Neighborhood Associations - 2 Critical Rules For Meeting With Public Officials
Public officials are typically dedicated to doing their job well.
The challenge most of us run into is finding out which public official we need to talk to when we have a problem to solve.
A well run/connected neighborhood association can help its' members find the right person to talk to.
If you take the time to develop a relationship with your council member, and especially their staff, you can always give them a call to help guide you through the maze of city employees.
Why am I telling you to develop a relationship with staffers, because they know who you need to talk to when you need an answer.
Let's say that you have a traffic calming problem and you need to get hold of someone in traffic engineering to do a traffic study.
Who would you call? If you take the phone tree route you would end up in a queue with instructions to fill out a form and send it in.
What happens then? Who knows? Now let's change that around.
If you have the council members staffers give you a number, you can make a warm call to a public official and name drop from your council members office and likely arrange a face to face meeting.
Why is this important, because it creates a dialogue and personal connection.
Here's critical rule #1: Always meet with someone that can tell you yes.
Never waste your time your time with a person how is not authorized to tell you yes.
If you can get a meeting with someone who can't say yes, you might as well be filling out that form you got from your telephone conversation.
Sit down with an official that can schedule your traffic calming study.
Tell them what the issue is, the history, the research you have done, steps you have already taken.
Show your due diligence in solving the matter on your own.
Here's critical rule #2: Always have at least two people present when you meet with public officials.
This protects both you and the official.
It also implies that you represent a group of people (which you do in our example).
When you get to the meeting, reiterate that you represent your neighborhood association with 1000 residences and you have been asked to act on their behalf.
Also remember to tell them your council member recommended them as someone that could help.
When you're done with the meeting make sure to thank them for their time and to set expectations for the next meeting and the next steps.
Finally, follow-up with your council staff and let them know how your meeting worked out, good or bad.
Let them know how much you appreciate their help.
Also send a quick note to your council member letting them know how helpful their staff was.
Remember, you want to cultivate these contacts for future use.
The challenge most of us run into is finding out which public official we need to talk to when we have a problem to solve.
A well run/connected neighborhood association can help its' members find the right person to talk to.
If you take the time to develop a relationship with your council member, and especially their staff, you can always give them a call to help guide you through the maze of city employees.
Why am I telling you to develop a relationship with staffers, because they know who you need to talk to when you need an answer.
Let's say that you have a traffic calming problem and you need to get hold of someone in traffic engineering to do a traffic study.
Who would you call? If you take the phone tree route you would end up in a queue with instructions to fill out a form and send it in.
What happens then? Who knows? Now let's change that around.
If you have the council members staffers give you a number, you can make a warm call to a public official and name drop from your council members office and likely arrange a face to face meeting.
Why is this important, because it creates a dialogue and personal connection.
Here's critical rule #1: Always meet with someone that can tell you yes.
Never waste your time your time with a person how is not authorized to tell you yes.
If you can get a meeting with someone who can't say yes, you might as well be filling out that form you got from your telephone conversation.
Sit down with an official that can schedule your traffic calming study.
Tell them what the issue is, the history, the research you have done, steps you have already taken.
Show your due diligence in solving the matter on your own.
Here's critical rule #2: Always have at least two people present when you meet with public officials.
This protects both you and the official.
It also implies that you represent a group of people (which you do in our example).
When you get to the meeting, reiterate that you represent your neighborhood association with 1000 residences and you have been asked to act on their behalf.
Also remember to tell them your council member recommended them as someone that could help.
When you're done with the meeting make sure to thank them for their time and to set expectations for the next meeting and the next steps.
Finally, follow-up with your council staff and let them know how your meeting worked out, good or bad.
Let them know how much you appreciate their help.
Also send a quick note to your council member letting them know how helpful their staff was.
Remember, you want to cultivate these contacts for future use.
Source...