Episodes

If you want to make faster progress when you’re advocating with elected officials, one of the most effective things you can do is engage their staff as well. But the trick is, the approach to engaging those two creatures needs to be very different if you want to succeed. Today we break down those differences and show you how to engage each of them for maximum impact. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The unique relationship between electeds and staff, and how that impacts your advocacy work The ...

I hear from so many nonprofit leaders who want to establish themselves as thought leaders in their niche. But the whole process around how you do that tends to be shrouded in mystery. It’s time to demystify! There are 7 basic ingredients, and today we break them down and give you a roadmap to becoming a thought leader. In this episode, we’ll reveal: What thought leadership can do for you Organization as thought leader vs Individual as thought leader How thought leaders think and operate The...

If you’ve been struggling to keep your advocacy efforts focused and on track long enough to produce the significant results you want, it’s time to take a look at your advocacy plan. Or to create one. Creating an advocacy plan that keeps your team focused and on track, pursuing the priorities you’ve identified together, is essential to getting the big advocacy results you want. But we all know there are plenty of plans that just wind up gathering dust. What you want is a dynamic plan that your ad...

If you don’t have the advocacy results you want, and you don’t have an advocacy team, there may be a cause and effect relationship there. Strategic relationship building touches everything you do, and without a well-functioning team working on those relationships in coordinated fashion, things fall through the cracks, balls get dropped, and progress slows or stalls. Having a solid advocacy team in place makes your strategic relationship and influence building work progress faster, more efficient...

We all know the importance of building strategic relationships with money and policy decisionmakers. But there’s one set of relationships that stands out as essential. These relationships can yield huge benefits, now and for many years to come. And, they can make all your other advocacy work so much easier. But, they require a little different approach... In this episode, we’ll reveal: The four foundational strategic relationships that can yield benefits for a lifetime Proven strategies for c...

How would it feel to be in a conversation with money and policy decisionmakers, where they’re fully engaged and excited to be talking with you? What would change if you could make that happen on a regular basis? If that sounds like a pipe dream, I have good news. In this episode, we’ll reveal the simple, 3-part story formula you can use to create breakthrough messaging that gets decisionmakers leaning in and asking you to tell them more. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The simple and versatile ...

If you’ve ever felt like money and policy decisionmakers weren’t really listening to you, and fully understanding the value of what you do, you may have a messaging problem. What you may not realize, is that there are some specific things that will prevent decisionmakers from truly hearing your message and fully engaging with it. In this episode, we uncover those barriers, and show you how to get past them. In this episode, we’ll reveal: What causes decisionmakers to filter out your message T...

If you’ve ever wanted to change any aspect of public policy, whether it’s a big ambitious change or a small but critical tweak, you may have been unsure of just where to start. The fact is, there’s some very specific groundwork that’s essential for success. Just a handful of things can make all the difference. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The three things you must be clear on before you take action How to enlist your best policymaker ally to get their help in the early stages What policyma...

I had the opportunity to interview Maine Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli. Her journey from nonprofit leader to legislative leader is both inspiring and exciting for what it tells us about the power of nonprofit advocacy, and how one person can build powerful influence over time. She unpacks years of wisdom gained from advocating for progressive policies on both sides of the legislative process. She shares powerful lessons learned from a successful multi-year campaign to pass major legislat...

If you’ve ever had the problem of a money decisionmaker not grasping the full value of your organization’s services – and resisting paying a reasonable price for them – you’re not alone. In this episode we uncover the hidden reasons why decisionmakers so often undervalue nonprofit services, and how to turn those around in your favor. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The top two messaging mistakes that contribute to undervaluing of your services Critical messaging elements to reframe your organi...

I hear from so many nonprofit leaders who struggle to get their board fully on board with their advocacy work. In that situation, the best case scenario is you’re missing out on a ton of potential. The worst case is you have one or more board members who are actively hindering the organization’s involvement in advocacy work. The good news is you can fix that. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The root cause of board members’ resistance to advocacy The most common misconceptions board members hav...

Aleta McLean has grown the contracting side of her organization’s revenue strategy to where she is now negotiating and landing 7-figure contracts with major partners. Part of what’s so inspiring about her journey is that she didn't start out with any sort of negotiation skills. In fact, her background is in counseling. And she has used the skills gained through her counseling work to become a powerhouse strategic relationship builder and negotiator. She shared tons of insights and some sage advi...

Wherever you are on your advocacy journey, there's always a next level of results that you're working toward. To get to your next level, there's an internal foundation that's as essential as all the technical advocacy tactics and strategies you use. That strong foundation is you – owning your influence and power and operating from the identity of a powerfully influential leader. In this episode we reveal: · What it means to own your influence and power · What it looks like when you’re not own...

If you're already stressing out at the mention of pressure, you’ll want to lean into this episode. You’ll discover how it can be one of the most important items in your advocacy toolkit, and how it can help you work more effectively with decisionmakers that are you allies, as well as influence those who aren’t on your side. By the end of this episode, I promise you'll think differently about pressure. In this episode we reveal: · The fourth pillar of successful advocacy · How you can use pres...

When you look at who's regularly successful in having big influence with decision makers, what you'll notice is that they almost always have a strong relationship with that decision maker. You probably know from personal experience how hard it is to influence a decision maker when you don't have a strong relationship. So why do some nonprofit leaders seem to have tons of success at this, while others struggle? In this episode, we’ll reveal: The third pillar of successful advocacy How one lead...

If you’re not crystal clear on the specific result you want, how can you ask a decisionmaker for it? And how will you know whether you’ve gotten it? In this episode I’ll show you how to drill down to the details of exactly what you want. And then I’ll show you the specific factors that determine the right way to ask for it. In this episode you’ll hear: The second pillar of successful advocacy The biggest mistake you may be making, and how to fix it The different kinds of ask, and when to use...

If you don’t know exactly who is in charge of the thing you want, how can you influence the decisions being made? But knowing who’s in charge is only half the battle. You also have to know what’s going on in their head and heart so you can truly reach them. In this episode, we get into the details of how to do that, and what kind of results you can get when you do it well. In this episode, we reveal: The first pillar of advocacy success Assumptions that will get you in trouble How to figure ...

It’s time for a new conversation about non-profit advocacy. For a bigger, bolder vision of what progressive, direct-service nonprofit leaders can achieve, and the kind of transformative results you can get when you become a powerfully influential advocate for your services, your organization and the people you serve. In this very first episode, we dive right into that conversation. In this episode you’ll hear: Why direct-service nonprofits are the key to changing critical money and policy...