Scheduling 101

The most precious resource we have in a campaign is time. With each passing day, there is less time to do the work we need to win this election. There are a lot of demands on our time as we juggle schedules for the candidate, campaign manager, and staff. A schedule will show your priorities, and so it’s critical you are making the right decisions as to how you are spending your time, what events you are attending, and the logistics associated with each. 

In this episode we will cover all the tips, tricks, and tactics for good campaign scheduling so you and your team will be successful. 

Learn more about Organizing to Win: The Art & Science of Running for Office - including free downloadable guides - by visiting OrganizingtoWin.com.

Transcript

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You're listening to the audio version of Jimmy Tickey's book Organizing to Win: The Art and Science of Running for Office. This book will teach you how to enter the political arena, manage a campaign, and run for office.

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Scheduling 101. The most precious resource we have in a campaign is time. With each passing day, there is less time to do the work we need to do to get to that win number. Remember, the candidate should focus on two efforts, raising money and talking with voters. There are a lot of demands on our time as we juggle schedules for the candidate, campaign manager, and staff. Not to mention, we do have lives beyond this campaign and would like to tend to them occasionally. A schedule will show your priorities, and so it's critical you are making the right decisions as to how you are spending your time, what events you are attending, and the logistics associated with each event. Retail politicking is a phrase used in campaigns, meaning the candidate is maximizing their amount of time talking with voters. Candidates who are personable will be renowned as an excellent retail campaigner, meaning you can drop them anywhere, from a dairy farm to a high-end cocktail party and watch them light it up. This style is important, but with the added techniques of social media and digital marketing, candidates are getting in front of audiences in new ways. Even if you are investing in digital media, you still must get out there and meet people in person across the district. And for that, you'll need to make some scheduling decisions. Your schedule is not your own. You are going to be invited to a lot of events, and you will feel like you need to be at them all. Remember, your goal is to get more votes than your opponent, and to do that, you need to reach your win number. How do you get to your win number in the most efficient way? By targeting who you speak to. Keeping in mind the candidate also wants a life with family, their own professional responsibilities, and the rare few hours off, you may want to rethink committing to every event. While going to an event may feel good, it's not always targeted. Attending a town festival or carnival means you are seeing people who live outside of town, people who are not registered to vote, and people who will never vote for you. Having said that, there is a need to be seen, particularly by the leaders in your district, those organizing these important community events. This is even more important in a smaller and rural community where your absence would be noticed if you did not attend. So what's the best way to handle events? For major community events, stop into the event, especially during a time when you could not door knock anyway, for example, before 10.30 a.m., during dinner, or in the late evening. If the event allows political campaigns, then have a presence at the event that will continue even after you leave. To do this, your campaign can have a booth or table or handout literature, if allowed. You will also have an acquaintance who invites you to their house for a party, and they'll suggest you would meet a lot of people if you went. While that offer is kind, the previous lessons apply here. You must be discerning and prioritizing door knocking, fundraisers, events that directly benefit your campaign, like a targeted meet and greet, and then other events. Having managed schedules for officials, we often kept these principles in mind. We also needed to differentiate. Is this an event we are planning for, one we are creating like a fundraiser or meet and greet? Or is this a request from a group inviting us to an event not created by our campaign? In other words, what do we need to do and what do we want to do? We may need to do a debate. We may want to visit small businesses, but it's possible to move them to another time. And we should respond to invites from groups asking us to attend their gala or meeting. If our candidate has recently spent time with the group, then we may be more inclined to commit to a different event with an audience we do not see often. It's tempting to go back to the same people time and time again, but you need to be comfortable going to new parts of your universe as a candidate. It's all about the details. Get in the habit of referring every invite to one person on your campaign who will be known as the scheduler. This person will plan the candidate's time, hour to hour, and day to day. Schedulers will know everything as they are charged with getting all the particulars for an event. What is the date, time, and length of the event? What are the location and parking details? Is there a speaking program? When does that start? What is the speaking order? Is there a podium and mic? What's the format of the event? What do the organizers want you to talk about? If the press is invited, will the event be recorded? What happens if there's inclement weather? The scheduler should gather this information and tell the requester we are reviewing the schedule and we'll be in touch when we have more clarity. Internally, the team should gather background information using the knowledge you have around your kitchen cabinet. Is this event strategic and beneficial? Does it provide us an opportunity to reach voters? Are there any pitfalls to attending? Is the group vetted? Does this group already know the candidate? Is our opponent attending? On a regular basis, preferably once or twice a week, the candidate and the scheduler should review the schedule and seek approvals. This will include the events the campaign is planning, fundraisers, canvas kickoffs, and the requests the campaign has, supporters inviting you to a backyard party, press interviews. Determinations should be made for the next seven to ten days, realizing some events like a debate or major fundraiser will need to be known further in advance. When events are confirmed, they should go on the candidate's calendar with all relevant information. Of course, once an event is confirmed, the candidate must attend. We want to avoid the candidate deciding last minute to not attend the events that they have committed to, otherwise known to schedulers as blowing up the day. When events are not confirmed, the scheduler should politely regret. Depending on the nature of the event, the campaign may ask if they could have a presence there like a booth, a letter that can be read during the program, or a surrogate to attend. This way, the campaign is reflected even if the candidate cannot be there. Tips for schedulers. Schedulers are in a tough job, often delivering news people don't want to hear, like a regret to a request or telling a candidate they really should go to an event on a day they want it off. By being prepared, you'll set yourself up for success. Have event background information ready before you propose it to the candidate. Understand when the candidate likes time off, perhaps after 8 p.m. to go exercising, Saturdays for religious functions, or on Sundays for family time. This should include days they may take off for vacation. Use block scheduling, meaning if a candidate is out on one side of the district, plan to do nearby events or carry out requests in that area to maximize your time. Batch these events together so that the candidate can cover a few events at one time in the neighborhood. Decipher what events are movable and within your control. Some events may not be firm with an exact date, so find options for those events the candidate would like to go to but could better fit another time. Then use the block scheduling mentioned. Be patient as people will follow up with you since they really want the candidate at the event. Let them know you are working on it and we'll get back to them once there is more clarity on the schedule. Remember, the candidate should be meeting new people. Over time, the schedule will start to represent the same groups, so challenge yourself and the team to meet new people and travel to new areas of the district to diversify your outreach. Keep a list of future events handy. This can include requests or other ideas mentioned to you. For example, someone might tell you it'd be a great idea to visit the new eatery in town. You may want to be prepared if there is a cancellation and suddenly you are looking for something to do. This way you can pull from that list of stop-in ideas. Car time. Candidates will be booked and busy, but they don't realize just how much time they will spend in the car. Going from event to event, you'll be in the car with a staff member or super volunteer to drive you, and this is an ideal time for political or fundraising calls. Along the way, you can review the information you need to know for the day's events, whether it's delivered to you electronically or printed. Schedulers should be mindful that this can be a productive time to sign letters or take internal calls with staff and consultants. Remember, you only have so much time in a campaign, so use it wisely. After the event. Undoubtedly, someone will grab your arm while at the event and ask for something, whether it's requesting a phone call or looking into a matter. This is why it's helpful if a volunteer or staff person is by your side at the event to help take note of those requests. As you are leaving an event, log the action items you said you would do. Whether you write it down on a notepad or keep it on your phone, create some system so you are noting the follow-ups needed and work with your team to satisfy those requests. You are going to get out the vote next, and you do not need someone who asks for help thinking you were unresponsive. For more on scheduling, visit organizing to win.com.

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