A Lobbyist is a paid professional advocate who works to influence political decisions on behalf of organizations, groups, and individuals. Their many roles depend on how substantial their responsibilities are, but ultimately their main goal is to influence and persuade the government to change existing laws and regulations. Industries with a history of lobbying include pharmaceuticals, insurance, technology, oil and gas, business associations, and more. The pharmaceutical and health product sectors are the top industry for Lobbyists.  
   
Lobbyists must maintain professionalism in their field and require a deep understanding of who or what they represent. They need to be the expert. Lobbyists' roles and responsibilities involve creating strategies to support their cause and persuading legal figures to agree with them, but they will vary depending on each situation.   
  
A Lobbyist's objective is to educate, inspire, and influence another party to motivate change, and their roles and responsibilities will revolve around this.
      
Roles & Responsibilities for a Lobbyist

• Becoming an expert for a cause  
• Representing a cause on behalf of others  
• Promoting their cause publicly to influence its impact and overall reach  
• Understanding current political environments that the cause is in  
• Creating strategies about the best way to navigate the cause in question  
• Researching alternative stances on the subject to strengthen your position  
• Knowing how the different laws and regulations work in the location where you are lobbying  
• Developing relationships with the right contacts, including government connections or other companies.  
• Educating the people who are affected by your cause and explaining to them why it matters  
• Hosting public relation events and publications such as press releases or interviews  
• Changing opinions and influencing others. Being able to sway decisions is an essential part of being a successful Lobbyist.  
• Mastering and practicing public speaking  
• Incentivize Politicians to draft new legislation in their favor, although it is illegal for Lobbyists to pay Politicians to change their position. 
• Fundraising for causes  
• Working in-house or as a consultant for others  
• Following all rules and regulations around Lobbying that may vary from location to location  

A lobbiest pushes the agenda of an organization or group of organizations to a group of decision makers in order to affect favorable change.