Candidates that want to Pick your Brain for Free

Campaign managers and consultants will know what I mean In fact, anyone in any sort of profession must get this all the time. "Can I just ask you a few questions?" Then they proceed to try to get you to tell them the secret of success over the phone or in your first short initial "get to know you" meeting.

Watch out. These people are likely fishing for free help, whether it's with how to find endorsements, raise money, hold an event, or just finding out how far they can go on their own.

Now, if you've been reading this blog, you know I give free advice. I give campaign tips; the dos and don'ts of a successful campaign. But I like to think I give just enough advice that the savvy campaigner realizes they can't do it alone. Campaigning is, for the most part, not a DIY activity.

Some small campaigns do make it on their own with the help of a great group of volunteers, but chances are there are some seasoned veterans in the group, who've been down this road before and know the pitfalls. Those cases are rare. Even most small campaigns hire a consultant to guide them these days.

But I found myself in that situation recently. A lovely young man new to political life with just enough knowledge of website development and social media under his belt, to realize he needed something more. So he reached out. We talked extensively. He sounded promising. He sounded like he was on the verge of hiring my team to guide him and his band of volunteers on the path to victory. It wasn't a small race, County Supervisor in a mid-sized county. He knew what he didn't know. And I was (foolishly) flattered that he looked to me to provide it.

It was in our second meeting, when he said "I have talked to a few others (that's ok, that's due diligence), and I have a good feeling about you," that I realized his good feeling was that I could be counted on to talk passionately about campaigning just long enough to make hm feel educated, and no longer in need of paying for my services.

Of course he didn't say that at the time. It was the next day that he sent an email. It read, "Thanks so much for your time. I learned a lot, but I have decided to go in a different direction."

When I asked if he'd mind letting me know just what it was that determined his "different direction," he went silent.

Another one bites the dust. Well, you can't win them all. I will watch his race with interest, to see how it turns out. Anyone want to take bets?