One of the LinkedIn (Connect with me here) groups I belong to is called Economic Development Professionals. A few days back a fellow group member posted the following info/question that I thought was worth sharing.
“At lease once a week I get a Google Alert reporting on an Economic Development Department working on a big new inward investment project. In my mind, that almost certainly harms (if not destroys) the place’s relationship with the prospect (even if it goes unnamed).
One time I brought a site selection client into a meeting that I expected would be an overview and welcome from the Mayor and they brought along a lawyer – whose firm worked with the prospects potential competitors. I was so angry I could spit. I know that politicians want the voters to be aware that they are diligently chasing jobs and opportunities.
So what’s the best way of dealing with this?”
And if you’re thinking “this doesn’t relate to me,” stick with me. Here’s the short response I provided within the group,
“In my opinion, it’s about informing the elected official ahead of time. ”We have to keep this confidential for now… if we don’t, it could blow the entire deal and cost us X number of jobs.” While they might want to highlight potential jobs, no politician wants to be blamed for blowing the opportunity.”
Then someone seemed to agree with me by saying,
“I agree with Ryan. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My best results have always been with laying the foundation in advance and informing the folks involved as to the risks of getting ahead of the process. I remind them of the old WWII warning, “Loose lips sink ships”. As Ryan points out, no one wants to be the one who blew the deal.”
No matter the industry you work in there is something to take away here. No matter if you’re dealing with politicians, CEO’s or Joe Consumer, having people prepped for interviews is something that should never be discounted. It creates added comfort and helps people hone in on what they should or shouldn’t talk about.
