Once Results Only Communications became an entity, I was hell-bent on getting clients. So determined was I that I even trekked, through maze-like manufacturing district of Queens mid-winter, tiptoeing over the ice in high-heeled pumps to meet with a potential. When ROC finally got a few accounts, I bought used furniture and rented an office on West 57th St., and affixed a brass nameplate to the door.
My first accounts, predictably, came from the beauty industry. Iconic brands such as Lalique Parfum, La Prairie skincare, Rene Furterer haircare and Camay began signing on. Along the way, I had many memorable experiences that made it all worthwhile. One such was the launch of “Listen” a perfume by the famed trumpeter, Herb Alpert. For an interview in his hotel suite that I arranged with Women’s Wear Daily, I arrived early. He motioned for me to take a seat and proceeded to continue practicing the trumpet. I still find it hard to believe I was lucky enough to witness this legendary musician practicing his craft.
That experience was nearly comparable to sharing a joint with Mick Jagger at a party in a Fifth Avenue penthouse with a full-size swimming pool. Mikhail Baryshnikov was also in the picture as this was the era of celebrity fragrances. I even have a photo of me shaking hands with a younger Donald Trump, inconceivable to think that I was shaking hands with a future President.
With all the publicity that ROC garnered, I also began attracting a wildly diverse collection of new clients, including ones whose businesses I knew less than nothing about. Prime example, a call from a man with a Southern drawl, “Is the-is Miss Bo-rell?” he inquired. “Yes it is, I replied”. “Way’l aah’d lak ta hiar yer comp-ny”. Turns out, he was the president of Heartland Building Products, a manufacturer of vinyl siding out of Booneville, Mississippi. I explained that I had zero experience with building materials, let alone plastic house coverings, to which he replied, “Way’l if y’all can git an ar-ticle in this maga-zeen, ya’ll sure can do it for us!” Within weeks, I was flying down to Booneville for a plant tour, a flock of home renovation and building trade reporters in tow. Heartland was my most loyal and lucrative client in the 10 years that ROC rocked.
