Page 10 - Mobility Management, June 2017

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Perspectives from a Former Senate Staffer
“[Staffers] are the ones that become the experts, and the senators rely on the experts on that issue,” Goetz said. That’s why building a strong relationship with a staffer can be beneficial down the road.
“If you have a staffer on your [side], you have an inside person helping you,” Goetz said. “That’s exceptionally important. Obviously, the member [of Congress] has the ultimate decision, but it is the staff that is going to be putting together the materials and the argument to get them on board. [Staffers] are the think tank.”
• Be organized and efficient with your presenta- tion. Most Capitol Hill meetings last just 10 to 15 minutes due to the large number of advocacy groups seeking an audience.
“Don’t give too much information,” Goetz said. “There were so many times I would be sitting in a meeting and
Come into a meeting and give a 30,000-feet overview of the world. Then narrow down as quickly as possible
somebody would want to tell me every single detail in the 30-year history of an issue. And I would be thinking that I’ve already gotten an e-mail that the next meeting is sitting outside. It makes your mind wander.”
Instead, he suggested, “Come into a meeting and give a 30,000-feet overview of the world. Then narrow down as quickly as possible to what the actual purpose is: ‘You’ll remember we were here last year talking about X, Y and Z. Those are still important to us, but here are the most immediate needs we have right now.’ Get those out in the beginning. If you can get those asked, [staffers] will write those down at the top of their notes, and they’ll ask questions to fill in the context for that afterward. You want to be able to give that time to dialogue and questions.”
• Leave behind materials that are succinct and well organized. Goetz said he appreciated groups that gave him “one-pagers” — information organized and expressed on a single sheet of paper.
“What I appreciated is when [a group] would come in and have materials, but the materials weren’t like a
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book,” Goetz said. “It wasn’t so much that it was over- whelming. [Staffers] don’t have much time, and they don’t have much storage space. They just have one desk and a filing cabinet, potentially. That’s why I’m a big fan of the one-pager.”
• Goetz especially appreciated electronic follow-ups. “When I’m leaving the meeting and leaving that material behind, I say, ‘I know I’ve just put a lot of information on you and I know you’re very busy today and there may be questions you still have. I’m going to follow up with you via e-mail and I’m going
to send you all of this electronically.’ [Staffers] make
a folder in their inbox [for your materials]. They can access it wherever they are, if they’re traveling with
the boss or whatever; it’s there. I do it in the form of an electronic thank you note. It’s one more touch to make sure they remember you.”
• Finally, be ready to discuss your issues on the fly, wherever there’s room to accommodate your group.
“Don’t be surprised if you have to take a meeting standing in a hallway or having coffee in the coffee shop,” Goetz said. “Space is limited. I think people think it’s like TV, where there’s a lot of space and everyone has their own room. No, it’s like an international airport in there. There is the potential you might have to take your meeting in an odd space you might not expect.”
Making a Good Impression
Despite the fact that meeting in representatives’ and senators’ offices may be less glamorous than depicted by Hollywood, Goetz said the atmosphere on the Hill is still electric.
“Even after having worked there for years, when I go up there, I have a sense of excitement,” he said. “I talk to the staff and I feel the energy. It’s still exciting.”
And you can make the most of your time there by cultivating strong relationships with your elected officials as well as the staffers who work on their behalf.
Making a positive impression on them is “exactly what you want,” Goetz said. “[They’ll] start remembering your group, and if they have a bit more time, they might give you more time. It is always easier to have a more informal conversation when you know somebody, and it does help with your effort to convince. Having that positive impression in somebody’s mind is great.” m
—Laurie Watanabe
MobilityMgmt.com