(Chuck Muth) – Joe Polish is one of the most successful marketing experts in the country today. And in a recent newsletter he wrote…
“The most expensive information in the world is bad information. … What I've found is ‘expensive’ is relative. Think about advice, suggestions or information you followed at some point that led to a bad result. Now, think about some of the BEST advice, suggestions, or information you got. If you set your mindset to look for information that is useful and valuable – not ‘cheap' – it can transform your business and life.”
This is in line with Muth’s Truths #3 that I teach at Campaign Boot Camp…
“There’s more incompetence in the field of political consulting than in any field other than TV psychiatry.
There ARE good campaign professionals out there. But they are far and few in-between…mostly because the wannabes focus on politics rather than marketing.
Another problem is that some of the “best” consultants out there are only the “best” because they cherry-pick their clients, opting only to work for incumbent candidates with deep pockets and high name ID.
For them, it’s “all about the Benjamins” and their “win rate.”
Now, if you’re an incumbent who everyone knows and with lots of dough, those “best” consultants might be absolutely fine for your race. But if you’re an underdog with little money and little (or no) name ID…probably not.
If that’s you, you need someone experienced in running a guerilla campaign. Someone experienced in running an insurgent campaign. Someone experienced in running a grassroots campaign on a shoestring budget.
Or as Michael Corleone put it to Tom Hagan in The Godfather, “a wartime consigliere.”
And here’s something most first-time, novice candidates don’t know or understand. Such consultants and campaign managers won’t have a 90% win rate. Won’t even have an 80% win rate. Probably not even a 70% win rate. Maybe not even a 50% win rate.
They represent the Davids, not the Goliaths. They dream the impossible dream. They’re motivated more by principle than a paycheck.
So how do you decide who to hire for your particular type of campaign? What questions should you ask him or her? (Yes, there are only two genders.)
Click here to download 40 questions you can use in the interview process.
Cheers!