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Last night Judith and I went to a gathering of the Las Vegas Social Register – a typical networking event where relationship marketing is the whole point.

As I was roaming around looking for the next person to speak with, I approached a woman who was wearing an American flag scarf. It turns out she was a politician running for a seat in the Nevada State Senate.

I’d never spoken to an elected politician nor anyone who was running for office so I was intrigued. I spent about twenty minutes talking with her — or rather with her talking to me.

You would think that relationship marketing would be a staple in her running-for-office tool box, but as it turned out, not so.

She told me about her 88 year-old mother, and her daughter, and that she’d lived in Las Vegas her whole life, and community was very important to her.

I told her about my father who’d worked in the Detroit factories.

After I walked away, Judith asked about my conversation and I said, “She never asked me one question. Not one.”

“What don’t you tell her that,” Judith suggested. So I did.

I returned to the senatorial hopeful and reached out with my card, which she hadn’t asked for during our 20 minute chat, and I gently said:

“Are you aware that, when we were together, you never asked me one question?”

“What?” She was clearly surprised.

“You never asked me one question.”

“I was impressed by what you told me about your father in Chicago.”

“My father never lived in Chicago. He was in Detroit.”

“Well, you know, the factories, Detroit, Chicago. I was impressed . . .”

Relationship marketing? No. Monologue marketing was more like it.

“Just remember,” I cautioned, “if you want my vote, it’d be best if you try to find out about what I need and what I think. I’m the constituent.”

She smiled awkwardly and I bid her good night.

As I walked away, her last appeal to me, albeit rather weakly, was “I hope I can still get your vote.”  

No, I don’t think so. Why?

Because It’s All in the Connection,

Jim