Have the rules of lobbying changed for 2011? Yes indeed! This compilation was derived from an informal survey I sent to various government relations online communities. An edited version was published in the May 2011 ASAE Government Relations Section newsletter. The compilation below represents the responses as of May 16, 2011. Thanks to all contributors!
The #1 rule?
The Number 1 “Don’t”
“Don’t assume anything” was cited by several respondents as the biggest “don’t” for 2011. Don’t assume anything about your issue, about who may or may not support you, or about the tactics of your opponents. In their own words:
Jim Clark
Senior Vice President
Public Policy, ASAE
Don’t think you have a safe issue. Don’t assume anything based on previous legislator interactions or the previous Congress.
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Kari Lantos
Grassroots Outreach
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Don’t assume a member of Congress is opposed to you. A member who chairs a key committee for us has not been particularly supportive in the past but told us last week that he will do what he can to support us and sees the importance of what we do. We don’t agree on everything, but we did find some common ground on which to build a relationship.
We recently heard from a congressional staffer that the two things members of Congress want are data and stories. So one of my "Do's" for the year is to be sure we're supporting our asks with relevant data and stories from constituents.
Also, I second Betsy's "Don't assume anything." We had our lobby day last week and one member, who chairs a key committee for us but has not been particularly supportive, told our member that he will do what he can to support us and sees the importance of what we do. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but we did find some common ground to build a relationship.
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Maureen Cassidy
VP of Advocacy
American Heart Association
• Do keep a spreadsheet or other tracker on new lawmakers with an affinity for your cause (in our case, heart disease survivors themselves, family members, etc)
• Do provide information before lawmakers need it...this helps to prep them so when you do need them on an issue, they are ready
• Do provide information they can share with constituents...info in a format they can put in their newsletters or on Facebook to the district, etc makes them look smart and in tune with their constituents
• Do follow up in a timely manner...especially with new lawmakers who are being bombarded with info and requests. Do be the one they can rely on for timely, accurate information and response times!
• Don't make things up or otherwise lie...your reputation is your capital in the Capitol...when you lose it, it's gone forever!
• Don't make the opposition's case for them...you may know their arguments, but stay focused and on-¬‐task with your reasons for support...let the opposition make their own case!
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Mike Fulton
EVP
GolinHarris
DO: Counsel clients about realistic expectations.
DON'T: Go right to Congressionally-directed funds as a first option; instead, explore all competitive grants,
foundations, strategic partnerships and other ways to finance programs and projects.
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Deanna Bitetti, MPA
Associate Director
Common Cause/New York
My main focus is always: "Know your audience." As someone lobbying from a nonpartisan angle I find it is always important to understand the concerns and constituencies of elected officials on all sides of the political spectrum and to go into the room understanding the elected officials past voting record, demographics of his/her community and to connect with key community leaders (if possible) in that community before entering a room.
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Stefanie Reeves, MA, CAE
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
American Psychological Association
Take advantage of technology and social media. There are apps for everything from congressional directories to CSPAN. There are Twitter feeds for both the House and Senate floor which comes in handy when I'm otherwise occupied.
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Ann Heneghan
Government Relations Consultant
Get to know the staff, a good relationship with an aid or assistant can really help your cause.
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Taryn Duffy
Director of Admissions
Mercy College
Know your "ask", deliver it clearly and get your answer. There's nothing worse than getting the 5 minutes and wasting it. And don't leave the room without being clear on the follow up and POC.
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Lynne Fairobent
Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs
AAPM
Be aware of external factors that may influence your message and understand the importance of the minority view whether from inside or outside the organization. Example is the Japanese reactor and the radiation issues surrounding it being confused with medical radiation.
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Carmen Johnson
Operations Manager
AT&T
You need to know what your opposition is saying and why so that you can explain why your position is better or makes more sense.
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Lisa Turner
Project Manager
Food Safety Campaign at the Pew Charitable Trusts
Field the right players for the office visit, designate roles (who will say what and when) and be prepared with a contingency plan in case someone goes off message. Working in coalitions often means we are sometimes stuck with partners that aren't the right fit for a visit [communications skills, organizational history with the lawmaker's office, etc.]. Strong wills and intra-¬‐group politics can trump what is best for the mission at times, unfortunately. If the visit starts going south, a predetermined (and the assignment of this role need not be shared with all), experienced advocate can conduct course correction with a strategic "Save" -¬‐ think containment. The key is to quickly assess the situation and jump right in with the correction before too much damage is done. It doesn't work 100% of the time as some people are just tone deaf to nuance but I have seen it save the day more than a few times.
