After a thousand “no’s,” a “yes” turned our agency model on its head.Clients want guaranteed publicity. Agencies want guaranteed income. And ne’er the twain shall meet…right?Like most traditional agencies, the firm I founded more than 20 years ago, Stephenson Group, operated under that mindset, but after a thousand or so requests, we thought, “what if...?” In 2004, Stephenson Group launched its pay-for-performance affiliate, PayPerClip, and never looked back. Focusing strictly on publicity with a specialty in the energy industry, PayPerClip requires no upfront or back-end fees and clients pay only if the story is published/aired and they are satisfied with the results. Breitling Energy Corporation, for example, had received literally no publicity before becoming our first PayPerClip client. This once virtually unknown oil and gas company and its founder are now regularly sought after and featured in top targeted outlets like the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Guardian, BBC News, Emirates 24/7, FOX, Forbes, Energy Industry Times, Oil & Gas Monitor, Energy China, and others. For clients that want the full range of public relations services, PayPerClip’s sister agency, Stephenson Group provides full strategic services for emerging and Fortune 500 companies.Prior to launching these agencies, I served as Vice President, Public Affairs, for Beneficial Corporation (now HSBC). During my tenure, Beneficial won the President of the United States’ Award for excellence in community service and 15 national/state first place awards for outstanding corporate communications.Previously, I served as Manager of Public Affairs for First Interstate Bank of California (now Wells Fargo Bank) and Director of Corporate Communications for Kentfield Investment Corporation. An industry and business forums speaker, my work has been recognized by major publications and documented in industry reference material. I am listed in the Who’s Who of American Leaders.