Tips for Lobbying Your Lawmakers

As NFIB members from across the country head to Capitol Hill to visit their elected officials this morning, Tod Cohen, vice president and deputy general counsel, Government Relations, eBay, Inc., offered 10 tips for lobbying lawmakers.

These are a few that stuck out to me:

1. Tell your story. Cohen said to keep the visit personal as members relay their small business experiences to their lawmakers.
2. Ask for something specific. If you want lawmakers to vote against or for a special bill or issue, ask them specifically to do just that.
3. Make sure you let them speak. Do the speaking you want and need to do, but be sure to give your lawmakers time to respond, and listen to them.
4. Save paper until the end of your visit. If you hand lawmakers and their staffers something to read or look at up front, they'll lose focus on you and what you have to say.