• Make an appointment. If you drop in without an appointment, you may miss your legislator, you may wait a long time, or you may force your legislator to postpone another appointment, all of which create negative feelings instead of goodwill.
• Always introduce yourself, even at the second, third, or fourth meeting. Don’t put your legislator in the awkward position of having to remember your name. Realize how many people a legislator meets and understand that there is the possibility your legislator may not remember you.
• Get down to business quickly. Chat a little, but as quickly as possible, tell your legislator why you are there and what you want them to know or do.
• Be brief; be direct; be simple. Discuss only one issue per visit. This may not be possible if you do not see your legislator often, but it is much better to contact them frequently with one issue at a time than to contact them occasionally with a whole “laundry list” of requests.
• Be courteous. Your role is to explain, inform, and persuade – not to attack, threaten, or belittle. Elected officials should be referred to and treated with courtesy and respect, regardless of the position they have taken on legislation in the past. 
• Make it easy for the legislator to vote for your interests by giving good reasons to vote for your bill. Don’t be arrogant and argumentative. Be reasonable. Don’t win the argument and lose a vote. Instead, work on changing your legislator’s mind.
• Leave simple written materials with your legislator – including PAR’s “Where We Stand on Issues” brochure. Don’t dump volumes of material on them. You might leave more detailed information for the legislator’s staff.

Some suggested ways of establishing and maintaining a credible relationship with your legislator are to:

• Invite them to a Saturday luncheon, a dessert and coffee get-together, or host a dinner or cocktail hour for other REALTORS® from the area to meet their legislator.
• Offer and follow through when providing your legislator with specific information and background on legislative issues. 
• Arrange for the legislator to attend office meetings or board functions to speak on appropriate issues.
• Attend meetings at which your legislator is appearing and speaking.