There’s a moment a few weeks into nearly every policy campaign when someone says the question out loud. The ask is drafted, the leave-behind written, the champion lined up. Then a staffer glances up from the page and says, “Who else supports this?”

Staffers are trained to ask that question, and your reply tells them everything they need to know and how much effort they will put into getting it across the finish line.

When the answer is “just us” or “I don’t know,” the meeting winds down politely and, typically, nothing moves. When it’s a list of companies, associations, and think tanks spanning across an industry, the conversation stops being about whether your goal is possible and starts being about how you can get it done.

That’s the case for coalitions, compressed into 10 seconds of a Hill meeting. Most people know coalitions work. The hard part is knowing when to stop guarding your independence and start making calls to partners, and even competitors.

Bringing Others Aboard

Building a coalition isn’t an exact science. What works depends on whom you’re assembling, what you’re asking for, and whom you’re asking.

Competitors who bid against each other need counsel on the first call. A manufacturer, its suppliers, and a union may align easily, but could be dismissed as one entity essentially talking to itself. A rulemaking docket rewards technical credibility and a clean record; a markup rewards districts and jobs. Make sure you know whether a trade association is working the issue, because working around one is a different campaign than working through it.

Take what follows as signals, not a checklist.

Consider the ask. Going it alone has real advantages, whatever your size. You control the message, the timeline, the ask, the concessions—and nobody waters down your priority. But sometimes, holding onto that control could cost you the fight.

A modest fix, such as a technical correction, statutory or report language to clarify legislative intent, or non-controversial amendment to a grant program, is something a single company can carry out. But a significant new funding line, a material statutory change, or a rule that reshapes an entire market requires someone to answer the “who benefits” question with more than a single logo.

Pay attention to whether the other side organizes first. Many people spot this too late. The moment an opposing coalition forms, it isn’t just advocating; it’s defining the terms and the narrative. Every conversation that happens afterward focuses on their framing. You can spend a year countering that, or you can build the counterweight early and force a real debate. The second is usually more effective and, frankly, cheaper in the long run.

Look at the calendar. Reauthorizations, a discretionary program’s survival, a multi-year regulatory push—these don’t typically resolve in one Congress. For example, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released the BUILD America 250 Act on a Sunday night and reported it favorably just days later.

That release was the end of a long process (not the start of one) that included member day requests, a stakeholder submission window, hearings, and months of staff negotiation. But the compressed window is survivable if you’re already organized. You frame the problem, draft the fix, and line up members to offer amendments at markup inside 24 hours. The drafting was the easy part. What made those calls work was that they weren’t cold—the relationships predated the bill by years. Anyone dialing for the first time when that text dropped was already behind.

Price out what it takes to win. If the ammunition costs more than you’re willing to pay (research, polling, paid and earned media, a sustained fly-in presence, coalition management, etc.), consider what your organization can fund. A bootstrapped effort could run $10,000 a month or be as much as $1 million in the first year if you’re taking up lobbying fees, a research study, public relations, and so forth. That gap is your coalition.

Build before you need it. Coalitions assembled in a crisis can still win, but if you assemble when nothing is on fire, you have a runway. That’s exactly when most people won’t bother—and what could ultimately distinguish you and your clients. For example, in the lead up to discussions of a comprehensive infrastructure bill that ultimately became the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a number of coalitions came together to fight for new or expanded grant programs.

Moving the Needle

As you build your coalition, you have to figure out what there is to be gained from working together. Start with narrative and facts-based data, because that’s where fights are won and lost these days. A single company asking for a carve-out reads as self-interest, a line item to give away once the horse-trading starts. But that same ask from a coalition reads as an industry imperative.

Then there’s the whip count. If the issue touches two House districts, you have two districts’ worth of leverage. Bring in partners whose facilities, suppliers, and workforce span a dozen states, and the math changes. Breadth isn’t about logos on letterhead; it’s about putting a constituent in front of every office you need. It also gives officials cover, because a member would rather stand up for “the industry” than one company. A coalition doesn’t just find you allies; it makes the ones you have more likely to act in the public eye.

Most of all, coalitions outlast. They survive a member’s departure, a bad election cycle, and a new chairman. Progress in this town turns on who’s still standing when the window of opportunity finally opens.

Informal or Formal?

Most people think they must decide whether to formally organize from the outset. They don’t. Nearly everything starts informally. A co-signed letter, an ad hoc working group, or a coordinated fly-in stands up in days.

But informal doesn’t mean temporary. Plenty of informal coalitions run for years on a standing call, agreed talking points, and somebody who keeps it moving—no bylaws, no legal entity. If it’s working, you can leave it alone.

Formality is more about infrastructure, not duration. You formalize when you need what an email chain can’t sustain—for example, bylaws that settle who decides when members disagree, an executive director whose job is managing the coalition, or a legal entity to protect participants or can hold dues and sign contracts.

The arc usually looks like this. You start informally on one issue, like defending a grant program. Then the fight stretches on, extension after extension. Eventually, the group is carrying more than it was built for, while somebody’s government affairs firm quietly eats the coordination cost. That’s when you formalize.

But be aware: Nobody should stand up a dues-based entity to win one bill amendment, or run a five-year reauthorization off an email chain.

Two things can sink coalitions regardless of structure.

The first is antitrust. Competitors in a room is a compliance event. You want counsel present, an agenda circulated, and conversation focused on policy, never pricing or customers.

The second is who speaks for the group. Settle this early, because the question arises when one member wants a carve-out that the others can’t defend.

Somebody’s going to ask, “Who else supports this?” Be prepared and have an answer ready. The best one isn’t assembled the week you need it; it’s the list you started building when the issue was still theoretical and nobody else was paying attention. That work is invisible right up until the moment it’s the only thing that matters.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.

Author Information

Erik Olson is president and chair of the tax, trade, and finance practice at Venn Strategies, where he represents coalitions across transportation, trade, and international matters. He previously spent nearly 15 years on Capitol Hill, including as a chief of staff.

Bennett Resnik is a senior vice president in the critical infrastructure practice at Venn Strategies, where he advises transportation, infrastructure, and energy clients on federal legislative and regulatory strategy and has built and run industry coalitions across more than a decade in Washington.