![[Fully Managed] Lindsay Kirsh from Slayer Public Relations Ep. 109](https://penji.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BLOG-IMAGE-Lindsay-Kirsh.jpg)
Introduction
Shannon Donnelly (SD): Hello everyone and welcome to the Fully Managed by Penji Podcast, the podcast where we discuss marketing and business tips to help assist you on your business journey. I’m your host Shannon, Penji’s partnership coordinator, and I’m joined here today with a very special guest, Lindsay Kirsh from Slayer PR. Thank you so much for coming on with me today. I really appreciate it.
Lindsay Kirsh (LK): Thank you for having me.
Origin of the Business Name
SD: So, first I wanted to get into, and I know I asked you a little bit about this in our call before this, but can you talk about how you came up with the name of your business? Because I think it’s very unique and I really like it. I’m sure the folks at home would love to know.
LK: Yeah, of course. Thank you for the question. I think, you know, overall I’m happy with the name because that’s probably the most important question people seem to ask me. I’m just kidding. So I’ve always been a music fan. I would say it’s my number one passion. And while we all know the Band Slayer, it’s not necessarily named after the band. I really loved the edge to it as a bold, fearless brand. And it was representative of who I am and how I wanted this agency to function. So bringing in both.
SD: I really like that. I like when the name reflects what the work is. ‘Cause I think it’s hard to encompass that in one word and most people are trying to go for that. So I think this is something that really works and it’s very unique to you.
LK: Absolutely. And it was a struggle at first, you know, coming up with a name for the agency, because we think about it in terms of how do we want it to come across? And while working through it, I felt like nothing was really representative of who I was. So if you’re going to think of a name for an agency, you know it’s gotta be your own personal brand as well to really have that passion.
SD: Yeah, no, I definitely agree. A lot of people struggle with finding that and I think that it’s really great that you were able to create something that is refreshing and unique.
Day-to-Day Work and Agency Overview
SD: Could you give a little synopsis about everything that you do, like your day to day right now, where your agency is in its cycle and all that good stuff?
LK: Sure. So Slayer is obviously focused on public relations and we service clients across food and beverage, lifestyle, consumer and luxury brands. A day to day for our team—every day really is a new adventure. We structure it, we know what our deliverables are, we know what our deadlines are, but we’re always reaching for more, especially as a new business. So a lot of my personal day to day is business development and creating strategy. My team is working on execution and really mentoring them as well. They’re excellent. They’ve got great experience, but there’s so much that we can all work collectively on, and I’m constantly learning from them too.
SD: That’s my favorite thing about agencies. I love being able to learn constantly. I really like that part about agencies and marketing specifically—it’s a constant learning environment. You can learn from your clients, but also from the people around you. It’s a world that’s constantly changing. It’s definitely for the person that wants to continue to learn and grow.
LK: Absolutely. And to go back to the people piece, I always think that that’s most important. I think if you want to run a successful business, you need to be empowering your team. Without your team, who are you? You want to make sure that people are showing up every day, enthusiastic, ambitious, and that they feel like they have skin in the game. That’s really the environment that I foster at Slayer.
SD: That’s awesome. The team is the critical part. I ask a lot of agency owners about their successes, and my favorite thing to hear is when they’ve created a beautiful team. That being viewed as a success is my favorite thing because it means they’re centered in the collective and everyone they work with is involved in creating this beautiful end product for their clients.
LK: Exactly. We all do and I hope that anyone who’s listening can take note. It always needs to be people first, clients first and people first. I think you continue to build up your client base when you have that cohesive, excited team.
SD: Yeah, exactly. You want them to be excited about doing the work because it shows in the work when people aren’t. And that’s not easy.
Handling Setbacks and Course Correction
SD: Yeah. You have to be able to say, “I messed up” when you do. And you have to be transparent about it with a client. They might be upset, but they also might not sever the relationship if you’re honest and fix it. But if they find out you tried to hide it, that’s a big issue.
LK: Exactly. Transparency and trust go hand in hand. Agency work is all about doing a service for someone who’s expecting you to do it right. We’re human and people make mistakes, but you have to communicate and pivot if something’s not going the way you planned.
SD: So if that happens to you—say something goes wrong—how do you handle it? How do you pivot and create a new plan?
LK: What I like to do is think internally before we go to the client. Regroup with the team, have an open dialogue, and ask what went wrong. Before we communicate with the client, we always make sure we have a solution. We never go to a client and say, “Hey, we messed up” and leave it at that. We align internally, come up with a solid fix, and then present that to the client. That’s what they hired us for—to solve problems. Even if they’re not happy with the current result, they can see we’re taking action to make it right. That builds trust.
