The lobbying approach that works best for you may depend on whether you are going it alone, maybe as a contract lobbyist, or are representing an organization.
Generally, the most effective lobbyists have field support, the folks back home where legislators live, who can have more influence on an issue than an on-the-spot lobbyist walking the Capitol corridors, if a grassroots effort is properly managed.
In the big picture, effective lobbying is a five-step program, which will be presented in detail in a later chapter.
The front line soldier in lobbying is the lobbyist who’s on the spot at the Capitol. To function there, he has to know the players — the primary lawmakers and their staffs. And it’s not all about getting to know them. Do they know you?
A good lobbyist gathers intelligence on all members of the General Assembly and studies them like an astronomer studies the stars — one at a time. The good lobbyist also keeps in mind, as George Orwell wrote, that “some animals are more equal than others.”
Who’s who decide what’s what
It’s not possible or practical to form a personal relationship with each of the 138 members of the General Assembly. The alternative — the next best thing — is to target the leaders, since who’s who decide what’s what.
[More in the book.]