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Karen LoParco
Federal Relations Associate
Cornell University
Know your issue inside and out. If you are not able to answer a question during the meeting, this is a great opportunity for followup. Do background on the person/people/office you are meeting with. This will give you insight on where they stand on certain issues and help you plan/craft your message. While it is great to be able to preach and sing with the same choir, don't be afraid to go out and sing to others!
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Kathryn Godburn Schubert
Vice President
CRD Associates
If you get a "yes" stop! I've found that Congressional staff are particularly busy these days, so if they support your cause and agree to do what you've asked of them, don't waste their time by continuing on with all of your talking points.
Additionally, offer to be a resource to new staff who may not be familiar with their new issue areas -¬being helpful and thoughtful will go a long way with new staff (of which there are many) and lead to a positive exchange, regardless of whether they agree with you or your client.
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Missy Branson
President
Branson360
Before you can even make the "ask" you have to get into the office and meet with the right people. Many lobbyists make the mistake of only focusing on the Chief of Staff or Legislative Director, but the scheduler/executive assistant is usually one of the most important people in the office and often know just as much about a member's priorities, key constituencies, who has the congressman's ear, etc. Because these individuals are frequently overlooked as key office players, they will often open up to those who show them the appreciation and respect they deserve and can be an invaluable source of information.
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Sherry Doctorian
Government Relations Partner
Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Be prepared to identify for the legislator and staff who/which organizations will be opposed to your position and why your position trumps theirs. That said, also prepare your client for the probability that they may not get 100% of the ask. Ascertain what your client's true top priorities are and do your best to achieve those. All is best but some (most times) is better than none.
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Bonnie Whyte
Principal
Whyte House Associates
Remember to KISS -¬‐ Keep it Simple...once you have made your pitch, don't get lost in the weeds or minutia. Time is precious. Pitch, ask for action, have follow up plan and execute. Have a one page leave behind with your major points, factual details and most important, contact information and references to major facts (preferably on the web).
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Julie Cantor‐Weinberg
Director, Public Health and Scientific Affairs
College of American Pathologists
Always be conscious of the time constraints of those you're meeting with; be appreciative and fit your message into the allotted time. Likewise, when regulatory or legislative branch staff help you out -¬‐-¬‐even with the smallest things -¬‐-¬‐be appreciative
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Lesley A. Massiah
Assistant Vice President for Government Relations
Fordham University
Understand that you must have the mindset that a "No" response to your issue/request is not always a "no" but is actually a "maybe" or a "not right now". It is then up to you to determine via follow-¬‐up (whether its with legislators, their staffs or the affected community) what the concerns are surrounding your issue or the perceived constraints that the legislator believes s/he has. Once you have this information, you allow yourself increased opportunities to repackage your issue/request in ways that eventually allows a legislator and/or staff to support you. Creativity and compromise are the keys to successful repackaging.
Also, be prepared to act as "back-¬‐up" staff to legislative staffers. You cannot imagine the number of times issues/requests are dropped simply due to human error in an extraordinarily busy session. As a former legislative staffer, I know this first hand. Because of this, I always offer to draft the language, letter or report that I need for the legislative staff and then review it with them. It makes life so much easier for them and it increases the chance of having my request approved
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Susan Dennison
Director of Projects and Services
Federation of State Humanities Councils
Never underestimate the value of establishing a strong relationship with congressional aides. They are the eyes and ears of the delegates. Often, they will move from office to office and they take their contacts, i.e., you, with them.
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Mira Weinstein
Consultant
Influence People
The voices of members, constituents, customers, etc. can be more powerful than the titled leader of an organization because they speak in the first person and offer stories of first-¬‐hand experiences. Here are two examples:
"As a small business owner, I can now afford to provide health insurance to my employees because of the tax credit in the health care law. If you repeal that law, I'll have to drop my employees' health coverage." -¬‐-¬‐ Sam Smith, owner of XYZ Moving Supply Company.
Vs.
"My members tell me that the new health insurance law helps them afford coverage for their employees." -¬‐-¬‐ Jane Jones, president Main Street USA Small Business Owners Association.
Or
"I urge you to continue funding for special needs after school programs. In her program, my daughter has improved her reading skills and learned to get along with other children. Closing the program will set back her education and require me to quit my job to care for her. As a single parent, if we didn't have the program at the community center, I couldn't afford the special child care she needs." -¬‐ Maria
Brown, mother of 8 year old disabled child
Vs.
