WHAT CAN BE TAUGHT IN LOBBYING/PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY: 3. RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

The value of relationships, and how to maintain them, can be taught, but some of what is needed for knowing how to build relationships perhaps cannot be because it is too much a part of an individual's personality. Perhaps more than anything, a lobbyist's/public policy advocate's market value, especially if they work for a private lobbying firm is their portfolio of relationships. They are retained by individuals, corporations and interest groups, often for significant amounts of money, because they have built relationships with powerful, influential individuals.