Sales lessons for advocates– taking a look at the California High Speed Rail.
“Why should I give you money?” is a valid question and you better have a strong answer to it!
APR 13, 2023
If you are one of the tens of millions of people who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, or Los Angeles or someone who visits those places– the California High Speed rail project will make your life better. It will reduce traffic on the 5, 280, 101, 99, and the 405, it will give you more options for jobs and places to live, it will make your air healthier to breathe, help connect you with family & friends, bridge the cultural gap in our state, and even lower the costs of flights. It will save our state billions of highway and airport expansion dollars freeing up funds to go to schools, healthcare, and other essential services. If you live in California, you personally will be richer, happier, and have a better life once the project gets built– even if you never ever ride the train. But has anyone ever told you that?
Seriously…has anyone ever handed you a flyer, called you up, or placed an ad in front of you explaining how all of that is true? Have you ever seen headlines saying, “Youth Climate Activists confront Senator demanding building California’s High Speed Rail now.” Have you seen any billboards along the highway pointing out that once the rail is built, there will be fewer cars competing for space on the road? Did you know that there are over 200 flights per day going between the Bay and LA, that they literally cannot add another runway to the San Francisco airport, and that the California High Speed Rail will be used by millions of people?
In other words, when was the last time someone tried to sell you on the idea of supporting California High Speed Rail?
I haven’t seen anything like that, and I’ve traveled extensively across California, flying, driving, and taking trains from the Bay to the Central Valley and to SoCal. I’m not saying that if I haven’t seen it, it’s not happening– but the messaging I have seen in favor of the high-speed rail has either been vague or focused on jobs. Occasionally I’ve seen it pointed out that the Caltrain electrification project which boosted capacity on the line is part of the California High Speed Rail project.
On the other hand, I’ve gotten a lot of sales pitches trying to sell me (and you) on the idea that the California High Speed Rail project is bad. As Andy Boenau points out, that opposition has not been seriously counter acted and when normal people ask reasonable questions about the project, they aren’t met with serious answers. Those people deserve real answers. And the fact that the questions are still being asked by people who aren’t in staunch opposition shows how weak the voice of the supporters have been since the project was approved.
When you’re trying to change the status quo, you need to consistently sell and advocate your idea until it becomes the status quo. Highway expansions don’t need vocal advocates because it is the status quo– it’s society’s version of having a monthly subscription that’s set to auto-renew.
But when you are advocating for high-speed rail, a new train line, a bus-only lane, a protected bike lane, or even just some new speed bumps- you need to remember that you are upsetting the status quo. That means you’ve got to keep pushing and selling the idea to people until the project is done. You aren’t trying to get your project approved, you’re trying to get your project built- so don’t stop selling until the project is built.
It’s not too late for California High Speed Rail advocates to change their approach, but they need to scale up their response and consistently sell people on the idea. Otherwise, next time they ask for funding, they’ll be told no.
The good news is that they’ve got a wonderful product that will make all Californians lives better. But you can’t just be wonderful, you’ve got to make sure the people understand it.
Want to strengthen your advocacy skills? Let me know and we can schedule a session– email me at Carter@carterlavin.