Lobby Politicians with Statistics

As a rule, stories are more effective than statistics in persuading shoppers. However, when convincing government officials of the importance of small to midsize retail businesses, research indicates you’ll want to also have numbers in hand.
     The National Retail Federation has compiled statistics to get you started:

• 95% of retail businesses have only a single location. 
• More than 3,000,000 Americans are employed by a small to midsize retail business, where “small to midsize” is defined as the business having under $5,000,000 in annual sales. 

     For politicians at the federal level, these nationwide numbers can work well. For local legislators and regulators, you’ll want to gather indices from closer to home.
     Cities are hungry for tax revenues. Big Box stores and industrial parks often produce more tax revenues than do small to midsize retail businesses. As a result, cities these days may be overlooking the value of keeping local retailing corridors robust
     To make your points, show how you help your community’s economy.

• Sales revenue impact. An increase in profitability can mean maintenance or increases in sales tax and property tax revenues. The dollar figure for sales per square foot varies widely even within the same type of retailing, such as fashion varying between $510 and $1,731 in one sample. This variation indicates there is the opportunity for growth with the proper profitability tactics. 
• Job income impact. What is the median annual salary of a retail salesperson in your local area? For the U.S. overall, it’s currently only about $21,000. Still, for each retail job in your local area, how many more jobs are added in a community because of the income of the retail employee? In my home state of California, it’s about 0.53 job positions. To calculate the value of this addition, determine the median income for all jobs in your local area. Use those numbers to calculate the economic value of keeping or adding each retail job in your community. 

     Research findings from University of Illinois and Northwestern University indicate that when lobbying, the retailer should be sure to acknowledge opposing points of view. Smart politicians want to be ready for what will be argued by constituents who are against your proposals. You’ll have more credibility with the politicians and earn their appreciation when you equip them to better respond to the objections they’ll encounter. Leading with your statistics helps because numbers seem more objective than stories.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Craft Powerful Stories 
Crow About Helping the Local Economy 
Lobby by Acknowledging Opposing Views