Why your responsiveness decides the outcome
Response time is one of the PR variables the client controls directly. Reporter deadlines vary by assignment, but an approved quote or interview slot received after the stated deadline cannot be used. Define one approver and a response target before outreach begins.
The mechanism is deadline access. A reporter may need a quote, statistic, or interview confirmation before filing. The agency can surface the request and draft a response, while the client must confirm facts and make the spokesperson available inside that window. A long approval chain consumes the time available for both checks.
What slow responsiveness actually costs:
- A live story that runs without you, with a competitor quoted instead
- Embargo and exclusive offers that expire before you confirm (the page on how news timing works explains those windows)
- An agency that quietly stops surfacing opportunities after the last three died in your inbox
- Retainer fees you keep paying while internal approvals stall the work
Repeated missed deadlines change which opportunities an agency can reasonably route to the client. Track declined and expired requests in the activity report so the effect of internal response time remains visible.
So fix the approval chain before you sign anything. Name one decision-maker. Give them authority to approve quotes within a few hours. Pre-clear your boilerplate, your bio, and your approved facts so none of it gets re-litigated per story. Approving fast does not mean rubber-stamping; "How to review pitches and quotes without strangling them" covers how to review quickly without flattening the story, and "What to feed the agency to get coverage" lists the materials to have staged.
Set a response target the designated approver can meet, then record misses and adjust the workflow when the target fails.