LK: It could be as simple as saying, “We’re regrouping internally and will meet with you at such and such a time to correct this.” That shows you value their business and that you’re proactive.
SD: Yeah, I really resonate with that. Clients don’t want to hear bad news, but they’ll take it better if it’s accompanied by good news. Like, “This happened, but here’s what we’re going to do.”
LK: Exactly. It shows commitment to the client and reinforces their trust in us.
SD: And sure, you might still be figuring out exactly what happened, but clients want to hear how you’re going to fix it—not just why it happened.
LK: Absolutely.
SD: Oh—did you freeze?
LK: No, I’m here.
SD: Okay, good. We’ve all been having WiFi issues lately. It always happens at the most inconvenient times.
LK: Murphy’s law.
Proposal Process and Client Onboarding
SD: So we talked about communication styles—do you do formal proposals often?
LK: All the time. Our process is to start with a discovery call with the prospective client to understand their goals and objectives. Then we regroup internally and send a high-level proposal outlining the opportunities we see. That gives them a taste of what working with us would be like. If all goes well, we move forward and turn that into a comprehensive plan.
LK: It’s also important to have a capabilities deck, ask the right questions in the discovery call—like “Have you worked with a PR agency before?” or “What worked and what didn’t in the past?” That helps us tailor the proposal and understand expectations.
SD: In your opinion, what should you not include in a proposal? What’s something people often do that’s actually a mistake?
LK: I’ve made this mistake myself—sending a deck with 35 slides. We get excited about our businesses, but clients don’t have time for that. So first, keep it concise. Focus on high-level offerings and show results—clients want proof you can deliver. That’s their reference point.
LK: Second, don’t give everything away. Don’t hand over your full strategy in the proposal. Focus it on that specific client, highlight key opportunities, but leave room for them to hire you to execute the actual plan.
SD: That’s something I hadn’t even thought about. You’re right—if you give them the plan, they could just go do it themselves.
LK: Exactly. Same with job interviews. I hated when companies would ask for a full plan. You spend hours on it, they interview other people, and now they have a bunch of plans and didn’t have to hire anyone. It’s the same with clients. You have to be careful with your time and effort.
SD: Yeah, especially as a smaller business with limited resources—you really have to choose what’s worth investing time in.
LK: And always put yourself in the client’s shoes. Think about what they want to see when reading a plan. That’s how we approach it—what would impress us if we were hiring a PR agency?
Convincing Clients and Pushing Boundaries
SD: I think a lot of agencies have trouble getting out of their own heads. All services are supposed to cater to the client, but sometimes agencies assume they know best. They might do great work, but if it doesn’t align with the client’s needs, it doesn’t work. And sometimes the client knows more than you do about certain things. Has there ever been a time where you’ve had to convince a client to do something because you thought they were wrong?
LK: Often. Our brand is bold, fearless, direct—we get to it. Clients hire us because they like that approach. When we put together a plan, it reflects that personality, but always within the bounds of their voice and goals. We push them to be a little more unconventional. That’s how we stand out—we don’t do rinse and repeat or one-size-fits-all. We encourage them to take a leap. There’s always a backup plan, but it’s exciting when they’re open to trying something new.
LK: Sometimes what a brand has been doing has worked—but only up to a point. We help them think long-term and stay ahead of the curve.
SD: Yeah, they need a long-term plan. A lot of businesses just keep doing what’s been working, but they don’t think about whether it’ll still work next year. That’s why they hire you.
LK: Right. We have to think ahead—not just meet the current moment. Jeff Bezos said something along the lines of anticipating customer needs before they even know they need it. That always stuck with me. That’s how you stay ahead: come up with something they haven’t even thought of yet and get them excited about it.
SD: I really like that. And I think that’s a perfect sentiment to end on. That was a really great message. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming on today. I learned a lot. My favorite part about this podcast is learning.
LK: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Shannon, for taking the time to meet with me today. Learning is ongoing, and that’s what we love to do—teach and learn.
SD: Heck yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much again. And everyone that’s watching or listening, don’t forget to like and subscribe to see more professionals like Lindsay on the podcast. Thank you again, and I hope you all enjoyed.
Narrator: You’ve been listening to Fully Managed, brought to you by Penji. Check out the show notes to learn more about today’s guest and to learn more about Penji, the human-first creative subscription service. Head over to Penji.co. And by the way, if you’re still listening, it would mean the absolute world to us if you shared this podcast with a friend—and, of course, subscribed.
