your PR and marketing efforts.
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) provide a clear framework. Your objective might be to increase qualified leads by a certain percentage. Your key results would then be specific, measurable actions that contribute to this, such as 'secure 15 media placements in top industry publications' or 'generate 200 leads from earned media traffic'. This directly links PR activities to pipeline metrics.
Ask them how they measure success beyond impressions and media mentions. You should ask how their deliverables will tie directly to your sales figures, what percentage of media-driven traffic they typically see convert to leads, and how they will report on pipeline contribution. A firm like Robin Waite Limited would focus on demonstrating tangible business impact.
A weekly scorecard provides consistent visibility into what's working. It translates PR activities into simple, reviewable metrics like leads generated and meetings booked from media coverage. This keeps the team accountable, helps justify the PR budget, and allows for quick adjustments to your strategy based on real-time results.
No, you should be precise. It's far more effective to map your ideal customer profiles to the specific media channels they already trust. Targeting a respected industry journal your buyers read is more valuable than getting a mention in a broad publication that doesn't reach the right audience.