"Defunding special needs after school programs will affect countless young lives. Many of these
students are the children of single parents who cannot afford specialized private care. Not only would their educational development suffer, but their parents would have to quit their jobs to care for them."
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Betsy Vetter
Director of Government Relations
American Heart Association
• Do approach new lawmakers in a friendly tone that says I want to work with you.
• Don't assume anything.
• Do listen first and speak second.
• Don't talk so much you don't let the legislator get a word in.
• Do think about your message and your messenger -¬‐ make sure you are sending someone to speak that
will be listened to (business friendly lawmakers may listen more to a business person who shares your issue, etc).
• Do your homework!
• Smile!
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Clair Collins
County Administrator
County of Rockbridge
• Definitely make the ownership of the idea on an issue be that of the elected official.
• Always be humble and show humility.
• Don't be too pushy or aggressive.
Be persuasive and send the same message verbally, in writing and through all social media over and over again and enlist stakeholders back home to send your message.
• Never underestimate the power of the opposing view(s). Seek them out to work out a compromise to address all concerned in some way. I call this my piece de la resistance or "let's work it out baby" approach.
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Prime Fibs . . . . Juicy Morsels That Are Not What They Seem, 2011
Part 2
This version of “Prime Fibs” is an expanded version of an original article I co-authored years ago. Alas, the “hits keep on coming,” so, in the spirit of the truth, I present to you “Prime Fibs 2011, Part 2. Part 1 was featured in our April Roots of Success, which you can read here:
http://www.showaltergroup.com/newsletter/newsletter.php
“Non-government affairs employees and members are unqualified to serve on your PAC board of directors.”
If your employees or members don’t have the capacity to learn, then yes, they are unqualified to serve on a PAC committee. The truth is, countless PACs have demonstrated that if volunteers understand the candidate-selection criteria and are given an honest opportunity to help select worthy candidates, they take their board responsibilities seriously. By working closely with the government relations professionals, they develop an understanding of the organization’s legislative and political issues. A nice side effect is that they become evangelists for the government relations function.
“Assessing your organization’s web-based presence with an online advocacy audit is the cornerstone of a successful government relations strategy.”
The definition of cornerstone is, “a foundation, a tenet upon which something stands or is supported.” In every heresy there is a grain of truth. It is important to employ best online advocacy practices. However, declaring it as the cornerstone of a successful government relations strategy is stretching it.
If that were true, it would mean that a government relations department should put most financial and human resources toward this end. It should receive more time and attention than your lobbying strategy, PAC strategy, committee testimony, issue management, and grassroots support.
“PAC Match (matching a PAC contribution with a charitable contribution) is a magic bullet for increasing PAC contributions.”
When PAC administrators learn that PAC Match can significantly increase a PAC’s income, they are often fooled into thinking that it can help their ailing PACs. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this assumption. A PAC must first establish its credibility before PAC Match provides any financial gains. PAC Match will not establish a PAC’s credibility. It will merely increase the PAC’s administrative expenses.
“The future of grassroots and PAC training will be video-based training.” (OR. . . ”I have some videos I’d like to sell you”)
This morsel was spewed forth in the mid-90’s. Interestingly, research from the Bob Pike Group, a national training firm, found in research with over 25,000 adult learners that over 75% of them prefer to learn in a participative style. The participative style is group settings, with live human beings. Twenty — five percent prefer the reflective style, as exemplified in e-learning and videos.
I use videos in my training workshops to illustrate a point, but they represent a fraction of the entire curriculum. Videos are appropriate for a certain part of our population, albeit a minority. It’s not, however, a training panacea.
“If you tell your PAC members who the PAC contributed to, they will drop out of the PAC.”
If you are unable to justify your PAC’s contributions, then your members should drop out of the PAC. Sure, some PAC contributors might drop out, but studies (BIPAC, Business Roundtable) confirm that corporate employees appreciate receiving political information from their employers.
If your organization is supporting candidates for election or re-election, it should be doing its best to generate votes for those candidates. Lost memberships are minor relative to the credibility that the PAC gains from increased transparency and votes that your supported candidates may gain.
The Bottom Line
The problem with not evaluating advice and the source of advice is that we get tempted to quickly apply it to our particular situation without taking into consideration our personal and organizational needs. We should always consider the value of the approach to our singular situation, because the improved results of our government relations efforts should be the ultimate litmus test for good advice. Otherwise, you may just be basing your strategy on Prime Fibs.
Thanks for reading!
