What Professionals Can Learn About Marketing From Politicians

Running a successfully congressional campaign cost on average $2 million for every two-year term.

Interestingly, members of congress aren’t born salespeople, nor do they consider themselves professional salespeople.

However, they’ve had to learn how to market and raise funds to keep their job.

To stay in office, the average member of Congress needs to raise $18,000 a day. They’ve broken down their $2 million target into manageable chunks while balancing the demands of their existing constituents.

To achieve this, they dedicate 4 hours every day to fundraising from an offsite telemarketing room, totaling 784 hours per term.

Here’s how their typical day looks:

4 hours – Call Time (fundraising)

1-2 hours – Constituent Visits

2 hours – Committee/Floor Work

1 hour – Strategic Outreach (breakfast meetings, meet-and-greets, press engagements)

1 hour – Recharge Time

With a two-year term, this process begins again once the cycle ends, meaning they must continuously marketthemselves to ensure reelection.

What can financial services professionals learn from this?

Like members of Congress, you don’t need to be a natural-born salesperson to be successful. What matters is setting clear targets and breaking them down into manageable daily goals while balancing the needs of your existing clients.

Consistent marketing and time management are critical to sustaining and growing your business, just as fundraising is for a politician’s career.

Instead of worrying about the how, focus on the what. When you’re clear about your goals, the right methods and opportunities will naturally present themselves.

The key is to have clarity on what you’re working towards—then the how will follow.

Special thanks to Denny Hatch, whose ideas and insights inspired this article.