ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On this week’s episode of Convenience Matters, “The Importance of Advocacy for Your Business,” NACS hosts Jeff Lenard and Stephanie Sikorski chat with Dan Alsaker, principle of Alsaker Corp dba Broadway about how to be an advocate for your business.
Everyone knows that it’s vital to keep legislators informed about your side of the story. “If you don’t say anything, no one knows what you’re thinking,” Alsaker said. “Just by participating and making my voice heard, I found that someone listened.”
As a busy retailer running multiple stores, Alsaker knows how difficult it can be to find time for advocacy. He recommended retailers start by getting involved in their local Chamber of Commerce, which often holds monthly lunches. “A lunch hour wasn’t taking a lot of my time,” he said.
Alsaker also reminded convenience store operators of the hometown advantage. “You don’t have to go to D.C.—all these people [lawmakers] come back home. I’m at their home and I’m a voter,” he said, “so I could [meet] with them when they came home.”
Advocacy involves more than just meeting with congressional or state representatives—it’s also about marketing and making connections with the community. Alsaker often connected with legislative staffers at local Chamber of Commerce events or luncheons, which segued into meetings with senators or representatives both at home and in Washington. He described his first meetings with a member of Congress: “Being shy, I migrated to a staff member first. … Little did I know then that a lot of stuff behind the scenes is going on with staffers.”
By educating staff members, Alsaker is able to have more influence with the member of Congress because his staff is knowledgeable about what Alsaker can bring to the table. “You become that expert,” he said.
Each week a new Convenience Matters episode is released. The podcast can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play and other podcast apps, and at www.conveniencematters.com. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners more than 50,000 times in more than 80 countries.