One day in 1983, the CEO of a financial services firm asked me a question that stopped me cold.

At the time, I was EVP of a Manahattan public relations agency, about to close a deal to represent his firm to the media. He was reading our standard agreement which called for a monthly retainer fee in exchange for our agency's "best efforts". 

"I don't object to your fee" he said, "but I do object to the vague reference of best efforts. That's no assurance of performance. Why should I pay for your best efforts when I have no idea what that means? Suppose I said I would pay you 'as much as I can' each month in exchange for your PR services? Would you agree to that?"

A great question. 

He was right. Why should he pay for nothing more than a promise? What recourse did his firm have if our agency's "best efforts" failed to generate any results? He was being asked to agree to pay for a year...on faith. 

My first thought was "That's the way all PR agencies do it," but I stopped myself because I knew it was a poor rationale. The truth was that PR agencies, ours included, didn't want to be accountable for results. We just wanted that monthly retainer. We could worry about keeping the client happy later.

I had no good answer for that CEO.    

The following week, I decided to abandon my corner office and executive perqs, and start my own agency that would have a better answer.  

I established Front Page Media, an agency that would be acountable for results. We scrapped the "best efforts" retainer contract and pioneered a “pay-for-performance” arrangement. Clients liked the idea. Instead of paying a retainer fee and hoping for something good to happen, they paid nothing until something good actually did happen.

I also eliminated mandatory one year contracts. How can you maintain a positive working relationship when the client or the agency is disenchanted and wants out? Our clients can fire us anytime.

Our pioneering arrangement has kept us motivated and accountable for 25 years. The policies remain intact, as does our roster of financial services clients. 

I handle all client responsibilities personally, ghostwriting and publishing articles for investment managers and financial advisors. I also write interviews, brochures, newsletters (electronic and hard copy), website content, video scripts, direct response content, biographies, books and other collateral.

I serve a small group of clients who value accountability and working directly with the principal. It allows me to be responsive and provide personalized service. Their continued recommendation of my services is a compliment I gratefully acknowledge.